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Foster Children Do Not Receive Adequate Health Ca Seattle pediatricianAbraham Bergman called the foster care system "state-sponsored child abuse,"



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 22nd 07, 04:14 AM posted to alt.support.child-protective-services,alt.support.foster-parents,alt.dads-rights.unmoderated,alt.parenting.spanking
fx
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,848
Default Foster Children Do Not Receive Adequate Health Ca Seattle pediatricianAbraham Bergman called the foster care system "state-sponsored child abuse,"



Daily Health Policy Report
Capitol Hill Watch | Foster Children Do Not Receive Adequate Health
Care, Witnesses Tell House Panel
[Jul 20, 2007]

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_r...fm?DR_ID=46371

CMS and state child welfare officials are failing to provide
adequate access to physical and mental health services to children in
foster care, witnesses on Thursday said at a House Ways and Means
Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support hearing, CQ
HealthBeat reports. Panel Chair Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) said studies
show that between 30% and 80% of foster children have chronic health
conditions, including mental illnesses in many cases.

According to McDermott, The National Survey of Child and Adolescent
Well-Being found that three of four child welfare beneficiaries with
significant mental illnesses were not receiving care within 12 months
after an investigation into child abuse and neglect. Foster children in
most cases are eligible for Medicaid, but "many still do not receive
adequate health services, especially for mental health conditions,"
McDermott said.

Erin Sutton -- director of child safety at the Minnesota Department of
Human Services, who testified on behalf of the American Public Human
Services Association -- said Medicaid payments for "targeted case
management" help ensure foster children receive needed care. A 2005
study found that children with case managers were more likely to receive
care for physical illnesses, as well as dental and clinic-based care,
Sutton said. Thirty-eight states offer at least some targeted case
management services, and in at least 40% of those states, foster
children enrolled in Medicaid receive such services, Sutton added.

However, under the Bush administration's fiscal year 2008 budget
proposal, federal matching rate for targeted case management would drop
from up to 77% to no more than 50%. The provision, signed by President
Bush last year, also requires CMS to define "direct care services," for
which targeted case management funding could not be used -- a "seemingly
minor" change that could have a significant impact if the definition is
too broad, Sutton said. CMS is auditing targeted case management
programs in several states. The agency also is auditing Medicaid-funded
"Rehabilitation Services" benefits, which are reducing the cost of
foster children's mental health care received outside of hospitals.

Seattle pediatrician Abraham Bergman, who called the foster care system
"state-sponsored child abuse," recommended that the House adopt a bill
that would require states to coordinate health care for foster children.
According to Bergman, the services involved "are all covered by
Medicaid," so improvements in access to care could by achieved "without
new money" (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 7/20).





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...
  #2  
Old July 22nd 07, 04:00 PM posted to alt.support.child-protective-services,alt.support.foster-parents,alt.dads-rights.unmoderated,alt.parenting.spanking
Ron
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 625
Default Foster Children Do Not Receive Adequate Health Ca Seattle pediatrician Abraham Bergman called the foster care system "state-sponsored child abuse,"

Gee, another opinion. That makes it 1 in 300,000,000, right?

Ron

"fx" wrote in message
...


Daily Health Policy Report
Capitol Hill Watch | Foster Children Do Not Receive Adequate Health Care,
Witnesses Tell House Panel
[Jul 20, 2007]

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_r...fm?DR_ID=46371

CMS and state child welfare officials are failing to provide
adequate access to physical and mental health services to children in
foster care, witnesses on Thursday said at a House Ways and Means
Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support hearing, CQ HealthBeat
reports. Panel Chair Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) said studies show that
between 30% and 80% of foster children have chronic health conditions,
including mental illnesses in many cases.

According to McDermott, The National Survey of Child and Adolescent
Well-Being found that three of four child welfare beneficiaries with
significant mental illnesses were not receiving care within 12 months
after an investigation into child abuse and neglect. Foster children in
most cases are eligible for Medicaid, but "many still do not receive
adequate health services, especially for mental health conditions,"
McDermott said.

Erin Sutton -- director of child safety at the Minnesota Department of
Human Services, who testified on behalf of the American Public Human
Services Association -- said Medicaid payments for "targeted case
management" help ensure foster children receive needed care. A 2005 study
found that children with case managers were more likely to receive care
for physical illnesses, as well as dental and clinic-based care, Sutton
said. Thirty-eight states offer at least some targeted case management
services, and in at least 40% of those states, foster children enrolled in
Medicaid receive such services, Sutton added.

However, under the Bush administration's fiscal year 2008 budget proposal,
federal matching rate for targeted case management would drop from up to
77% to no more than 50%. The provision, signed by President Bush last
year, also requires CMS to define "direct care services," for which
targeted case management funding could not be used -- a "seemingly minor"
change that could have a significant impact if the definition is too
broad, Sutton said. CMS is auditing targeted case management programs in
several states. The agency also is auditing Medicaid-funded
"Rehabilitation Services" benefits, which are reducing the cost of foster
children's mental health care received outside of hospitals.

Seattle pediatrician Abraham Bergman, who called the foster care system
"state-sponsored child abuse," recommended that the House adopt a bill
that would require states to coordinate health care for foster children.
According to Bergman, the services involved "are all covered by Medicaid,"
so improvements in access to care could by achieved "without new money"
(Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 7/20).





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...



  #3  
Old July 23rd 07, 04:32 AM posted to alt.support.child-protective-services,alt.support.foster-parents,alt.dads-rights.unmoderated,alt.parenting.spanking
0:-]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 805
Default fx, you slipping, are you?

....or just can't stand to post something that shows CPS in a good
light?

I've told you before, and I will again, that CPS often is NOT the
arbiter in cases that makes the final placement decision. I've also
posted examples to this newsgroup where the judge was the
culprit...yet you twisted sickos keep claiming the judge rubber stamps
CPS recommendations.

You are a liar, Michael, then and now. Phony then, phony now.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/miran...936-home-child

Sunday, July 22, 2007
Dying in silence
A Juvenile Court judge sent 2-year-old Miranda Davila back to parents
with a history of drug use who said they weren't ready for her.
Critics say what happened next wasn't a surprise.
By JENIFER B. McKIM
The Orange County Register

Miranda Davila's parents faced a painful choice.

The recovering drug addicts were told in early 2003 they needed to
take their 22-month-old daughter back to their cramped motel room or
risk losing the girl to the child welfare system forever.

Tonia Fernandez and Salvador Davila decided to take their little girl
home, despite concerns that the toddler – who'd been in foster care
since birth – would add new stress when they were already struggling
to care for four other children in one small room.

They did so even though their social worker told the Orange County
Juvenile Court that the child would be at risk if returned to a family
not ready for her.

Commissioner Gary Vincent said Miranda could go home.

Seven months later paramedics found her bruised and unconscious, her
skull shattered, in a motel room fouled with mold and infested with
maggots. She died a few hours later.

Fernandez told police she accidentally hurt Miranda, then changed her
story and blamed her longtime boyfriend. Davila was convicted of
second-degree murder and is now serving a 25-year-to life sentence.
The couple's remaining children were taken by Social Services. Davila
didn't respond to a letter sent to him in prison. Fernandez could not
be found.

But the little girl's story – detailed in hundreds of pages of
confidential records obtained by The Orange County Register – shows
how the system meant to protect abused and neglected children failed
this little girl.

The family's story also opens a window into the growing toll of
methamphetamine on local families. Miranda was part of a spike in such
births. The number of families in the child welfare system with
substance abuse problems jumped from 329 in 2000 to 498 in 2005.
Orange County social workers intervened in 181 cases where babies
tested positive for drugs last year.

The Register first learned about Miranda's case during an
investigation of 23 abused and neglected children who died since 2000
while under protection of the court. The Register litigated for two
years to force the Superior Court to release Miranda's records.

Miranda's foster mother and paternal grandmother said they tried to
get help but were ignored.

"They never should have given that baby back," said foster mother
Nancy Perez, who cared for Miranda since infancy and testified in
defense of the father, Davila. "Even when I told (the social worker)
the baby had signs of abuse, nothing was done."

Commissioner Vincent was the same judge who presided over the case of
Darian Robinson, a 10-month-old foster child who was murdered in 2001
after being returned to his mother. In Darian's case, Vincent also
dismissed a social worker's recommendations.

Vincent cut back his hours in March, after 17 years on the bench, and
now works only part time as a judge. He declined to be interviewed for
this story.

In an interview last fall, Vincent said social workers often make
incorrect recommendations because they don't know the law. He said he
can't keep families apart unless there is convincing evidence of
substantial risk of harm.

"We can't take children away because we don't like their parenting
style, their cleanliness, or (that) they are poor,'' he said. "It has
to be foreseeable there is a problem."

Judge Robert Hutson, presiding judge of the Juvenile Court, also
defended Vincent's decision to return Miranda to the family, saying
children need the stability of a permanent home. "We can't let a child
stay in limbo forever," Hutson said in an interview last year. "The
child had been in foster care for two years."

Social services officials said once the judge ordered Miranda's
return, there wasn't enough evidence to prove she was at serious risk
of danger to remove her again.

But records show clearly that the situation had deteriorated. Senior
social worker Daniel Whitehurst wrote in a report he signed Oct. 9,
the day Miranda died, that Miranda's affect was flat and she lacked
energy. The father had lost his job, the motel room was frequently
littered with trash and crumbs and the children were often holed up in
the room, Whitehurst wrote.

Whitehurst did not respond to requests for comment. Social services
officials said he is on leave and not available. But the agency
defended him, saying he was honored in 2005 by a nonprofit that fights
child abuse. He was devastated, an agency spokesperson said, when he
heard about the little girl's death.

"The threshold of the law is good enough care. It is not the ideal
home, it is good enough," said Social Services spokeswoman Terry Lynn
Fisher. "There was no legal basis to remove the child. (Whitehurst)
went above and beyond."

Miranda's death while under the protection of the Juvenile Court
ignites passionate debate among child advocates. They disagree whether
government did enough, or too much, to reunite a family struggling
with poverty and drug addiction.

Robert Fellmeth, executive director of the Children's Advocacy
Institute in San Diego, said the government leans too far on the side
of reuniting fragile families.

"If you've got someone you attempted reunification and they relapse,
you don't have to wait for the third time," Fellmeth said.
"Methamphetamines destroy maternal and paternal instinct. It's a
parental disqualifying feature."

DRUG BABY

Tonia Fernandez rushed into Western Medical Center on May 2001, ready
to give birth. There was no record that the 26-year-old mother had any
prenatal care, prompting immediate suspicion among nurses. Salvador
Davila, her 28-year-old boyfriend, appeared drunk, nurses said.

Tests were ordered and Miranda was found positive for amphetamines,
becoming one of 1,008 drug babies since 2000 referred to the Orange
County Social Services Agency.

Fernandez, already the mother of three young boys, admitted she'd
smoked methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant that can create
developmental delays in children. Davila, a high school dropout who
worked as a roofer, admitted to a five-year history of drug use.

Yet the couple's other young children showed no signs of abuse and
neglect, social workers said. The parents said they wanted to take
Miranda home and would do what was necessary to get her back.

First they had to prove they were fit parents.

Miranda was made a dependent of the court and transferred to the
three-bedroom home of a Cypress foster parent, Nancy Perez, who
specializes in babies born addicted to drugs. Social workers deemed
the three older brothers safe at their family's home.

The couple agreed to weekly parenting classes, counseling, and
twice-weekly drug tests.

They struggled to stay sober. A week after Miranda was born, Davila
showed up at a drug test looking dirty and intoxicated, reports show.
Within six months of her birth, both parents failed three tests in a
row, according to social services reports.

Recovering from a meth addiction is difficult. Less than a quarter of
meth abusers complete their treatment, according to a 2000 study
published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. Relapses are common.
But many family advocates argue that children do better with their
parents, even not-so-perfect ones.

"Children want to have a connection to their birth parents and they
deserve to have a connection to their birth parents," said Nancy
Young, director of the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child
Welfare. "Just because they have a drug dependency doesn't mean they
don't love their child."

During that first year, Davila was arrested and jailed for resisting
an officer. He lost his job. The family was evicted from their mobile
home and had to move in with relatives. The mother got pregnant again.

The couple also showed strengths. They continued to attend drug
counseling classes and faithfully visited Miranda, social services
reports said. The child reacted well to her parents and Perez grew
especially fond of the father, who never missed a visit.

FINDING A HOME

In a county where the median cost of a home is $645,000, finding
adequate housing can be daunting for even the affluent. For the
working poor, with an eviction on their record, it can be nearly
impossible.

In June of 2002 – when Miranda was a little more than 1 year old – the
couple told Whitehurst, the social worker, they wanted to postpone her
return until they found a better place to live than the home they
shared with relatives.

By the time Miranda turned 18 months, the family was living in a small
room in the Grand Inn in Fullerton with their three sons and baby
daughter. The room had two queen-size beds, a refrigerator and an
electric wok.

Whitehurst urged the family to take Miranda but Davila continued to
resist, citing their living situation. He told the judge Miranda would
be at risk if returned.

"It is preferable to allow the child to return to her parents' care
when the parents feel comfortable with the idea," he said in his
report.

Commissioner Vincent postponed a decision four times in nine months,
waiting for the family to find better housing.

Whitehurst tried to help. But Fisher noted that social workers can't
provide housing for their clients. Social workers like Whitehurst
average 18 cases, with some carrying as many as 38. "It was up to them
to follow through," she said.

When Miranda was nearly 2 years old, the parents were told by their
attorneys they couldn't put off Miranda's return any longer, Perez
said.

"He told me that the lawyer said either you take her now or they are
going to put her up for adoption," Perez said.

Yana Kennedy, the attorney appointed by the court to represent
Miranda, defended Vincent's decision. She said she would have opposed
any plan to put Miranda into long-term foster care.

"This is just a social worker's recommendation. They don't know the
law," she said. "They wanted to get a better place. That doesn't mean
someone is going to kill their child."

Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child
Protection Reform, said the judge should have listened to the parents’
concern.



“When parents say we are not ready you have to listen to that. It was
a remarkably responsible of them,’’ Wexler said. “What judges are
hearing is (they need to create) permanence… in a situation like this
I would have waited another 18 years.”

Bill Grimm, a senior attorney for the National Center for Youth Law,
examined Miranda's case records for The Register. Grimm said he didn't
see any changes that showed Miranda would be safe at home.

"To me it (was) a powder keg ready to explode," he said. "Nothing
changed to make it reasonable to believe it was a safe environment."

'PLEASE TAKE THE BABY'

On March 14, 2003, Perez carried Miranda up the stairs to the Grand
Inn. The little girl ran into her father's arms, she said.

At first, the family seemed able to care for Miranda, Whitehurst
reported.

But as spring turned to summer, the family seemed to be slipping. The
parents had lost the will to improve their housing situation,
Whitehurst found. Neither could show proof they were attending 12-step
meetings.

In August and September, Whitehurst found Miranda with multiple
bruises. The mother said the girl had fallen from her playpen. He
wrote that Miranda appeared "marginally cared for."

Davila's mother, Angela, visited later that month and found her
granddaughter weak and lacking patches of hair. The motel was filthy.

She begged the couple to let her take Miranda with her, she said. She
called Whitehurst and left a message.

"I said I visited them and the baby looks sick, looks terrible, please
take the baby away from them. I need to talk to you," the grandmother
said. "He never called me back."

On Sept. 25, Whitehurst took Davila to visit an apartment complex in
Anaheim. Whitehurst realized, after months of working with the family,
that the father hadn't completed any of the apartment applications at
all.

What happened on Miranda's last night remains unclear. The couple's
stories changed over time. Davila told police he was frustrated and
had a painful toothache. He pushed his 3-year-old son, he said, the
boy collided with Miranda and she "cracked herself."

Later, he testified that Miranda tripped after he pulled her away from
Fernandez, who was biting the little girl on the cheek.

Whatever the scenario, paramedics arrived late Oct. 8 to find Miranda
lying on the ground unconscious. She had a 4-inch fracture running
down the back of her skull – a serious injury that couldn't have come
from an accident, a pathologist later explained.

She had bruises or abrasions on her forehead, the bridge of her nose,
both cheeks, the right side of her mouth, her back and on both legs,
according to court documents. She had scarring from earlier injuries.

The bathtub was filled with shrimp and covered with ants and bugs,
police reported. Raw pork was found by the dresser. The refrigerator
was filled with maggot-covered food.

The next morning, Whitehurst was called at home. Miranda was in the
hospital with a fractured skull. Her siblings had been taken to
Orangewood Children's home.

Whitehurst went to his office and signed a report detailing the
deteriorating situation over the previous months. His recommendation:
Miranda should remain with her parents.

He did not mention she was already dead.

Kennedy received the document a few days later. She wishes she'd been
made aware of the problems. But she said that knowledge might not have
changed anything.

"Social workers will often pick up the phone and call us. He didn't.
Maybe he didn't think it was bad enough," she said. "There are a lot
of situations like this where conditions will go downhill in a home.
It is extremely unusual to have a child killed."

Perez, the foster mother, still is haunted by the death of the
brown-haired girl who danced in her home like a princess.

"Why didn't (the social worker) see what was going on?" she said. "Why
didn't they see the baby was so skinny, she looked like a skeleton? …
Her death could have been prevented."

Child protective services agencies were created to remove minors from
unsafe homes. In the 1980s, the federal government began to focus
efforts on helping at-risk families stay together.

The debate over the balance between protecting children and keeping
unstable families together continues today.

Tragic deaths like Miranda Davila's can swing the pendulum toward
pulling children out of unsafe homes. But a recent study by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that children who aren't
obvious candidates for removal do better in life when they remain at
home.

Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child
Protection Reform, said social workers need to limit the number of
children they remove so they can concentrate on the families with
bigger problems.

"They do leave children in dangerous homes even as they take more
children from homes that are safe or could be made safe with the right
kinds of help." Wexler said. "The two problems are directly linked."

Contact the writer: 714-796-2295 or



 




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