The threat came first: "If you don't submit to me, you'll never see

Mom sees social services win as help for others

Seal Beach mother wins case against county, hopes to help families in
system.
By PEGGY LOWE
The Orange County Register

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister...le_1701451.php


The threat came first: "If you don't submit to me, you'll never see your
kids again."

Then the Orange County social worker produced a document, telling her
she must sign it.

Suddenly, Deanna Fogarty-Hardwick was faced with the social services
version of a Solomonic choice: Sign a paper that says you're a bad
parent, or lose your children. Fogarty-Hardwick refused to sign it that
day in 2000 and the very worst happened: Her two daughters, then ages 6
and 9, were placed in the Orangewood Children's home and then in foster
care.

"That's when I thought, 'OK, this is a nightmare,'" Fogarty-Hardwick
said. "This is America."

But last week, after a painful seven-year battle with the Orange County
Social Services Department, the Seal Beach mother won a second major
victory, coming after a record-setting $4.9 million jury verdict against
the county.

Superior Court Judge Ronald Bauer handed down a permanent injunction
against the agency, ruling that it must have "articulable evidence" to
suspect that a child has been abused or neglected by a parent before
making any allegations in court.

And in what many parental advocates say is even more significant, Bauer
also ordered the social services department to stop requiring a parent
to sign what's called an "agency-parent temporary agreement" unless the
agency has some reasonable evidence to suggest the parents are hurting
their children.

Those rulings won't help Fogarty-Hardwick, who had been wrongfully
accused of telling her daughters that their father was trying to take
them away from her. She already feels vindicated by the jury's ruling
that her parental rights had been violated by the county. But she hopes
it will do something to protect other parents she heard from during her
trial.

"This is an abuse-of-power case, when someone has incredible power and
they exercise it over you," Fogarty-Hardwick said. "If they become part
of the problem, how can they help? And if no one is there to hold them
accountable, how will anyone know there's a problem?"

The outcome of Fogarty-Hardwick's case shocked lawyers who specialize in
these lawsuits, and it set the parental-rights community buzzing.
Parents rarely bring cases against social services departments, because
of protracted legal battles and governmental immunity laws. The cases
also are hard to prove because most of the agencies' decisions are made
in secret as a result of confidentiality laws.

Jan Saalfield, a Marin County lawyer who has specialized in child
dependency appeals for 16 years, said she has never seen a ruling like
the one Bauer made last week.

"This gives the appearance that the court is quite concerned that this
is not just a singular event and says it won't be repeated in the
future," Saalfield said. "The court is showing substantial concern that
this could happen again."

Michael Riley, chief deputy director of the Social Services Agency,
disagreed, saying the judge's ruling simply orders the department do to
what it has always done, "which is follow the law."

"The whole idea of the premise made by the plaintiff that we remove
children in a cavalier fashion is completely unfounded," Riley said.

Citing confidentiality laws, Riley said he couldn't comment on specifics
of the case. But he denied that his social workers did anything wrong.
The agency always has evidence before making an allegation, and Orange
County has one of the lowest removal rates in the state, he said. Of the
34,293 child abuse reports the department received in 2006, only 1,900
children were removed from their homes, he said.

The county is appealing the jury's decision, including the additional
$6,000 in punitive damages against the two social workers on
Fogarty-Hardwick's case.

During the 16-day trial earlier this year, the county's lawyers told the
jury that Fogarty-Hardwick was a former Miss California and called her
the "Nordstrom mom" in an attempt to turn the jury against her. That
didn't work, as jury members later told Fogarty-Hardwick's lawyers. The
county also allowed the social worker that threatened her to testify,
and the jury came to believe, as Fogarty-Hardwick's lawsuit claimed,
that she and a supervisor had "intentionally misinformed" a judge who
then handed down the order to take the children.

After her daughters were put in foster care in 2000, Fogarty-Hardwick
decided to give her ex-husband full custody, hoping to protect her
daughters. She was then allowed two monitored visits per month for two
years, but finally won 50-50 custody in 2006.

Today, Fogarty-Hardwick isn't bitter, nor is she anti-social services.
She says with a laugh that she knew the social worker in question was so
bad because her first one had been so good.

But she admits that this "unfortunate adventure" has been devastating to
her, her parents and their extended family. Her only hope now is that
the appeal also goes her way – a process that will take several years –
and that other parents won't have to experience what she endured.

"You just try to find good out of something horrible," she said. "We
have a wonderful decision that could help a lot of people and must be
preserved."

Contact the writer: 714-285-2862 or









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 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.

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...

Caseworkers fabricated a case
she decided not to submit
They tried their extortion
7 years later she wins a $4.9 Million jury verdict.

Will the appeal drag out another year and will
the amount be reduced?


ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/santaana/article_1701451.php

On May 23, 10:58 am, fx wrote:
Mom sees social services win as help for others

Seal Beach mother wins case against county, hopes to help families in
system.
By PEGGY LOWE
The Orange County Register

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister...a/article_1701...
ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/santaana/article_1701451.php

The threat came first: "If you don't submit to me, you'll never see your
kids again."

Then the Orange County social worker produced a document, telling her
she must sign it.

Suddenly, DeannaFogarty-Hardwickwas faced with the social services
version of a Solomonic choice: Sign a paper that says you're a bad
parent, or lose your children.Fogarty-Hardwickrefused to sign it that
day in 2000 and the very worst happened: Her two daughters, then ages 6
and 9, were placed in the Orangewood Children's home and then in foster
care.

"That's when I thought, 'OK, this is a nightmare,'"Fogarty-Hardwick
said. "This is America."

But last week, after a painful seven-year battle with the Orange County
Social Services Department, the Seal Beach mother won a second major
victory, coming after a record-setting $4.9 million jury verdict against
the county.

Superior Court Judge Ronald Bauer handed down a permanent injunction
against the agency, ruling that it must have "articulable evidence" to
suspect that a child has been abused or neglected by a parent before
making any allegations in court.

And in what many parental advocates say is even more significant, Bauer
also ordered the social services department to stop requiring a parent
to sign what's called an "agency-parent temporary agreement" unless the
agency has some reasonable evidence to suggest the parents are hurting
their children.

Those rulings won't helpFogarty-Hardwick, who had been wrongfully
accused of telling her daughters that their father was trying to take
them away from her. She already feels vindicated by the jury's ruling
that her parental rights had been violated by the county. But she hopes
it will do something to protect other parents she heard from during her
trial.

"This is an abuse-of-power case, when someone has incredible power and
they exercise it over you,"Fogarty-Hardwicksaid. "If they become part
of the problem, how can they help? And if no one is there to hold them
accountable, how will anyone know there's a problem?"

The outcome ofFogarty-Hardwick'scase shocked lawyers who specialize in
these lawsuits, and it set the parental-rights community buzzing.
Parents rarely bring cases against social services departments, because
of protracted legal battles and governmental immunity laws. The cases
also are hard to prove because most of the agencies' decisions are made
in secret as a result of confidentiality laws.

Jan Saalfield, a Marin County lawyer who has specialized in child
dependency appeals for 16 years, said she has never seen a ruling like
the one Bauer made last week.

"This gives the appearance that the court is quite concerned that this
is not just a singular event and says it won't be repeated in the
future," Saalfield said. "The court is showing substantial concern that
this could happen again."

Michael Riley, chief deputy director of the Social Services Agency,
disagreed, saying the judge's ruling simply orders the department do to
what it has always done, "which is follow the law."

"The whole idea of the premise made by the plaintiff that we remove
children in a cavalier fashion is completely unfounded," Riley said.

Citing confidentiality laws, Riley said he couldn't comment on specifics
of the case. But he denied that his social workers did anything wrong.
The agency always has evidence before making an allegation, and Orange
County has one of the lowest removal rates in the state, he said. Of the
34,293 child abuse reports the department received in 2006, only 1,900
children were removed from their homes, he said.

The county is appealing the jury's decision, including the additional
$6,000 in punitive damages against the two social workers onFogarty-Hardwick'scase.

During the 16-day trial earlier this year, the county's lawyers told the
jury thatFogarty-Hardwickwas a former Miss California and called her
the "Nordstrom mom" in an attempt to turn the jury against her. That
didn't work, as jury members later toldFogarty-Hardwick'slawyers. The
county also allowed the social worker that threatened her to testify,
and the jury came to believe, asFogarty-Hardwick'slawsuit claimed,
that she and a supervisor had "intentionally misinformed" a judge who
then handed down the order to take the children.

After her daughters were put in foster care in 2000,Fogarty-Hardwick
decided to give her ex-husband full custody, hoping to protect her
daughters. She was then allowed two monitored visits per month for two
years, but finally won 50-50 custody in 2006.

Today,Fogarty-Hardwickisn't bitter, nor is she anti-social services.
She says with a laugh that she knew the social worker in question was so
bad because her first one had been so good.

But she admits that this "unfortunate adventure" has been devastating to
her, her parents and their extended family. Her only hope now is that
the appeal also goes her way - a process that will take several years -
and that other parents won't have to experience what she endured.

"You just try to find good out of something horrible," she said. "We
have a wonderful decision that could help a lot of people and must be
preserved."

Contact the writer: 714-285-2862 or

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 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.

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...

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/03/prweb514101.htm

Orange County Jury Awards Mom $4.9 Million Against Department of
Social Services and its CPS Workers; Punitive Damages to Follow

Orange County Jury finds Orange County, its CPS workers and the
Department of Social Services agency liable to mother for $4.9 million
in compensatory damages for constitutional rights violations arising
from interference with association with children. Punitive damages to
be determined against the individual CPS workers.

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) March 25, 2007 --

Fogarty-Hardwick v. County of Orange, et al.
Superior Court of California, County of Orange
Case No. 01CC02379 (Trial before Hon. Ronald L. Bauer, Dept.
CX103)

On March 23, 2007, the Orange County Social Services Agency and two of
its Social Workers, Marcie Vreeken and Helen Dwojak were found liable
for violating the parental rights of Deanna Fogarty-Hardwick, as
guaranteed under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United
States Constitution. The jury found 10-2 in favor of the Plaintiff and
awarded $4.9 million in economic and non-economic damages. The
punitive damages phase of the trial will begin on Tuesday, March 27,
2007.

The verdict follows the filing of a civil suit for civil rights
violations by Deanna Fogarty-Hardwick, a mother of two minor children,
against the Orange County Department of Social Services and three of
its social workers. The Plaintiff Deanna Fogarty-Harwick sued
defendants County of Orange, Orange County Social Services Agency,
Marcie Vreeken, Elaine Wilkins, and Helen Dwojak.

The Jury found against the Plaintiff and for Defendant Elaine Wilkins,
by a 10-2 jury vote.

This case was brought by Plaintiff against Defendants to recover
damages arising from Defendants alleged violations of Ms. Fogarty's
constitutional rights to raise and associate with her children, free
from governmental interference.

Ms. Fogarty-Hardwick alleged that social workers Marcie Vreeken,
Elaine Wilkins, and Helen Dwojak caused Ms. Fogarty-Hardwick's
children to be removed from her custody without cause, and continued
to detain them without cause, violating Ms. Fogarty-Harwick's
Constitutional right to familial association. Ms. Fogarty-Hardwick
alleged that these defendants, while working as social workers for
Orange County Social Services, intentionally fabricated evidence to
obtain a court order to detain Ms. Fogarty-Hardwick's two young
daughters on February 17, 2000. Ms. Fogarty-Hardwick also alleged that
Orange County Social Services, Marcie Vreeken, Elaine Wilkins, and
Helen Dwojak maliciously failed to provide the court with exculpatory
information, and filed false reports in furtherance of the effort to
keep Ms. Fogarty-Hardwick separated from her children.

The second civil rights claim alleged that the policies, practices, or
procedures employed by Orange County Social Services and the County of
Orange in the removal of Plaintiff's children from her care also
violated Ms. Fogarty-Harwick's constitutional rights, under the Fourth
and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and to
raise and associate with her children free from governmental
interference. The unlawful policies, practices or procedures pertained
to the detention of children without a finding of imminent danger or
serious physical injury; interviewing children without a parent
present; continuing detention after learning there was no basis to do
so; using trickery and fabricated evidence; and failing to adequately
train employees regarding the Constitutional rights of parents.

Lead trial attorney Shawn A. McMillan states "My client Deanna Fogarty-
Hardwick, is satisfied by the Jury's recognition of the harm that the
defendants caused her. But, obviously, no amount of money can ever
undo the damage inflicted upon Ms. Fogarty-Hardwick or her children.
We expect the Jury's 4.9 million dollar verdict will cause the County
of Orange and its Department of Social Services to implement
procedures to prevent future abuses by County social workers and
protect other families."

San Diego Lawyer Shawn A. McMillan, of the Law Offices of Shawn A.
McMillan, was trial counsel in the case. Attorney Sondra S. Sutherland
was co-counsel.

For additional information, contact:

Shawn A. McMillan, Esq.
THE LAW OFFICES OF SHAWN A. McMILLAN, A.P.C.
4955 Via Lapiz
San Diego, California 92122
Telephone: (858) 646-0069
Facsimile: (206) 600-4582
Website: www.mcmillan-law.com


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