tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62441685964295034372024-03-19T04:47:29.835-04:00NCCPR Child Welfare BlogNews and commentary from the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform
concerning child abuse, child welfare, foster care, and family preservation.National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comBlogger1525125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-25157801716685259952024-03-12T23:14:00.001-04:002024-03-12T23:14:00.131-04:00NCCPR News and commentary round-up, week ending March 12, 2024<p>● Last week, we
noted <a href="https://familypolicynyc.org/report/scr/">a fascinating study</a>
by the NYC Family Policy Project revealing that New York State’s child abuse
hotline screens out far fewer cases than the national average, inundating the
localities that investigate the screened-in calls with false allegations,
trivial cases and poverty-confused-with-neglect cases. <a href="https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/new-york-child-protection-hotline-accepts-maltreatment-allegations-at-far-higher-rates-than-other-states-new-study-shows/247933"><i>The Imprint</i> has a good story</a>
on the report. <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/03/07/ny-state-child-abuse-hotline-shortfalls-lead-to-unnecessary-investigations-report/">So does the <i>New York Daily News</i><o:p></o:p></a> And I have a <a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/03/is-this-guy-most-helpless-child-welfare.html" target="_blank">blog post on the pathetic response</a> from Jess Dannhauser, commissioner of New York City's Administration for Children's Services. (Be sure to see the response from the ACS flack at the end!)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/07/us/minnesota-hhs-complaint-black-welfare-system-reaj/index.html">CNN has a story</a>
about the civil rights complaint brought by Children’s Rights and the
Minneapolis NAACP against the family policing systems in Minnesota’s largest
counties. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;">● It doesn’t get as
much attention at the pervasive racism but there is another group of families
who automatically have targets on their backs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i>The Guardian</i> has been following that issue for years, and </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/06/parents-iq-test-child-welfare-oregon?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;">has an in-depth report</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;">
from a state that’s notorious for this kind of discrimination: Oregon.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;">● Many people,
especially in New England, know at least part of the story of Harmony
Montgomery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was taken from her
mother in Massachusetts and placed with her father in New Hampshire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then she disappeared. Her father has been
convicted of killing her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The case has
been exploited by the Massachusetts “Child Advocate” Maria Mosaides as she
seeks to make the family police even more powerful and even effectively </span><a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/mass-on-wrong-track-with-child-protection-policy/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;">silence children in court</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;">.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;">What Mossaides
wants us all to forget is the one person who truly loved and cared about
Harmony: The person no one would listen to; the person who was written off from
the start: Crystal Sorey — Harmony’s mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now, </span><a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/03/11/metro/harmony-montgomery-mom-crystal-sorey-estate/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;">the <i>Boston Globe</i> reports</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;">,
Sorey is getting ready to sue those who really let Harmony down.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;">● </span><a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/4520166-as-adoptive-and-foster-parents-we-believe-our-child-welfare-system-needs-repair/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;">And in <i>The Hill</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;">,
a call for radical change – from foster parents who write that such change
should include:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk161159061;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><i>We should stop
mandated reporting — doctors, teachers and social workers shouldn’t be acting
as agents of the police. And we should discourage the use of child welfare
hotlines, which all too often are used not for reporting real abuse but as
means for harassment of a former intimate partner, a tenant or others. Keep
reports confidential but not anonymous, and stop terrorizing already vulnerable
children and parents, because this largely happens to poor people.</i></blockquote><p></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-47037621511254960252024-03-08T09:26:00.002-05:002024-03-08T15:13:36.139-05:00Is this guy the most helpless “child welfare” leader in America? His own comments suggest the answer is yes.<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXObv_SK9P_I4Z5Q6djWky0jNfu99PU2NDGMWftgxw42UEsJeWzlQD1HgGWz3zeMRbTLLiOAKMTba7cFpSR2YkrdEHAabqeu1wvFWYJJK00x-TqspXSFw1W7Ed-R4i37KMCXyRrkMuiCyJJNjcmqLTJXmybYmvGX_VMReCH-xfoKrou7fME7w8m_q-tey/s381/CommissionerDannhauser.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="254" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXObv_SK9P_I4Z5Q6djWky0jNfu99PU2NDGMWftgxw42UEsJeWzlQD1HgGWz3zeMRbTLLiOAKMTba7cFpSR2YkrdEHAabqeu1wvFWYJJK00x-TqspXSFw1W7Ed-R4i37KMCXyRrkMuiCyJJNjcmqLTJXmybYmvGX_VMReCH-xfoKrou7fME7w8m_q-tey/w213-h320/CommissionerDannhauser.jpg" width="213" /></i></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>New York City Administration for Children's Services<br />Commissioner Jess Dannhauser</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>UPDATE: SEE ACS'S RESPONSE AT THE END OF THIS POST</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Poor Jess Dannhauser.
The head of New York City’s family police agency, the Administration for
Children’s Services, says he’s really, truly concerned (though apparently not
much more) about all those families and children traumatized by needless
investigations and strip-searches resulting from all those false allegations,
trivial cases or cases in which <a href="https://nccpr.org/issue-papers-family-preservation-foster-care-and-reasonable-efforts/nccpr-issue-paper-5-who-is-in-the-system-and-why/">family
poverty is confused with “neglect.”</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But sheesh, all that whining!
Over and over again he offers the same response: It’s not my fault! That mean old state government makes us do
it! And yet, Dannhauser ignored the
obvious solution. That should make us
wonder if he really just wants to keep things as they are. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The latest example to emerge from Dannhauser’s whine cellar
is a <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/03/04/readers-sound-off-on-child-abuse-services-aaron-bushnell-and-ukraines-predicament/">letter
to the editor in the <i>New York Daily News</i>.</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That newspaper <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/02/26/black-parents-in-n-y-need-to-know-their-rights/">published
an excellent commentary</a> from the city’s family defense providers calling on
the City Council and/or the State Legislature to pass a “Family Miranda” law –
requiring ACS to tell families their rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because if you don’t know your rights, you don’t have your rights. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dannhauser (or some flack in the ACS p.r. department) wrote
a letter to the editor that regurgitated his standard excuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He writes: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>Anyone can make a report to New York State’s child abuse
hotline. If a call about a New York City child is accepted by the state, the
Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) is required by state law to
respond to allegations and assess the safety of the child. ACS can’t choose
which families to respond to but must, under law, respond to reports the state
accepts.</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></blockquote><i><o:p></o:p></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He continues: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>A Black child is seven times more likely than a white
child to be in a report to the hotline. This is concerning.</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></blockquote><i><o:p></o:p></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let me interrupt here: just "<i>concerning"</i>? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>ACS can’t control calls made or reports accepted,</i> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yes, you already said that. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>so we have been retraining mandated reporters on when to
appropriately make a report and when, instead, they should connect the family
to support.</i> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because training is what you do when you don’t want to make
real change. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here’s what Dannhauser never mentions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Laws can be amended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he doesn’t want to be “required by state
law” to do something, why doesn’t he go to the New York State Legislature and
ask them to change the law? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps if I say that more slowly ACS will understand: Ask.
Them. To. Change. The. Law. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps I need to say it louder: <b>Ask. Them. To. Change.
The. Law.</b> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The change would be simple: Authorize ACS and its county
counterparts across the state to set up their own mechanisms to screen calls
and decide if they need to be investigated. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course, asking for such a change doesn’t mean he’ll get
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But not asking guarantees he
won’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I figure there are three
possible explanations: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● It never occurred to him to ask.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● He’s asking but it’s top secret because he wants it to be
a surprise and he hates spoilers.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● He likes things the way they are because they enable
Maximum Feasible Buckpassing. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’m thinking it’s the third one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because it so benefits both ACS and the
state agency that runs the hotline, the Office of Children and Family Services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That means it also benefits the mayor and the
governor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s why: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As things stand now, the state has an incentive to screen
out fewer cases, since all those false reports become the localities’
problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The localities get to go full
Dannhauser and say: It’s not our fault that we traumatized all these families
with needless investigations and strip-searches, the state made us do it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And both are in a position where it’s less
likely they’ll wind up on the front page of the <i>New York Post</i> for
wrongly screening something out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
short, it works for everyone – except the children and families. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Oh, and by the way: Nothing Dannhauser wrote in his letter
is a reason not to pass family Miranda legislation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the contrary, if Dannhauser really
believes that often his investigators shouldn’t be knocking on families’ doors
at all, isn’t that <i>more</i> reason to make sure those families know their
rights? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The consequences were perfectly illustrated in <a href="https://familypolicynyc.org/report/scr/">a new report from the NYC Family
Policy Project</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The report found
that New York State screens out, proportionately, far fewer reports than the
national average. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/new-york-child-protection-hotline-accepts-maltreatment-allegations-at-far-higher-rates-than-other-states-new-study-shows/247933">As
<i>The Imprint</i> reported</a>: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i>The report quotes several parents by first name. Cynthia
said that as her CPS investigation dragged on, she couldn’t concentrate at work
and eventually lost her job. Her 3-year-old daughter “was so nervous being
interrogated by strangers so many times that she started behaving irregularly.”
A mom identified as Ruth said she went through five years of “malicious calls,”
leaving her anxious and depressed.</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>“My daughter wet the bed for three years straight,” she
stated. “There has to be some mechanism put in place so you’re not destroying
families.”</i> </p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Among the report’s many great recommendations: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>“Enabling ACS and county agencies to have discretion to
screen out reports” </i></blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s not just Jess Dannhauser who needs to answer a
question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reporters have published his
don’t-blame-me-the-state-makes-us-do-it whine over and over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why has no reporter ever asked Dannhauser why
Dannhauser doesn’t seem to have asked the Legislature to change the law?</p><p class="MsoNormal">UPDATE: I just had an interesting email exchange with an ACS flack: Here it is, in full:</p><div class="gE iv gt" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; cursor: auto; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; padding: 20px 0px 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" class="cf gJ" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-collapse: collapse; display: block; font-size: 0.875rem; margin-top: 0px; width: auto;"><tbody style="display: block;"><tr class="acZ" style="display: flex; height: auto;"><td class="gF gK" style="display: block; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; max-height: 20px; padding: 0px; text-wrap: nowrap; vertical-align: top; width: 520.208px;"><table cellpadding="0" class="cf ix" style="border-collapse: collapse; table-layout: fixed; width: 520.208px;"><tbody><tr><td class="c2" style="display: flex; margin: 0px;"><h3 class="iw" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: auto; color: #5f6368; font-size: 0.75rem; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 20px; margin: inherit; max-width: calc(100% - 8px); overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; text-wrap: nowrap;"><span class="qu" role="gridcell" tabindex="-1" translate="no"><span class="gD" data-hovercard-id="Marisa.Kaufman@acs.nyc.gov" data-hovercard-owner-id="87" email="Marisa.Kaufman@acs.nyc.gov" name="Kaufman, Marisa (ACS)" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #1f1f1f; display: inline; font-size: 0.875rem; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="position: relative; vertical-align: top;">Kaufman, Marisa (ACS)</span></span> </span></h3></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td class="gH bAk" style="align-items: center; color: #222222; display: block; margin: 0px; max-height: 20px; text-align: right; text-wrap: nowrap; vertical-align: top;"><div class="gK" style="align-items: center; display: flex; padding: 0px;"><span alt="Mar 8, 2024, 2:52 PM" class="g3" id=":15p" role="gridcell" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: auto; 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overflow: visible; text-overflow: ellipsis;"><div class="iw ajw" style="display: inline-block; max-width: 92%; overflow: hidden;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div id=":16f" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div class="qQVYZb"></div><div class="utdU2e"></div><div class="lQs8Hd" jsaction="SN3rtf:rcuQ6b" jscontroller="i3Ohde"></div><div class="wl4W9b" jsaction="LNSvUb:.CLIENT;xSdBYb:.CLIENT;CDWmBe:.CLIENT;EtHLdc:.CLIENT;pQnh7:.CLIENT;pKHw7e:.CLIENT;Z03mxd:.CLIENT;NZLNxf:.CLIENT;bXglpe:.CLIENT;mzh2Bc:.CLIENT" style="display: flex;"></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div class="aHl" style="margin-left: -38px;"></div><div id=":15z" tabindex="-1"></div><div class="ii gt" id=":15n" jslog="20277; u014N:xr6bB; 1:WyIjdGhyZWFkLWY6MTc5Mjk4OTAxMjI4MjY2Njg4NHxtc2ctZjoxNzkyOTg5MDEyMjgyNjY2ODg0Il0.; 4:WyIjbXNnLWY6MTc5Mjk4OTAxMjI4MjY2Njg4NCJd" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 0.875rem; margin: 8px 0px 0px; overflow-x: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div class="a3s aiL msg4465817992658182209" id=":15m" style="direction: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: 1.5; overflow: auto hidden; position: relative;"><div class="adM"></div><div lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" style="overflow-wrap: break-word;" vlink="#954F72"><div class="adM"></div><div class="m_4465817992658182209WordSection1"><div class="adM"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Hi Richard,<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">We saw your blog post today. We are not asking you to make any changes. We did want to be sure that you were aware that the Commissioner has asked for there to be a review and changes to the state laws related to the SCR. <u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> <u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">As an example, please see our testimony (attached) from the September 2023 Assembly hearing where at the top of page 4 he says, “ We believe that the State should conduct a full review and assessment of SCR practice and policies, as well as mandated reporter laws, and then take actions (legislative or otherwise) to address.”<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> <u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">In addition, in the Imprint article about the hearing it says:<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> <i><u></u><u></u></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0px;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/new-york-lawmakers-weigh-calls-to-overhaul-mandated-reporting-of-child-maltreatment/244935&source=gmail&ust=1710013974002000&usg=AOvVaw1RjkqMPUQ5aFuKLj_pb5BN" href="https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/new-york-lawmakers-weigh-calls-to-overhaul-mandated-reporting-of-child-maltreatment/244935" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #00846b;">At a public hearing last fall</span></a>, the head of New York City’s children’s services agency, Jess Dannhauser, said state leaders should conduct a “full review and assessment” of the Statewide Central Register of Abuse and Maltreatment, including a potential overhaul of the relevant statutes.</span></i><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><u></u><u></u></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0px 0px 12pt;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">“We cannot make sufficient progress within the current laws that were written over 50 years ago,” Dannhauser said.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0px 0px 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;">Thanks,<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0px 0px 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;">Marisa Kaufman<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0px 0px 12pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: black;">ACS Division of External Affairs</span></p></div></div></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal">AND HERE'S MY RESPONSE:</p><div class="gE iv gt" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; cursor: auto; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; padding: 20px 0px 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" class="cf gJ" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-collapse: collapse; display: block; font-size: 0.875rem; margin-top: 0px; width: auto;"><tbody style="display: block;"><tr class="acZ" style="display: flex; height: auto;"><td class="gF gK" style="display: block; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; max-height: 20px; padding: 0px; text-wrap: nowrap; vertical-align: top; width: 525.875px;"><table cellpadding="0" class="cf ix" style="border-collapse: collapse; table-layout: fixed; width: 525.875px;"><tbody><tr><td class="c2" style="display: flex; margin: 0px;"><h3 class="iw" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: auto; color: #5f6368; font-size: 0.75rem; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 20px; margin: inherit; max-width: calc(100% - 8px); overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; text-wrap: nowrap;"><span class="qu" role="gridcell" tabindex="-1" translate="no"><span class="gD" data-hovercard-id="rwexler@nccpr.info" data-hovercard-owner-id="87" email="rwexler@nccpr.info" name="Richard Wexler" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #1f1f1f; display: inline; font-size: 0.875rem; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="position: relative; vertical-align: top;">Richard Wexler</span></span> </span></h3><div><span class="qu" role="gridcell" tabindex="-1" translate="no"><br /></span></div><div><span class="qu" role="gridcell" tabindex="-1" translate="no"><br /></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td class="gH bAk" style="align-items: center; color: #222222; display: block; margin: 0px; max-height: 20px; text-align: right; text-wrap: nowrap; vertical-align: top;"><div class="gK" style="align-items: center; display: flex; padding: 0px;"><span class="emailtracker_status" data-id="1_msg-a:r3911915987357753487" data-status="0" id="" style="padding: 0px 6px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><br /></span><span alt="Mar 8, 2024, 2:58 PM" class="g3" id=":l5" role="gridcell" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: auto; color: #5e5e5e; display: block; font-size: 0.75rem; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; vertical-align: top;" tabindex="-1" title="Mar 8, 2024, 2:58 PM">2:58 PM (3 minutes ago)</span><div aria-checked="false" aria-label="Not starred" class="zd bi4" data-emailtracker="1" data-tooltip="Not starred" jslog="20511; u014N:cOuCgd,Kr2w4b; 1:WyIjdGhyZWFkLWY6MTc5Mjk4OTAxMjI4MjY2Njg4NHxtc2ctYTpyMzkxMTkxNTk4NzM1Nzc1MzQ4NyJd; 4:WyIjbXNnLWE6cjM5MTE5MTU5ODczNTc3NTM0ODciXQ.." role="checkbox" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; height: 20px; 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align-items: center; background: transparent; border-radius: 0px 2px 2px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; color: #444444; cursor: pointer; display: inline-flex; font-size: 0.875rem; height: 20px; justify-content: center; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; min-width: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center; user-select: none; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><img alt="" class="hA T-I-J3" role="menu" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/images/cleardot.gif" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 50% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 20px; background: url("//ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/gm3/2x/more_vert_baseline_nv700_20dp.png") center center / 20px no-repeat; display: inline-block; height: 20px; margin: 0px; opacity: 1; padding: 0px; transition: opacity 0.15s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; vertical-align: middle; width: 20px;" /></div></td></tr><tr class="acZ xD" style="display: flex; height: auto;"><td colspan="3" style="margin: 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" class="cf adz" style="border-collapse: collapse; table-layout: fixed; text-wrap: nowrap; width: 796px;"><tbody><tr><td class="ady" style="align-items: center; display: flex; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; text-overflow: ellipsis;"><div class="iw ajw" style="display: inline-block; max-width: 92%; overflow: hidden;"><span class="hb" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: auto; color: #5e5e5e; font-size: 0.75rem; line-height: 20px; vertical-align: top;" translate="no">to <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="Marisa.Kaufman@acs.nyc.gov" data-hovercard-owner-id="87" email="Marisa.Kaufman@acs.nyc.gov" name="Marisa" style="vertical-align: top;">Marisa</span></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div id=":15g" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div class="qQVYZb"></div><div class="utdU2e"></div><div class="lQs8Hd" jsaction="SN3rtf:rcuQ6b" jscontroller="i3Ohde"></div><div class="wl4W9b" jsaction="LNSvUb:.CLIENT;xSdBYb:.CLIENT;CDWmBe:.CLIENT;EtHLdc:.CLIENT;pQnh7:.CLIENT;pKHw7e:.CLIENT;Z03mxd:.CLIENT;NZLNxf:.CLIENT;bXglpe:.CLIENT;mzh2Bc:.CLIENT" style="display: flex;"></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div class="aHl" style="margin-left: -38px;"></div><div id=":15w" tabindex="-1"></div><div class="ii gt" id=":l3" jslog="20277; u014N:xr6bB; 1:WyIjdGhyZWFkLWY6MTc5Mjk4OTAxMjI4MjY2Njg4NHxtc2ctYTpyMzkxMTkxNTk4NzM1Nzc1MzQ4NyJd; 4:WyIjbXNnLWE6cjM5MTE5MTU5ODczNTc3NTM0ODciXQ.." style="direction: ltr; font-size: 0.875rem; margin: 8px 0px 0px; overflow-x: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div class="a3s aiL" id=":15l" style="direction: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: 1.5; overflow: auto hidden; position: relative;"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">I am well aware of that. Asking for "a full review and assessment" is like asking for "more study," which is another classic copout. It is not the same thing as going to key legislative leaders and saying: Can you please introduce and pass a law that lets us screen reports. Why won't you do that?</div></div></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-80879799862796368942024-03-06T15:52:00.002-05:002024-03-06T15:52:50.700-05:00NCCPR news and commentary round-up, week ending March 5, 2024<p>● Every once in a while
I’ve gently childed the group known as “Children’s Rights” for its approach to
litigation. But this week, their
litigation took a big turn - for the better.
They represented the Minneapolis NAACP in filing a federal civil rights
complaint alleging pervasive racism in Minnesota family policing. <a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/03/child-welfare-and-racism-childrens.html">I have a blog post about it,</a> including links to the full complaint and a
good story in <i>The Imprint</i>. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;">● On the </span><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/termination-of-parental-rights-with-kathleen-creamer/id1709375721?i=1000647372053"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;">Proximity Process podcast</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"> Kathleen Creamer, Managing Attorney of the
Family Advocacy Unit at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia discusses the
enormous harm done to families by America’s obsession with termination of
parental rights.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;">● Remember when
Massachusetts “Child Advocate” Maria Mossaides so misled her own commission on
mandatory child abuse reporting laws that the commission rebelled and refused
to pass any of her recommendations?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
hasn’t stopped Mossaides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/mass-on-wrong-track-with-child-protection-policy/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;">I have a column in <i>CommonWealth Beacon</i>
about her latest misrepresentations</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;">.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;">● In Texas, a
mother dared to seek a second opinion when a doctor prescribed a particular
antibiotic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can you guess what happened
next? Stories from </span><a href="https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/disagreement-antibiotics-lands-toddler-state-custody-more-than-2-months/287-3d7c9880-24ad-4065-9e57-203cbc87cc31"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;">WFAA-TV</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"> and </span><a href="https://www.fox4news.com/news/child-protective-services-josyln-sanders-josiah-case"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;">KDFW-TV</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"> answer that question: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="https://w3.mp.lura.live/player/3.12.14-beta/v3/anvload.html?key=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%253D" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">● In
2022, the Kentucky family police took away a child from grandparents who just
needed help to handle his behavioral problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was institutionalized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He ran
away, and he died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2024, the Kentucky
family police agency took away a child whose adoptive parents just needed help
to cope with her behavioral problems. Unfortunately, you can guess what
happened next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><a href="https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article285785971.html"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">I have a column about it in the Lexington <i>Herald-Leader.</i></span></span></a><i><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">● In New
York State, the family policing system appears designed to ensure Maximum
Feasible Buckpassing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The state runs the
child abuse hotline and decides which cases to pass on to counties and New York
City for investigation – and they have to investigate whatever the state
sends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the state has an incentive to
screen out fewer cases, since all those false reports are the localities’
problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The localities get to say: It’s
not our fault that we traumatized all these families with needless
investigations and strip-searches, the state made us do it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"></span><a href="https://familypolicynyc.org/report/scr/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">A new report from
the New York City Family Policy Project</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> confirms
what everyone would expect from an arrangement like this: New York screens out proportionately
far fewer allegations than the national average and investigates
proportionately more families needlessly. The report explains the consequences:</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><i>Parents
have spoken of “doorbell trauma” – mothers having panic attacks, their kids
stripping off clothes to be inspected – when they hear their buzzer. At a
recent meeting of Brownsville families, one parent described Administration for
Children’s Services (ACS) involvement in her family and neighborhood as “like
someone is on fire and screaming and no one is able to help them.”…<i style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></i></blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">● Perhaps
that’s one reason why this happened when some representatives of New York
City’s family police agency, the Administration for Children’s Services, gave a
presentation at a social work school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
this video from Joyce McMillan of </span></span><a href="https://jmacforfamilies.org/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">JMAC for Families</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> makes
clear, </span></span><a href="https://x.com/JMacForFamilies/status/1763192241181397161?s=20"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">some of the students were unpersuaded</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Silberman SW student states she was impacted by the violence of ACS & “Y’all are scary.” “Friendly white faces or ppl of color wearing a white face, coming to people’s homes is scary.” <a href="https://twitter.com/ForOurBabies76?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ForOurBabies76</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JabariBrisport?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JabariBrisport</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DorothyERoberts?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DorothyERoberts</a> <a href="https://t.co/tlpZ5FYGAb">pic.twitter.com/tlpZ5FYGAb</a></p>— Joyce McMillan (@JMacForFamilies) <a href="https://twitter.com/JMacForFamilies/status/1763192241181397161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 29, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">● </span></span><a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/03/04/overreporting-child-abuse-children-of-color-michigan-bar-association/72685603007/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">A <i>Detroit Free Press</i> story</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> is headlined “Pilot projects will help stop
the overreporting of children of color to child welfare.” But since the program
relies largely on more “training” – which is what systems do when they don’t
want to change, it’s unlikely to really accomplish much.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">●
Something that may do a lot more good </span></span><a href="https://ifwhenhow.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2024-Prenatal-Drug-Exposure-CAPTA-Reporting-Requirements-for-Medical-Professionals.pdf"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">is a comprehensive guide from If/When/How: Lawyering for
Reproductive Justice</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">
concerning when medical professionals most report – and, more important, the
wide latitude they often have not to destroy families with needless reports.</span></span><i><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">In this
week’s edition of The Horror Stories Go in All Directions:</span></i></span><i><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">● Another
week another expose of rampant abuse at a “residential treatment center.” This
time, the <i>Indianapolis Star </i>story is headed: “Sexual abuse, runaways and
reporting failures: Wernle youth center had history of problems.” (No link because
it goes only to the <i>Star’s </i>paywall).</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">● </span></span><a href="https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/another-teen-claims-she-was-sexually-assaulted-by-employee-at-dcf-facility-in-harwinton/3232510/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">From NBC Connecticut</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">:</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">Another
teenager has filed a lawsuit claiming she was sexually assaulted by an employee
at a state Department of Children and Families facility in Harwinton last year.
…</span></i></span><i><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">While
she lived there from March of 2023 to May of 2023, the lawsuit said the
14-year-old female was raped and sexually assaulted by a facility employee. As
a result, she reportedly suffered significant physical and emotional harm.</span></i></span><i><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">This
lawsuit comes after other allegations of sexual assault at the facility.</span></i></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">From </span></span><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/michigan-state-representative-calls-for-action-amid-alleged-abuse-at-state-run-mental-health-facilities/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">CBS News Detroit:</span></span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">One
Republican Michigan state representative says she's been working on getting
answers to disturbing allegations of abuse at state-run mental health
facilities for children but says her party affiliation is preventing her from
gaining much traction.</span></i></span><i><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">State
Rep. Jamie Thompson called for action on how state-run mental health facilities
operate. Thompson's latest attempt comes after a lawsuit alleges that a
9-year-old patient at the Hawthorn Center was assaulted and employees did not
intervene.</span></i></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11.5pt;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"></span><a href="https://www.wlns.com/news/lawmakers-want-child-welfare-failures-addressed/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;">WLNS-TV</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160616724;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> also
has a story about this.</span></span></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-18353870845473068882024-03-05T14:56:00.000-05:002024-03-05T14:56:02.600-05:00“Child welfare” and racism: Children’s Rights steps up<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">For the first time
in its history, the group uses litigation to take on racism, needless
surveillance and wrongful removal. It’s
not a full-scale lawsuit, but it’s a good start </span></h2><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGIVISnuY4OFvsGTZgjO059p1HjcxSIzFCdoJqFH5wV-CRKzZ3NLSCTwibDwseqc0ogT4lpQOfxgK6st2J2fIzv3Eh0n_U4dWUh8XmT7-P0RNF04h_6d01vKkrT7IhZm4GZEpau_9bTCaHI4sJvIi-G9GFWpYEgOz6jW1G8j9Xp7F7JYwI-yDXWXengSOx/s957/CRgraphic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="957" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGIVISnuY4OFvsGTZgjO059p1HjcxSIzFCdoJqFH5wV-CRKzZ3NLSCTwibDwseqc0ogT4lpQOfxgK6st2J2fIzv3Eh0n_U4dWUh8XmT7-P0RNF04h_6d01vKkrT7IhZm4GZEpau_9bTCaHI4sJvIi-G9GFWpYEgOz6jW1G8j9Xp7F7JYwI-yDXWXengSOx/w400-h260/CRgraphic.png" width="400" /></i></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>From <a href="https://www.childrensrights.org/in-the-courts/complaint-under-title-vi-of-the-civil-rights-act-of-1964" target="_blank">Children's Rights' page</a> discussing their civil rights complaint in Minnesota</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">Last week, </span><a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/02/theyre-not-your-children-anymore-notes.html"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">in a post about the landmark lawsuit</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">
against the New York City family police agency for its abuses of children and
families during investigations, I noted that Ira Lustbader, litigation director
at Children’s Rights said “now is the time” for such litigation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pointed out that in its entire history,
Children’s Rights had never brought such litigation, insisted it couldn’t be
done, and sometimes even stood in the way of such efforts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I asked a question:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"><i>Since you say “now
is the time,” Ira, and now that other lawyers have shown you how it’s done,
when are <u>you</u> going to start bringing lawsuits like this?</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></blockquote><i><o:p></o:p></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">I’ve got to admit, </span><a href="https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/civil-rights-minnesota-child-welfare-system/247873"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">he came up with a good answer</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">It’s not a
full-scale class-action lawsuit,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but it’s
a good start: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Children’s Rights is representing
the Minneapolis NAACP in </span><a href="https://www.childrensrights.org/in-the-courts/complaint-under-title-vi-of-the-civil-rights-act-of-1964"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">a formal complaint</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">
to the federal Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights.
The Complaint alleges that the two largest counties in Minnesota, Hennepin and
Ramsey, engage in systematic, rampant, racially biased needless investigation
and surveillance of families and needless removal of children.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">In recent years, CR
has done excellent public policy work – but it’s stuck to the same stale
litigation that rarely did any good and often did real harm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this time, the policy arm and the litigation
arm of the organization worked together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And this time, they’ve brought good litigation in the right place at the
right time.</span> </p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"><b>The right place</b></span> </span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">Minnesota has a
particularly ugly record when it comes to family policing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Year after year the state tears apart
families at a rate </span><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Mub-XEOMiPEfcBarVglXLslFYcaSFG-j/view"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">more than double the national average</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">,
even when rates of child poverty are factored in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The NAACP/CR Complaint reveals how much of
that is driven by racial bias.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
example, in Minnesota Black children are twice as likely to be thrown into
foster care as white children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Biracial
or multiracial children are <i>seven times</i> more likely than white children
to be torn from their families.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">Minnesota’s record
of racial disparity in investigations and foster care is worse than the
national average, and the disparities in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties are worse
than the state average. </span> </p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"><b>The right time</b></span> </span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">Although Minnesota’s
dismal record dates back decades, a key part of the reason things remain so
awful is the Minneapolis <i>Star Tribune</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Once, it was a source of some of the nation’s most insightful commentary
on these issues. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But more recently it
has descended to what the legendary journalist David Simon calls </span><a href="https://observer.com/2008/03/more-from-ithe-wireis-david-simon-on-pulitzer-sniffing/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">“Pulitzer sniffing.”</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">Twice in recent
years, the <i>Star Tribune</i> has exploited horror stories in an apparent
effort to set off foster-care panics, sharp sudden increases in the number of children
taken from their homes. The first time they succeeded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But now they’re having a harder time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lawmakers are catching on to the fact that
the deluge of false reports, trivial cases and poverty-confused-with-neglect
cases encouraged by the <i>Star Tribune</i> actually contributes to the horror
stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the <i>Star Tribune</i> quoted
Kelis Houston, an NAACP committee leader and founder of the family advocacy
group </span><a href="https://www.villagearms.org/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">Village Arms,</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"> when she told a legislative committee:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>"The worst
thing Minnesota can do is keep doubling down on its failed approach," said
Houston, adding that tragedies continue to occur because caseworkers are
overwhelmed by "trivial cases."</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">A Complaint like
this can only reinforce lawmakers’ skepticism and help them understand what’s
really needed to keep children safe.</span> </p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"><b>Three key causes</b></span> </span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">The Complaint zeros
in on three likely contributors to Minnesota’s dismal record:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b>● Structured
Decision-Making.</b> This system of
questionnaires filled out by investigators is essentially <a href="https://bigdataiswatching.blogspot.com/">predictive
analytics</a> without the computers. <a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2016/11/las-vulnerable-kids-caught-in-middle-as.html">Reports in three states</a>
have linked SDM to increased removals of children, and analyses in Washington
State and Michigan found racial bias in the SDM questionnaires. The Minnesota Complaint
cites additional scholarly critiques of SDM, and offers these specific examples
from the SDM Safety Assessment and Family Risk Assessment questionnaires in Minnesota.
It’s relevant everywhere since SDM is so widely used. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">From the complaint:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"><i>The SDM SA’s
consideration of a caregiver’s inability to meet the child’s immediate needs
for food/shelter, lack of water or utilities, and deeming space heaters for
heat as unsafe, are characteristics that are proxies for both race and
socioeconomic status. Minnesota’s use of these factors to support a child’s
removal and/or ongoing separation due to alleged neglect discriminately and
disproportionately impacts Black families who are overrepresented in Minnesota’s
child welfare system for neglect-related allegations.</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"><i>Similarly, the
SDM FRA’s consideration of prior assigned reports (even if not substantiated),
prior CPS history (even if not substantiated), and whether either caregiver was
abused as a child, are proxies for race and socioeconomic status and
discriminatorily and disproportionately impact Black families in Minnesota, and
in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, who experience child welfare system
involvement more frequently, and are more likely to score higher under those
categories.</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"><i>The specific
inclusion of unsubstantiated reports and CPS histories directs the weighting of
known discriminatory and disproportionate practices against Black families, as
these categories by their very terms did not involve finding safety
considerations justifying investigation and/or removal.</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"><i>The SDM FRA’s
consideration of a household with three or more children as a maltreatment-predicting
characteristic also serves as a proxy for race and has a discriminatory and </i></span><i>disproportionate
impact on Black families who are more likely to have three or more children.</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"><b>● Misuse of “emergency”
removal power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>You know how family
police agencies love to say “We don’t decide if a child is removed from the
home, a court has to approve everything we do”?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s a lie. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">In every state, the
police and/or the family police have the power to remove children from their
homes on the spot without so much as calling a judge. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Minnesota the power rests with law enforcement
– and they abuse it constantly. All law enforcement officers need to do is <i>think</i>
that a child’s “health or welfare is being endangered by the child’s ‘surroundings
or conditions,’” or “reasonably believes” that such health or safety “will be”
endangered.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">So it’s no wonder
that, as the Complaint points out, between 2014 and 2019 half of all removals
of children in Hennepin County took place that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Ramsey County, it was 78%.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;"><b>● Lack of
services to help families.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When your
only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like most places, the Minnesota family police
have quick and easy access to tearing apart families – everything else is in
short supply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So children and families
get hammered.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">The complaint calls
on the Office of Civil Rights to launch a full investigation into the state’s “discriminatory
actions.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The office should do
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, they should do more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to looking at the enormous bias
against Black families in Minnesota, they also should examine what data suggest
is even more enormous bias against Native American families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No need to wait for another Complaint!</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk160539631;">As for Children’s
Rights, for the first time in decades, I’m looking forward to seeing what their
litigation arm might do next.</span> </p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-78119698265448344612024-03-04T11:44:00.002-05:002024-03-05T19:43:13.851-05:00NCCPR in CommonWealth Beacon: Mass. on wrong track with child protection policy; Separating kids from families should be a last resort — but it often isn’t<p class="MsoNormal">Late in 2019, the Massachusetts Legislature created a
commission to study mandatory child abuse reporting. Like all states,
Massachusetts requires most professionals who deal regularly with children to
report any suspicion of child abuse or neglect. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The commission was chaired by Maria Mossaides, head of the
state Office of the Child Advocate. For well over a year the commission heard
only those Mossaides wanted them to hear. But at the very end of the process,
with a set of draft recommendations to expand mandatory reporting ready for a
vote, the commission held its only public hearing.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Experts from all over the country warned the commission that
it was on the wrong track. They joined Massachusetts advocates in describing
how mandatory reporting has backfired, traumatizing countless children and
families and deluging the system with false reports, stealing time from finding
children in real danger.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Commission members said they were “shocked” “surprised” and
“taken aback.” They rebelled. The
commission made no recommendations at all. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, Mossaides is at it again. ...<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="https://commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/mass-on-wrong-track-with-child-protection-policy/" target="_blank">Read the full column in <i>CommonWealth Beacon</i></a></b> </p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-34855930407202651212024-02-29T22:32:00.004-05:002024-02-29T22:32:58.589-05:00NCCPR in The Lexington Herald-Leader: From Ian Sousis to Dovia Pernell, Ky Cabinet’s failures lead to tragedy<p>A year-and-a-half ago on these pages, I wrote about the
tragic deaths of two children who had been institutionalized by the Kentucky
Cabinet for Health and Family Services, only to die while in the agency’s care.
Here’s what I wrote about nine-year-old Ian Sousis, who drowned in the Ohio
River after running away from a “residential treatment center.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>His grandparents had custody since he was an infant. As a
toddler, he was diagnosed with autism. No matter where he was, he ran away a
lot. All the grandparents needed was therapy for the child and help to be sure
he was never out of someone’s sight. Had they been rich they easily could have
purchased both. But they’re not rich. So they had to turn to the Cabinet …
which offered no alternatives except institutions – and took control of where
Ian would live. </i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here’s how much Kentucky officials learned from that
tragedy: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article285785971.html#storylink=cpy">Read
the full column in the <i>Herald-Leader</i></a></b> <o:p></o:p></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-69202873071668635092024-02-28T09:01:00.004-05:002024-02-29T15:46:24.418-05:00NCCPR news and commentary round-up, week ending February 27, 2024<p>● Last week’s
round-up began with the <i>New York Times</i> story about a landmark lawsuit
against the New York City family police agency, the Administration for
Children’s Services. The lawsuit
challenges what NCCPR President Prof. Martin Guggenheim calls “ACS’s widespread
practice of engaging in lawless home invasions that terrorize parents and
children.” The lawsuit is so important
(and so well-written) that there have since been at least ten other news
stories. I have links to all of them and
an analysis of some of the news coverage <a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/02/theyre-not-your-children-anymore-notes.html">in this NCCPR Blog post</a>. And
<a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/02/acs-made-it-cleareither-i-let-them.html">in this post,</a> I simply reprint the opening section of the
lawsuit complaint – because it’s that well-written. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">Also in New York:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">● </span><a href="https://19thnews.org/2024/02/new-york-hospital-lawsuit-mother-child-custody/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"><i>The 19<sup>th</sup></i><sup> </sup>takes
an in-depth look</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"> at a case
that is a prime example of how ACS abuses families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">● The city’s family
defense providers show, </span><a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/02/26/black-parents-in-n-y-need-to-know-their-rights/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">in a <i>New York Daily News</i> op-ed</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"> why all of this illustrates the urgency of
passing “family Miranda” legislation.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">Elsewhere:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">● </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/3vhpdpJhFvUjfAzGktYTDR"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">On the EPPiC podcast</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"> Prof. Kelley Fong discusses her book, </span><a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691235714/investigating-families"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"><i>Investigating Families,</i></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"> including how families learn to “play the
game” and tell the family police what they want to hear.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">● In </span><a href="https://thegrio.com/2024/02/23/50-years-after-the-child-abuse-prevention-and-treatment-act-its-time-to-redefine-child-protection-through-a-lens-of-equity-and-support/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"><i>The Grio,</i></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"> Shereen White, director of advocacy and
policy at Children’s Rights, and Prof. Shanta Trivedi, faculty director of the
Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts at the
University of Baltimore School of Law, write about the need to repeal the law
that did so much to get us into this mess, the Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"><i>As we honor
Black history this February, we look back at a decades-old law that remains, to
this day, a blight on generations of Black families. … One of the consequences
of [CAPTA’s requirement for] mandated reporting is that it can discourage a
family or parent from seeking help or punish them if they do.</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"><i>Consider a
parent who is facing violence in the home, is struggling to afford food for
their children, or, like many in this country, is unable to find affordable,
livable housing. Often, when these parents reach out — going to the hospital
for example or seeking therapy — that nurse or therapist whose trusted
expertise they desperately need, is required under law to report suspected
abuse or neglect in the home. That report can then lead to intervention by
Child Protective Services (CPS), invasive interviews, threats of child removals
and potentially, and most devastatingly, removal of a child from a caring
parent.</i></span> </p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">● Here’s the good
news: 31 states have taken advantage of a change in federal funding rules that
provides some reimbursement for lawyers for children and families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s the bad news: 19 states and
Washington, D.C. have not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/states-access-federal-funds-for-family-court-lawyers/247752"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">This story in <i>The Imprint</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">
has a chart so you can see where your state stands.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">As the story
explains:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><i>Jey Rajaraman, a
longtime parent defender who’s now an associate director of the American Bar
Association’s Center on Children and the Law, sees the new funding as part of a
larger shift nationwide in the approach to high-stakes child welfare cases.
There is an increasing understanding in the field that accusations of
poverty-related neglect drives the majority of foster care removals — not
severe physical or sexual abuse — and that children are best served with added
supportive services within their families. </i></blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">● In Massachusetts,
<a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/02/21/metro/child-welfare-dcf-foster-youth-massachusetts/" target="_blank">the <i>Boston Globe</i> reports,</a> former foster youth who were harmed when they were
torn from their homes protested at the State Capitol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are demanding a say in choosing the next
leader of the state’s family police agency, the Department of Children and
Families.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">The protest was led
by Family Matters First.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The group’s
executive director is Tatiana Rodriguez.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As the story explains:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"><i>Rodriguez’s
passion for reforming DCF stems from her own experience in foster care. As a
child, she reported drug use in her home to the child welfare agency with the
hope it would improve her situation. Instead, she said, she was placed with a
foster family. The process, she said, eventually severed her not just from her
birth family but also from her culture and community for most of her teenage
years.</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"><i>“I was with a
white family,” she said. “I missed my Spanish food, my traditions.”</i></span> </p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">● When Lehigh
County Controller Mark Pinsley exposed abuses by a local “child abuse
pediatrician” officials seemed far more interested in silencing him than in
doing anything about what he exposed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now, </span><a href="https://www.mcall.com/2024/02/22/lehigh-county-controller-calls-for-third-party-investigation-into-cover-up-of-his-child-abuse-report/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">the Allentown <i>Morning Call</i> reports,</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;"> he’s seeking an independent
investigation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>NCCPR agrees and is cited
in the story.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">● The Family
Justice Resource Center specializes in exposing the abuses of these doctors and
helping families fight back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’ve
just issued </span><a href="https://www.famjustice.org/toolkit"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159951654;">this comprehensive toolkit.</span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal">● Perhaps you
remember the tragic death of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/us/columbus-makhia-bryant-foster-care.html">Ma’Khia Bryant</a>, taken from family in Columbus, Ohio
because they lacked adequate housing, only to be killed by a police officer
after a fight at her group home. Now,
with comment from NCCPR, the <a href="https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/courts/2024/02/22/woman-accused-of-suffocating-mental-health-issues-pammy-maye-columbus-ohio-darnell-taylor/72696565007/"><i>Columbus Dispatch</i> reports</a> on another tragedy with some disturbing
echoes of what happened to Bryant.</p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-31126825184462715312024-02-27T09:36:00.003-05:002024-03-05T15:44:24.117-05:00“They’re not your children anymore.” Notes on news coverage of a landmark lawsuit<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/02/acs-made-it-cleareither-i-let-them.html"></a></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNqLghyphenhyphen906pq4lcnq94gaRMlhCajjMJdkK9f-e51I4axuJ3h_5qOOugUp5kFUauvDwjW03smdCO7ppffE1UMeCxZvcOaTCPw5RxYq3oqYwU-OtacGVC_H3Qej0Ce-p36AVm584jLuMqFy9QIwwZdBpj8qofHBhVKBpBLq5SklMsyEX8c370If-1RBELFM/s630/SomeCopsAreCalledCaseworkers.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="630" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNqLghyphenhyphen906pq4lcnq94gaRMlhCajjMJdkK9f-e51I4axuJ3h_5qOOugUp5kFUauvDwjW03smdCO7ppffE1UMeCxZvcOaTCPw5RxYq3oqYwU-OtacGVC_H3Qej0Ce-p36AVm584jLuMqFy9QIwwZdBpj8qofHBhVKBpBLq5SklMsyEX8c370If-1RBELFM/w400-h326/SomeCopsAreCalledCaseworkers.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/02/acs-made-it-cleareither-i-let-them.html"><br />Yesterday’s
post</a> was, in effect, a guest blog.
The Complaint filed by the <a href="https://fjlc.org/">Family Justice
Law Center</a>, the New York University School of Law Family Defense Clinic and
two private law firms – especially the introductory section – reads like great
journalism. So I reprinted that part, in
full.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Given its pitch-perfect portrayal of how the New York City
Administration for Children’s Services treats children and families, it’s no
wonder it generated at least <strike>nine</strike> <strike>ten</strike> 11 news stories, including: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"> </span></i><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/nyregion/acs-nyc-family-trauma-lawsuit.html" target="_blank"><i><span style="background: white; color: #ff9900;">The New York
Times</span></i></a><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">, </span></i><a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/02/20/acs-routinely-violates-nyc-families-rights-during-child-welfare-investigations-lawsuit/?clearUserState=true"><i><span style="background: white; color: #ff9900;">New York Daily News</span></i></a><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">, </span></i><a href="https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/inside-city-hall/2024/02/21/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-city-s-administration-for-children-s-services"><i><span style="background: white; color: #ff9900;">NY1 News</span></i></a><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"> (a video interview), </span></i><a href="https://www.wnyc.org/story/lawsuit-over-acs-practices/"><i><span style="background: white;">WNYC Public Radio</span></i></a><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"> (an audio interview), </span></i><a href="https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-child-welfare-investigators-coerce-traumatize-families-class-action-lawsuit-claims?spot_im_redirect_source=user-profile&spot_im_comment_id=sp_U3rk7ZAf_827534d0-35d2-4893-8c30-fb67a6ca3628_c_2cg9DcmudjrHZVrBvNrN5k6klic&spot_im_highlight_immediate=true"><i><span style="background: white; color: #ff9900;">Gothamist</span></i></a><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">, </span></i><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/02/class-action-lawsuit-new-york-city-acs-home-searches-families-children/"><i><span style="background: white; color: #ff9900;">Mother Jones</span></i></a><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">, </span></i><a href="https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/new-york-city-class-action-lawsuit-defends-parents-rights-in-cps-home-visits-a-rare-constitutional-challenge/247637"><i><span style="background: white; color: #ff9900;">The Imprint</span></i></a><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">, </span></i><a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/nyc-parents-sue-citys-child-welfare-agency-for-intrusive-distressing-and-degrading-search-practices/"><i><span style="background: white; color: #ff9900;">Courthouse News Service,</span></i></a><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"> <a href="https://scrippsnews.com/stories/nyc-parents-file-class-action-suit-against-child-services/" target="_blank">Scripps News</a>, the <a href="https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2024/02/22/paul-weiss-emery-celli-lawyers-join-class-action-challenging-nyc-searches-of-families-homes/" target="_blank">New York Law Journal</a>, and </span></i><a href="https://reason.com/2024/02/20/nyc-child-protection-agency-uses-coercive-tactics-to-bully-parents-into-allowing-warrantless-searches/"><i><span style="background: white; color: #ff9900;">Reason</span></i></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here’s a closer look at some of the coverage. </p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>The New York Times</i></b> </span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">In what was, mostly, a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/nyregion/acs-nyc-family-trauma-lawsuit.html" target="_blank"><i><span style="background: white; color: #ff9900;">very good story</span></i></a><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">, </span></i>the <i>Times </i>not
only offered an excellent overview, it zeroed in on something it’s neglected
before: how much what the lawsuit appropriately calls ACS’ “Coercive Tactics”
harm the children ACS is supposed to protect. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So the <i>Times</i> tells us that one plaintiff </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>Ms. Gould, who is Black, said her family has been
permanently affected by its experience with A.C.S. All three of her children
are now in therapy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said one
investigator asked her 6-year-old daughter if she was suicidal. Her daughter
had not previously known the word. “From that day on, she started saying — when
they would come — she felt suicidal.”</i> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another couple told the <i>Times</i> that </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Their daughter, once outgoing and cheerful, has been in
therapy … and blames herself for the investigations. Ms. Azar explained that
her daughter, Y.A. … had been asked to write a story about the home
investigations. In the story, Ms. Azar said, Y.A. had written, “I am a bad kid”
and “I need to behave at school or Mommy and Daddy will be arrested.”</i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Ms. Azar … said she often wondered while investigators
were in her home, “What was happening with all the kids that actually needed
your attention?”</i> </p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But old journalistic habits die hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In spite of all that, the <i>Times</i>
couldn’t resist framing the issue the way family police agencies always want it
framed, claiming that ACS </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>has the difficult task of weighing the civil rights of
families against the safety of children.</i> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Indeed, that’s the framing ACS used in its boilerplate
statement in response to the suit. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But really, <i>New York Times</i>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did what happened to Ms. Gould’s child
make that child safer?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How is Y.A.
safer?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And why didn’t that question Ms.
Azar asked, “What was happening with all the kids that actually needed your
attention?” make you wonder if inundating the system with false reports and
poverty cases makes all children less safe? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <i>Times </i>then offers ACS a ready-made excuse: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>When tragedies happen, A.C.S. is frequently blamed for
not having stepped in more aggressively. Those rare cases where children have
died after investigators intervened minimally or not at all can make it
difficult to dial back the agency’s powers.<i><o:p> </o:p></i></i></blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Blamed by whom?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Demagogic politicians, sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bu
for decades their false framing was amplified by media who minimized or ignored
dissenting voices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At worst, media are
the ones who lead demands for agencies like ACS to “step[] in more
aggressively.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The <i>Times</i> is a lot
better about this than it used to be – though it <i>still</i> hasn’t apologized
for stoking groundless fears that COVID would cause a <a href="https://pandemicoffear.blogspot.com/">“pandemic of child abuse.” </a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe if all journalists stopped doing things
like that, it wouldn’t be quite so hard for agencies like ACS to do the right
thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Not that the fact that doing the
right thing is hard is any excuse.) </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <i>Times</i> also makes sure to convey ACS’ standard excuse
that they have to investigate every report they receive from the state
hotline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But has any reporter for the <i>Times
</i>or anywhere else ever asked ACS if it has sought a change in state law to
allow it to screen out reports?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or does
ACS prefer a system that allows it to engage in maximum feasible buck-passing? </p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>The Brian Lehrer Show</i></b> </span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">On WNYC Public Radio’s <a href="https://www.wnyc.org/story/lawsuit-over-acs-practices/"><i><span style="background: white;">Brian Lehrer Show</span></i></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><i><span style="background: white;">,</span></i></span><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"> </span></i>David Shalleck-Klein of the
Family Justice Law Center emphasized the point about who is hurt by this kind
of family policing: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>ACS creates a false construction, which is they put child
safety on one side of the ledger and families' rights on the other. That is
false and it's actually dangerous for children because it fosters and
perpetuates a culture of ACS using these invasive and distressing and degrading
tactics.</i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">You can listen to the full interview with Shalleck-Klein and
one of the plaintiffs, Shalonda Curtis-Hackett here: </p>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="130" scrolling="no" src="https://www.wnyc.org/widgets/ondemand_player/wnyc/#file=/audio/json/1422023/&share=1" width="100%"></iframe>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They also were interviewed on <a href="https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/inside-city-hall/2024/02/21/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-city-s-administration-for-children-s-services"><b><i>Inside
City Hall</i> on NY1</b></a><b>.</b> </p><p class="MsoNormal">And for <a href="https://scrippsnews.com/stories/nyc-parents-file-class-action-suit-against-child-services/" target="_blank">this story </a>from <b>Scripps News:</b></p>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" scrolling="auto" src="https://scrippsnews.com/embed/147937/" width="480"></iframe>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>The Imprint</i></b> </span></h2><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>UPDATE, March 5, 2024: Children's Rights has just brought some very good, constructive litigation. <a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/03/child-welfare-and-racism-childrens.html" target="_blank">I have a post about it here.</a></b></i></span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/new-york-city-class-action-lawsuit-defends-parents-rights-in-cps-home-visits-a-rare-constitutional-challenge/247637"><i><span style="background: white; color: #ff9900;">The Imprint</span></i></a> also has a
good story, one that avoids the trap the <i>Times</i> fell into. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, the story quotes <a href="https://www.law.upenn.edu/faculty/roberts1">Prof. Dorothy Roberts</a>,
who explains: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>“A promising trend that this lawsuit is part of is
recognizing that enforcing parents’ constitutional rights is critical to an
approach to child welfare that truly benefits children. You cannot support
children by terrorizing their families.” </i></blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <i>Imprint</i> story added some useful context – but not
quite enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the story rightly
points out that <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>For decades, class-action lawsuits have been a major
vehicle for reform in child welfare systems nationwide. But typically, they aim
to fix poor conditions for children living in foster care. Legal experts say it
is particularly rare for groups of parents, such as those in the Gould case, to
seek systemic changes to the investigation and surveillance process, asserting
their rights before a foster care removal.</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></blockquote><i><o:p></o:p></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But then things get a little weird.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They quote one of the people most responsible
for the fact that these suits have been so rare: Ira Lustbader, litigation director
for the group that calls itself <a href="https://nccpr.org/the-children-wronged-by-childrens-rights/">Children’s
Rights</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For reasons discussed below,
he gets the award for sheer chutzpah for this comment: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>“As with any landmark case like this, in an issue area
that’s appropriately emerging as truly urgent, I think you’re going to see a
lot of people take notice of this legal attack — and quite frankly because it’s
deserved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the time.”</i> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The story goes on to point out that </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>The national nonprofit pioneered class-action lawsuits on
behalf of foster children, and now has open litigation in more than 20 states
on behalf of children poorly served by the government, including those in other
systems, such as juvenile justice.</i> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What the story does not say is that not one of those suits,
nor any other Children’s Rights has ever brought addresses the harm done by
needless investigations and needless removals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On the contrary, in state after state they’ve largely brought
essentially <a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/search/label/McLawsuits">the
same old McLawsuit</a> in an effort to “fix” foster care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This almost never makes systems better,
sometimes makes them worse and makes <i>everything</i> worse by distorting the
entire national debate on “child welfare.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Their approach to litigation is so awful that the foremost family
defense attorney in Michigan, <a href="https://michigan.law.umich.edu/faculty-and-scholarship/our-faculty/vivek-s-sankaran">Prof.
Vivek Sankaran</a>, told the <i>Detroit News</i> the best thing Children’s
Rights could do in that state, where it has a longstanding consent decree, <a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2023/06/the-detroit-news-does-fatality-series.html">is
to get the hell out</a>. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The two people most responsible for failure after failure,
year after year, are Ira Lustbader and his former boss, Marcia Lowry, who
founded Children’s Rights, then left to form A Better Childhood, a group that
brings McLawsuits that are as bad or worse. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Year after year, over and over, they told us that a lawsuit
like the one that these better lawyers just brought was impossible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They claimed you can only sue for children
already in the system. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This was never true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The settlements in <i>R.C. v. Hormsby</i>, which, for a while, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/20/us/once-woeful-alabama-is-model-in-child-welfare.html">successfully
rebuilt the Alabama system</a> to safely emphasize family preservation and <a href="https://nccpr.org/when-children-witness-domestic-violence-expert-opinion/"><i>Nicholson
v. Scoppetta</i></a>, which curbed the practice of taking children from
survivors of domestic violence prove that. (NCCPR Board Members served as
co-counsel for plaintiffs in both those suits.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But while CR now does outstanding public policy work, its litigation is
the same-old same-old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course, CR could argue that bringing a suit is no
guarantee you will win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But failing to
bring a suit is a guarantee that you will lose. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“Now is the time” for this better litigation, says
Lustader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But last year also was the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the year before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the year before that, going back
decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Ira and Marcia Lowery stood
in the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of which prompts one
question: Since you say “now is the time,” Ira, and now that other lawyers have
shown you how it’s done, when are <i>you </i>going to start bringing lawsuits
like this? </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>UPDATE: Turns out he has a pretty good answer. <a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/03/child-welfare-and-racism-childrens.html" target="_blank">Check out the update here.</a></b></p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Other stories</b> </span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">● <b><a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/nyc-parents-sue-citys-child-welfare-agency-for-intrusive-distressing-and-degrading-search-practices/"><span style="background: white; color: #ff9900;">Courthouse News Service </span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="background: white; color: #ff9900;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></b>cited two other key passages
from the lawsuit complaint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the
course of one of many investigations, without any court hearing or any approval
from a judge, Curtayasia Tayor said an ACS caseworker told her the children
were<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“no longer your children.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, she was told, they had become
“clients of ACS to whom she could not talk without ACS’s permission.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The story also noted another part of the complaint, in which
an ACS caseworker, cited in an internal ACS report, likened the two-month investigation
process to “being stopped and frisked for sixty days.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● Still don’t think ACS workers should be called the family
police?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe that’s too kind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In an interview with <b><a href="https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-child-welfare-investigators-coerce-traumatize-families-class-action-lawsuit-claims?spot_im_redirect_source=user-profile&spot_im_comment_id=sp_U3rk7ZAf_827534d0-35d2-4893-8c30-fb67a6ca3628_c_2cg9DcmudjrHZVrBvNrN5k6klic&spot_im_highlight_immediate=true"><i><span style="background: white; color: #ff9900;">Gothamist</span></i></a><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">,</span></i></b><i><span style="background: white; color: #333333;"> </span></i>Shalleck-Klein points
out that “ACS falls short of what even the NYPD is doing when searching New
Yorkers’ homes.”</p><p class="MsoNormal">In the <i><b><a href="https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2024/02/22/paul-weiss-emery-celli-lawyers-join-class-action-challenging-nyc-searches-of-families-homes/" target="_blank">New York Law Journal,</a></b></i> the founder of the Family Defense Clinic (and President of NCCPR) Prof.-emeritus Martin Guggenheim calls this litigation potentially </p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></i></p><blockquote><i><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">one of the most important lawsuits in the field in the last fifty years. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">This civil
rights case is unprecedented and has the potential to end ACS’s widespread
practice of engaging in lawless home invasions that terrorize parents and
children.</span></i></blockquote><i><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● And <b><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/02/class-action-lawsuit-new-york-city-acs-home-searches-families-children/"><i><span style="background: white; color: #ff9900;">Mother Jones</span></i></a></b> explains
that </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>The indicators of poverty overlap with the indicators of
neglect, putting poor families at greater risk. The system also allows abusive
ex-partners to weaponize the hotline by making false reports.</i> </blockquote><p></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-70879654685423851242024-02-25T18:02:00.001-05:002024-02-26T20:20:01.755-05:00“ACS MADE IT CLEAR—EITHER I LET THEM SEARCH MY HOME OR THEY WERE TAKING MY KIDS.”<p><b>The New York
City Administration for Children's Services Uses Highly Coercive Tactics to
Illegally Search Tens of Thousands of Families’ Homes Every Year.</b> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjimXL3s1yhxaH2-8azQG89IHKbvnlZb4yCxSxEp30V-qKvd2BgXQ5k7PiUAZ5SMIDqJqDJw3hO44llfGkbmgJ5VWZRjf0eww_Tj0czwxD6SiBzb84i-peHlU6wUcVoeuKowjMHJEkFe_Myu8jTaQ2zpDz8c0_um4bvH2Wu9wsxwUwhQEuZfeCSR5JjtbdQ/s420/JMACbillboard.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="319" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjimXL3s1yhxaH2-8azQG89IHKbvnlZb4yCxSxEp30V-qKvd2BgXQ5k7PiUAZ5SMIDqJqDJw3hO44llfGkbmgJ5VWZRjf0eww_Tj0czwxD6SiBzb84i-peHlU6wUcVoeuKowjMHJEkFe_Myu8jTaQ2zpDz8c0_um4bvH2Wu9wsxwUwhQEuZfeCSR5JjtbdQ/w304-h400/JMACbillboard.jpg" width="304" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><i>I didn’t write
the headline and subhead above.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather
they are the headline and subhead that begin a lawsuit against New York City’s
family police agency, the Administration for Children’s Services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lawsuit was filed by the <a href="https://fjlc.org/" target="_blank">Family Justice Law Center,</a> the New York University School of Law Family Defense Clinic and
two private firms.</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><i>But unlike most
legal documents, this one reads like a good magazine article.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I’ve reprinted the overview that begins
the lawsuit, known as a “preliminary statement” in full, except for footnotes
and paragraph numbers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If that whets
your appetite for more, </i></span><a href="https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/ff5d17939ae591ea/3f36f32c-full.pdf"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><b><i>you can read the entire document here.</i></b></span></a><b><i><o:p> </o:p></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>You can read
news accounts about the lawsuit in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/nyregion/acs-nyc-family-trauma-lawsuit.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>, </i><a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/02/20/acs-routinely-violates-nyc-families-rights-during-child-welfare-investigations-lawsuit/?clearUserState=true"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><i>New York Daily News</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"></span></a><i>,
</i><a href="https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/inside-city-hall/2024/02/21/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-city-s-administration-for-children-s-services"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><i>NY1 News</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"></span></a><i>
(a video interview), </i><a href="https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-child-welfare-investigators-coerce-traumatize-families-class-action-lawsuit-claims?spot_im_redirect_source=user-profile&spot_im_comment_id=sp_U3rk7ZAf_827534d0-35d2-4893-8c30-fb67a6ca3628_c_2cg9DcmudjrHZVrBvNrN5k6klic&spot_im_highlight_immediate=true"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><i>Gothamist</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"></span></a><i>,
</i><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/02/class-action-lawsuit-new-york-city-acs-home-searches-families-children/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><i>Mother Jones</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"></span></a><i>,
</i><a href="https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/new-york-city-class-action-lawsuit-defends-parents-rights-in-cps-home-visits-a-rare-constitutional-challenge/247637"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><i>The Imprint</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"></span></a><i>,
</i><a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/nyc-parents-sue-citys-child-welfare-agency-for-intrusive-distressing-and-degrading-search-practices/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><i>Courthouse News Service,</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"></span></a><i>
and </i><a href="https://reason.com/2024/02/20/nyc-child-protection-agency-uses-coercive-tactics-to-bully-parents-into-allowing-warrantless-searches/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><i>Reason</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"></span></a><i><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ebony Gould, <i>et. al.,</i> v. The City of New York, <br /></b><b>Preliminary Statement</b></span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><o:p> </o:p></span> One night, without warning, a mother
in New York City hears a knock on the door. Her children are home with her. The
family is cooking. or playing, or sleeping. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When the mother opens the door, two
government investigators are standing outside, loudly demanding to be let
inside. She is surprised and confused. She asks what this is about. The
investigators command the mother. You have to let us in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to look in your home.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The mother has no choice, it seems.
Terrified, she reluctantly opens the door and steps aside, and the
investigators walk into her home. It is clear that there is no present danger
to anyone in the home, but still the investigators search the home top to
bottom. They look inside medicine cabinets, under beds, in closets and dresser
drawers, in the refrigerator, and in cupboards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The mother does not know why this is happening. The children are scared
by these strangers combing through their home.</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_8kGPjywNDT1yjel7LckHCBH_849KirLufRI_qQmKwWNBsFy0CoJXZx5qXMwkv3GBJ1Nbz5qqUXyCNApVj3v0unbKulDb2qBxoZ8uGbI1koTJNQnkxkRWUJ9XluO-rxnk4rTNezAxwSnWIKcfKhrmgdYx-aVEHJiy2-lVMJDW1EVgvuMlJ3HQhizy9eQ/s749/022324ACS1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="749" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_8kGPjywNDT1yjel7LckHCBH_849KirLufRI_qQmKwWNBsFy0CoJXZx5qXMwkv3GBJ1Nbz5qqUXyCNApVj3v0unbKulDb2qBxoZ8uGbI1koTJNQnkxkRWUJ9XluO-rxnk4rTNezAxwSnWIKcfKhrmgdYx-aVEHJiy2-lVMJDW1EVgvuMlJ3HQhizy9eQ/s320/022324ACS1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a name="_Hlk159585131">The
investigators demand to see the children's bodies under their clothes. They
tell the mother to leave them alone in a room with her children. The
investigators command the children. <i>Lift up your shirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pull down your pants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need to see your chest, your legs, your
back.</i> </a>The children are afraid, but they comply. Their mother cannot
protect them from these strangers. The mother fears that if she does not
acquiesce to the investigators' demands, they will take her children at any
moment. Her fear is reasonable; the investigators are telling her that might
happen. <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The investigators leave as abruptly
as they arrived. They have threatened to return, even though they found no
evidence that the children are in danger. There seem to be no rules and no laws
to protect the mother and her children from this intrusion.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a name="_Hlk159585228">The City of
New York’s Administration for Children's Services (”ACS”) conducts this kind of
invasive and traumatic entry and search inside families’ homes more than 50,000
times a year. That means every day, well over 100 New York City families
experience this harrowing violation.</a></span> </p>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159585228;"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpOwV8MCIv4AKW2rDIxz3QYfGmGVICu8NZgJBG9WaGzYbusurCZ6xBWRgcqn5jgZYnxYPSIWg-ZwdNf5jmP3OZGi75lxnk8jox0mUrRqN8SifAGSFZsQ0AYRKlKa0-K1tuQsZK_B0m_dUEOOsDodQuJ4fL03QTg1ABB47K7RJMQX7J8w7oobiidYSG4OA/s911/022324ACS2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="911" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpOwV8MCIv4AKW2rDIxz3QYfGmGVICu8NZgJBG9WaGzYbusurCZ6xBWRgcqn5jgZYnxYPSIWg-ZwdNf5jmP3OZGi75lxnk8jox0mUrRqN8SifAGSFZsQ0AYRKlKa0-K1tuQsZK_B0m_dUEOOsDodQuJ4fL03QTg1ABB47K7RJMQX7J8w7oobiidYSG4OA/s320/022324ACS2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As part of its routine
investigations into families, ACS has a widespread custom, policy, and</span> practice
of entering and searching families’ homes by using coercive tactics (the
"Coercive Tactics") to make parents feel that they have no choice but
to allow caseworkers to enter and search their homes. For example, ACS
caseworkers lie to parents about their rights, threaten to call the police,
and even threaten to take the parents’ children away if the caseworkers are not
permitted to enter and search the home. ACS conducts the overwhelming majority
of these entries and searches without a court order, without voluntary consent,
and in the absence of any emergency. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Duiring these searches, ACS
routinely rummages through entire homes and conducts untrammeled inspections of
families’ most private spaces. ACS performs these sprawling searches
irrespective of whether these intimate spaces have any connection to whatever
allegations have been made about that particular family.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>These coerced searches rarely result
in determinations that the children require any protection. Less than 7% of
investigations lead ACS to file petitions in Family Court alleging that parents
committed wrongdoing of any kind.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a name="_Hlk159585342">Nor do these
coerced searches enhance child safety. As ACS has acknowledged, data from the
first years of the COVID-19 pandemic show that there is no increase in child
maltreatment when ACS drastically reduces the number of home entries and
searches.</a></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhartm0viRqHZ7KkaRhj06EiKi7_-ZZyxf7KYCqrRoCnzJ0Ym0YlKanJnQThjP-fK4dKAh6w35Ph7Ry60aNG5thFGu1ZYkGCJMi5N5yGRxIjKV5-7mJV3VTw-Fh3uj5kCpxT4XRw6xKVp6lMHVXPOlV5VH2dpZbmyg7MqFLXrY3u46HmJ8LWLeWzTLU2yDj/s764/022324ACS3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="764" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhartm0viRqHZ7KkaRhj06EiKi7_-ZZyxf7KYCqrRoCnzJ0Ym0YlKanJnQThjP-fK4dKAh6w35Ph7Ry60aNG5thFGu1ZYkGCJMi5N5yGRxIjKV5-7mJV3VTw-Fh3uj5kCpxT4XRw6xKVp6lMHVXPOlV5VH2dpZbmyg7MqFLXrY3u46HmJ8LWLeWzTLU2yDj/s320/022324ACS3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> The trauma inflicted by ACS
predominantly and disproportionately falls on Black and Hispanic families. More
than 80% of the parents and children subjected to ACS investigations are Black
or Hispanic. One out of every two Black children in New York City has been
subjected to an ACS investigation by the time they reach the age of 18. ACS has
acknowledged the racial impact of its investigations—<a name="_Hlk159585414">an
ACS-commissioned report describes a “predatory system that specifically targets
Black and Brown parents.”<o:p></o:p></a><p></p>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159585414;"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><o:p> </o:p></span> ACS's widespread use of the Coercive
Tactics to enter and search families’ homes violates the Fourth Amendment.
There are three ways caseworkers may search a family’s home to conduct
investigations consistent with the Fourth Amendment: (1 ) obtain a court order,
(2) act upon exigent circumstances that require an immediate search of the
home, or (3) obtain voluntary consent. Warrantless home searches like those ACS
conducts tens of thousands of times a year are “presumptively unreasonable.” <i>Groh
v. Ramirez</i>, 540 U.S. 551, 559 (2004) (internal quotation marks omitted). </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Under the New York Family Court Act,
ACS has the ability “at all hours” to obtain court orders to enter and search
families’ homes. These orders must be supported by “probable cause” and “specify
which action may be taken and by whom.”</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>ACS chooses to almost never seek
these court orders. Across the nearly 53,000 investigations ACS conducted last
year, it sought only 222 court orders to search families’ homes. Even assuming
ACS completed only one home search during each investigation (it typically
conducts several), ACS sought court orders for just 0.4% of home entries. This
means over 99.5% of home searches that ACS conducts are 'presumptively
unreasonable” under the Fourth Amendment.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY5XMhTgDCpzDsQk9vlO341whZUCK2Kg9w7hWfXYee49KMVC9SXVLsSevp-Eg8QrJL4U9eIL0fX5P7hWUIc4GKkK4mi0EIFiPRp0W4KPPx0zbLUOE3XzsQc4MmZ-uIlD0wUqEKbybMQVylj_Xla57hUrPx8xiihY6Rkay3fzPnEFCvAS3HWUkvMz0coAiN/s585/022324ACS4.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="585" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY5XMhTgDCpzDsQk9vlO341whZUCK2Kg9w7hWfXYee49KMVC9SXVLsSevp-Eg8QrJL4U9eIL0fX5P7hWUIc4GKkK4mi0EIFiPRp0W4KPPx0zbLUOE3XzsQc4MmZ-uIlD0wUqEKbybMQVylj_Xla57hUrPx8xiihY6Rkay3fzPnEFCvAS3HWUkvMz0coAiN/s320/022324ACS4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>ACS rarely attempts to justify its
warrantless home searches by relying on exigent<br /> circumstances. Of course, ACS
can enter families’ homes without a court order or consent when it has grounds
to believe a child is in imminent danger. But <a name="_Hlk159585451">this case
is not about the thankfully infrequent emergencies when warrantless searches
are necessary to protect a child's safety. This case is about the overwhelming
majority of ACS's more than 50,000 warrantless home searches every
year—affecting more than 90,000 children and 70,000 caretakers—where no
emergency </a></span>grounds exist, even assuming the allegations
under investigation are true. These allegations are typically non-urgent
and frequently involve common occurrences, such as a child missing school
without a doctor's note, a child seen playing in a hallway, or a parent
disagreeing with a school's recommendation for special education services.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><o:p> </o:p></span> In the absence of exigent
circumstances, rather than seeking court orders, ACS caseworkers frequently
gain entry into and search families’ homes through coercion, untruths, and
threats. For instance, ACS caseworkers misrepresent and withhold information
from parents about their rights, threaten to involve the police (i.e., government
agents with the ability to use force), and even directly threaten to take
parents' children away in order to improperly enter and search families’ homes.
Caseworkers routinely employ these Coercive Tactics multiple times during the
same investigation. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>ACS's rampant use of the Coercive
Tactics to conduct warrantless home searches is well known to Defendant City of
New York. These practices have been meticulously documented by ACS's own
internal reports, the agency’s staff and the informational materials ACS
provides to parents, as well as
by academics, reports and testimony of advocates and investigated parents, and
in several prior lawsuits. <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Nonetheless, ACS fails to provide
anything close to adequate training to its caseworkers about families’ Fourth
Amendment rights during home searches. Instead of ensuring that its staff
follows the law, ACS has created and continues to foster a regime of coerced
acquiescence by using tactics that inculcate fear in parents that unless they
cede to ACS’s demands, their children will be taken. Indeed, an ACS internal report
describes how the agency creates pernicious incentives for caseworkers to “be
invasive and not tell parents their rights."</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj123eJZOvcnUADjOEsKfmNNlJ8aVZLPOvOpZRMY5IGc_of9sd4rJerGMZ_KlYQcd1ilmNfc0jf7HA-yk-xDwyFSYQhXOutOzaiSTrjQ5lrrbaO7f3olwLpoY03TWVSC1RaqCuN6hzqDdj6IJlvyKGoP0upQ6lVDqqKF3Q6n4E6rxzt4kVc6iCF5PB4UZS1/s1015/022324ACS5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="1015" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj123eJZOvcnUADjOEsKfmNNlJ8aVZLPOvOpZRMY5IGc_of9sd4rJerGMZ_KlYQcd1ilmNfc0jf7HA-yk-xDwyFSYQhXOutOzaiSTrjQ5lrrbaO7f3olwLpoY03TWVSC1RaqCuN6hzqDdj6IJlvyKGoP0upQ6lVDqqKF3Q6n4E6rxzt4kVc6iCF5PB4UZS1/s320/022324ACS5.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>Plaintiffs are nine parents who were
subjected to ACS's Coercive Tactics. These Coercive Tactics misled and
intimidated Plaintiffs into believing they had no choice but to permit ACS's warrantless
home entries and searches in non-exigent circumstances. ACS deployed an array of
Coercive Tactics over the course of the numerous home searches experienced by
Plaintiffs: ACS threatened to take Plaintiffs' children away if they did not
let ACS into their homes; ACS threatened to call the police if Plaintiffs
refused consent to entry; ACS told Plaintiffs the searches were required” or
that ACS “needed” to search their homes; ACS abused and misrepresented its
authority; ACS did not meaningfully inform Plaintiffs of their rights to
refuse, limit, or revoke consent for ACS's home searches; and ACS made public
scenes at Plaintiffs' front doors to intimidate Plaintiffs into letting them
in. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;">Plaintiff's’
experiences are not isolated or unusual. They are consistent with and
indicative of ACS’s widespread and customary practice of deploying highly Coercive
Tactics to conduct warrantless searches of families’ homes in non-exigent circumstances
in violation of the Fourth Amendment.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159526154;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves
and others similarly situated, bring this lawsuit to end these unconstitutional
and unconscionable wrongs.</span><o:p></o:p></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-7650519090594993342024-02-20T23:02:00.001-05:002024-02-20T23:02:00.134-05:00NCCPR news and commentary roundup, week ending February 20, 2024<p>● We begin with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/nyregion/acs-nyc-family-trauma-lawsuit.html">this from <i>The New York Times</i></a>: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>A sweeping
class-action lawsuit filed against New York City on Tuesday argues that the
agency that investigates child abuse and neglect routinely engages in
unconstitutional practices that traumatize the families it is charged with
protecting.</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>The lawsuit says
that investigators for the Administration for Children’s Services deceive and
bully their way into people’s homes, where they rifle through families’ most
private spaces, strip-search children and humiliate parents.</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">The story zeroes in
on how much these practices hurt the children ACS claims it is protecting, such
as a child known in the lawsuit as Y.A.:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></span><i>once outgoing
and cheerful, [Y.A.] has been in therapy, her parents said, and blames herself
for the investigations.</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>Y.A. … had been
asked to write a story about the home investigations. In the story, [her
mother] Ms. Azar said, Y.A. had written, “I am a bad kid” and “I need to behave
at school or Mommy and Daddy will be arrested.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></span><i>Ms. Azar … said
she often wondered while investigators were in her home, “What was happening
with all the kids that actually needed your attention?”</i></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another parent said: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><i>one investigator
asked her 6-year-old daughter if she was suicidal. Her daughter had not
previously known the word. “From that day on, she started saying — when they
would come — she felt suicidal.”</i></blockquote><i><o:p></o:p></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The story includes
a link to the full lawsuit complaint. As
you read it please keep in mind that New York City’s system actually is less
horrible than most others. So wherever
you are, it’s probably worse. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">● Some of the
issues in the New York class action also arise in three individual lawsuits in
South Carolina.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.postandcourier.com/news/south-carolina-lawsuits-children-unnecessary-genital-exams/article_989f82b2-cb5e-11ee-93d7-ffbebb6a29c2.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">Kaiser Health News reports</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">
that the lawsuits <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>accuse the state
of forcing boys and girls to undergo traumatic genital exams during child abuse
investigations, even when no allegations of sexual abuse have been raised.</i> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">In one case<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>a 16-year-old
girl claims she was subjected to painful vaginal exams against her will, even
after she denied being sexually abused. She felt as if she was “being raped”
during the forensic medical exam, her complaint asserts. …</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>Claims that the
exams are comparable to normal pediatric checkups are “garbage,” said Donnie
Cox, a civil rights attorney in Carlsbad, Calif.</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>“At the time
they’re happening, they’re scary as hell and it really does traumatize children
on top of the trauma of being removed from their homes,” said Cox, who has
represented plaintiffs in similar lawsuits. “They’re using these kids,
basically, as pieces of evidence, and you can’t do that.”</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">The state family
police agency has an interesting defense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It says such exams are “standard procedure.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the head of a trade association for “children’s
advocacy centers,” where many such exams are performed, says the real problem
is agencies aren’t doing enough of them.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">● The child never
needed to be taken. The Philadelphia family police agency had to know even a
Philadelphia juvenile court judge wouldn’t rubber-stamp such a flimsy case. So
they used a blackmail placement – aka hidden foster care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/philadelphia-dhs-foster-care-homicide-sulayah-williams-20240214.html"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">Resolve Philly and <i>The Philadelphia
Inquirer</i> report on the tragic result</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><span class="MsoHyperlink">.</span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">● </span><a href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/03/07/the-parent-trap-investigating-families-kelley-fong/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">In <i>The New York Review of Books</i></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">, Kristen Martin reviews <i>Investigating
Families</i>, Prof. Kelley Fong’s outstanding examination of how family
policing really works. Martin writes:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/investigating-families-motherhood-in-the-shadow-of-child-protective-services-kelley-fong/19607142?ean=9780691235714"><i></i></a></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/investigating-families-motherhood-in-the-shadow-of-child-protective-services-kelley-fong/19607142?ean=9780691235714"><i>Investigating Families</i></a><i> humanizes [the] data by focusing on the
everyday horror of CPS involvement, reconstructing and analyzing several
women’s experiences of having their parenting scrutinized and threatened by a
state agency that has the power to take their children away. CPS may see these
investigations as routine, but for mothers, Fong writes, “the experience can’t
be pushed aside so easily, precisely because CPS represents the agency poised
to brand them bad mothers, to take away what they treasure most.” …</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>We would do well
to examine why we continue to ignore the horror that is unfolding for millions
of families in America each year, why we are reluctant to listen when women
like Helen, Jazmine, Tatiana, and Sabrina tell us what things are like.</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">● When a report
alleging “child abuse” is “substantiated” it typically means only that a
caseworker decided, entirely on her or his own authority, that it was slightly
more likely than not that the “abuse” or “neglect” occurred and the subject of
the investigation did it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it’s no
surprise that in state after state, as soon as the accused has a chance to tell
their side of the story before even a quasi-neutral hearing officer, large
proportions of those findings are overturned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The latest example: Massachusetts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span><a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/02/18/metro/dcf-fair-hearing-decisions-overturned-40-percent/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>The Boston Globe</i> reports</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">
that when the process was made minimally less unfair, the proportion of successful
appeals rose from 5% to 40% -- even though the deck still is stacked against
the accused.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">One example of a
successful appeal: A mother is slammed to the ground by her boyfriend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She takes the kids, goes to the police and
gets a restraining order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But because
the boyfriend slammed her to the ground so hard the children could hear it in
another room, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families said she
was guilty of neglect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, and if you’re
wondering who called in the complaint to DCF – it was the abusive boyfriend.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">● There’s </span><a href="https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2023/02/child-abuse-report-race.html"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">still another study out</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"> documenting racial bias in family
policing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this case: which families
doctors report as potential child abusers and which they don’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even when you factor in poverty the results
are exactly what you’d expect – or at least what you should expect by now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, the study authors have a
solution that may well make things worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But </span><a href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/108723?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2024-02-13&eun=g1638669d0r&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%20Evening%202024-02-13&utm_term=NL_Daily_DHE_dual-gmail-definition"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">in a commentary about the study for <i>MedPage
Today</i></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"> called “Child
Protective Services Is Being Weaponized Against Our Black Patients” Dr. Onyi
Okeke has better ideas.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">● The </span><a href="https://montanafreepress.org/2024/02/14/how-a-maternal-health-program-aims-to-prevent-family-separations-in-montana/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>Montana Free Press</i> has more</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"> about the </span><a href="https://montanafreepress.org/2024/02/16/how-a-montana-court-is-putting-the-indian-child-welfare-act-into-action/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">bias against Native American families</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">
in a state that is always a contender for Child Removal Capital of America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">● An </span><a href="https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2024-02-14/childrens/ny-legislation-would-end-parents-paying-for-foster-care/a88848-1"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">anti-ransom bill</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"> has been introduced in New York.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The legislation would bar family police
agencies from forcing parents to pay part of the cost of their children’s
foster care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>States call it “child
support.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when someone takes your
child and forces you to pay money to get the child back, the right term for
that payment is <i>ransom.</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/charging-parents-foster-care-hurts-new-york-18666277.php?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">In the Albany <i>Times Union</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">
leaders of an adoptive and foster parents group explain why ransom should be
abolished.</span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">● </span><a href="https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/new-york-lawmakers-push-for-major-investments-in-family-court-system/247530?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>The Imprint</i> reports that another New
York bill</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"> would increase
funding for the state’s family courts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
lot of advocates have strong reservations about anything that makes the system
bigger, but the bill also would bolster funding for family defense.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>In this week’s
edition of The Horror Stories Go in All Directions:</i></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">● </span><a href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/02/indictment-of-wahiawa-couple-in-child-death-details-alleged-abuse-and-how-they-hid-it/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>Honolulu Civil Beat</i></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"> has more details on horrifying abuse in
foster/adoptive home, and a demand that the state family police agency </span><a href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/02/john-hill-perplexing-questions-that-demand-answers-in-the-wahiawa-child-abuse-death/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">tell what it knows</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">
about the case, including not only what happened to the child who died, but
also what happened to another child “mistreated in almost unimaginable ways” in
the same home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, a public
interest law firm is </span><a href="https://www.khon2.com/local-news/hearing-to-unseal-adoption-foster-care-documents-in-isabella-kalua-case-set/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">suing to get records</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">
from a tragically similar case of a child allegedly murdered by her adoptive
parents.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">● </span><a href="https://www.wafb.com/2024/02/19/i-team-mother-alleges-her-son-faced-abuse-foster-care/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge, La</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">.,
tells the story of the children of Diamon Bell:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>Bell first came
to WAFB last year when her daughter was molested by another child at a
different foster home, all while she’s been fighting to get all of her children
back. She believes because she came forward to report what’s been happening,
she’s faced retaliation from the DCFS case worker on her case. [A source inside
DCFS]… confirms the mother’s story. The source says they have also witnessed
the DCFS worker threatening to “never let her get her kids back.” …</i></span> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">That child finally
was returned – after being abused in still another foster home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But other children remain in foster care:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>The source … says
it is past time this mother got her kids back because they believe the children
have been harmed far more in the state’s care than they ever have in their
mother’s care. The source says the children have faced sexual, physical, and
mental abuse and everything in between.</i></span> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">● And in West
Virginia, which rushes to terminate parental rights more quickly than any other
state, </span><a href="https://westvirginiawatch.com/2024/02/16/judge-demands-records-says-cps-failed-to-adequately-investigate-kids-locked-in-sissonville-shed/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>West Virginia Watch</i> reports</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;">
that</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>A federal judge
says Child Protective Services failed to respond and perform an adequate
investigation in a high-profile case where Kanawha County children were found
last fall locked in a shed without access to water or a toilet.</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i>“As a result,
the children were left to suffer at the hands of their adoptive parents for
months, until law enforcement officers eventually found the children locked in
their house or in a detached shed, deprived of food, water, bathroom
facilities, hygiene products and beds,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Eifert
wrote in an order.</i></span></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk159339721;"><i></i></span></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-38847326359326452902024-02-14T03:58:00.009-05:002024-02-14T10:41:18.808-05:00NCCPR news and commentary round-up, week ending February 13, 2024<p>● There was
excellent reporting this week on two states <a name="_Hlk158713252">that
destroy astounding numbers of Native American families every year, and the
state officials who don’t give a damn about it</a><a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/02/officials-in-two-states-that-routinely.html"><span style="text-decoration-line: none;">. </span>I have a short blog post about it,</a>
including links to excellent reporting from the <i>Montana Free Press</i>, <i>South
Dakota Searchlight</i> and the Sioux Falls <i>Argus-Leader.</i> </p><p class="MsoNormal">● Remember the children who were torn from their parents and
thrown into foster care because the parents committed the crime of Driving
While Black? Now, <i><a href="https://tennesseelookout.com/2024/02/08/mother-of-five-kids-taken-by-dcs-after-traffic-stop-files-lawsuit/">Tennessee
Lookout<span style="font-style: normal;"> reports</span></a></i>, the mother is
suing. And with the lawsuit come new
details about what the family endured: </p><p class="MsoNormal">According to the lawsuit, before the children were taken,
even a state trooper showed more humanity than “child welfare” agency
caseworkers: </p><p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>“Trooper Clark told (DCS caseworkers) Pelham and Medina
that Clayborne was a good mother, that she should be released so that she would
not be separated from her children, that the kids were not being neglected or
abused, and that it would be best for everyone for Clayborne to stay with the
children,” the lawsuit said.</i><i> </i></blockquote><i></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The caseworkers took the children anyway. And after the family was reunited: </p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>Even after they were returned, the kids have displayed
signs of trauma: the couple’s now-six-year-old son begs his mother “please
don’t them come back and take us.” He experiences nightmares and wets the bed.
Another child “has a visceral reaction to seeing police."</i></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">● <i><a href="https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/bill-tracker-protecting-benefits-foster-youth/247523">The
Imprint <span style="font-style: normal;">has a useful state-by-state guide</span></a></i>
to laws that curb the practice of family police agencies swiping foster youth's
Social Security benefits. <o:p></o:p></p><i><o:p></o:p></i><p></p>
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158713252;"></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;">● </span><a href="https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/former-caseworker-robin-niceta-sentencing-delay/73-a40d6fe9-4295-4da8-89e8-cb12f8af09eb"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;">KUSA-TV Denver</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;"> has more
about a case of a now former family police caseworker, Robin Niceta. Niceta
took advantage of anonymous child abuse reporting (but did a poor job covering
her tracks) to falsely accuse a member of the Aurora City Council, Danielle
Jurinsky, of child abuse. Sentencing has been delayed because Niceta’s lawyer
is ill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That illness is real.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Less real, it appears, was a previous request
by Niceta to delay her trial because she supposedly had a brain tumor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s now been charged with falsifying the
medical records. (If the charges are true, she apparently wasn’t good at that,
either).</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;">What was not
delayed were victim impact statements in the original false allegation
case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jurinsky’s father told the court:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;"><i>"Your
Honor, every lie and every evil criminal action committed by this defendant
against Danielle and our family was planned, not random, spur-of-the-moment
decisions, but planned and researched. She hoped it would it would succeed in
removing a son from his home and destroy a family. This is why this person
should not receive leniency from the court."</i></span> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;">The whole ordeal never
could have started if not for the fact that, like 48 other states, Colorado
allows anonymous reporting. They should do what Texas did and largely replace
it with confidential reporting, in which the accused still doesn’t know the
name of the accuser, but the family police do.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;">● </span><a href="https://virginiamercury.com/2024/02/07/in-2024-will-virginia-finally-address-its-poor-outcomes-for-children-in-foster-care/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;">In the <i>Virginia Mercury</i></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;">, Valerie L’Herrou, deputy director of the
Center for Family Advocacy, urges support for legislation that would bolster
the quality of family defense in that state. She writes:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;"><i>In Virginia, one
issue that contributes to poor outcomes for children in foster care is the
extremely poor system of legal representation for parents of children in foster
care. Multiple other states have vastly improved the quality of legal
representation for parents, because this has been shown to improve outcomes for
children in the system.</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></blockquote><i><o:p></o:p></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;">● In Rhode Island,
state officials have given a whole new, unfortunate, and stunningly naïve meaning
to the concept of “passing the smell test.” </span><a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/02/residential-treatment-can-scent-of-pine.html"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;">I have a blog post about it</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;">.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;"><i>In this week’s
edition of The Horror Stories Go In All Directions:<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Hawaii, 2021:</i>
six-year-old Ariel Sellers was allegedly <a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2021/11/an-adopted-foster-child-dies-in-hawaii.html">adopted to death</a>. Though relatives wanted to take her in, she
was placed with strangers. Ultimately,
they adopted her and changed her name to Isabella Kalua. The foster/adoptive parents have been charged
with murdering the child. She allegedly
died trapped in a dog cage with duct tape covering her mouth and nose. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;"><i>Hawaii: 2024:</i>
Because the family police agency is stonewalling, a lot still is unknown, but
as </span><a href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/02/john-hill-another-shocking-child-death-and-another-set-of-questions-for-the-state/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;"><i>Honolulu Civil Beat</i> reports</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;">,
ten-year-old Geanna Bradley appears to have been a foster child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The presumed foster parents obtained
guardianship status – and were paid $1,961 per month to “care” for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, police allege they “restrained her with
duct tape [and] confined her to a tiny space while they collected money for her
care”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and ultimately killed her.
According to <i>Hawaii News Now</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2024/02/13/murdered-childs-guardians-face-life-without-parole-lawmakers-consider-child-welfare-reforms/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;">Prosecutors say</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;">
Geanna’s death was “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, manifesting
exceptional depravity.” KHON-TV reports </span><a href="https://www.khon2.com/local-news/foster-parents-arrested-after-10-year-old%CA%BBs-death-in-wahiawa/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;">she suffered</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;"> “multiple
injuries to her face including her ears, eyes, forehead, cheeks, lips and a
road rash-type of injury on her chin. Part of her nose bridge was missing.”</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158732714;">Another child, this
one known to have been adopted, also was found abused in the same home.</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/the-conversation/2024-02-13/child-welfare-system-dorothy-roberts-geanna-bradley?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank">Hawaii Public Radio </a>got comment on the case from Prof. Dorothy Roberts, author of <i>Shattered Bonds</i> and <i><a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/dorothy-roberts/torn-apart/9781541675445/?lens=basic-books" target="_blank">Torn Apart</a></i> and a member of NCCPR's Board of Directors who said:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><i>"This is just one example of a child who was harmed after the
system took her from her home. As far as I could tell from the father who was
interviewed, she would have been better off in his care than in the care of
these people who abused her." </i></blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">One other thing to
know about Hawaii: The state takes away children at a rate more than 40% above
the national average.</p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-62603328512451443932024-02-13T13:08:00.001-05:002024-02-13T13:08:28.034-05:00Officials in two states that routinely destroy Native American families make their position clear: We don’t care, we don’t have to.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52FKk87cLih4es9f0tpcL8J84iHZ-TBQkFm47wiRYcklUvtLySz9SBRsZNWTAwA2fvaJJeJbSEql-BF2spviSqAzFdbrll7aho9KulQOCpomtrKSvNo0LCgxnuYOX9jC3n7ebxYp10MEa7kulNenPtI9GWk4Dp6R0yMYwl8jBsSwladSn9rijREbo9PX1/s876/sOUTH%20Dakota%20DSS%20logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="876" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52FKk87cLih4es9f0tpcL8J84iHZ-TBQkFm47wiRYcklUvtLySz9SBRsZNWTAwA2fvaJJeJbSEql-BF2spviSqAzFdbrll7aho9KulQOCpomtrKSvNo0LCgxnuYOX9jC3n7ebxYp10MEa7kulNenPtI9GWk4Dp6R0yMYwl8jBsSwladSn9rijREbo9PX1/w587-h176/sOUTH%20Dakota%20DSS%20logo.png" width="587" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">South Dakota tears apart families at a rate well above the national average. Native American children are 13% of the child population and 74% of the foster child population. But hey, a slogan is a slogan, right?</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>There were two important news stories last week from states
that destroy astounding numbers of Native American families every year. The stories make one thing clear: State
officials and many state lawmakers don’t give a damn about it. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● Montana continually vies with West Virginia for the title
Child Removal Capital of America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
Montana that’s partly because the state family police agency tears apart so
many Native families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://montanafreepress.org/2024/02/12/can-montana-mend-its-racial-gap-in-foster-care/">The
<i>Montana Free Press</i> reports</a> that Native children are 10% of the state’s
child population and one-third of the foster child population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The <i>Free Press</i> story is filled with
such data – and filled with bland, boilerplate, buck-passing responses from
state officials like this one from the head of the state family police agency: “I
think it’s really about continuing to have the conversation.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The closest thing she has to a concrete
solution is no solution at all – making it easier to place Native children in <a href="https://review.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/04/Gupta-Kagan-72-Stan.-L.-Rev.-841.pdf">hidden
foster care</a>. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● It’s even worse in South Dakota, another state that takes away children at a rate well above the national average. In South Dakota, Native Americans
are 13 percent of the child population and nearly <i>three-quarters</i> of the
foster-child population, an issue <a href="https://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141672992/native-foster-care-lost-children-shattered-families">first
exposed in 2010 by NPR</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>South
Dakota Searchlight</i> and the Sioux Falls <i>Argus Leader</i> <a href="https://southdakotasearchlight.com/tag/the-lost-children/">returned to
the subject</a> with an excellent series last year, documenting how the state
cuts a swath of destruction through Native families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2024/02/09/native-american-child-welfare-foster-care-sd-legislature-bills-return-icwa-supreme-court-decision/">Now
they’ve followed up</a> with a story about legislative proposals for
change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of those proposals is one that most state legislatures
would routinely approve, since it delays actually doing anything: creating a
task force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But those who want to see
change are having trouble getting the South Dakota Legislature to do even that
much. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">More substantive legislation <a href="https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2024/02/12/active-efforts-bill-in-sd-legislature-killed/72573640007/">already
has been defeated</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Under the federal
Indian Child Welfare Act, states are supposed to make “active efforts” to keep
families together, a higher standard than the “reasonable efforts” required un
federal law (but <a href="https://nccpr.org/nccpr-issue-paper-9-the-unreasonable-assault-on-reasonable-efforts/">almost
universally ignored</a>) for other families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A bill to require active efforts for all South Dakota children – and to
explain exactly what that term means – was defeated yesterday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Even the head of a local Court-Appointed Special Advocates
program, herself a Native American, favored the bill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the <i>Argus-Leader</i> reported: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>For example, if a parent needs to overcome substance
abuse, an active effort would be helping that parent with a ride to a treatment
class, said Kehala Two Bulls, the executive director of the 7th Circuit Court
CASA program. A reasonable effort would be giving that parent a list of
treatment programs.</i> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I would disagree that a list of treatment programs is
anywhere near reasonable as an effort – it’s pretty typical of the failure to
make reasonable efforts -- but you get the idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Getting the parent to the program is a <i>reasonable
</i>effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bringing home-based drug
treatment to the parent, <a href="https://www.courant.com/2017/06/23/dcfs-new-strategy-treating-children-and-families-in-their-own-homes/">as
Connecticut does</a> in some cases, is an <i>active </i>effort. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But the head of South Dakota’s family police agency, Matt Althoff said,
presumably with a straight face, that they’re already making “active efforts” in
the cases of Native American children who, again, make up <i>74%</i> of the
state’s foster care population.</p><p class="MsoNormal">An opponent of the bill said: “How do we put something in
into law when everybody is interpreting this differently?” And here I’d been operating under what is,
apparently, the absurd notion that this is why you put things into law in the
first place.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-25411614027597334682024-02-08T13:27:00.000-05:002024-02-08T13:27:14.682-05:00 Residential treatment: Can the scent of Pine Sol cover up the stench of abuse?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhaX9magEpBN7hRpbH1mfAczlkOKNU9hkONKlLtyY9-xeVCHkipX7WKf8lBBV0vmynXaHH3LzSITd2Akt-M03rzAc48980Eq-pxY0DwVesO4Ub36veLzsOkqLgZjIueGIk9MsHZD7IfrXd7m9HBWsyzum4D4-28rb4I2BXRFvvxF1V4Nrm2QFB9YVa8Us/s1024/Pine-Sol.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="1024" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjhaX9magEpBN7hRpbH1mfAczlkOKNU9hkONKlLtyY9-xeVCHkipX7WKf8lBBV0vmynXaHH3LzSITd2Akt-M03rzAc48980Eq-pxY0DwVesO4Ub36veLzsOkqLgZjIueGIk9MsHZD7IfrXd7m9HBWsyzum4D4-28rb4I2BXRFvvxF1V4Nrm2QFB9YVa8Us/w400-h299/Pine-Sol.jpg" width="400" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Rhode Island State Rep. Patricia Serpa says she can tell things are soooo much better<br />at a residential treatment center because "I could smell the Pine-Sol"</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Ever wonder why “residential treatment centers” almost
always look so good? It’s amazing how
much these places, which always claim to need even more money, lavish on making
sure the grounds are gorgeous the “cottages” are nicely painted and the lawns
are mowed. Then they invite public
officials on a carefully guided tour. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The amazing thing isn’t that these places keep pulling this
stunt, the amazing thing is that it works! </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The latest to be snookered is Rhode Island State Rep.
Patricia Serpa, who chairs that state’s House of Representatives Oversight
Committee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She and other officials got
the full guided tour of St. Mary’s Home for Children in North Providence. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here’s what’s been happening at the place they are so
anxious to save, according to <a href="https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2024/01/25/st-marys-treatment-center-is-the-crosshairs-of-oversight-committee/72338219007/">news
accounts</a> summarizing a 119-page report from the state’s child advocate. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>“Staff-on-child physical assault, youth stealing the
program van, overdoses, a high number of AWOLs, neglect and an overwhelming
number of responses by the North Providence Police Department.” </i></blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2024/01/23/childrens-home-in-rhode-island-under-fire-after-report-shows-assaults-neglect-and-biker-gangs-on-campus/">From
just the beginning</a> of April through May 8, 2023: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>There were more than 20 calls to the CPS hotline, they
found, including allegations of drug overdoses, sexual contact among the
children, staff assaulting children, runaway children, and an overwhelming
amount of police responses, the [Office of Child Advocate] said.</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></blockquote><i><o:p></o:p></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That’s just the start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i><a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/02/06/metro/police-call-logs-hundreds-reports-runaways-st-marys-home-for-children-ri/?s_campaign=audience:reddit">The
Boston Globe<span style="font-style: normal;"> did its own investigation</span></a></i>
and found that, at an institution with only 39 beds:<i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>The North Providence police were called to St. Mary's
more than 300 times in the past two years, mainly for children as young as 8
running away, according to 317 pages of police call logs obtained by the Globe
through a public records request. … </i></blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">North Providence Police Chief Alfredo Ruggiero Jr. told the <i>Globe</i>
things are so bad that when runaways are found by police “there’s a part of us
that our hearts are breaking” as they bring them back.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Neighbors such as Andrew Marsalli and his partner Ken Richey
said they would often hear children screaming.
Marsalli recalled </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i>the boy with cuts and bruises who showed up at his door
asking for help.</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>"The boy would say, 'Please don't let me go with
them. Don't let them find me,' " Marsalli said. "He would just come
knock on my door to talk. But . . . they would know where to find him." … One
time, Marsalli and Richey said, they watched in horror when two staff members
tackled the boy in their yard and hauled him away. They said an ambulance was
called because the boy's arm had been yanked back.</i> </p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then there was the girl placed at St. Mary’s by Rhode Island’s
family police agency, the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF),
because she’d been sexually assaulted and was at high risk of being sexually
exploited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She ran away several
times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Twice she was raped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When her mother sued, St. Mary’s said the
child “had assumed the risk of injury.” (The suit was settled.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St. Mary’s is not the only residential
treatment center <a href="https://ctmirror.org/2022/11/29/ct-children-residential-treatment-sexual-assault/">to
make that horrifying claim</a>. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And then there was the whole matter of the institution
bringing in a bunch of bikers to help patrol the place. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The head of DCYF, Ashley Deckert, admitted St. Mary’s was
awful, but in a comment stunning for both its callousness and its candor, she said
that because Rhode Island doesn’t have enough places to put kids, St. Mary’s is
a “too big to fail situation.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As I pointed out <a href="https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2024/02/02/why-dcyf-tolerates-abusive-institutions-ashley-deckert-says-the-quiet-part-out-loud/">when
I wrote about St. Mary’s for <i>Rhode Island Current</i></a>, what she did not
say is that the lack of places to put kids is because Rhode Island tears apart so
many families needlessly – at a rate 80% above the national average. </p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Pine-Sol to the rescue!</b> </span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">But great news everyone!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After her definitely-not-a-surprise inspection, Rep. Serpa says things
are soooooo much better now!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How does
she know?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/northwest/serpa-changes-at-st-marys-are-a-step-in-the-right-direction/">She
told WPRI-TV:</a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>“What I saw today was encouraging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The facility is clean. I could smell the
Pine-Sol, I could smell the fresh paint. The kids’ rooms were kids’ rooms —
they were messy, but an organized messy.” </i></blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Of course!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone
knows children are never abused in rooms that smell of Pine-Sol! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And who would ever want to run from a room
that was freshly painted?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Where was Serpa expecting to see kids stay –
in dungeons?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Deckert took the tour too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Deckert, more than any other individual, has a vested interest in
downplaying any problems at the places where her agency institutionalizes
children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And sure enough, she called
the progress “tremendous.” She, too, made a point of saying the place “smells
nice.”<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>No wonder DCYF is moving full speed ahead on a plan to spend
$11 million in taxpayer funds to <i>expand </i>St. Mary’s.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fool me once …</b> </span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">This isn’t even the first group of Rhode Island officials to
buy into this routine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we discussed
in <a href="https://nccpr.org/nccpr-rhode-island-report/">our 2010 report on
Rhode Island child welfare</a>, the chief family court judge for many years,
Jeremiah S. Jeremiah, fell in love with an institution in Pennsylvania; the
Glen Mills School.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we explained in
our report: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>[I]n late January of this year, Jeremiah suggested that
Andrew J. Johnson, a lawyer and director of the Rhode Island Court Appointed
Special Advocate’s office, visit Glen Mills to see what their program has to
offer. Johnson flew to Philadelphia, at the school’s expense, where a school
van drove him the 22 miles to the school in Concordville, Pa. He met with
admissions officials, toured the campus and talked to students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It’s a remarkable place,” Johnson said after
he returned. “Step on the campus and it’s like a prep school or a university
... .” </i></blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Again, that was 2010. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It will probably not surprise readers who have gotten this
far to know that the Glen Mills School was closed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the <i>Philadelphia Inquirer</i> <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/crime/a/glen-mills-schools-pa-abuse-juvenile-investigation-20190220.html">exposed
rampant, horrific abuse</a>, the state of Pennsylvania shut the place
down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, they’ve now allowed
the place to <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/glen-mills-clock-tower-schools-license-abuse-20230127.html">reopen
on a (for now) much smaller scale</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The place has a brand new name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s run by a new corporation headed by a former Glen Mills executive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And presumably, it has a good supply of Pine-Sol.</p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-7506549841567840632024-02-06T23:44:00.001-05:002024-02-06T23:44:00.179-05:00NCCPR news and commentary round-up, week ending February 6, 2024<p>● Why do family
police agencies so often turn a blind eye to rampant abuse in group homes and
institutions. The head of the family
police agency in Rhode Island gave a chilling answer. I have <a href="https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2024/02/02/why-dcyf-tolerates-abusive-institutions-ashley-deckert-says-the-quiet-part-out-loud/">a column about it in <i>Rhode Island Current</i></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158141094;">● </span><a href="https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article264556076.html#storylink=cpy"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158141094;">In 2022</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158141094;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158141094;"> grandparents
of an autistic boy in Kentucky couldn’t control his constant running away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the grandparents needed was therapy for
the child and help to be sure he was never out of someone’s sight. Had they
been rich they easily could have purchased both. But they’re not rich. So they
had to turn to the state which offered no alternatives except institutions –
and took control of where the boy would live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He ran away from the institution and drowned.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158141094;">In 2024, adoptive
parents in Kentucky couldn’t handle the behavior problems of their 15-year-old
daughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unable to afford the therapy she
needed they turned to the state for help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They offered no help except to take custody of the child take control of
where she would live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They parked her in
foster care while waiting to institutionalize her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She ran away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Do I really have to tell you what happened next?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Check out the stories form </span><a href="https://www.wdrb.com/news/crime-reports/teen-girl-shot-and-killed-in-louisville-monday-was-a-runaway-from-kentucky-foster-care/article_b2a11760-c209-11ee-9ba5-4f43bacc1ffa.html"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158141094;">WDRB-TV in Lexington</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158141094;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158141094;">
and </span><a href="https://www.wlky.com/article/parents-teen-killed-algonquin-louisville-dovia-pernell/46619281"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158141094;">WLKY in Louisville.</span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158141094;"><i>And now, more about
how The Horror Stories go in All Directions:</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158141094;"><o:p> </o:p></span><i>● </i><a href="https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/02/john-hill-the-state-will-need-to-explain-to-a-judge-why-it-wont-reveal-its-actions-in-a-notorious-child-abuse-case/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery"><i>Honolulu Civil Beat</i> reports</a> that </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158141094;"><i>For more than
two years, the Department of Human Services has stonewalled in accounting for
its actions in the horrific death of Ariel Sellers, the 6-year-old Waimanalo
girl whose adoptive parents are accused of murdering her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This, despite federal law and state
regulations that require disclosure of at least minimal information when
children die or nearly die as the result of abuse and neglect.</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158141094;"><i>Now DHS can
explain itself to a judge.</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158141094;">● </span><a href="https://www.columbian.com/news/2024/feb/02/former-cps-worker-facing-child-molestation-charges-in-clark-county-case-involving-child-under-his-care/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk158141094;">From <i>The Columbian:</i></span></a><i>A Kelso man
formerly employed as a Child Protective Services case worker is facing charges
of third-degree child molestation and communication with a minor for immoral
purposes after he allegedly sexually abused a child under his care.</i></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-82267608914841762012024-02-02T12:41:00.000-05:002024-02-02T12:41:19.529-05:00NCCPR in Rhode Island Current: Why DCYF tolerates abusive institutions: Ashley Deckert says the quiet part out loud<p>It happens all over the country. A watchdog agency or a news
organization exposes rampant abuse of children confined to group homes and
institutions. Just in the past year, horrors have been exposed in Arizona,
Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Utah, Oklahoma, Washington State, Arkansas,
Connecticut and New York, to name a few. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whenever all that abuse is exposed, people wonder how it
could have been missed by the state’s child protective services agency, the
agency mandated to keep children safe and, often, the very agency that put the
children there in the first place. Thanks to Ashley Deckert, director of the
Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), we know the
real answer. Speaking at a legislative hearing concerning appalling abuse at
St. Mary’s Home for Children, she said ...<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2024/02/02/why-dcyf-tolerates-abusive-institutions-ashley-deckert-says-the-quiet-part-out-loud/" target="_blank">Read the full column in <i>Rhode Island Current</i></a></b></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-89393760086385462932024-01-30T23:11:00.007-05:002024-01-31T09:04:41.360-05:00NCCPR news and commentary round-up, week ending January 30, 2024<p class="MsoNormal">● Twenty years ago, <a href="https://youthtoday.org/2004/07/an-evaluation-of-volunteers-courts-controversy/"><i>Youth
Today</i> revealed</a> the stunning results of a study of Court-Appointed
Special Advocates commissioned by the National CASA Association itself. The study found that the program didn’t
work. The story concluded that National
CASA’s desperate efforts to spin the findings “can border on duplicity.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Now, <a href="https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/court-appointed-special-advocates-casa-foster-kids-evaluation-lags/247231"><i>The
Imprint</i> has surveyed the research</a> on CASA. It finds no evidence that CASA works – and the
most rigorous study finds it actually does harm. And it does this harm at a cost of $477
million per year, most of it taxpayer funds.
Think of it: $477 million thrown away on a program that fails at best,
does harm at worst. That’s more than
double total federal spending on the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As for how CASA and its various chapters spin these findings
– well, read the story for yourself. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p><a name="_Hlk157152182">And we have more on CASA in our </a><a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2021/10/nccpr-at-kempe-center-conference-case.html">2021
presentation to the Kempe Center international conference.</a></p><p><a name="_Hlk157152182">● </a>Despite this dismal track record, CASA is explicitly included as an option for "representation" of children in court under the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. Another egregious practice encouraged by CAPTA is mandatory reporting. On this 50th Anniversary of the law's enactment, Dr. Mical Raz, author of <i><a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9781469661216/abusive-policies/" target="_blank">Abusive Policies: How the American Child Welfare System Lost its Way</a>, </i>explains<a href="https://time.com/6589854/mandatory-reporting-child-abuse-prevention/" target="_blank"> in <i>Time </i>magazine </a>why that should be repealed.</p><p><a name="_Hlk157152182">● In Rhode Island they just said the quiet part out
loud. If you’re still wondering why
rampant abuse in residential treatment centers is allowed to continue year
after year after year in state after state after state, check out what </a><a href="https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2024/01/25/st-marys-treatment-center-is-the-crosshairs-of-oversight-committee/72338219007/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: #0563c1;">the <i>Providence
Journal</i></span></a> reports the head of Rhode Island’s family police
agency said when confronted about such abuse at St. Mary’s Home for Children: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157152182;"><i>“We can’t lose this [bed] capacity,” she
told members of the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday. It’s almost “like a
too-big-to-fail situation.”</i></span></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157152182;">The state Child Advocate, who exposed the
huge problems, agrees!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157152182;">Here’s what’s been happening at the place
they are so anxious to save:</span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157152182;"><i></i></span></span></p><blockquote><i>“Staff-on-child physical assault, youth
stealing the program van, overdoses, a high number of AWOLs, neglect and an
overwhelming number of responses by the North Providence Police Department.”</i></blockquote> <a href="https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2024/01/23/childrens-home-in-rhode-island-under-fire-after-report-shows-assaults-neglect-and-biker-gangs-on-campus/">Boston.com
has more.</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span> From the start of April through May 8, 2023: <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157152182;"><i></i></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157152182;"><i>There were more than 20 calls to the CPS
hotline, they found, including allegations of drug overdoses, sexual contact
among the children, staff assaulting children, runaway children, and an
overwhelming amount of police responses, the [Office of Child Advocate] said.</i></span></span> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157152182;">One thing more about Rhode Island:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reason they have a “bed capacity problem”
is that they tear apart families at a rate 80% above the national average.</span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157152182;">● Remember when the county controller in
Lehigh County, PA issued a scathing report on the misdiagnosis of child abuse
by the local child abuse pediatrician?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><a href="https://www.inquirer.com/health/child-abuse-munchausen-by-proxy-lehigh-valley-health-network-20230916.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157152182;">Here’s
a reminder from <i>The Philadelphia Inquirer:</i></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Willow Feeney said she and her sister were placed in foster
care after her mother was accused of falsifying their medical conditions. She
told officials that her family is still traumatized by their experience. </i></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i> “Growing up medically
complex is a challenge in itself,” she said. “I was suddenly told that
everything I felt wasn’t valid anymore. No matter how much I explained, I was
told that I was wrong and I was
brainwashed.”</i></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><i></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157152182;">Now the update: Instead of action, </span></span><a href="https://www.mcall.com/2024/01/28/its-been-five-months-since-child-abuse-misdiagnosis-report-was-released-whats-happened-since-then/#:~:text=Since%20the%20misdiagnosis%20report%20was,criticism%20from%20some%20county%20leaders."><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157152182;">the
<i>Morning Call</i> reports</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157152182;"></span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157152182;">, county officials and
lawmakers have crawled into a bunker, retaliating against the controller and
stalling any action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know if she
had Ms. Feeney in mind when one county lawmaker complained that “It all became
emotional.”</span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;">● </span><a href="https://www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/why-family-court-cant-be-saved"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;">In <i>Vital City</i>, Prof. Jane Spinak</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;">, author of </span><a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479814091/the-end-of-family-court/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><i>The End of Family Court</i></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;">, discusses why we need to end family
court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has a blunt assessment of the
arrogance at the heart of the notion that courts should not be real courts,
from the original juvenile court in 1899 to the “problem-solving courts” of
today:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><i>As long as
family court judges continue to argue that only they can provide justice to
families, we will continue to fail children and their families.</i></span> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;">In this week’s
edition of The Horror Stories Go in All Directions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;">●</span><a href="https://www.azfamily.com/2024/01/27/former-arizona-foster-parent-sentenced-218-years-prison/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;">KOLD-TV Tucson reports</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;">
that</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk157522708;"><i>A man was
sentenced to more than 200 years in prison for the sexual abuse of a child in
his care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span><i>That is in
addition to a current sentence 53-year-old Francisco Medina is serving from
different cases. Medina is a former
foster parent who was convicted of six counts of sexual conduct with a minor
under the age of 15, all class two felonies. </i><i>He was also
convicted of molestation of a child, also a class two felony and a dangerous
crime against children.</i></blockquote><p></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-60388123225932408232024-01-26T10:31:00.004-05:002024-01-27T14:23:32.550-05:00 Backers of a bill that tries to legitimize hidden foster care in Virginia say it creates guardrails. On the contrary; it sends the rights of children and families careening off a cliff.<h2 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">A judge
in neighboring North Carolina says the same approach is unconstitutional, one
county alone has paid more than $53 million to settle lawsuits and there even
have been criminal charges.</span></b></h2><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSzwfXYb9fHCnZa5zK0Y5KthBdB5V5JxTPDpkPvo1w79QCOxRVtJjayhFqpaklhXznX4Kt7bKdFwR0RWT_Q0jgF14C_DuH_BZXOPCh79Jv6ySkxbxzKygWsHIfbPCCeTSAQrli1Hiah_hXtTw9A1e1JNi0dhWUMvnvgcu4yOkkpYJmrtyKLvXbj2j9ixc/s548/00112322kinship.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="548" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSzwfXYb9fHCnZa5zK0Y5KthBdB5V5JxTPDpkPvo1w79QCOxRVtJjayhFqpaklhXznX4Kt7bKdFwR0RWT_Q0jgF14C_DuH_BZXOPCh79Jv6ySkxbxzKygWsHIfbPCCeTSAQrli1Hiah_hXtTw9A1e1JNi0dhWUMvnvgcu4yOkkpYJmrtyKLvXbj2j9ixc/s320/00112322kinship.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">There
are two very important things to know about the process by which a child
welfare agency removes a child from a parent and places that child with some
other kinship caregiver.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">This process,
known as kinship foster care, is usually the least harmful form of foster
care. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">But it’s still
foster care. Let me repeat that:</span> </li></ol>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Kinship care is foster care.</span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Kinship care is foster care.</span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Kinship care is foster care.</span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">For a
child, a journey that begins by being suddenly yanked out of the home, torn
from parents and familiar surroundings and carried off, often in the middle of
the night is severely traumatic – no matter where that journey ends.
Kinship foster care cushions the blow, but the harm of removal is still
present. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">This
bears repeating since the child welfare establishment here in Virginia has been
doing a great job of hoodwinking lawmakers into thinking kinship foster care
isn’t foster care. They’re rushing to support a bill (HB 27/SB 39) that
would, in fact, make things worse for children, parents and kinship caregivers
alike. The bill even has the Orwellian name </span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=241&typ=bil&val=hb27"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Kinship as Foster Care Prevention Program</span></a><span style="color: black;">.</span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Even
without the bill, this sleight-of-hand already exists in Virginia.
Virginia, like many states, has a shadow system of </span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><a href="https://review.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/04/Gupta-Kagan-72-Stan.-L.-Rev.-841.pdf"><span style="color: #0563c1;">hidden foster care</span></a><span style="color: black;">.
Parents are coerced into “voluntarily” giving up the few due process
protections they have and surrendering their children to the hidden foster care
system.</span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCOjvGO9QCMICfpr9ts7zeg8LIJFmMoyRQvAzuhXJODztyKFZlP83h_t6QRPP_A9Q6cSCj8SAyRRfWLJXXQKMehx-aOnDD8lHSuSL4GOjT5GvKBveC8_LLhvr1u1DVpAYERfF-OZ9a2C3UDxeCUgePZwKp1C3Y998NHz6NIlK-UKbyhTi3kfqBzcl8_6X/s1008/00012724va1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="1008" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCOjvGO9QCMICfpr9ts7zeg8LIJFmMoyRQvAzuhXJODztyKFZlP83h_t6QRPP_A9Q6cSCj8SAyRRfWLJXXQKMehx-aOnDD8lHSuSL4GOjT5GvKBveC8_LLhvr1u1DVpAYERfF-OZ9a2C3UDxeCUgePZwKp1C3Y998NHz6NIlK-UKbyhTi3kfqBzcl8_6X/s320/00012724va1.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Essentially,
these are blackmail placements. The caseworker says: We want to take away
your child. You could fight us in court, where you’re entitled to free
legal counsel if you’re indigent, where federal law requires us to make
reasonable efforts to keep your family together and where an actual judge
decides if we can take your children away. But if you do that and you
lose – and you probably will - we’ll throw the kids in with total strangers and
maybe split them up while we’re at it. On the other hand, if you give up
all those rights and let us do whatever we damn well please, we promise that
we’ll place them with Grandma. </span> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Nationwide,
there may well be as many children in these blackmail placements as there are
in official foster care. In Virginia, the proportion in hidden foster
care </span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><a href="https://review.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/04/Gupta-Kagan-72-Stan.-L.-Rev.-841.pdf"><span style="color: #0563c1;">is probably even higher</span></a><span style="color: black;">. </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The
Virginia bill changes almost nothing – except to try to give the whole practice
a patina of legitimacy. Proponents say over and over that the law adds
“guardrails” to the hidden foster care process. On the contrary, the law
would send the rights of children, families, and kinship foster caregivers
careening over a cliff.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Under
the terms of HB 27/SB 39:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">● Child welfare agencies remain free to bypass even the most minimal due process
protections. They don’t have to make “reasonable efforts” – in fact, the
bill as written fails to require these agencies to make <i>any</i> effort – to
prevent placement or to reunify the family. No lawyer gets to fight the
decision, no judge gets to review it.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">● The
bill says families must be notified of their right to consult a lawyer.
But there is no funding to pay for those lawyers if the family is indigent –
and they’re almost always indigent. (Proponents point to a separate bill
to provide such counsel – but there’s no guarantee it will pass, it’s not clear
when it would take effect if it does pass, or whether there would be
enough funding to cover the entire state.)</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAV2kS_LcoNQQmbVOfL84NqbWYUid9AqJZx7x6J6PMvILGCV4qzC26fgkHL2FCc65c1EHlrrDB_7x4I7VhPZncp33YD1gQW9ROQtHIxPYHiJb5lcdncyXacMGtd_dIwHEertyGiKe3BVlTgt_yWeynqKy462jCknIV8Pgzp_SUSTHdoQjYzPtMAnUQ2VC_/s858/00012724va2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="858" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAV2kS_LcoNQQmbVOfL84NqbWYUid9AqJZx7x6J6PMvILGCV4qzC26fgkHL2FCc65c1EHlrrDB_7x4I7VhPZncp33YD1gQW9ROQtHIxPYHiJb5lcdncyXacMGtd_dIwHEertyGiKe3BVlTgt_yWeynqKy462jCknIV8Pgzp_SUSTHdoQjYzPtMAnUQ2VC_/s320/00012724va2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">●
Proponents say the placements are “voluntary.” It’s claims like that
which explain why I so often<br /> invoke Orwell in these blog posts, though in this
case, The Godfather seems more appropriate: It’s the ultimate example of an
offer you can’t refuse.</span> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">●
Proponents point to time limits: The placements can last 90 days – oh, wait,
that’s 90 days and then, if we feel like it, we’ll add <i>another </i>90 days –
“voluntarily,” of course. But for young children, time passes far more
slowly than for adults – six months can be agony. For a newborn taken at
birth – it’s a lifetime. In fact, 180 days actually is longer than </span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><a href="https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/afcars-tar-va-2021.pdf"><span style="color: #0563c1;">21% of Virginia placements</span></a><span style="color: black;"> made through the formal court process. </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">And that
assumes the child will even come home. After those 180 days, the child
welfare agency still can go to court and demand an official placement – they
even can point to the fact that the child was out of the home all that time as
evidence of supposed “unfitness.” And all of that time, 3-6 months can be
tacked on as a fast track to termination of parental rights. </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_t5WLuw4cERqfWKzJ1rvJlPakRMj4xqXuFDYlO3eD3qFzuzNNTL-78SQoKetvqTfti9A6rkjYHREqM5YibK3OXjmJuVv16KnAbGwazpOm7gVpG2iaWrPh4VlwiabdFPoF_4kn6a41_R16ZXBjStSys18dvzC00MxHm5rObhcVVj60FqiJwf7h2hsE7zSy/s1440/00012724va3KINGRAPHIC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1256" data-original-width="1440" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_t5WLuw4cERqfWKzJ1rvJlPakRMj4xqXuFDYlO3eD3qFzuzNNTL-78SQoKetvqTfti9A6rkjYHREqM5YibK3OXjmJuVv16KnAbGwazpOm7gVpG2iaWrPh4VlwiabdFPoF_4kn6a41_R16ZXBjStSys18dvzC00MxHm5rObhcVVj60FqiJwf7h2hsE7zSy/w589-h514/00012724va3KINGRAPHIC.jpg" width="589" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">●
Proponents say the bill would make kinship foster care placements easier.
Easier than what? It’s just as easy to make a kinship foster care
placement by going to the judge and saying: “Your honor, we want to place this
child with grandma.” That Virginia may have close to the worst record in
America for doing it this way – </span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><a href="https://sfac.virginia.gov/pdf/committee_meeting_presentations/2023/Interim/October%2017/101723_No3_DSS_FosterCare.pdf"><span style="color: #0563c1;"> at best, only 12%</span></a><span style="color: black;"> of official foster care placements are with kin -- simply reflects
Virginia’s addiction to hidden foster care. Other states and localities
have no problem.</span></span> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Nationwide
</span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><a href="https://www.childtrends.org/publications/state-level-data-for-understanding-child-welfare-in-the-united-states"><span style="color: #0563c1;">35% of foster children</span></a><span style="color: black;">
are placed with relatives – the formal, legal, on-the-books way. In
Montana, it’s 40%. In Illinois 45%. In Arizona 53%. The
County-run systems in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh place more than half their
foster children with relatives – without sacrificing due process or taking any
other shortcuts. This bill only makes foster care placements easier than
not taking children needlessly in the first place; because there is no lawyer
fighting for the family and no requirement to make reasonable efforts.</span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">● The
bill confers no benefits on kinship caregivers and it may cost them. They
won’t be paid any additional funds. But they will be subjected to
additional, often onerous surveillance by child protective services
agencies. Depending on the specific case, kinship caregivers may lose out
on benefits to which they might be entitled if a placement is court-ordered.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Oh, and
two things more:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">● Hidden
foster care is unconstitutional. </span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/28918/removal-of-cherokee-children-draws-lawsuit-criminal-charges-possible/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">A judge ruled it unconstitutional</span></a><span style="color: black;"> in North Carolina. One county alone in that state
has had to pay </span><a href="https://wlos.com/news/local/cherokee-co-details-485-million-dollar-settlement-in-26-illegal-custody-lawsuits"><span style="color: #0563c1;">$53 million in damages</span></a><span style="color: black;">
to settle dozens of lawsuits. </span><a href="https://carolinapublicpress.org/47305/key-supervisor-pleads-guilty-in-dss-family-separation-scheme/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery"><span style="color: #0563c1;">There even have been criminal charges</span></a><span style="color: black;">. The Virginia bill won’t fix these issues. You can’t
make an unconstitutional practice constitutional by passing a law.</span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">So why
push for a law that doesn’t benefit children, doesn’t benefit families, and
doesn’t benefit kinship care providers? Because of the one group it does
benefit: The Virginia Department of Social Services and county child welfare
agencies. With hidden foster care, they don’t have to deal with all that
pesky due process, and they can mislead the public about the true extent to
which they take away children.</span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #333333; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Indeed, Virginia’s Commissioner of Social Services,
Danny Avula, seemed to brag about doing just that. </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><a href="https://www.vpm.org/news/2023-11-20/virginia-kinship-care-foster-children-social-services"><span style="color: #ff9900;">According to Virginia Public Media</span></a></span><span style="color: #333333; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">: </span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><i><span style="color: #333333; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Avula noted Virginia’s rate of placement with relatives
is less than half of the national average — a statistic he said is skewed by
the fact that local social services departments in the state prioritize
informal placements with relatives before sending a child into the foster care
system. </span></i><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal;"><b><i><span style="color: #333333; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">“The upside of that is that it keeps our overall
numbers of kids in formal foster care low,” Avula said. </span></i></b><span style="color: #333333; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">[Emphasis added.]<b> </b></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">And
finally, one last point:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Foster
care is traumatic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kinship care is
foster care.</span></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-76100633388607255562024-01-23T23:00:00.005-05:002024-01-24T09:45:26.038-05:00 NCCPR news and commentary round-up, week ending January 23, 2024<p>Before the news, check out this big event on January 31. There's an in-person and a virtual option for the Congressional Briefing and you can register here: <b><a href="http://bit.ly/50YearsRepealCapta" target="_blank">bit.ly/50YearsRepealCapta </a></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwB-sagDjAIMBypvm_OGtD4gjwwtfnUsQJgrPGaB8vXe7-Jb05cWbG3SQm1ktyUXp4teKZkZp4zokoV8UwyTEWgXvAU_tVbKL_MOX3As5lhLKODuFaF16rGLcXbOAM43uYph8cIp9Z5r9K1mYTQg_VVsppZjjrkJ0uz0mfaA29wDfWXEa2P9uF-zHxWjri/s763/RepealCAPTAevent.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="763" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwB-sagDjAIMBypvm_OGtD4gjwwtfnUsQJgrPGaB8vXe7-Jb05cWbG3SQm1ktyUXp4teKZkZp4zokoV8UwyTEWgXvAU_tVbKL_MOX3As5lhLKODuFaF16rGLcXbOAM43uYph8cIp9Z5r9K1mYTQg_VVsppZjjrkJ0uz0mfaA29wDfWXEa2P9uF-zHxWjri/w400-h396/RepealCAPTAevent.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><i>And now the news:</i></p><p>● <a href="https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/western-states-wrestle-with-a-child-welfare-response-to-drugs/247131">The Imprint has a story</a> that covers both the good California
Supreme Court decision <a href="https://witnessla.com/a-good-california-supreme-court-decision-curbs-the-family-police/">I wrote about for <i>WitnessLA</i></a><i>
</i>and a terrible bill proposed in Washington State that is essentially a
throwback to the “crack baby” hysteria of the 1980s. The good news: Until
recently, such a bill would have sailed through almost any state legislature in
America nearly unanimously. But people
are learning, and this time, there’s some real opposition. </p><p class="MsoNormal">● <a href="https://www.westword.com/news/colorado-could-change-child-abuse-and-mandatory-reporting-laws-18971664" target="_blank"><i>Westword </i>examines Colorado’s task force</a> studying
mandatory child abuse reporting laws – including NCCPR’s perspective, that
while the Task Force has done far better than any other or it’s kind, that’s a
low bar. <a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/01/colorado-shows-how-to-get-task-force-on.html" target="_blank">I have more about that here</a>. The story confirms that the Task
Force is not even considering the one recommendation that would make a huge
difference: abolishing mandatory reporting entirely.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156928276;">● </span><a href="https://witnessla.com/punishing-families-part-3-it-starts-with-a-phone-call/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156928276;"><i>WitnessLA</i> perfectly sums up</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156928276;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156928276;">
the harm of mandatory reporting laws in a story that begins this way:</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156928276;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156928276;"><i>Mandated
reporting laws have led to a flood of calls to report suspected child abuse and
neglect, burying calls about kids who are in critical danger, while subjecting
many more families whose children are safe to unnecessary surveillance and
separation.</i></span> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156928276;">● </span><a href="https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-parents-facing-child-welfare-investigations-set-to-get-rights-notices"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156928276;"><i>Gothamist</i> has real news</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156928276;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156928276;">
about what should be called fake Miranda rights – the notices that New York
City’s family police agency, the Administration for Children’s Services, will
give parents when ACS caseworkers pound on their doors. Among other problems, unlike
proposed state legislation, ACS’s misleading notices will tell families some of
their rights – but not all of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156928276;">But my favorite part
of the story is where ACS Commissioner Jess Dannhauser objects to a provision
in the state bill which would require his caseworkers to inform families,
Miranda-style that “anything can be used against you in a court of law” because
that “might increase fear.”</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156928276;">Right. Because there’s
nothing to fear from a government agency that can march into your home,
stripsearch your kids and take them away from you on-the-spot!</span></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-12955609988269478822024-01-21T23:34:00.001-05:002024-01-21T23:34:00.285-05:00NCCPR in the Arizona Mirror: No, sex-trafficking satanists have not infested DCS. The real problems are way worse.<p>Here’s the good news: Contrary to what one state legislator
seems to believe, the Arizona Department of Child Safety is not in the grip of
a global satanic sex trafficking cabal. Here’s the bad news: The real problems
at DCS are way worse. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If it were just a few satanists in high places, all we’d
have to do is weed them out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the
real problems at DCS are rooted in a culture that has plagued the mostly
well-meaning people working in Arizona child welfare for decades: the false
assumption that child removal equals child safety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The result is a system that makes all Arizona
children less safe. … </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2024/01/18/no-sex-trafficking-satanists-have-not-infested-dcs-the-real-problems-are-way-worse/" target="_blank">Read the full column in the <i>Arizona Mirror</i></a></b><o:p></o:p></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-88573767875413774752024-01-18T23:41:00.001-05:002024-01-18T23:41:00.127-05:00NCCPR news and commentary roundup week ending January 18, 2024<p>● <a name="_Hlk156479026">You hear it from
family police agencies all the time: We never take children because of poverty
alone. </a><a href="https://www.wabe.org/georgia-housing-assistance-foster-care/">This investigative report from WABE Public
Radio in Atlanta and ProPublica</a>
could have been called: Like hell they don’t!
It documents hundreds of cases in which Georgia family police tore apart
families for lack of housing – and nothing else. Read it and watch how, paragraph after
paragraph, the madness of the system unfolds. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156479026;">There’s
the caseworker who probably didn’t even know she was admitting her agency routinely
violates federal law requiring “reasonable efforts” to keep families together,
when she seemed to be telling the mother at the center of the story that the
agency isn’t obligated to do a damn thing.</span></span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156479026;">Or
the judge who wouldn’t return the children because “these children have lived
in unstable living arrangements long enough” – dooming the children to be split
from each other into separate foster homes, moved from placement to placement
to the point that two of them had to spend a night in a family police agency
office.</span></span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156479026;">Or
if the harm to children isn’t enough, there’s the fact that taxpayers are spending
vastly more on foster care than it would cost to just provide the housing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And not just Georgia taxpayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the case is eligible for federal aid, and
it probably is, we all paid to wreak havoc on this family.</span></span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">● Hope this isn’t a spoiler, but </span></span><a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/foster-care-judge-janis-jack/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">the
best part of a <i>Texas Monthly</i> story</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">
about that long-running McLawsuit against the state’s horrific foster care
system comes at the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plaintiffs
want to put the Texas system into receivership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That almost never happens, so the <i>Texas Monthly</i> reporter thought
it would be a good idea to check with a family law expert who’s actually seen
one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the story:</span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;"><i></i></span></span></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;"><i>Matthew Fraidin, a law professor at the
University of the District of Columbia, watched receivership play out in the
Washington, D.C., foster care system, following a lawsuit similar to the one in
Texas. Six years of federal oversight there produced scandal and mixed results.
Many argued that the foster care system was in no better shape after the
federal takeover. The case ended in 2021, after more than thirty years. The
only real change came, Fraidin argues, once the district focused on removing
fewer children from their homes to limit the size of the foster care system.
About a decade ago, his law students represented parents whose children were
removed to foster care, he says, “and in sixty percent of the cases they were
returned home without ever being found abused or neglected.”</i></span></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;"><i>In Texas, that hasn’t been part of the
reforms Jack has ordered, but Fraidin says it may be the only way out of the
quagmire. Lawsuits like the one before Jack “are doomed to leave agencies as
bureaucracies that are focused on the wrong thing.”</i></span></span> </p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">● In Arizona, </span></span><a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2024/01/18/no-sex-trafficking-satanists-have-not-infested-dcs-the-real-problems-are-way-worse/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">NCCPR
explains in the <i>AZ Mirror</i></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;"></span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">, it’s a good news, bad
news story:</span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;"><i></i></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;"><i>Here’s the good news: Contrary to what
one state legislator seems to believe, the Arizona Department of Child Safety
is not in the grip of a global satanic sex trafficking cabal. Here’s the bad
news: The real problems at DCS are way worse.</i></span></span> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">● NCCPR has released a new Issue Paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s all about </span></span><a href="https://nccpr.org/nccpr-issue-paper-16-the-failure-of-mandatory-reporting/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">the
enormous harm of mandatory child abuse reporting laws</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">.</span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">● Last week’s round-up included a news story
about a surprising report from a commission studying those laws.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/01/colorado-shows-how-to-get-task-force-on.html"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">I
have a blog post about it</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">.</span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;">● And private foster care agencies in New
York are trying to sucker the State Legislature into giving them a $200 million
bailout. No clickbait here; you absolutely <i>will </i>believe why they say
they need it. <a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/01/ny-foster-care-agencies-are-being-sued.html" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/01/ny-foster-care-agencies-are-being-sued.html" target="_blank">It’s in this blog post.</a></span><a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/01/ny-foster-care-agencies-are-being-sued.html" target="_blank"> </a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;"><i>In this week’s edition of The Horror
Stories Go in All Directions:</i></span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">The Sacramento Bee </span></span><a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article284161503.html"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">has
an update</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;"> on the tragic death of a child in an
Arizona group home.</span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">And </span></span><a href="https://turnto10.com/i-team/scathing-report-no-surprise-to-some-with-experience-at-troubled-home-for-kids-southern-new-england-rhode-island-dcyf-department-of-children-january-12-2024"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;">WJAR-TV
in Providence has an update</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156480256;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk155694950;"> on that scathing report on conditions at a
residential treatment center in Rhode Island.</span></span></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-77555915135146022962024-01-17T23:46:00.004-05:002024-01-18T08:57:08.373-05:00NY foster care agencies are being sued by survivors of horrific abuse. Their response: Taxpayers should bail us out!<p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Agencies that
have failed kids for more than 100 years say <i>they’re </i>too big to
fail. </b></span></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>And why did the CEO
of the agency that runs the notorious Pleasantville Cottage School get nearly $700,000
in compensation in 2022?</b> </span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEN7SD9aERVO7-w1fCj6Qb2pJNGFREPA-xTwgfOrNtiFeL9N5slHzT6C0on06aVrDfbIStZqj8yOoLPWAfefM3-lSs6fsyB3PhH-JGMVA31lnSU0Em6m3-j16MDkZ44KcTmqBbxycLf_w1DJ3aMZCfdK-0e4GbWKkYbyhdGkWisx-SAvrRYvO4LV97Zxu/s4903/DailyNewsStory.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2809" data-original-width="4903" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEN7SD9aERVO7-w1fCj6Qb2pJNGFREPA-xTwgfOrNtiFeL9N5slHzT6C0on06aVrDfbIStZqj8yOoLPWAfefM3-lSs6fsyB3PhH-JGMVA31lnSU0Em6m3-j16MDkZ44KcTmqBbxycLf_w1DJ3aMZCfdK-0e4GbWKkYbyhdGkWisx-SAvrRYvO4LV97Zxu/w400-h229/DailyNewsStory.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>It's been nearly 50 years since the </i>New York Daily News<i> series "Big Money, Little Victims"<br />exposed the power and the greed of private "child welfare" agencies, and abuse in their foster homes <br />and institutions. Now, those "Little Victims" are all grown up - and some of them are suing.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />George Orwell had a
term for the ability to simultaneously accept two conflicting beliefs as truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He called it “doublethink.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s a perfect example: <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">Our private foster
care agencies are so wonderful, so essential to the public good that we
absolutely must get a taxpayer bailout – so we can pay damages to the huge
numbers of children abused for decades in our foster homes and institutions!</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">Private agencies in
New York State are trying to sucker the State Legislature into believing just
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not content with sponging off
taxpayers for decades, to the tune of, on average, 90% of their income, now </span><a href="https://www.nynmedia.com/opinion/2024/01/opinion-serving-justice-while-limiting-collateral-damage/393259/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">they’re demanding even more</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">, in order to avoid true accountability for
decades of horrific abuse.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">It’s all come about
because, like other states, New York extended the statute of limitations for
victims of child abuse to sue their abusers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The primary target was predator priests, but lo’ and behold, more than
1,500 suits have been brought against the private agencies that run the group
homes and institutions and, especially in New York City, oversee private foster
homes as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyEeD6UDZp3J8A9_drx61pbNKg_pOpXsA9Dar46c_9zHIpyW4ACWFwX5PCZ1QiBC8NQLixip1sgZ2arFW_TfVYVW-A7u0IntpK4NelSc_FFXopZgGY6lnM3Azv03TjBwAoL268F-BaWWrXvAXzkSqTK7gJXdydX5rdlyvkr_f2H6Vk1Tap1Dzy2AUZikm/s437/00011724bailout1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="238" data-original-width="437" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyEeD6UDZp3J8A9_drx61pbNKg_pOpXsA9Dar46c_9zHIpyW4ACWFwX5PCZ1QiBC8NQLixip1sgZ2arFW_TfVYVW-A7u0IntpK4NelSc_FFXopZgGY6lnM3Azv03TjBwAoL268F-BaWWrXvAXzkSqTK7gJXdydX5rdlyvkr_f2H6Vk1Tap1Dzy2AUZikm/s320/00011724bailout1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Their power is
diminished from their heyday when, with boards of directors drawn from deep in
the city’s business, civic and religious elite, they could say “Jump!” and
public officials were expected to say “How high?” (For an excellent description
of that heyday see Nina Bernstein’s masterpiece <a href="https://www.nationalbook.org/books/the-lost-children-of-wilder-the-epic-struggle-to-change-foster-care/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"><i>The Lost Children of Wilder</i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">.)
But in the city, these agencies still <i>are</i> the foster care system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have been that system for more than 160
years – at least since Charles Loring Brace founded the Children’s Aid Society
in 1852.</span> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">That so many
lawsuits would be directed against these agencies should come as no
surprise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I told the Albany <i>Times Union,
</i></span><a href="https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Predators-go-where-the-prey-is-Lawsuits-15790964.php"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">which first pointed this out in 2020</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">, predators go where the prey is.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">New York is not
alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After California passed similar
legislation, </span><a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-01/la-county-prepares-for-litigation-sexual-abuse-lawsuits"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">the <i>Los Angeles Times</i> reported</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"> that in Los Angeles alone,</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"><i>County officials
predicted that they may be forced to spend between $1.6 billion and $3 billion
to resolve roughly 3,000 claims of sexual abuse that allegedly took place in
the county’s foster homes, children shelters, and probation camps and halls
dating to the 1950s.</i></span> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">But instead of
responding by promising to clean up their acts once and for all (an impossible
promise to keep in any event for reasons discussed below) the New York agencies
are demanding that they be insulated from true accountability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They say they’re not just too big, but too
pure too noble and just too all-around-wonderful to fail and terrible things
will happen if the rest of us don’t bail them out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"><a name="_Hlk156384570">In other words: We’re in danger of going out of business
because we were the site of decades of horrendous child abuse, but we’re so
wonderful we should get a taxpayer bailout so we don’t go out of business after
being the site of decades of horrendous child abuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doublethink.</a></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">The agencies are
demanding special help to get insurance, and </span><a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S4866"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">$200 million from state taxpayers</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"> to pay what insurance doesn’t cover. (The
fund also would be available for public school districts.) Where, then, is the
incentive for these agencies to finally put a halt, or at least curb, all that
abuse of children in their care?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">The New York
agencies aren’t alone. Indiana agencies sought a law giving them immunity from
most lawsuits by abuse survivors – and they almost got it, until </span><a href="https://www.indystar.com/story/news/investigations/2023/04/26/after-revelations-of-sexual-abuse-claims-lawmakers-drop-immunity-plan/70153591007/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">the <i>Indianapolis Star</i> revealed what
they were up to</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">.</span> </p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"><b>“An industry-wide
problem”</b></span> </span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">It’s not as if the
people running these agencies can say that, after all, the abuses were all in
the past and we’ve fixed everything now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On the contrary, not a week goes by without </span><a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2023/12/in-child-welfare-horror-stories-go-in.html"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">an expose of horrific abuse</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"> at some group home or residential treatment
center somewhere in America.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-PL0D3FjCo_ygIkouIOwjPBjDQz7UWb9U_AA1-5xqOI9Ntm4EYbXjVokalx_FnyqkHQwr44zfUZ1wHRsgjBylwfb-sYVxJ18Ijbcmu7pbTnhGj7rPZmT3w5DqZjkSu7g7i7PfnO4bYs3wtCEbcBk1QBzNNrYF5BrOyXFDUIqJec_gr05RyUHHwNcFfnAS/s901/00011724bailout2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="901" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-PL0D3FjCo_ygIkouIOwjPBjDQz7UWb9U_AA1-5xqOI9Ntm4EYbXjVokalx_FnyqkHQwr44zfUZ1wHRsgjBylwfb-sYVxJ18Ijbcmu7pbTnhGj7rPZmT3w5DqZjkSu7g7i7PfnO4bYs3wtCEbcBk1QBzNNrYF5BrOyXFDUIqJec_gr05RyUHHwNcFfnAS/s320/00011724bailout2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The Senior Vice
President and Chief Strategy Officer at the Devereux residential McTreatment
chain accidentally gave away the game when speaking not decades ago but in 2020,
after the <i>Philadelphia Inquirer</i> <a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2020/08/the-philadelphia-inquirer-exposes.html"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">exposed rampant abuse</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">
in Devereux facilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Said Leah Yaw:</span> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><i>“This is not an
aberration that happens at Devereux because of some kind of lack of control or
structure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is an industry-wide
problem." </i></blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">And like any other
industry, the foster care industrial complex needs to be held fully accountable
when children are abused in its homes and institutions.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">Want a New York
example? Take Pleasantville Cottage School – please.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">The <i>Times-Union </i>story
begins with a 13-year-old boy who says he was sexually abused by a teacher
there in the early 1980s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The abuser “told
me that he had the power of whether I go home to my mother or not,” the
survivor said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His is one of at least 10
lawsuits just against Pleasantville, involving abuse dating back as far as
1973.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">Then there was that
time in the 1990s, when a 13-year-old at Pleasantville strangled another child
to death.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">Then in 2002, a counselor
was horrendously beaten and tortured for an hour, and, as </span><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/nightmare-pleasantville-147861"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"><i>Newsweek</i> reported</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">, “four boys tried to sodomize a fellow
resident with a cucumber, two boys stole a school car and caused two accidents
during their joyride, and another boy was charged with sexual misconduct.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">And that was just
in a single week.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">So, how have things
been going lately? The online news site <i>The City</i> reports that</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"><i>“In 2019 … a
young man on campus was paralyzed after being restrained by program staff and
died a year later, according to Mount Pleasant Police Chief Paul Oliva. …
Residents also regularly get into fights, break windows, assault staff and
threaten to hurt themselves or someone else, police records show.”</i></span> </blockquote><p></p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">It's always someone else's fault</span></b></span></h2><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">Of course, the
people who run Pleasantville Cottage School have an excuse for all this –
because remember, nothing that goes wrong at a residential treatment center is <i>ever</i>
the fault of the residential treatment center.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No, it’s the kids' fault!</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">Before I explain,
please keep something in mind: Over and over again the excuse RTCs offer up for
their existence is that they take the most difficult children – the ones who
are so very, very difficult that no family could possibly handle them so they
have to be institutionalized.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"></span><a href="https://nccpr.org/residential-treatment-what-the-research-tells-us-all-purpose-foster-care-industrial-complex-excuse-checklist/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"></span></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNuzMc41sY1IEkUgTZiRIVUSAGctMnR0VJlwBWzU2kWWwe4ly0uAOoEvZuzYkSW5GN4Idft2NJKIGnQsAWWVthyphenhyphenacUdTL3E28IYK_WBWfRj_nZzGhXV-5jHPmsfuBhT-EfVCkL-rJEbwZy_dgv-YJMlwoUWEfUobsyjiLRlcTxPvCHSMUUF3q40fMA1YE/s901/00011724bailout4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="901" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNuzMc41sY1IEkUgTZiRIVUSAGctMnR0VJlwBWzU2kWWwe4ly0uAOoEvZuzYkSW5GN4Idft2NJKIGnQsAWWVthyphenhyphenacUdTL3E28IYK_WBWfRj_nZzGhXV-5jHPmsfuBhT-EfVCkL-rJEbwZy_dgv-YJMlwoUWEfUobsyjiLRlcTxPvCHSMUUF3q40fMA1YE/s320/00011724bailout4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This is not true<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">.
There is nothing an RTC does that can’t be done better and at lower cost with
Wrapraround services brought directly into a child’s own home or a foster
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I mention this now because,
confronted with the huge problems at Pleasantville Cottage School the director
of the institution’s parent agency, a former head of New York City’s family
police agency, Ron Richter, says, wait for it: The kids are <i>too</i>
difficult!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">You see, they
claim, it’s all because in 2014 former Gov. Andrew Cuomo cut back on inpatient state
psychiatric beds, so these too-difficult-to-handle young people wound up at
Pleasantville and similar institutions.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">Sadly, <i>The City</i>,
usually a savvy news organization, believed Richter’s </span><a href="https://www.thecity.nyc/2024/01/03/pleasantville-influx-of-nyc-kids/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">whole party line</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">. -- even though the same institution made
the same excuse in 2002 – twelve years before the cutbacks they blame now.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">In fact, the <i>Times
Union</i> reports, the Pleasantville Cottage School counselor who made
precisely that excuse to the equally credulous <i>New York Times</i> in 2002
has now been named as an alleged sex abuser in a Child Victims Act lawsuit! The
survivor alleges that the counselor, whom she says is now dead, repeatedly
raped her during the 1970s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When she
eventually worked up the courage to tell the then-CEO of Pleasantville Cottage
School in the 1990s, she says, “he swept it under the rug.”</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">But, if
Pleasantville and all the other New York agencies are to be believed, they are
the real victims, and they need a taxpayer bailout.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">Their argument
boils down to: If we don’t get the extra money we’ll go out of business, all
our wonderful services will end and all our employees will be out of work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">Only the first part
might be true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">The rest is just a
testament to their own arrogance: the bizarre assumption that no one else can
run a foster care agency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously,
someone is going to have to oversee the foster homes and, if we insist on
having them, group homes and institutions – though, one hopes, this will be
seen as an opportunity to phase the latter out, since they are </span><a href="https://nccpr.org/residential-treatment-what-the-research-tells-us-all-purpose-foster-care-industrial-complex-excuse-checklist/"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">demonstrably unnecessary</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">The reason abusive
institutions can’t be fixed is that abuse is baked into the model. To
understand why, imagine if we were starting from scratch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suppose somebody said: I have a great
idea!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s take a whole bunch of
children who have been traumatized, either by what happened to them in their
homes, or by being removed from their homes or both, all of them strangers to
each other, and put them all together 24/7 right at the age when they are most
vulnerable to peer pressure – and to predators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What could possibly go wrong?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">Yet that’s what
we’ve done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But now we have a chance to
do better<a name="_Hlk156384686">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
prospect of these old-line agencies going out of business is not something to
be feared; it’s an opportunity to be seized and a cause to rejoice: It’s a
chance to start over and build a system that is not dependent on
institutionalizing children.</a></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">If, as a result,
the well-paid leaders of these agencies have to leave, (Richter alone pulled
down more than half a million dollars in compensation in 2021 – and then got more
than 30% more --</span><a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/131624060"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"> nearly $700,000, in 2022!</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">)
the message to them should be: Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAY1amk-R-wsL-0EKCGWDAFRZk9_XNLOrGdMSTTWnIDE_jAPoYWzd7JwZMIXP2ERvfvvPcrUwaa9GsJEQFMcFzrpJKk1eYdWcNhP7VJLams4R10s4tJ7_M9z_rRU6n78PK2rbM1yYuEGvS92TvfPOODEGSCs98vDeTIINyrhxyd824oU9Fk406uDQPDJei/s1313/RichterSalary.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="1313" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAY1amk-R-wsL-0EKCGWDAFRZk9_XNLOrGdMSTTWnIDE_jAPoYWzd7JwZMIXP2ERvfvvPcrUwaa9GsJEQFMcFzrpJKk1eYdWcNhP7VJLams4R10s4tJ7_M9z_rRU6n78PK2rbM1yYuEGvS92TvfPOODEGSCs98vDeTIINyrhxyd824oU9Fk406uDQPDJei/w497-h166/RichterSalary.png" width="497" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>From ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">I’m not saying
government actually will seize this opportunity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not saying they, or some new private
entities would do it any better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A large
chunk of what Los Angeles may have to pay is thanks to that government-run
hellhole </span><a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-05-17/abuse-allegations-maclaren"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">MacLaren Hall</span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">, which closed in 2003. But it would be hard
for anyone to do worse.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">And to the extent
that there may be any visionaries willing to try, now’s a good chance.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">The harm done by
New York’s big, old-line foster care agencies is nothing new.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In May 1975, the <i>New York Daily News</i>
exposed them in a multi-part series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
exposed not only the abuse but also how the agencies at that time were
prolonging children’s time in foster care – because they were reimbursed for
every day they held a child in their “care.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I read that series a few months before starting Journalism school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The stories started me on a nearly 50-year
journey first as a reporter, now as an advocate.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk156311420;">The series was
called “Big Money, Little Victims.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Today, some of the little victims are grown up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing can ever really compensate them for
what they endured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they have a right
to some of that big money.</span></p><p></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-50972732256955832242024-01-16T23:00:00.017-05:002024-01-17T14:11:19.483-05:00Colorado shows how to get a task force on mandatory child abuse reporting – less wrong<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQT2tZD0u29m4uPGNbWWW2XBtcrG_JmeHyOvPz0yyDbYl9QSjrs1-8nqVcQeQI5B_eM1G2FVHbPa91f8SC-LzPQD-OBFYNGtT2yUFRDjn9G4llSR8itCvEzsSv95PhA_no51Umi0BgDkTYflg2iUDG0dTv8M7CweYYHVnv24oQFgppp_7m5JTzG4cT4Vc/s4160/Colorado_State_Capitol_Building_(4183402503)%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2100" data-original-width="4160" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQT2tZD0u29m4uPGNbWWW2XBtcrG_JmeHyOvPz0yyDbYl9QSjrs1-8nqVcQeQI5B_eM1G2FVHbPa91f8SC-LzPQD-OBFYNGtT2yUFRDjn9G4llSR8itCvEzsSv95PhA_no51Umi0BgDkTYflg2iUDG0dTv8M7CweYYHVnv24oQFgppp_7m5JTzG4cT4Vc/w575-h290/Colorado_State_Capitol_Building_(4183402503)%20(1).jpg" width="575" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Colorado State Capitol</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <b>In a surprising interim report, the task force says step
one is narrowing definitions of abuse and neglect so they’re not conflated with
poverty.</b></span></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></span></h2>
<div style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1pt 4pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i><i>The
Task Force has agreed that it must first address Colorado’s current definition
of child abuse and neglect. … Colorado’s current definition of abuse and neglect is too broad and conflates
several circumstances – such as poverty – with child abuse. Without first
addressing the definition of abuse and neglect, the Task Force cannot
meaningfully recommend changes to the current mandatory reporting system or
law.</i></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: right;">--<a href="https://coloradocpo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Mandatory-Reporting-Task-Force-Interim-Report-2024.pdf">Interim
Report of the Colorado Mandatory Reporting Task Force</a><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>All over the country, there’s a knee-jerk response to a horror
story that in any way may have involved a failure by someone to report child
abuse: The state legislature rushes to expand which professionals are forced to
report any suspicion of “child abuse” or “neglect.” (Except, of course, in the
18 states where these laws already apply to everyone. In those states all lawmakers can do is
further expand what must be reported.) </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the research summarized in <a href="https://nccpr.org/nccpr-issue-paper-16-the-failure-of-mandatory-reporting/">NCCPR’s
new Issue Paper</a> makes clear, this has backfired – creating a massive child
welfare surveillance state that scares families away from seeking help,
overloads the system with false reports, trivial cases and poverty cases, and
leaves workers even less time to find the few children in real danger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, <a name="_Hlk156202622">mandatory
reporting makes all children less safe.</a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When legislatures don’t actually expand mandatory reporting
themselves, they create a committee/task force/commission or maybe even a <i>blue
ribbon</i> commission to tell them how to do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The committee/task force/commission spends a
year or two on a report that does just that. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPpskdJqJ-Vxt9j7ycxRNFe-FCoONB9T5XZ-sW1XPr7zDpWQPbdYQLTnpdhQHzzFoiGHUIFoUimXvwi-D1szi36Z3GDWzg2YHVEteISdESi9HRgfbo61WH0A9vXaYCWWIcRuHMBLK_BW_4wMfrkNHbzTDbJeVctaP99WD5l9PwE6FuCquSjYzgNJI-RA4/s505/00011524mr1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="505" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPpskdJqJ-Vxt9j7ycxRNFe-FCoONB9T5XZ-sW1XPr7zDpWQPbdYQLTnpdhQHzzFoiGHUIFoUimXvwi-D1szi36Z3GDWzg2YHVEteISdESi9HRgfbo61WH0A9vXaYCWWIcRuHMBLK_BW_4wMfrkNHbzTDbJeVctaP99WD5l9PwE6FuCquSjYzgNJI-RA4/s320/00011524mr1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>That was the original plan in Massachusetts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The state’s most fanatical advocate for a
take-the-child-and-run approach, state “Child Advocate” Maria Mossaides, was
named to chair a commission on mandatory reporting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She led the commission by the nose, let them
hear only what she wanted them to hear, until, finally, she had to hold a
public hearing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Almost every witness
told the Commission it was on the wrong track, and should recommend curbing or
abolishing mandatory reporting instead of expanding it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having finally heard what Mossaides <i>didn’t
</i>want them to hear, Commission members said they were “shocked” “surprised”
and “taken aback.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://failingjob1.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">They
wound up recommending nothing. </a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then it was Colorado’s turn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><a name="_Hlk156202803">It seems everyone in Colorado learned from
Massachusetts’ mistakes – but no one learned quite enough.</a> </p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>First, the good news</b> </span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">The learning curve begins with the Colorado Legislature, which
included in its charge to the <a href="https://coloradocpo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Mandatory-Reporting-Task-Force-Interim-Report-2024.pdf">Colorado
Mandated Reporter Task Force</a> a requirement to examine how implicit bias in
mandatory reporting disproportionately affects families of color, people with
disabilities and under-resourced communities. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It continued with the chair of the Colorado Task Force,
Mossaides’ Colorado counterpart, Stephane Villafuerte, the state’s “Child Protection
Ombudsman.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been <a href="https://coloradoreport.blogspot.com/p/a-blueprint-for-child-safety-from.html">quite
critical of Villafuerte in the past</a>, both concerning a different task force
she chairs, on residential treatment, and her office’s previous work concerning
mandatory reporting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this time, to
her credit, she exposed the commission members to a full range of viewpoints. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDHv9i3vvxGte0GGFdYxHtVFDatrEJrRrVXV57xJTvhSENc6aL4OgLyn5u82VDkX5d5BPYISNVVwKyQVFn9PUajRIb0X5M60m9PQ4kCGL3eys_FhQYvaVg6l-D0ctKtqZ3KDZnoaQH4N-gbQvVzGp8e7x62AD44PTlUrCroNnviXfQbpYT7zbozzA3Qoy-/s575/00011524mr2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="575" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDHv9i3vvxGte0GGFdYxHtVFDatrEJrRrVXV57xJTvhSENc6aL4OgLyn5u82VDkX5d5BPYISNVVwKyQVFn9PUajRIb0X5M60m9PQ4kCGL3eys_FhQYvaVg6l-D0ctKtqZ3KDZnoaQH4N-gbQvVzGp8e7x62AD44PTlUrCroNnviXfQbpYT7zbozzA3Qoy-/s320/00011524mr2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Yes, they heard from the usual suspects, such as Casey
Family Programs and Colorado’s own Kempe Center.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they also heard from Jerry Milner, once
the federal government’s highest-ranking official overseeing child welfare, <a href="https://www.thefamilyjusticegroup.org/">now co-founder of the Family
Justice Group</a>, and someone who has emerged as a leading opponent of the
vast overreach of the current system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They also heard from Prof. Kelley Fong, whose landmark book <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691235714/investigating-families"><i>Investigating
Families</i></a> has quickly emerged as the gold standard for research in this
field. <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Given that the Task Force heard from the full range of
viewpoints, it shouldn’t have been a shock when<br /> <a name="_Hlk156202865">the
Task Force concluded it would be a terrible idea to expand who must report and
when they must report it until the Legislature first narrows down what it is
they should report.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></a>So the Task
Force is actually going to put the horse before the cart and first address how
to do that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the interim report
explains: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>Colorado’s current definition of abuse and neglect is too
broad and conflates several circumstances – such as poverty – with child abuse.
This effectively requires mandatory reporters to report circumstances that may
not involve the safety or well-being of children.</i></blockquote><i><o:p></o:p></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Task Force also will be looking into two other areas
that have the potential to lead to constructive recommendations: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>The development of warmlines and alternative reporting
methods.</i> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This could be useful if these alternatives lead to places in
no way connected with family police agencies, and if any mandated reporter who
takes advantage of these alternatives is immune from any penalty for “failure
to report.” (In other words, if these alternatives provide an off-ramp from the
mandatory reporting expressway.) </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>Consideration of possible exemptions for professionals
working with legal representation teams and/or victims of domestic violence or
sexual violence.</i> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Survivors of domestic violence are among those most
adversely affected by mandatory reporting. Some survivors, usually mothers, are
scared away from leaving their abusers for fear that their children will be
taken away because they “failed to protect” the children from seeing them being
beaten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, <a href="https://nccpr.org/when-children-witness-domestic-violence-expert-opinion/">that
really happens</a>. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And, obviously, the effectiveness of a social worker working
with a family defense attorney to, say, craft an alternative to the cookie-cutter
“service plans” typically issued by family police agencies is limited if they
are, themselves, mandatory reporters. </p>
<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Now the bad news</b> </span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXuit3XIRau3ttPOAbQnaMAA20Zc8oCdJvHl4Sxb8Emk6jiVI8cIZkD-jYl0gWlcwrxq1oeKeHzb6BPE39EPFfva6PM3KECBwl9baqNFzlQK6CdRZ7vVs0lW6ScbdcGc25XwnTohR7y_6F3baGp68bZsTVkpw1LdqEQKH2Z_Xp4FWn6IFmilvtSyd_y2a8/s981/00011524mr4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="981" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXuit3XIRau3ttPOAbQnaMAA20Zc8oCdJvHl4Sxb8Emk6jiVI8cIZkD-jYl0gWlcwrxq1oeKeHzb6BPE39EPFfva6PM3KECBwl9baqNFzlQK6CdRZ7vVs0lW6ScbdcGc25XwnTohR7y_6F3baGp68bZsTVkpw1LdqEQKH2Z_Xp4FWn6IFmilvtSyd_y2a8/s320/00011524mr4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>When it comes to mandatory reporting nibbling around the
edges isn’t going to accomplish much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Narrowing definitions is a good idea, but mandatory reporters are still
going to be afraid not to report.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Exempting some professionals will still leave most professionals
required to report and afraid to do anything else. <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk156202911">When it comes to mandatory
reporting, the most meaningful solution, by far, is to abolish it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abolishing mandatory reporting does not mean
abolishing reporting; it would simply free professionals to exercise their professional
judgment – and send a vital message that every family problem is not a family
policing problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Although the Colorado Legislature clearly didn’t contemplate
this, the Task Force is free to give lawmakers whatever advice it pleases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, while not nearly as bad as Mossaides,
Villafuerte appears to have foreclosed this option. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Legislature also appeared obsessed with promoting the
least helpful solution of all – that all-purpose family policing establishment
cop-out: more “training.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But even if a
few hours of “training” could magically cure a lifetime of biases, it still
wouldn’t solve the problem of mandated reporters being afraid not to report.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But at least the Colorado Task Force might get some people
to think twice about mandatory reporting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In most states, they’re not even thinking once.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><b>For more on mandatory reporting in general, and the Colorado Task Force in particular, <a href="https://coloradosun.com/2023/03/07/mandatory-reporting-child-abuse-task-force/" target="_blank">see this excellent story.</a></b></i></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-48433892086384154762024-01-14T23:06:00.001-05:002024-01-14T23:06:00.136-05:00 NCCPR's new Issue Paper: The Failure of Mandatory Reporting <p><i>Last week NCCPR published its first entirely new <a href="https://nccpr.org/issue-papers-family-preservation-foster-care-and-reasonable-efforts/" target="_blank">Issue Paper</a> in 15 years. We pull together in summary form, with links to sources, the ugly history and enormous harm of mandatory "child abuse" reporting laws. <a href="https://nccpr.org/nccpr-issue-paper-16-the-failure-of-mandatory-reporting/" target="_blank">It's available on our website, </a>or you can read it right here:</i></p><p><b>NCCPR ISSUE PAPER #16: THE FAILURE OF MANDATORY REPORTING</b></p><p>Before termination of children’s rights to their parents (a
more accurate term than “termination of parental rights”), before children are
torn from the arms of their families and consigned to the chaos of foster care,
before someone from the family police agency (a more accurate term than “child
welfare” agency) pounds on the door in the middle of the night, demands entry,
interrogates and sometimes stripsearches the children as part of a traumatic
investigation – before any of that, there is a call to a child abuse “hotline.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In rare cases there is good reason to make that call.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In many more cases, there is not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And in some cases the people who make these
calls know how much harm they will do, but feel they have no choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because they are “mandated reporters.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Every state has a law requiring most professionals who work
with children to report any suspicion of “child abuse” or “child neglect.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 18 states all adults are mandatory
reporters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These laws are not evidence-based. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were rushed into place more than 50 years
ago, evidence-be-damned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nobody did any
studies before putting them into place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mandatory
reporting was a well-intended guess, born of hype and fearmongering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We guessed wrong, with terrible consequences
for children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are some of the
consequences: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● Even the original proponents of mandatory reporting didn’t
call for what we have now. Rather they wanted <a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9781469661216/abusive-policies/">a narrow
requirement</a> in which a few health professionals would be required to report
suspicions of sexual abuse or abuse causing serious physical injuries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But today, of every 100 calls to hotlines –
most of which are made by mandated reporters – 97 <a href="https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/report/child-maltreatment-2021">turn out <b>not</b>
to be</a> “substantiated” cases of sexual abuse or <i>any </i>form of physical
abuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Instead of a way of targeting horrendous cases of abuse,
mandatory reporting metastasized into the foundation of a giant child welfare
surveillance state, with disastrous consequences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today more than one-third of all children,
and <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303545">more
than half of Black children</a> will be forced to endure the trauma of a child
abuse investigation before they turn 18. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● That has made <i>all</i> children less safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to the trauma inflicted on
children forced to undergo interrogations and stripsearches, caseworkers are
drowning in false reports, trivial cases and cases in which <a href="https://nccpr.org/issue-papers-family-preservation-foster-care-and-reasonable-efforts/nccpr-issue-paper-5-who-is-in-the-system-and-why/">family
poverty is confused with neglect</a>, leaving them even less time to find the
few children in real danger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5388942/">As one study
explained</a>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“more reports made but
without sufficient evidence can divert valuable but limited resources from
endangered children who are actually in need of protection.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So it’s no wonder that in the years since mandatory
reporting was enacted <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/42659203">child
abuse deaths have increased</a> – and states in which the rate of reporting is lower
have proportionately no more child abuse deaths than where the rate is higher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Dr. Richard Krugman, former director of
the C. Henry Kempe National Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child
Abuse and Neglect, said of this approach: “Doing the same thing for 40 years
that doesn't seem (or can't be shown) to be working was someone's definition of
insanity.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● Mandatory reporting laws terrify impoverished families,
driving them away from seeking help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
Stephane Land, author of <i>Maid </i>and <i>Class </i><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/2023/11/09/parent-poverty-class-stephanie-land/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNjk5NTA2MDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzAwODg4Mzk5LCJpYXQiOjE2OTk1MDYwMDAsImp0aSI6IjUyZGUwM2E4LThhY2UtNDc5ZS1hYzFjLWZjMTljMDViMmFiZSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9wYXJlbnRpbmcvMjAyMy8xMS8wOS9wYXJlbnQtcG92ZXJ0eS1jbGFzcy1zdGVwaGFuaWUtbGFuZC8ifQ.UFRDPf8xmuIU64C2k6pR2tPtJTyxkQf-_dvDFlLd4dM">writes
about her years of poverty:</a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>“I couldn’t admit to [my child’s] teacher or the
principal that we sometimes didn’t have enough to eat. I was scared someone
might report me to child protective services and I might lose custody.”</i></blockquote>And rather than face clandestine drug testing and suspicion
from medical professionals who are mandatory reporters, pregnant people <a href="https://healthcity.bmc.org/policy-and-industry/mandatory-reporting-law-harmful-pregnant-people-sud">stay
away from</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29912478/">prenatal care</a>
and giving birth in hospitals. <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● Mandatory reporting is where the racial bias that
permeates family policing begins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mandatory reporters are more likely to suspect abuse or neglect <a href="https://nccpr.org/nccpr-issue-paper-7-family-policing-and-race/">if a
family is nonwhite</a> – even when everything else is identical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● Among those who suffer most: Children of domestic violence
victims.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Terrified that their children
will be taken under laws labeling them bad parents for <a href="https://nccpr.org/when-children-witness-domestic-violence-expert-opinion/">“allowing”</a>
their children to see them being beaten, a national survey found that <a href="https://lgbtqipv.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/CBLC-Mandatory-Reporting_Final-Report.pdf">domestic
violence survivors fear seeking help</a> – often for good reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://witnessla.com/op-ed-she-reached-out-for-help-and-got-her-kids-taken-away/">As
one mother said</a>, after exactly that happened: “I should have just let my
ex-husband beat my ass.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>ALMOST FROM THE START, FORMER PROPONENTS HAD SECOND
THOUGHTS<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">● 1983:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> Dr. Eli Newberger of Children’s Hospital in
Boston </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="http://www.elinewberger.com/the-helping-hand-strikes-again-unintended-consequences-of-child-abuse-reporting/"><span style="color: #8c0c0c; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">writes that</span></a></span><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> "had
professionals, like me, known then what we know now, we would never have urged
on Congress, federal and state officials broadened concepts of child abuse as
the basis for reporting legislation." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">● 1998:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> The National Research Council </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="https://www.nap.edu/read/5285/chapter/7#160"><span style="color: #8c0c0c; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">concludes</span></a></span><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> that “Mandatory reporting requirements were
adopted without evidence of their effectiveness; no reliable study has yet
demonstrated their positive or negative effects on the health and well-being of
children at risk of maltreatment, their parents and caregivers and service
providers.” (As we’ve seen, in the years since, studies have shown that the
effects of mandatory reporting are overwhelmingly negative.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">● 2011:</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> In the wake of the scandal involving former Penn
State football coach (and </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2011/12/child-abuse-at-penn-state-jerry.html"><span style="color: #8c0c0c; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">former foster parent</span></a></span><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> and group home operator) Jerry Sandusky, there
are calls to vastly expand mandated reporting. But another one-time
proponent of these laws, </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="https://abc7ny.com/archive/8427152/"><span style="color: #8c0c0c; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Prof. David Finkelhor says:</span></a></span><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> "Maybe it's better that people use
discretion ... If everybody obeyed the letter of the law and reported a
suspicion of abuse, the agencies would be completely overwhelmed with
reports." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>WHAT CAN BE DONE INSTEAD</b><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">First of all, “training” is not enough.<b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>“More training” is the all-purpose
cop-out the family police always propose to avoid real change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>True <a href="https://youthtoday.org/2021/02/i-took-a-mandated-reporter-training-course-on-child-abuse/">most
existing training is horrendous</a> – in fact, it’s not really training at all,
just never-ending exhortations to report! Report! Report!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But even less awful training, as has been
initiated <a href="https://youthtoday.org/2023/03/new-yorks-mandatory-reporter-training-wants-to-have-it-both-ways-thats-an-improvement/">in
New York State</a>, can accomplish very little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That’s because, while there are no penalties for false reports if made
in “good faith,” there are civil and criminal penalties for failure to
report.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So mandated reporters make “CYA
referrals.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Here's what <i>should </i>be done: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>● Abolish mandatory reporting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Abolishing<b> </b>mandatory reporting
does not mean abolishing reporting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Professionals
would remain free to exercise their professional judgment and report when they
felt it was genuinely necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>● Provide an “off-ramp.”</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If states are unwilling to repeal mandatory
reporting outright, they should at least provide an alternative to
professionals who prefer to be what activist Joyce McMillan calls mandatory
supporters instead of mandatory reporters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, for example, a teacher who made sure a hungry child got food, or a
child without warm clothing in the winter got clothing would be relieved of any
obligation to confuse that child’s poverty with neglect by calling a child
abuse hotline. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>● At a minimum, exempt witnessing domestic violence</b>
from grounds to report “child abuse” or “neglect” and exempt professionals who
primarily deal with domestic violence survivors from mandatory reporting
requirements. </p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-44806483179817566592024-01-10T23:30:00.001-05:002024-01-10T23:30:00.268-05:00NCCPR in WitnessLA: A Good California Supreme Court Decision Curbs The Family Police<p>A decision by the California Supreme Court sheds rare light
on how family police agencies (a more accurate term than “child welfare”
agencies) like the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family
Services behave, and how that behavior hurts children. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What makes this case stand out is that, aside from making it
all the way to the California Supreme Court, it doesn’t stand out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not a horror story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s just DCFS doing what it usually does as
it usually does it, leaving everyone worse off for their presence. … </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Read the full column in <i>WitnessLA</i>: <a href="https://witnessla.com/a-good-california-supreme-court-decision-curbs-the-family-police/">https://witnessla.com/a-good-california-supreme-court-decision-curbs-the-family-police/</a>
<o:p></o:p></b></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244168596429503437.post-43518486072815365742024-01-09T23:46:00.004-05:002024-01-14T11:30:59.098-05:00NCCPR news and commentary roundup weeks ending January 9, 2024<p>● Looks like another task force on “mandatory reporting”
laws might be pushing <i>a bit beyond</i> what <strike>back a bit against</strike> the lawmakers who appointed it <i>had in mind</i>. [This new language reflects a correction: To it's credit, the Colorado Legislature gave the task force more leeway than I'd realized.] It was a clear case of pushback <a href="https://failingjob1.blogspot.com/">in Massachusetts</a> when the
members of a task force in that state found out that the chair, the state’s
“Child Advocate” Maria Mossaides, had been misleading them. But in Colorado, things may be different. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In Colorado the task force also is led by the state’s child
advocate, Stephanie Villafuerte, – called the “ombudsman” in that state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the legislature’s charge to this task
force was a little broader than: “Who else should we force to report?” From the
beginning Villafuerte said this task force wouldn’t just look at how to expand
these laws – which have been <a href="https://nccpr.org/nccpr-issue-paper-16-the-failure-of-mandatory-reporting/" target="_blank">shown to backfire</a>, driving families away from
seeking help and deluging the system in false reports.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And from the beginning, she allowed the task force to hear
from a wider range of perspectives than the one in Massachusetts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now the Colorado task force members say they
won’t recommend a damn thing about who should report and when they should
report it until they first come up with proposals to the Legislature for ways
to narrow the definitions of “abuse” and “neglect”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2024/01/04/colorado-child-abuse-neglect-laws/">According
to <i>The Denver Post</i>:</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>Colorado’s definition of criminal child abuse and neglect
is too broad and should be narrowed to avoid conflating circumstances like
poverty or homelessness with neglect and abuse, the task force members wrote in
the report.</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></blockquote><i><o:p></o:p></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The <a href="https://coloradocpo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Mandatory-Reporting-Task-Force-Interim-Report-2024.pdf">12-page
report itself</a> is well worth reading. </p><p class="MsoNormal">● The case is unusual only in that it made it all the way to
the California Supreme Court – where it led to a very good ruling. But in every other respect, it’s like thousands
of others mishandled by the Los Angeles County family police and its
counterparts across the country. <a href="https://witnessla.com/a-good-california-supreme-court-decision-curbs-the-family-police/">I
write about six key lessons from the case for <i>WitnessLA</i></a><i>.</i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● In Iowa, a father tells the <i>Des Moines Register:</i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>“The sad part is that these doctors don’t realize that
even if the kids aren’t taken away, even if the parents are innocent, how it
can mess up an entire family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have
no understanding of what it does when somebody comes to your door unannounced
with the threat of taking away your kids.”</i> </blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2024/01/in-iowa-one-more-family-finds-out-what.html">I
have a blog post on the case</a>, with a link to the <i>Register</i> story. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● <a href="https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2024-01-04/missouri-lawmakers-propose-major-change-in-overseeing-child-abuse-claims" target="_blank">St.Louis Public Radio reports</a> on a bill that would curb an inherent conflict
of interest built into the family policing system in Missouri. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the bill doesn’t get to the heart of the
problem with Missouri’s so-called Juvenile Office – the fact that it shouldn’t
exist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://www.nccprblog.org/2021/04/child-welfare-in-missouri-has-dubious.html">I
wrote about that in 2021.</a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>In this week’s edition of The Horror Stories go in All
Directions:</i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● Among the many ways the so-called <a href="https://nccpr.org/the-nccpr-evidence-base-brief-analyses-and-commentaries/the-asfa-files/">Adoption
and Safe Families Act</a> fosters adoption-at-all-costs is a national Adoption
Excellence Awards program. (That’s in addition to the bounties the law pays for
every finalized adoption over a baseline number, even if the adoptions later
fail.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.wyomingnewsnow.tv/2024/01/02/casper-foster-parent-charged-with-26-felonies-including-child-endangerment/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery">Wyoming
News Now reports</a> that the winners of one of those awards now are in the
news for a different reason: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>Natrona County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Steven Marler,
a formally nationally recognized foster parent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Over the years, Marler and his wife, Kristen, have fostered over 60
children at their home on Casper Mountain. Now, Steven Marler is facing 26
felonies, including counts of child endangerment.</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></blockquote><i><o:p></o:p></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/01/05/abuse-charges-for-casper-foster-father-made-me-sick-says-former-lawmaker/"><i>Cowboy
State Daily</i></a> reports that one of those counts of endangerment is for
allegedly kicking a child off a roof and not getting him medical
attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The charges also include 20
counts “related to alleged sexual abuse of minors involving four children.” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● And in Rhode Island the headline on this <i>Providence
Journal</i> story about a “residential treatment center” sums things up well: <a href="https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/politics/2024/01/03/ri-child-advocate-releases-report-of-horrors-at-st-marys-home-for-children/72089460007/">Overdoses,
assault and restraints: Inside a damning report on St. Mary's Home for Children</a><o:p></o:p></p>National Coalition for Child Protection Reformhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086601064682481771noreply@blogger.com