Tucson Arizona -- 2 kids are dead yet CPS won't admit its mistakes...

2 kids are dead yet CPS won't admit its mistakes

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...berts0926.html

Sept. 26, 2007 12:00 AM
To hear the Tucson head of Child Protective Services tell it, her staff
did nothing wrong when it intervened in the lives of Ariana and Tyler Payne.

Nothing wrong, despite the fact that CPS told police to leave the
children with their father, knowing that a judge had denied him contact.

Nothing wrong, despite the fact that investigators never did a thorough
background check to make sure the father was a safe choice.
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Nothing wrong, despite the fact that the kids are, well, DEAD.

"The actions taken by staff," explained Lillian Downing, chief of the
Tucson CPS office, "were consistent with our practices."

It comes as absolutely no surprise that no one has been held accountable
for what happened to 4-year-old Ariana Payne and her 5-year-old brother
Tyler. The problem, CPS brass told legislators Tuesday, is the law and a
heavy workload.

Never mind a series of foul-ups, failures to follow through and an
embarrassment of underreaction by the only agency there to help kids who
have no one else to help them.

By now you've heard the sad story of the Payne children. How CPS was
investigating the mother, a suspected meth user, when the kids went to
visit their dad in January 2006. How CPS urged him to seek custody and
told Tucson police in March 2006 to leave the kids with him despite a
judge's order denying him access.

How CPS closed the case against the mother in April - after she
repeatedly refused to cooperate with their investigation - and walked
away, leaving the kids in the arms of their father.

Their father, who is now in jail and charged with murdering Ariana and
Tyler, sometime between March and September 2006.

Downing testified for nearly 2½ hours Tuesday and managed to not once
admit that her office blew it. She did at one point concede that CPS
shouldn't have walked away when it did. "But I cannot say it was an
error that we closed the case," she quickly added.

Nor could she say it was an error to ignore a judge's order denying the
father custody due to a history of domestic violence.

"What I can say in this specific circumstance is we did not obtain a
copy of the court order to assess the situation," she explained.

Well, why not? The caseworker knew it existed. Both the mother and
police had told her. CPS policy, adopted the previous year at the
recommendation of a citizen review panel, required that CPS get the
records. So why didn't the caseworker and supervisor follow the policy?

Says Downing's boss, Janice Mickens: "We have been working on
implementing that and clarifying that with our staff."

For two years? To be fair, CPS is shorthanded and underfunded. But the
problem wasn't a lack of time to make decisions. The problem was the
decisions made were breathtakingly bad.

And yet no one made any mistakes, we are told. Nothing to see here. Move
along.

Fortunately, legislators aren't done yet. There is the case of another
dead Tucson boy to be considered and the fascinating question of why it
took CPS three years to change its policies governing when caseworkers
can date the child abusers they should be investigating. The practice
was finally outlawed recently, five weeks after it became public.
Coincidental, I'm sure.

But a few things are already becoming clear. A need for more resources,
yes. But also a window to replace that handy shroud that covers CPS and
keeps prying eyes out.

I think Rep. Kirk Adams, chairman of the committee conducting these
hearings, said it best: "There is no accountability when there is secrecy."







CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

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...