U.S. Sues Florida Over Disabled Children In Nursing Homes

MIAMI – The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Florida on Monday, accusing the state of unnecessarily keeping about 200 disabled children in nursing homes and cutting services that would allow them to receive care at home. Once they do get to the facility, federal officials said many stay for years, some literally grow up in a nursing home.

Federal investigators say they visited six nursing homes around the state and identified roughly 200 children who didn’t need to be there and could benefit from being care for at home or in the community. But instead, the children languish in facilities, sharing common areas with elderly patients and having few interactions with others, rarely leaving the nursing homes or going outside. Investigators noted the children are not exposed to social, educational and recreational activities that are critical to child development. Educational opportunities are limited to as little as 45 minutes a day, according to the lawsuit.
Investigators also said Florida is violating the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and is infringing on the children’s civil rights by segregating and isolating them. The average length of stay is three years,
The federal government threatened a lawsuit in September if the state failed to make changes to the system,

Health Care Administration Secretary Liz Dudek

but Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Liz Dudek first denied the allegations, then repeatedly stated the problems had been fixed. In the past, Dudek stressed the agency does not limit medically necessary home health services and that parent ultimately decide where to put their children in a nursing home.

State health officials and Attorney General Pam Bondi did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
Parents have said they have are desperately fighting to get services to keep their children at home.
“(The state) pressures parents to place parents in institutionalized settings and then give them no way to get out,” said attorney Matthew Dietz, who filed a lawsuit two years ago against the state that mirrors the federal lawsuit.

Pam Bondi

He said the state has not addressed the issue, despite official claims.
The waiting list for services at home or in the community has jumped from 14,629 in 2005 to more than 21,000 in 2012, with more than half waiting longer than five years. Currently, state policy does not give priority on the waiting list to children in nursing homes, federal officials said.
At the same time, the state turned down nearly $40 million in federal funds for a program that transitions people from nursing homes back into the community. The state has also been paying community-based providers less, reducing payments by 15 percent last year because of legislative budget cuts. Yet the state implemented policies that expanded nursing home care by offering facilities a $500 enhanced daily rate for caring for children, which is more than double than what the state pays for adults, according to federal investigators.
EARLIER: The U.S. Justice Department is suing Florida, saying the state is unnecessarily keeping hundreds of disabled children in nursing homes.
According to the lawsuit filed Monday, federal officials visited six nursing homes around the state and identified roughly 200 children who didn’t need to be there and could receive care at home.
Federal officials concluded the state has made it difficult for disabled children to get medical services that would allow them to move home. According to the lawsuit, Florida’s system has led to unnecessary segregation and isolation of children, often for years.
The federal government threatened a lawsuit in September if the state failed to make changes to the system.
State health officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Check back at HeraldTribune.com for more on this developing story.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20130722/WIRE/130729914/2416/NEWS?Title=UPDATE-U-S-sues-Florida-over-disabled-children-in-nursing-homes

Governor Rick Scott Department Children And Families

 Governor Rick Scott,

I know that this happened in 2000, but it shows a long history of abuse and corruption in the state of Florida. I have made you aware of numerous abuses. I have been connected with literally hundreds of other Floridians who have experienced constitution and civil rights abuse by DCF and local police agencies in supporting illegal search and seizures, fraudulent reports, and so much more.

Since you have been made aware of these problems, including the deaths of children in state care, and have chosen to do nothing about it, I know that you should personally be held responsible for each family torn apart.

You swore to defend the constitution and both the US Constitution and the FL Constitution protect citizens from these abuses. Are you standing up or are you burning your head so you can once again plead the 5th?

We do not advocate violence in any form


From: Schafer [mailto:schafer@sprynet.com]
Sent: Friday, June 16, 2000 5:00 PM
To: Denise Karp
Subject: Abusive Fla. DCF Sued for $501 million
ABUSIVE FLORIDA DCF SUED FOR $501 MILLION
On Wednesday, June 7,2000, a $501 million dollar civil rights class action suit was filed and accepted in the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, on behalf of families who allegedly have been victimized by the practices of the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the Juvenile courts.

Attorney Robert Dowd, of Orlando, filed the 24-page suit on behalf of over 13 families and 50 minor children, including several from Okeechobee County.
Named as defendants in the action are the Florida Department of Children and Families, Judge Kathleen Kearney, the Juvenile Court System, DCF attorneys Bernstein, Swartz and Gillen, Attorney General of the State of Florida Robert Butterworth, DCF case workers Christina Garcia, Laura Dickinson, Lisa Suarez, and Michelle Akins.
In addition are listed Judge Kerry Evander and Judge Burton Conner. Also included in the suit are the guardian ad litem director, the Indian River Juvenile Facility and the inspector General for the State of Florida.
The suit alleges that the state engaged in a systematic process by which the families, parents, children and citizens of the State have been terrorized, traumatized and torn asunder as well as deprived of their fundamental rights without due process of law. The suit continues by stating that the motivation behind this system oppression is federal funding.
The state receives over one-fourth of it’s annual budget from the federal government. In the fiscal year ending in 1999, the state received over $10 billion from the federal government, of which the greatest share was for "human services." This amount is four-and-one-half times greater than that provided for education, and six times greater than funding for transportation.
The suit contends that Florida’s child welfare laws, as currently written and applied by the defendants, have been enacted specifically for the purpose of qualifying for that federal funding.
According to the court document, in accordance with the federal statutes, funding is increased in direct proportion to the number of children who can be brought within the juvenile courts, foster care and the compulsory adoption system.
LAWSUIT CLAIMS PARENTS ARE PRESUMED GUILTY, DENIED DUE PROCESS OF THE LAW.

The law explicitly calls this "freeing children" from their parents for adoption. Among the examples listed in the filing regarding the denial of due process includes allegations that the defendants flagrantly violated Florida Statute section 39, which contains the framework upon which DCF operates. It continues by stating that under current federal and state law parents are not permitted to know who has reported them to the state for alleged violations of child welfare laws.


Once the parents are accused, they are presumed guilty, and the burden is placed upon them to prove their innocence, said the lawsuit. In addition, the suit states that the juvenile courts are closed to the public and since they are a "star Chamber" due process can be abused with impunity.
As you can see I have been very busy here, and hopefully we will nail some thirty Judges very shortly. Among them, Walter Colbath, and Ron Hoy, from Palm Beach County.

Lawsuits Against Department Of Children And Families In Florida Again

BROOKSVILLE — The much-publicized story of the Allains ended in March 2006 when the Weeki Wachee couple were convicted of nearly starving a 10-year-old foster girl.
But the repercussions from that troubling case continue today as those injured seek accountability and compensation.
John J. Edwards Jr., another foster child adopted by Lori and Arthur "Tommy" Allain, filed an amended civil lawsuit Nov. 18 that alleges negligence against his adoptive parents; the state Department of Children and Families; adoption nonprofit Kids Central; and his caseworker, Cathy Kelly.
His biological father, John J. Edwards, filed a similar lawsuit this month, seeking financial damages against DCF and three employees who he claims wrongfully terminated his parental rights, which allowed the Allains to take custody of his son.

For those involved — particularly the state agencies named in the court documents — the lawsuit reopens healing wounds.
Sebring attorney Gary Gossett Jr. represents both Edwardses.
In a letter to DCF about the latest lawsuit, he described his client's situation: "His caregivers starved his half-sister almost to death and forced (the younger Edwards) to suffer a horrible environment reminiscent of a Nazi death camp."
Gossett said the cases are the natural extension of previous court findings. He disputed that it's a quest for money.

"This is about vindication more than anything," he said. The elder Edwards' case "has truly not been about money. It's about the state's agents running over people."
• • •
The Allain saga first exploded into the public realm in May 2004 when John Edwards Jr., then 14, ran away from the Allain home and the allegations of abuse and neglect unfolded.
Edwards — found by sheriff's deputies wandering the streets — said he had been punched in the chest for sneaking food to his half-sister.
Authorities discovered the girl weighed just 29 pounds at age 10, putting her "at risk of imminent death."
Her foster parents refused to give her food because she seemed to have an eating disorder and would vomit after meals. They kept her locked in a room with only a paint bucket to use as a toilet, authorities said at the time.

On June 18, 2004, the Allains were arrested and charged with child abuse and child neglect.
The arrests shed light on an incredible back story, dating to June 2000, when the children were taken from their biological mother and placed by DCF in the care of the Allains, who knew the mother.
Despite numerous red flags, the state granted the couple full custody in April 2002 after they terminated the parental rights of the children's mother.
An independent review conducted after the arrests found DCF ignored numerous allegations of abuse and other warning signs, allowing Edwards and his half-sister to endure a pattern of "torture and starvation."
It took the courts two years to rule on the case, in part because the Allains went on the lam ahead of their trial. In the end, they were convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison for the abuse with an additional five years for failing to appear in court.
The girl has since been adopted by a family in South Florida.

• • •
The report, released in August 2005, serves an important role in the new lawsuits. It points the finger directly at the state. DCF officials have acknowledged wrongdoing and made numerous policy changes.
But the report's author, Circuit Judge Scott Bernstein of Miami, put the most blame on the adoptive parents.
"The Allains, not DCF, are responsible for torturing these children," he wrote. "The difficult question for DCF in this case is how the Allains got away with it for so long."
Bill D'Aiuto, the DCF administrator for the circuit that includes Hernando County, said he could not comment directly about the lawsuit. But he acknowledged the agency's substandard work.
"Certainly, this was a terrible case and caused us to go back and do a thorough review," he said. "We also want to recognize that we have learned from this, and we are moving forward."
The younger Edwards' 13-page lawsuit lists 11 counts. The first four aim directly at the Allains, accusing them of negligence, intentional infliction of severe emotional distress, battery and false imprisonment.
The document also charges that DCF, Kids Central and the caseworker "negligently failed to protect (Edwards) from abuse and neglect."
Gossett said Edwards, who turns 19 on Saturday, is living on and off with his father in Sebring. He said his client is still dealing with the torment endured in this case and is seeking hundreds of millions as a settlement.

The biological father's lawsuit is an extension of this case.
Soon after his son's case went public, the elder Edwards challenged why his parental rights were terminated without his knowledge. He argued that DCF didn't do enough to locate him, and the trial court agreed, saying it was "unfathomable" that a more diligent search wasn't performed.
The case bounced through the court system for years with an appellate court deciding in March 2007 in Edwards' favor.
"For almost three years, (Edwards) has battled for that right against a recalcitrant Department of Children and Families, which has interposed a pointless procedural hurdle and frivolous defenses," wrote District Judge Vincent Torpy in the appellate decision.
The father's civil lawsuit, filed Nov. 14, alleges that DCF "significantly violated the civil rights of the plaintiff, herein causing him deprivation, companionship and parental rights of his son." In particular, it attacks Richard Robbins Jr., the social services employee in charge of notifying Edwards about the termination.
It seeks damages from DCF; Kelly, the caseworker; Robbins; and Diane Ubele, the department's attorney, in excess of $15,000, but does not list a total figure.
Gossett said the case is about accountability. The financial award should be incentive to DCF to change its ways.
"It's the last chapter," he said.
John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or (352) 754-6114.

Copyright 2008 St. Petersburg Times
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President Obama Save Our Children

Friday, August 26, 2011

President Obama Save Our Children

petition to president Obama

by Abbi Orenstein on Friday, August 19, 2011 at 1:42pm

Dear Sir, since the days of Walter Mondale and Bill Clinton’s safe families act child protective services have been steadily getting out of control.

Caseworkers and social workers are oftentimes guilty of fraud. They withhold evidence. They fabricate evidence and they seek to terminate parental rights. However, when charges are made against them, the charges are ignored, They have abused civil rights, violated procedure, lied to the courts, to the parents, and have gotten away with it even when caught. Some have even used racial bias to remove and keep children.

Children have died from abuse and neglect in their care. Child welfare can operate under a veil of secrecy in which they do not have to answer to anyone. Parents often have no recourse, cannot get community support, and must rely on legal aid to represent them.

when cps goes after a family most people believe there was abuse. this is why community support is hard to get and parents may even find themselves dealing with vengeful law enforcement.

WHAT WE WANT:
Transparency of the courts: the privacy act only protects cps. Parents must be given equal ability to defend themselves. The media must be allowed to research cases so it is not just the parent’s word against the goverment. Parents must be allowed to invoke trial by jury.

Accountability: When a social worker breaks the law to seize a child, that seizure must be considered unjustified and the child returned immediately.

Due process: Parents must not have to wait months to years to even see their children let alone defend themselves properly. Childhood is fleeting and the children may grow up in the system abused and devoid of parental care. By the time the parents get them back they may be well on a road to destruction they cannot escape.

An amendment in the constitution to protect parental rights: up until now we have not needed one. but because social workers have taken children from birth over mere speculation or the word of an angry neighbor is high time we need one.

Education of parental rights: Laws can easily be abused when people are unaware of their rights.
Over haul of the foster care system: as there are children that need to be there, the system must be fixed to hold foster parents and cps to higher standards. Backgrounds must be checked, foster homes must be checked regularly and doctors questioned.

Protection from clinical testing: foster children must not be used to test medicines in all states.
Nancy Schaefer’s act: End the financial incentives that separate families. Nancy Schaefer is so far the only politician to try and end this abuse of the system. you can be the second and you can succeed.

     Mr.president there are terrible cases of children that have starved to death in foster care. cases where an unpopular family may be ripped apart, minority children abused by racist foster parents, military families loose their children, and where a child may have a swat team unleashed to take her away when her mother decides to stop medicating her with unapproved psychotropic medicine. This should not be happening in our era, this something that happens in a Dickinson or Orwell novel. Please Mr.President, save our children.

This is a blog to bring us together with our stories of corruption with social services.

http://fightingforfamiliessupportgroup.blogspot.com/

Fighting for families support group.