Hawaii - - It's unprecedented that the state used child protectiveservices as a political weapon, especially one to censor people, to censortheir right to speak, to censor their right to protest.

Warnings raise ire of Hawaii ferry protesters

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/ap...67/1001/NEWS01


Children with boogie boards and surfboards who jumped into Nawiliwili
Harbor on Kaua'i to confront the Hawaii Superferry last month prompted
warnings by the Lingle administration that parents could be subject to
child welfare investigations if it happens again.

The administration said the warnings, along with a list of more than a
dozen possible criminal charges for illegal protests, are to inform
parents of the consequences of violating federal security zones when the
Superferry returns. The administration has stressed that legal
protesters would not face any penalties.

But rather than diffuse tensions on Kaua'i, the warnings of potential
child welfare investigations in particular have led to an emotional
backlash. Several people on Kaua'i and on Internet blogs and discussion
boards have seized on the warnings as an example of what they believe is
the Lingle administration's overreaction to dissent.

"It's unprecedented that they've used child protective services as a
political weapon, especially one to censor people, to censor their right
to speak, to censor their right to protest," said Andrea Brower, an
activist in Anahola who was among the protesters who went into the
harbor to block the ferry.

"It's pretty telling how far the Lingle administration is willing to go
to ensure that these private business owners get their way."

Keone Kealoha, director of Malama Kaua'i, said that warnings seem to be
at the root of the administration's xresponse to the protests.

"It just seems, again, that they are escalating the consequences instead
of listening to the concerns," he said.

The Coast Guard has established a federal security zone at Nawiliwili
Harbor for Superferry voyages and has set aside a designated protest
area off Kalapaki Beach. A separate security zone extends 100 yards
around the ferry.

People could be charged with endangering the welfare of minors — with a
possible year in jail and $2,000 fine — for knowingly risking a child's
physical or mental welfare. Separate child welfare investigations could
be initiated by the state Department of Human Services if parents place
their children into the federal security zones or the path of the ferry.

Children themselves could be charged in Family Court if they break the
law at protests.

PARENTS ACCOUNTABLE

Lillian Koller, the director of the state Department of Human Services,
said parents would face possible child welfare investigations only if
they were arrested at protests and their children were going to be left
alone or if they knowingly allowed their children to violate the federal
security zones or otherwise break the law.

Koller said some parents may not know their children are protesting and
likely would not be investigated if their children were arrested. But
she said "it's very different than if the parents know about it,
encourage it and physically assist the child in putting the child in
front of a moving ship or catamaran."

Koller said legal protesters would not be investigated.

"If parents are abiding by the safety zone, if they are expressing
themselves legally in the safety zone, there would absolutely be no
investigation," she said.

The department has been working to provide more transparency in child
welfare investigations, providing the targets and their families with
letters and booklets outlining the process, legal rights, and the
potential consequences. Koller acknowledged that in the past there was
often mystery and fear surrounding the investigations.

Koller said the warning to protesters was an extension of transparency.

"It is important for people to know that there are these
responsibilities that they have as parents and that we have as a state
agency in charge of child protective services to make sure children are
not unnecessarily subjected to harm," Koller said.

'AN UNEASY FEELING'

State Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland, D-13th (Kalihi, Nu'uanu), who supports
the Superferry, said parents should not put their children into harm's
way during protests or break the law themselves. But she said she would
not have threatened parents with child welfare investigations.

"When I first heard about that I had an uneasy feeling," Chun Oakland
said. "I wouldn't threaten, period."

State Senate Majority Leader Gary Hooser, D-7th (Kaua'i, Ni'ihau),
called the prospect of child welfare investigations "unnecessarily
heavy-handed."

"To use the threat of such action to enforce a political decision is
just wrong," Hooser said.

State Senate Minority Leader Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimanalo,
Hawai'i Kai), said he believes that although protesters represent a
minority view on the Superferry they helped bring the project "to a
screeching halt" with their actions.

"People who do protest illegally have to be subject to the laws of the
state of Hawai'i, including child endangerment. To say otherwise is
wrong," Hemmings said.

Reach Derrick DePledge at .







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...