Money, Child Protective Services, and Greed

Money, Child Protective Services, and Greed
By Georga Hackworth

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...vices_and.html

We all hear the horror stories involving Child Protective Services but
believe it will never happen to us. Maybe we like to believe that those
horror stories are the exception to the rule. Maybe we like to think
that the media is sensationalizing the facts for ratings and profit,
after all, that is what the media does. Maybe we think that we are doing
everything right and will never have to deal with the system.

The reality is that states and counties receive $30,000 for each child
removed from the home and put into the system. Those funds go up to
between $40,000 and $150,000 if the child has special needs. If you
think that kind of money doesn't breed corruption, think again. In March
2003 the city of San Francisco had 75,000 children in their system.
75,000 children at $30,000 each (that is assuming none of them were
handicapped) is $2,250,000,000! Foster families receive between $3,000
and $8300 a year for fostering a child depending on the state. That is a
nice little profit being made even after you account for salaries and
other overhead. It would be interesting to know where several million
dollars each year is going.

The Department of Child Protective Services is a relatively new
department of the government. In 1974 the first child abuse case went
before the courts. There were no child abuse laws at that time so the
case was taken up by the Human Society of the United States. It was
after that case that the first child abuse laws were written and the
Department of Child Protective Services was put together. It wasn't long
before around 500,000 children were placed into the system with nothing
in place to either return the children to their parents to find
permanent homes for them. I remember attending elementary school with
several children who lived in an orphanage where these children were put
and forgotten about by the system.

Like most government agencies, CPS has evolved over the years and
undergone reform to prevent abuse of the system as well as to make
things run smoother and more effectively. However, it seems that the
more rules that are put in place the more loopholes there are for
corruption.

In 1997 the Adoption and Safe Families Act was put into place by the
105th Congress of the United States. The Adoption and Safe Families Act
states:

· Reasonable efforts shall be made to preserve and reunify families
unless the parent(s) have committed murder or voluntary manslaughter;
aided, abetted, attempted, conspired or solicited to commit murder or
voluntary manslaughter; committed a felony assault that resulted in
serious bodily injury of the child or another child of the parent; the
parental rights of the parent to a sibling have been terminated
involuntarily

· If a child is not to be returned to the parents that a permanency
hearing will take place within 30 days and that finalization of the
placement, either with a legal guardian or by adoption, will be handled
in a expeditious fashion as well as the details of how this will be done.

· How much money is to be given by the Federal Government to carry out
the bill including incentive payments for the adoption of children in
the system.

Yes, incentive payments for the adoption of children in the system. How
this works is that a base line number of adoptions has to happen by each
state or they risk loosing money. I understand the thought pattern
behind the push to adopt out children permanently placed in the system.
However, providing monetary incentives opens a lot of doors for the
abuse of power. The base line number of adoptions of each state was
determined individually. The number of adoptions for the years 1995,
1996 and 1997 were added up and the average taken. Each state was given
their number. For each adoption that takes place over that number the
state gets $4000. An additional $2000 is given for each special needs child.

Where does all this money go? I wish I had the answer there. Every child
that gets put into the system is automatically enrolled in Medicaid.
That crosses medical care off the list of what that money pays for.
Foster families get a stipend each month for each foster child they take
care of to help cover food, clothes and other basic needs. That monthly
payment is only a small fraction of that $30,000 given to the state.

From my personal experience I can tell you that none of that money goes
into helping the families who have been torn apart. In fact, the social
worker that showed up on my door step was driving a BMW. Apparently
social workers do get paid that much. So much for horrible hours,
horrible pay and it being a thankless job that has a high turn over
rate. I will say that being a social worker takes a certain type of
person and not everyone is cut out for the job.

Forget wanting to help families. Forget wanting to protect children.
Maybe that is why people originally go into social work. To be
successful at you have to have a sadistic side of you that enjoys
watching people suffer, that way you don't get emotionally attached and
you do what you have to do.

Don't believe me? Don't think the system is abused? Consider for a
moment that every report that is made to Child Protective Services,
regardless of the validity of the claim, has to be investigated or the
state risks loosing federal monies that are tied to Social Security.
This means that if you get into a fight with your neighbor, your
mother-in-law, or a friend they can pick up the phone and call in a
false report in retaliation and you will have a social worker show up on
your doorstep.

If everything isn't picture perfect when that social worker arrives, a
case is formed. It could be anything such as the garbage hasn't been
taken out that day, there are dirty dishes in the sink or your kids
haven't had a bath yet that day. These people are there to judge your
parenting and if they show up on that off day they aren't going to
believe you that it's not normally like that.

I have also learned first hand that if someone makes a false call and
makes the story outrageous enough that there will be no investigation
and your kids will be taken on the spot, and the social worker doesn't
have to be professional about it. They are allowed to yell at you, make
snap judgments without asking questions, make you stand in the rain for
three hours as well as ask questions that are a violation of your
personal rights.

The social worker involved in our case also did nothing to help us out.
Her idea of help was coming back a week later with a zoning inspector
and having the house we were living in condemned making us homeless.
This was after she was ordered by the court to return our kids and pay
for temporary housing until we could get moved. When we went back to
court and she was questioned on this her argument was "We are not in the
habit of putting up homeless families."

She violated court order after court order and the judge did not do much
about it, beyond not letting her get her way of terminating our parental
rights and putting the children in state care. I know that the numbers
were adding up in her head. I have seven children. Some of them are
considered special needs. If she could get them adopted out there would
be a nice bonus of $28,000 minimum.

After a month and a half we did get our kids back, but not after our
visitation awarded by the court was blocked for a week and a half, our
oldest was put in an unapproved foster home (the woman was licensed to
take care of relatives only) and been sexually assaulted and our other
children spent just over a month sick because the group home they were
put in were very lax about the special diets they had to be on for
health reasons.

Nothing was put in place for the emotional and mental well-being of my
children. There is no counseling that is automatically given to children
in the system to help cope with being separated from their parents.
Maybe it is because it is assumed that every child removed from their
home and taken away from their parents will be relieved because the
state has rules, regulations and procedures in place to prevent errors
from happening. Forget that the system is set up with monetary
incentives at every corner that those motivated by greed.






CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAMS....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.


CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...


BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...

"Greegor" wrote in message
...
LK She's got them figured out, doesn't she Greg?

Yep. Even explains the malicious behavior!

Uh, ok, let me ask a question here.
This person has seven children, correct?
And 'some' of them are 'special needs', correct?
And the city/county/state condemned her house, correct?

Though I don't recall seeing where she explains why the state removed her
children, my guess would be inadequate housing.
In fact, if the house was in bad enough condition to be condemned, then why
were they even living there?

On the other hand, her child should have never been placed in a home that
was only approved for relative placements, and if the child was molested in
same home I would think that she's got a case against the state for failure
to protect. Why not? Parents are taken to court regularly for failure to
protect when they are the parties responsible for the children, so why
shouldn't the state be just as culpable?

There are a few things here that don't set right with me...
If I'm not mistaken, this writer says she got her kids back within a month
and a half of removal, yet she says that her parental rights were
terminated?
Please, I know of NO state that terminates parental rights that fast. And
no state that gives them back that fast.
Did I misunderstand, or is this kinda like a head scratcher?





On Dec 16, 12:17 am, "LK" wrote:
"fx" wrote in message

...





Money, Child Protective Services, and Greed
By Georga Hackworth

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...hild_protectiv...

We all hear the horror stories involving Child Protective Services but
believe it will never happen to us. Maybe we like to believe that those
horror stories are the exception to the rule. Maybe we like to think
that
the media is sensationalizing the facts for ratings and profit, after
all,
that is what the media does. Maybe we think that we are doing
everything
right and will never have to deal with the system.

The reality is that states and counties receive $30,000 for each child
removed from the home and put into the system. Those funds go up to
between $40,000 and $150,000 if the child has special needs. If you
think
that kind of money doesn't breed corruption, think again. In March 2003
the city of San Francisco had 75,000 children in their system. 75,000
children at $30,000 each (that is assuming none of them were
handicapped)
is $2,250,000,000! Foster families receive between $3,000 and $8300 a
year
for fostering a child depending on the state. That is a nice little
profit
being made even after you account for salaries and other overhead. It
would be interesting to know where several million dollars each year is
going.

The Department of Child Protective Services is a relatively new
department
of the government. In 1974 the first child abuse case went before the
courts. There were no child abuse laws at that time so the case was
taken
up by the Human Society of the United States. It was after that case
that
the first child abuse laws were written and the Department of Child
Protective Services was put together. It wasn't long before around
500,000
children were placed into the system with nothing in place to either
return the children to their parents to find permanent homes for them. I
remember attending elementary school with several children who lived in
an
orphanage where these children were put and forgotten about by the
system.

Like most government agencies, CPS has evolved over the years and
undergone reform to prevent abuse of the system as well as to make
things
run smoother and more effectively. However, it seems that the more
rules
that are put in place the more loopholes there are for corruption.

In 1997 the Adoption and Safe Families Act was put into place by the
105th
Congress of the United States. The Adoption and Safe Families Act
states:

· Reasonable efforts shall be made to preserve and reunify families
unless
the parent(s) have committed murder or voluntary manslaughter; aided,
abetted, attempted, conspired or solicited to commit murder or voluntary
manslaughter; committed a felony assault that resulted in serious bodily
injury of the child or another child of the parent; the parental rights
of
the parent to a sibling have been terminated involuntarily

· If a child is not to be returned to the parents that a permanency
hearing will take place within 30 days and that finalization of the
placement, either with a legal guardian or by adoption, will be handled
in
a expeditious fashion as well as the details of how this will be done.

· How much money is to be given by the Federal Government to carry out
the
bill including incentive payments for the adoption of children in the
system.

Yes, incentive payments for the adoption of children in the system. How
this works is that a base line number of adoptions has to happen by each
state or they risk loosing money. I understand the thought pattern
behind
the push to adopt out children permanently placed in the system.
However,
providing monetary incentives opens a lot of doors for the abuse of
power.
The base line number of adoptions of each state was determined
individually. The number of adoptions for the years 1995, 1996 and 1997
were added up and the average taken. Each state was given their number.
For each adoption that takes place over that number the state gets
$4000.
An additional $2000 is given for each special needs child.

Where does all this money go? I wish I had the answer there. Every child
that gets put into the system is automatically enrolled in Medicaid.
That
crosses medical care off the list of what that money pays for. Foster
families get a stipend each month for each foster child they take care
of
to help cover food, clothes and other basic needs. That monthly payment
is
only a small fraction of that $30,000 given to the state.

From my personal experience I can tell you that none of that money goes
into helping the families who have been torn apart. In fact, the social
worker that showed up on my door step was driving a BMW. Apparently
social
workers do get paid that much. So much for horrible hours, horrible pay
and it being a thankless job that has a high turn over rate. I will say
that being a social worker takes a certain type of person and not
everyone
is cut out for the job.

Forget wanting to help families. Forget wanting to protect children.
Maybe
that is why people originally go into social work. To be successful at
you
have to have a sadistic side of you that enjoys watching people suffer,
that way you don't get emotionally attached and you do what you have to
do.

She's got them figured out, doesn't she Greg?



Don't believe me? Don't think the system is abused? Consider for a
moment
that every report that is made to Child Protective Services, regardless
of
the validity of the claim, has to be investigated or the state risks
loosing federal monies that are tied to Social Security. This means that
if you get into a fight with your neighbor, your mother-in-law, or a
friend they can pick up the phone and call in a false report in
retaliation and you will have a social worker show up on your doorstep.

If everything isn't picture perfect when that social worker arrives, a
case is formed. It could be anything such as the garbage hasn't been
taken
out that day, there are dirty dishes in the sink or your kids haven't
had
a bath yet that day. These people are there to judge your parenting and
if
they show up on that off day they aren't going to believe you that it's
not normally like that.

I have also learned first hand that if someone makes a false call and
makes the story outrageous enough that there will be no investigation
and
your kids will be taken on the spot, and the social worker doesn't have
to
be professional about it. They are allowed to yell at you, make snap
judgments without asking questions, make you stand in the rain for three
hours as well as ask questions that are a violation of your personal
rights.

The social worker involved in our case also did nothing to help us out.
Her idea of help was coming back a week later with a zoning inspector
and
having the house we were living in condemned making us homeless. This
was
after she was ordered by the court to return our kids and pay for
temporary housing until we could get moved. When we went back to court
and
she was questioned on this her argument was "We are not in the habit of
putting up homeless families."

She violated court order after court order and the judge did not do much
about it, beyond not letting her get her way of terminating our parental
rights and putting the children in state care. I know that the numbers
were adding up in her head. I have seven children. Some of them are
considered special needs. If she could get them adopted out there would
be
a nice bonus of $28,000 minimum.

After a month and a half we did get our kids back, but not after our
visitation awarded by the court was blocked for a week and a half, our
oldest was put in an unapproved foster home (the woman was licensed to
take care of relatives only) and been sexually assaulted and our other
children spent just over a month sick because the group home they were
put
in were very lax about the special diets they had to be on for health
reasons.

Nothing was put in place for the emotional and mental well-being of my
children. There is no counseling that is automatically given to children
in the system to help cope with being separated from their parents.
Maybe
it is because it is assumed that every child removed from their home and
taken away from their parents will be relieved because the state has
rules, regulations and procedures in place to prevent errors from
happening. Forget that the system is set up with monetary incentives at
every corner that those motivated by greed.

CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY
BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL SECURITY
AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAMS....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are
supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands

...

read more - Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

"Greegor" wrote in message
...
On Dec 21, 11:21 am, "dragonsgirl" wrote:
"Greegor" wrote in message

...
LK She's got them figured out, doesn't she Greg?

Yep. Even explains the malicious behavior!

Uh, ok, let me ask a question here.
This person has seven children, correct?
And 'some' of them are 'special needs', correct?
And the city/county/state condemned her house, correct?

Though I don't recall seeing where she explains why the state removed her
children, my guess would be inadequate housing.
In fact, if the house was in bad enough condition to be condemned, then
why
were they even living there?

On the other hand, her child should have never been placed in a home that
was only approved for relative placements, and if the child was molested
in
same home I would think that she's got a case against the state for
failure
to protect. Why not? Parents are taken to court regularly for failure to
protect when they are the parties responsible for the children, so why
shouldn't the state be just as culpable?

There are a few things here that don't set right with me...
If I'm not mistaken, this writer says she got her kids back within a month
and a half of removal, yet she says that her parental rights were
terminated?
Please, I know of NO state that terminates parental rights that fast. And
no state that gives them back that fast.

BW Did I misunderstand, or is this kinda like a head scratcher?

Is that what you're scratching, Betty?

Can't accept the fact that this is quite a load of ****, huh?
Have to resort to attack rather than addressing the absurdity of the claims
made, huh?
Noted.