Contractor goof has hundreds of LA County adoptions in question

Contractor goof has hundreds of LA County adoptions in question

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...n150038D07.DTL

(09-11) 15:00 PDT Los Angeles (AP) --

A government contractor's omission has put hundreds of Los Angeles
County adoptions into question, leading to a scramble by officials and
child advocates to make sure they are legal.

It was discovered in June that Yoakum Investigations, which has a
$549,000 contract with the Department of Children and Family Services,
failed to properly notify birth parents or guardians in 237 cases in
which foster children were up for adoption.

Written notice is required by law in adoption matters to ensure the
delivery of subpoenas, notices and other legal documents pertaining to
court hearings.

Child welfare officials immediately halted use of Yoakum Investigations,
which has led to delays in some adoptions and caused county lawyers to
put in thousands of extra hours to correct the problem.

Chief accountant-auditor Michael McWatters said a meeting was planned
later this week with the firm's Alice Yoakum. A man who answered the
phone at Yoakum Investigations declined to comment Tuesday.

Lawyers from the county counsel's office, Alliance for Children's Rights
and Public Counsel of Los Angeles have been meeting with Juvenile Court
Presiding Judge Michael Nash.

"We've gotten together with all the stakeholders," Nash said Monday.
"The only thing we can do at this point is to provide notice to the
potentially aggrieved parties so they understand what happened or didn't
happen, and, if they need to go back to court, they will have the
opportunity to be heard. It's fundamental due process."

Nash said court officials have found the parties were notified by other
means, such as through their social workers or lawyers. The judge said
he suspects only a very few cases will be impacted by the lack of notice.

Deputy County Counsel Jim Owens, division chief of the office's
dependency section at the Edelman Children's Courthouse, said he has
assigned three lawyers to work on the problem.

___

Information from: Daily Journal




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...