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Question To Children Protective Services
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What are we doing to the next generations?
So it seems we have created a system in our country that takes children from homes, abuse or not, substantiated or not and places them in government subsidized homes and institutions under the guise of protection. There they keep them for a year with very limited contact with their families, not just the alleged offenders, but siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles. And while they are held in state "protection" their chances of abuse, physical, sexual, mental and emotional increases by about 25 percent according to statistics of states that have reported. And while these children are held, lots of people are making money, lawyers, court personnel, court investigators, evaluators and guardians, counselors, therapists, psychologists, residential facilities, foster parents, adoptive parents and believe it or not, the list continues.
We hear a lot in the media of the deaths of children not under state protection. We hear about the awful parents who injure or kill and we thank God for the protection services, but we rarely hear of the tragedies that happen under state care. Part of the problem lies in confidentiality laws and according to former Juvenile Court Justice, Judy Sheindlin (yes, Judge Judy), "The only people being protected here are caseworkers and other officials, who regularly hide behind a wall of secrecy." The system is based on money, big money and steady employment for many people, so the broken bones, rapes and deaths of the kids often go unheard.
Now before my email box fills with folks telling me about wonderful foster parents and social workers, let me clarify, I do not believe that all are bad, I know there are good ones, but many of those end up leaving the system, exhausted, disillusioned and frustrated. I also understand that some children are being seriously abused and need to be removed from abusive parents. What I am suggesting, however, is that the system is flawed and taking time to check the links I have provided, it´s clear that many who work in the system agree and feel it needs to be reformed, at least and at most, torn down and rebuilt.
Children are not products and should not be bought, sold and managed like inanimate objects. And really, when we think about the numbers and consider the abuses, what are we doing to the next generations? How are these kids supposed to move into the world and become high achievers? How will these children adjust to the adult world without a cloud of victim hood perpetually following them? Thankfully, some will survive and shine in life, but that is only due to the amazing power of the human spirit. Over and over through researching this subject I saw children left in abusive parental homes while under state protection and others taken from families and moved into abusive government subsidized homes..... Read more......
By Victoria Hardy
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In Loving Memory Of Children Who Didn't Have to Die - 2006
Andrea Marshall, executive director of Prevent Child Abuse Indiana, said the state's child protection system is failing children.
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January-February-March-April
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Samantha Martin
13-year-old
2006
Alberta,Canada
Deuntay Miller
2-year-old
2006
Detroit,Michigan
Lexi Soutos
5-year-old
2006
Shriners Hospital for Children
Philadelphia
Ta'Shon Rain
Little Light
5-year-old
2006
Montana
January
Crystal Figueroa
3-year-old
January 2006
Las Vegas,Nevada
Jaquez Mason
3-year-old
January 1,2006
Deerfield Beach
Florida
Foster girl "D"
15-year-old
January 2, 2006
Alberta,Canada
Jaylee Logan
2-month-old
January 7, 2006
Bronx,New York
Krystal Halliburton
7-month-old
January 8, 2006
Aberdeen,South Dakota
Melissa Sale
14-month-old
January 8, 2006
Paengaroa
New Zealand
Lacey Lynn Nichols
15-month-old
January 9, 2006
Coleman,Texas
Nixzmary Brown
7-year-old
January 11, 2006
Brooklyn,New York
Michael Segarra
2-month-old
January 11, 2006
Brooklyn,New York
Tammy Herman
21-month-old
January 18, 2006
Booysens,South Africa
Rylea Belonga
21-month-old
January 19,2006
Nashua,New Hampshire
Trustin Roberto Blue
3-year-old
January 20,2006
Cincinnati,Ohio
Ty Smith
1-month-old
January 22,2006
Washoe County,Nevada
Alisha Allen
5-month-old
January 24, 2006
Durham,England
Sherlyn Polonia
2-year-old
January 25, 2006
Bronx,New York
Dalton Jeminez
2-year-old
January 26,2006
Windsor,Connecticut
Foster Boy
3-year-old
January 26,2006
Edmonton,Canada
Quachaun Xavier Browne
4-year-old
January 29, 2006
Bronx NY
February
Katrina Rivera
4-month-old
February 3, 2006
Mesa County,Colorado
Nicholas Rhea Hoffert
3-month-old
February 9,2006
Cleburne,Texas
Adrian Smith Jr.
4-month-old
February 10, 2006
Jacksonville, Florida
Coreyon Graham
5-year-old
February 15, 2006
Ocala, Florida
David Mamo
3-year-old
February 15, 2006
Adelaide,Australia
Alfred Sirleaf
2-year-old
February 15,2006
Morden,Canada
E. Rohit Chakravarthy
10-month-old
February 20,2006
Mission,Texas
Ashleigh Lethbridge
12-year-old
February 23, 2006
Detroit,Michigan
Michelle Fontanez
13-year-old
February 23, 2006
Lehigh Acres,Florida
Kaitlin Eaton
1-month-old
February 24,2006
Sarasota,Florida
Sean Ford Paddock
4-year-old
February 26,2006
Johnston County
North Carolina
March
Sidney Hatchett
14-year-old
March 4, 2006
New York,NY
Dominic Ware
16-month-old
March 11,2006
Birmingham, Alabama
Danielle James Ramos
8-month-old
March 15, 2006
El Paso,Texas
Nikita Pillay
6-year-old
March 16, 2006
Durban, South Africa
Jared Osidacz
8-year-old
March 18,2006
Brantford,Canada
Colby Shirley
18-month-old
March 20,2006
Gallup, New Mexico
Cody Hutchings
5-year-old
March 25 ,2006
Melbourne,Australia
Ethen Huhn
2-month-old
March 26, 2006
Norfolk,Virginia
Anijah Burr
3-year-old
March 27, 2006
Spring Lake
North Carolina
Letha Slate
6-month-old
March 27,2006
Duncan,Oklahoma
April
Ghosun Haji
9-year-old
April 2006
Makkah
Saudi Arabia
Destiny Hager
3-year-old
April 4,2006
Council Grove, Kansas
Richard DeMaar
16-year-old
April 9, 2006
San Antonio,Texas
Nathan Burton
2-year-old
April 15,2006
Glenhope,Jamaica
Kaloey Laigh Kittiraj
3-year-old
April 20, 2006
Cade, Louisiana
Alana Rickard-Cowell
2-month-old
April 23, 2006
Honolulu,Hawaii
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May - June -July - August
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May
Rhys Biggs
2-month-old
May 8, 2006
Newham,England
Jaycee Ray Hardin
18-month-old
May 10, 2006
West Plains, Missouri
Alysha Adlam
19-month-old
May 13, 2006
Milwaukee,Wisconsin
Amy Emily Annamunthodo
4-year-old
May 15,2006
Marabella,Trinidad
Bryce Jasper Meining
20-month-old
May 19, 2006
Clark County,Washington
Joel Wong
2-year-old
May 28, 2006
Glenhope,Jamaica
Jada Keyes
3-year-old
May 29, 2006
Catskill,New York
June
Rikka Pinckney
11-year-old
June 2006
Tampa,Florida
Jordan Robinson
2-year-old
June 1,2006
Milwaukee,Wisconsin
Rose Kelley
5-year-old
June 3, 2006
Flint, Michigan
Andrea Adams
18-year-old
June 12, 2006
Stockport,United Kingdom
Cru Kahui
3-month-old
June 12, 2006
South Auckland,New Zealand
Chris Kahui
3-month-old
June 12, 2006
South Auckland,New Zealand
Lacey Lynn Nichols
14-month-old
June 12, 2006
Coleman,Texas
Guadalupe Rosales
1-year-old
June 13,2006
San Antonio,Texas
Dasani Lorenza Robinson
7-week-old
June 21,2006
Tampa, Florida
Sofia Rodriguez
Urrutia-Shu
8-year-old
June 26,2006
Perth, Australia
Rance D. Jarvis
15-year-old
June 28,2006
Milwaukee,Wisconsin
July
Irvin J. Harris
11-year-old
July 2006
Baltimore,Maryland
Michael Diontry Coleman
4-month-old
July 3,2006
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Desiree Honneger
4-year-old
July 6,2006
Milwaukee,Wisconsin
Keylee Silverman
4-month-old
July 13, 2006
West Carrollton, Ohio
Omar Wellington
17-year-old
July 14,2006
Toronto,Canada
Mikel Silverman
4-year-old
July 15, 2006
West Carrollton,Ohio
Shay Smith
2-year-old
July 15,2006
Longmont,Colorado
Alex Levin
2-year-old
July 17, 2006
North Aurora, Illinois
Tyra Kuehne
4-year-old
July 20,2006
Warren, Australia
Dean McGregor
7-year-old
July 28,2006
Broward,Florida
Sharllene Morillo
2-year-old
July 28, 2006
Bronx,New York
Daelynn Foreman
12-year-old
July 31,2006
Orangevale,California
Jayden Cangro
2-year-old
July 31,2006
Murray,Utah
Robbie Gillett
1-year-old
July 31,2006
Claymore,Australia
August
Shelby Andrews
10-year-old
August 1,2006
Syracuse, Utah
Gerardo Martinez
3-month-old
August 2, 2006
Los Angeles,California
Danieal Kelly
14-year-old
August 4,2006
Philadelphia,Pennsylvania
Baby Boy Charles
7-month-old
August 5, 2006
Las Vegas,Nevada
Marcus Fiesel
3-year-old
August 5, 2006
Cincinnati,Ohio
Devon Miller
20-month-old
August 6,2006
Spokane,Washington
Darion Wheat
5-year-old
August 11,2006
Rosamond,California
Neveah Wanzer
3-year-old
August 13,2006
Woodbridge, Virginia
Venecia Audy
3-year-old
August 14,2006
Bowsman
Manitoba,Canada
Alycia Augusta Mesiti-Allen
14-year-old
August 15,2006
Santa Clara,California
Liam Hogan
6-year-old
August 15,2006
Crete, Greek
Joshua Sharp
17-month-old
August 15,2006
Child Haven
Clark County,Nevada
Alexis Garcia
2-year-old
August 16,2006
Victorville,California
Isaac Lethbridge
2-year-old
August 16, 2006
Detroit,Michigan
Kayson Bradley Merrill
3-month-old
August 19, 2006
West Jordan,Utah
Serenitee Halbert
6-month-old
August 19,2006
Allenton, Wisconsin
Katelynn Greeson
5-year-old
August 20,2006
Georgia
Lakesha Victor
10-year-old
August 20,2006
Hinckley,Minnesota
Charles "Charlie" Bolger
10-month-old
August 23, 2006
Saginaw Township,Michigan
Malaya Douglas
2-year-old
August 30, 2006
Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Sept - Oct - Nov - Decem
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September
Melissa Mahon
14-year-old
September 2006
Sligo, Ireland
Keyana Bravo-Hamilton
2-year-old
September 4,2006
Portland,Oregon
Jeffrey White Jr
4-year-old
September 5, 2006
Danbury, Connecticut
Jacob White
3-year-old
September 5, 2006
Danbury, Connecticut
Tahla Ikram
16-month-old
September 6,2006
London,UK
Alayiah Turman
17-month-old
September 7, 2006
Brewerytown,PA
Leanne Melissa
Thompson
15-year-old
September 7,2006
Brisbane, Australia
Kayla Lorraine Wood
16-year-old
September 9, 2006
Moreno Valley,California
Coral Rose Fullwood
6-year-old
September 17, 2006
North Port,Florida
Nathaniel Saunsoci-Mitchell
20-month-old
September 24, 2006
Sioux City,Iowa
Candice Raynor
15-year-old
September 30,2006
Richmond,Virginia
October
Jarrad Delroy Roberts
10-year-old
October 2006
Prospect, Australia
Miranda Davila
2-year-old
October 9, 2006
Fullerton,California
Darrell Busby
14 year-old
October 13,2006
Sumter, South Carolina
Roderick Robinson III
7-week-old
October 19,2006
Cleveland,Ohio
Alyssa Eickmeier
2 year-old
October 22, 2006
Kansas City,Missouri
Preston Hertzog
4-month-old
October 24, 2006
Brooklyn,New York
Raijon Daniels
8-year-old
October 27, 2006
Richmond,California
Mason James Coughlan
3-year-old
October 30,2006
Albany,Western Australia
Trae-Bleu Layne
3-year-old
October 30,2006
Reading,UK
November
Jared Warren
4-week-old
November 2006
Riverside, California
Baby 6-month-old
November 2006
Glenorchy, New Zealand
Kevin
2-year-old
November 2006
Bremen,Germany
Adrianna Lynn Earley
22-month-old
November 4, 2006
Waynesville,North Carolina
Caitlin Samuel
5-year-old
November 5,2006
Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire
Aiden Samuel
3-year-old
November 5,2006
Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire
Nateyonna Banks
2-year-old
November 9,2006
Atlanta,Georgia
Santiago Lopez
11-month-old
November 9,2006
St. Louis,Missouri
Jack Harrison
6-month-old
November 18, 2006
Manchester,UK
Darryl Thompson
15-year-old
November 18, 2006
Tryon School,Fulton NY
4-year-old
November 19, 2006
Oceanside,California
Sean Farrish
3-weeks-old
November 19, 2006
Camden,New Jersey
Arryana JoLee Clark
13-month-old
November 22,2006
Delmar,Iowa
Ciara Gibbs
16-year-old
November 25, 2006
Kilkenny,Ireland
Aida Mae Rodriguez
16-year-old
November 27, 2006
Weslaco,Texas
Ryan Rivers
23-month-old
Novemer 28, 2006
Pierrepont,New York
Layunnia Lewis
7-month-old
November 28,2006
Milwaukee,Wisconsin
December
Madison McBurney
11-month-old
December 2006
South Lyon, Michigan
Javon Thompson
15-month-old
December 2006
Baltimore,Maryland
Uatisone Sua Jr.
1-year-old
December 2, 2006
West Valley City,Utah
Samuel Barber
3-month-old
December 4, 2006
Oklahoma City,OK
Madison Olivia McBurney
11-month-old
December 4,2006
South Lyon, Michigan
Sahra M. Abu
23-month-old
December 5, 2006
Columbia Heights,Minnesota
Keithan Panyavong
19-month-old
December 7,2006
Escondido,California
Robley "Bobby" Carr Jr.
15-year-old
December 9, 2006
Stevens County,Washington
Shatoya Cheyenne Chatelaine
17-month-old
December 11, 2006
Saskatoon,Canada
JaJuan Flowers
4-year-old
Decmber 11, 2006
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Nicholas Goodrich
11-month-old
December 12, 2006
Delaware, OH
Deonna Green
2-year-old
December 13,2006
Pittsburg,California
Rebecca Jeanne Riley
4-year-old
December 13,2006
Hull,Boston
Kyla Aranae Edwards
2-year-old
December 20,2006
Salisbury,Maryland
Sydney Barr
5-year-old
December 22,2006
Fort Smith,Arkansas
Garrett Barr
2-year-old
December 22,2006
Fort Smith,Arkansas
Neo Craig
10-month-old
December 24, 2006
London,UK
Dane Edgar
14-year-old
December 24,2006
Ashington,England
Robert Marin
3-month-old
December 29, 2006
San Diego,California
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Let kids' deaths haunt debate for CPS reform
Their voices cry out from across the years and beyond the grave. TaJuana, and China Marie, who died in 1993 - just two weeks after a state child-welfare official declared that she was "thriving."
During the 10 months that Child Protective Services was watching, China Marie endured two broken collarbones, six arm fractures, a broken rib, a broken hand, two broken legs, two broken wrists and a broken spine. She was 2 years old.
After the deaths of China and TaJuana, another foster child beaten to death, CPS officials vowed to fix things. But nothing changed, other than the politicians in charge of this state.
And there were more voices. Henry and Odessa and 5-year-old Donovan, who was left in an unsafe home despite a pattern of abuse and a pediatrician's warning that if he died "it will be the result of neglect on the part of CPS." Donovan died in April 1996, during Child Abuse Prevention Month, and CPS vowed to change.
But nothing changed. Only the names of dead.
Anndreah and Angelene and 20-month-old Liana, who was beaten to death in 2001, wired to a rock and thrown into a canal. Her body was found one day after CPS declared it could find no evidence the tot had been abused.
More vows. More dead children.
Ariana and Tyler and Brandon and now Jahyr Holguin, who died in January, at the ripe old age of 5 months. In December, CPS was called about possible abuse but never saw the boy to sort out what was going on.
Every year, dozens of Arizona children die in unspeakable ways. Laws have been strengthened and budgets increased, and nothing has changed.
Last year, this newspaper and the Arizona Daily Star sued the state to find out what happened to Ariana and Tyler Payne and Brandon Williams. Over the objections of CPS, a judge opened the records, revealing a stunning series of foul-ups by the agency that is the only hope of some children.
This time, CPS hasn't even bothered with empty vows. In fact, a top CPS official actually testified that the agency didn't mess up. ("The actions taken by staff," explained Lillian Downing, chief of the Tucson CPS office, "were consistent with our practices.")
Reps. Kirk Adams and Jonathan Paton are sponsoring seven bills targeting failures that came to light in the Payne and Williams cases and in the case of the CPS caseworker who was dating a man she should have been investigating. By far, the most important one is House Bill 2454, which would open CPS records when children are beaten to death or nearly so.
With this bill, Paton thinks he's found the key to fixing, finally, what ails CPS: sunshine.
"I went home the other night and the power was out in my house. I couldn't find the lock. I couldn't find my keys. It took me a good 10 minutes to get in and as soon as I got in the house, I stumbled over my Army duffel bags and fell," he said. "With CPS, we can't even find the keys to the problems we're facing. We have no idea what they are. We're guessing at what those problems might be, and we're hoping that we're going to unlock the problems that we are faced with. But we can't because we're in the dark and the idea that somehow you can find truth or reform in the darkened hallways of this bureaucracy without a light? It's ridiculous."
HB 2454 will be voted upon by the House today. It would be fitting this week, of all weeks, to see the sun begin to shine on an agency that has for too long been both blessed and cursed to work in darkness. Blessed because its mistakes don't show. Cursed because neither do its needs.
This, after all, is Sunshine Week, when we in the media explain your right to know what your government is doing. It's a week when we outline all the things we're doing to further the grand goal of a truly open government.
But we can't do it alone. When it comes to CPS, we can only tell the stories. We can only appeal to the community's collective outrage and to a firm belief that these children shouldn't so silently slip away.
The rest, really, is up to you.
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We urge legislators to take a closer look at funding child protection issues and authorities to use wisdom in investigating abuse cases.
Is there someone to speak for children so that their unfinished lives do not slip silently away ?
If hundreds and hundreds of predictably and preventably dead children is not enough to inspire action, what is ? If you choose not to act, who will ? If not now, when ?
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