Boys Removed From Home Petition Court to Leave Foster Care...

Boys Removed From Home Petition Court to Leave Foster Care

By Josh Farley (Contact)
Originally published 07:24 p.m., August 6, 2007
Updated 07:24 p.m., August 6, 2007

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2007/a...ourt-to-leave/


PORT ORCHARD

Tim Wolcott has spent nights in alleys and slept behind bars. He's
watched others without homes shoot drugs into their arms. He's "seen the
worst of the worst," he said, on streets around Kitsap County.

He's 15.

"I'm not a kid mentally anymore," he said. "But I kinda wish I was."

About six years ago, he was removed from his home by the state
Department of Social and Health Services. His mother, who was charged
with driving under the influence, and father, enrolled in Kitsap County
Drug Court, were viewed by the state as unfit to raise Tim and his twin
brother, Jesse, according to the family.

But foster care didn't work for the boys, who usually ran away —
sometimes minutes after they arrived in new homes.

"I've always run, because I love my family," Tim Wolcott said. "I would
go to the end of the Earth just to sleep on the sidewalk beside my family."

And despite the termination of her parental rights, Elaine
Wolcott-Ehrhardt, the boys' mother, received calls from officials in
2004 to let her know that they'd gone missing, she said.

It spurred her to act.

"I wasn't going to leave them sleeping in the streets," Wolcott-Ehrhardt
said.

But Wolcott-Ehrhardt also knew the laws that prohibited her from getting
her kids back. So she decided to try to change them.

In this year's legislative session, lawmakers listened to her calls for
change, and others from Washington Families United, the organization she
leads.

Sen. Phil Rockefeller, D-Bainbridge Island, introduced a bill that would
reinstate parental rights if kids in foster care longer than three years
petitioned the court to do so.

A companion bill, House Bill 1624, passed and was signed by Gov.
Christine Gregoire on May 11. Added to the bill was a minimum age — 12 —
at which children would be allowed to petition.

Fast forward to Monday: The clan — Elaine, Tim, and Robert, the boys'
father and Elaine's ex-husband — appeared in court for the first time.
Jesse, who is incarcerated in juvenile prison — was not present.

Kitsap County Superior Court Commissioner Thurman W. Lowans set a date
of Sept. 17 for attorneys to be ready to argue whether the parents'
rights should be reinstated. Lowans will be tasked with making the final
decision.

Because it is the first hearing of its kind, Lowans is also asking
attorneys to determine a threshold for what needs to be proven in court
to send the boys to live with their biological parents.

"We don't know exactly what we have to prove yet," said Kerry Stevens,
Jesse Wolcott's attorney.

In any case, Robert Wolcott said he and his ex-wife have a solid argument.

"I hope they can come back home," he said. "Both parents are here, clean
and sober, and doing the right thing."

The family is also hopeful that other families may be able to use the law.

"It's been a long time coming," Wolcott-Ehrhardt said. "I always said
I'd never go away."





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

CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING HUNDREDS 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...