Georgia Keeps Kids Languishing in Foster Care Because Their Parents Are Undocumented

By Marie Diamond

A custody fight in Georgia is illustrating the biases of a foster care system that some say routinely subverts the parental rights of undocumented and non-English speaking mothers and fathers:

Ovidio and Domitina Mendez’s lost their five children to foster care when the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services arrived at their home claimed the kids were malnourished. The couple, who are both undocumented immigrants from Guatemala, says they did everything the child welfare agency asked them to do to get their kids back. But three years later, the children are still in foster care with strangers. Why? Because they are undocumented immigrants who speak Spanish, according to advocates.

A recent study by the Applied Research Center revealed that at least 5,100 children are languishing in America’s foster care system because their immigrant parents were detained or deported. But the report also found that even when undocumented parents are not detained or deported, they face bias in the child welfare system as a result of cultural and language discrimination.

For instance, at the June hearing that terminated the Mendez’s parental rights, they were peppered with seemingly irrelevant questions about their English-speaking ability and immigration status. “Describe for the court why even three years after [the children went into the state’s custody] you cannot speak English without an interpreter,” asked Bruce Kling, special assistant attorney general for Whitfield County Department of Family and Children’s Service.

The state also argued that the Mendezes’ should not regain custody because, as undocumented immigrants, they could not attain driver’s licenses and therefore couldn’t transport their children. ARC found that many county child welfare departments give this justification for why undocumented parents can’t be trusted as caregivers.

The suggestion that undocumented immigrants are unfit parents (usually for reasons related to their poverty) is often used to separate them from their children. But children then remain in foster care because of the barriers that undocumented mothers and fathers face in trying to regain custody. Parents’ undocumented status also works against them by preventing them from accessing state services that would enable them to better provide for their children.

Source http://www.alternet.org/immigration/153309/georgia_keeps_kids_languishing_in_foster_care_because_their_parents_are_undocumented

Parents of Adolf Hitler Campbell lose custody of newborn Hons

A New Jersey couple who lost custody of their first three kids after giving them Nazi-inspired names has been denied the right to take home their fourth child, a newborn boy they named Hons.

Heath and Deborah Campbell's other children - Adolf Hitler Campbell, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell - are in foster care. On Monday, the Campbells went to family court in their hometown of Flemington, N.J,. in a bid to regain custody of Hons, who they say was taken from them by state child welfare officials hours after Deborah gave birth on Thursday, reported myfoxphilly.com.

Hons is still in the hospital, but the couple has been barred from seeing the baby, they told FOX. Heath Campbell said police came into the nursery and took Hons without a court order.

“They kidnapped my kid,” Campbell said. “I’ve been sleeping with his little blanket from the hospital.”

The state took custody of the couple’s other children nearly two years ago, saying there were in danger because of previous violence in the Campbell home, The Associated Press has reported. The Campbells have been fighting to get their children back ever since, claiming the violence charges are fabricated. It wasn't clear whether the latest court hearing involved all of the children or just the newborn.

The Campbells came into the spotlight in 2009 when a supermarket refused to ice a birthday cake for their now 4-year-old son Adolf Hitler.

Heath Campbell defended the children's names and told myfoxphilly.com on Monday that his reverend approved of him naming his new son Hons.

The Campbells have denied that they are neo-Nazis.

Read more on myfoxphilly.com.

Source http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/22/8952917-parents-of-adolf-hitler-campbell-lose-custody-of-newborn-hons

Indiana child welfare supervisor faces charges

GREENSBURG, Ind.— An Indiana child welfare supervisor who was the caseworker for a slain 12-year-old Greensburg boy faces charges after allegedly giving a client a drug and sending her a photo of his genitals.

Indiana State Police arrested 28-year-old Scott Ogden of Greensburg last week. WRTV-TV and WISH-TV report he's charged with dealing a controlled substance, official misconduct, and distribution of obscene matter.

Court records show he sent text messages to a woman who lost custody of her children and offered information about them in return for sex. He also gave her three prescription painkiller pills.

Ogden was the case worker for 12-year-old Devin Parsons, who was beaten to death by his mother in June.

A telephone message seeking comment was left at the Greensburg home a man named Scott Ogden.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-in--greensburgchildd,0,3823164.story

High court may revisit grandparents' rights

By STEPHANIE REITZ
Associated Press

HARTFORD, Conn. — Increasingly, a wrenching dispute is playing out in courts nationwide: balancing parents' constitutional rights to raise their children without interference against grandparents' desire to be involved in those youngsters' lives.

Now, a growing number of grandparents are pushing lawmakers around the country to change state standards they say are too restrictive and ignore the unique bonds many grandparents have with their grandchildren.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide this winter whether it will revisit the issue, which it addressed 11 years ago in a landmark case out of Washington state that makes competent parents' wishes the guiding principle in most disputes.

Although all state laws must meet that constitutional threshold, their efforts have resulted in a patchwork of state court rulings and legislation. They now impose such a variety of conditions that the parties' home states can affect the cases almost as much as the specifics.

Connecticut, Florida and Arizona are considered among the most parent-friendly based on their laws or court precedents. Others are considered more grandparent-friendly, including Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Connecticut has become a battleground state in the issue for two reasons: its protections for parents are among the nation's strictest and many of its grandparents are very vocal in their push to change it.

A task force will advise the General Assembly this winter on whether to change state law to give grandparents more chance to get into court to argue their cases.

"Right now it's the luck of the draw if you're some poor family stuck in a state that doesn't stand behind that grandparent-grandchild bond and attachment," said Susan Hoffman, 59. She founded Advocates for Grandparent Grandchild Connection after losing her California petition for visitation when her adult son signed away parenting rights to her grandson.

The growing movement among grandparents' groups has alarmed many parents and their advocacy groups nationwide, including organizers and participants on the parentsrights.com website.

Many say they are being pilloried by those who wrongly accept stereotypes that all grandparents are loving and supportive. And they say they're being drained financially to defend parenting rights the Supreme Court has already upheld.

Polly Tavernia, 41, said her New York case cost her family almost $10,000 even though her estranged mother's petition was eventually dismissed.

"It was one of the worst things I've ever been through," she said. "It's honestly just horrible to have to worry about someone else making those decisions for you, especially when they don't know the whole story."

All 50 states have laws governing the conditions for non-parent third parties seeking visitation, but it was only in 2000 that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling said none of those laws can infringe on the rights of competent parents.

Source http://www.kansas.com/2011/11/06/2091841/high-court-may-revisit-grandparents.html

Sick Child's Parents Say Hospital & County Falsely Labeled Them as Child Abusers

By ERIN MCAULEY

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CN) - Parents say they lost custody of their children, were identified as child abusers and the father was jailed for more than a year because doctors and state officials falsely attributed their 4-month-old daughter's childhood stroke and congenital rickets to child abuse.

Jamel Billups and Jacqueline Rosario, who are black, sued the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Franklin County and its Office of Children, Youth and Families and a long list of individuals, in Federal Court.

The parents say that when their daughter, L.B., suffered a stroke and showed signs of rickets on Oct. 19, 2009, the Child Safety team at Penn State Hershey Medical Center falsely blamed her condition on child abuse, and the state then seized her and her 2-year-old brother, T.R., and sent them to foster homes.

The parents say L.B.'s abdominal CT scan and skeletal surveys revealed 16 rib fractures, but medical evidence that showed no related internal injuries proved these fractures were the result of "weak bones rather than abusive trauma."

They say that despite medical knowledge that Vitamin D deficiency can lead to rickets and weak bones in African Americans, Penn State's Child Safety Team failed to require that L.B.'s blood be tested for abnormal clotting factors or that the child's or mother's blood be tested for vitamin D deficiency.

They add that "no evidence of any injury to L.B.'s spine or any evidence of disruption of her spinal ligaments" was apparent after her stroke, and a report on an MRI exam stated that "thrombosis was a possible explanation."

The parents say, "It is well established in the medical literature that a thrombophilia workup should be performed looking for potential risk factors for clotting when thrombosis is possibility. No such thrombophilia workup was ordered to be performed in 2009 by L.B.'s treating physician or by any member of defendant Penn State's Child Safety Team."

The parents say the Franklin County Office of Children, Youth and Families "has a policy of relying upon doctors affiliated with the American Academy Pediatrics, whose opinions are tainted by a burden shifting medical presumption that the cause of any intracranial injury in a child under the age of one year is caused by abuse unless the parents provide an accidental explanation, to perform the medical investigation into whether injuries suspected to have been caused by child abuse were, in fact, caused by child abuse."

They claim that agents of the Office of Children, Youth and Families, defendants Tammie Lay and Dawn M. Watson, "failed to conduct their own independent non-presumption tainted investigation" and "relied exclusively upon the conclusion of defendant Penn State's Child Safety Team and defendants [Drs. Mark S.] Dias, [Kathryn R.] Crowell and [Arabinda K.] Choudhary that L.B.'s intracranial hemorrhages were caused by abuse on the afternoon of October 19, 2009 and rib fractures were caused by abuse 4 to 8 weeks prior to her hospitalization without conducting any independent medical review or confirmation of their own."

The complaint continues: "On October 21, 2009, eight days before Jamel was arrested, defendant [Lauren] Sulcove emailed defendant Dias to introduce herself as the prosecutor that would be handling the case against Jamel."

Sulcove, an assistant prosecutor, worked for defendant Franklin County District Attorney Matthew Fogel, according to the complaint, which continues: "On October 28, 2009, with reckless indifference to the truth and the Billups' family civil rights, defendant Crowell issued a report on Penn State letterhead falsely concluding that L.B.'s childhood stroke and 16 rib fractures without internal injuries were caused by abuse. Defendant Crowell's report stated that L.B. 'does not have any evidence of coagulopathy or bleeding disorder' and concluded that 16 anterior rib fractures without any associated internal injuries 'occurred as a previous incident of inflicted trauma' concluding that 'this is a clinical picture of inflicted trauma' of 'some event ... likely a short time before [L.B.] had difficulty breathing'." (Brackets and ellipsis in complaint.)

After the report was issued, Jamel Billups was charged with felony aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

The parents say: "As soon as Jamel learned of the issuance of the arrest warrant on the day it was issued, October 29, 2009, he immediately and voluntarily reported to the Chambersburg police station and was taken into custody. The court set a $200,000.00 straight bail for Jamel, a bail that the Billups' family could not post. Jamel's remained in jail from October 29, 2009 until December 17, 2010, when a jury acquitted Jamel of all criminal charges."

According to the complaint, "Penn State created a Child Safety Team on September 1, 2009 for the express purpose, inter alia, of investigating whether injuries reported as suspicious for child abuse were, in fact, caused by child abuse. Penn State has a discriminatory policy that lends the full faith and credit of Penn State to employees who testify for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in criminal prosecutions, for the Commonwealth's county child protection agencies in dependency proceedings and Childline expunction hearings but denies the same full faith and credit of the Penn State Hershey Medical Center to those employees who testify for the accused parents."

Penn State, according to the complaint, received "a 2.8 million dollar grant from the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) for educating parents about shaken baby syndrome."

Defendant Dr. Mark Dias, co-director of the Penn State Child Safety Team, is a neurosurgeon, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and "holds himself out as an expert in child abuse who can determine whether an injury was caused by abuse and frequently testifies with the full faith and credit of Penn State for the prosecution in criminal cases," according to the complaint.

"In 2010, defendant Dias wrote a chapter of a book about child abuse entitled 'The Case for Shaking'." It was Defendant Dias' published efforts that enabled Penn State to receive the CDC 2.8 million dollar grant to 'educate' parents about shaken baby syndrome."

While Dias was never L.B.'s treating physician or surgeon, the parents say that Dias "attributed L.B.'s venous childhood stroke to a congenital anomaly (an anatomic impossibility) and with reckless indifference to the truth wrote a report rendering the false conclusion that L.B.'s injuries were caused by abuse on Penn State letterhead, testified at Jamel's criminal trial that defendant Dias was a professor at Penn State and, upon belief, was paid by, and enjoyed the liability insurance, of Penn State when he participated in the investigation of whether L.B.'s injuries were caused by abuse and testified at Jamel's criminal trial." (Parentheses in complaint.)

The parents add that Dr. Crowell, a member of the Penn State Child Safety Team, "qualified as an expert in child abuse for the first time in her life at the dependency hearing for L.B. and T.R on December 18, 2009. Defendant Crowell was qualified as an expert in child abuse for the second time in her life at Jamel's preliminary criminal hearing on December 28, 2009. Dr. Crowell acknowledged under oath at Jamel's criminal trial that she misrepresented medical evidence critical to L.B.'s case when she testified at Jamel's preliminary hearing."

Thirty paragraphs later, the parents say that Dr. Crowell "testified falsely that L.B. had 'an extensive screening' for 'coagulation problems' and 'an extensive screening for bleeding disorders' that were 'normal' and that L.B.'s 'metabolic workup was normal.'"

The parents add that Crowell testified, erroneously, that the child's rib injuries "were on the posterior side," but that "Contrary to Crowell's testimony, no Penn State radiologist ever reported that any of L.B.'s rib findings were posterior."

Rib injuries in true child abuse cases are "typically lateral or posterior," according to the complaint.

The complaint adds: "Posterior rib fractures have been considered by proponents of the shaken baby syndrome hypothesis as pathognomonic, or having a virtual 100 percent predictive diagnostic value, of the diagnosis of abuse in the medical literature. Whether L.B.'s rib fractures were located posterior, in the back near the spinal column, or anterior in the front, as was L.B.'s rib findings, has been considered by proponents of shaken baby syndrome as critical to making conclusion of child abuse."

The parents say that Crowell was also "paid by, and enjoyed the liability insurance, of Penn State" and was never their daughter's treating physician.

Defendant Dr. Arabinda Choudhary, another member of the Penn State Child Safety Team, "was not board certified by the American Board of Radiology nor does he possess any certificates of additional qualifications in pediatric radiology or neuro-radiology," according to the complaint. The parents say that Dr. Choudhary, "with reckless indifference to the truth, changed his initial diagnosis of L.B.'s venous stroke from possible thrombosis to the anatomically impossible diagnosis of a congenital/developmental anomaly."

Choudhary also was "paid by, and enjoyed the liability insurance, of Penn State" and was never their daughter's treating physician, the parents say.

The chairwoman of Penn State's Radiology Department, defendant Dr. Kathleen D. Eggli, "just before the scheduled criminal trial of Jamel ... implemented a new policy in the radiology department in which defendant Eggli selectively imposed restrictions on a Penn State radiologist who was sought out for a second opinion by the Billups family and rendered an opinion different than that of the Penn State Child Safety Team," the complaint states. "The restrictions imposed on this doctor who was willing to testify for the Billups family were not imposed on the Penn State radiologist who testified for the prosecution, defendant Choudhary, or on any other doctor at Penn State who testified for the prosecution. The restrictions included a prohibition on communicating the doctor's faculty appointment as an assistant professor of radiology at Penn State, denial of liability insurance from Penn State and a prohibition on the use of Penn State logo and letterhead, all prohibitions that were not applied to Defendants Dias, Crowell or Choudhary during their investigation and testimony on behalf of the prosecution and county children and youth agency."

The district attorney and assistant district attorney of Franklin County, Matthew Fogel and Lauren Sulcove, are also named as defendants. Sulcove is "sued solely in her role of investigating the false allegations of abuse prior to the arrest of Jamel." According to the complaint, "Pennsylvania law mandated that Defendant Fogel convene an investigative team upon the report of L.B.'s suspected abuse in October of 2009 to avoid duplication of fact-finding efforts with such team consisting of a minimum of a health care provider, county caseworker and law enforcement official. Defendant Sulcove led and/or was a member of the team and either followed the policy of the District Attorney's office to exclusively rely upon doctors affiliated with the American Academy of Pediatrics to make conclusions about whether suspected child abuse was, in fact, child abuse or defendant Sulcove individually failed to ensure that the investigation into allegations of abuse against Jamel was not tainted with the burden shifting medical presumption of doctors affiliated with the American Academy of Pediatrics."

Also sued is William C. Frisby Jr., an employee of the defendant Borough of Chambersburg. "Frisby was the detective assigned to investigate the allegations of abuse against Jamel and is sued solely in his role of investigating the allegations against Jamel. Defendant Frisby either followed the policy of defendant Chambersburg to rely upon doctors affiliated with the American Academy of Pediatrics for child abuse investigations or defendant Frisby individually failed to ensure that the investigation into allegations of abuse against Jamel was not tainted with the burden shifting medical presumption of doctors affiliated with the American Academy of Pediatrics."

The parents say that even after Jamel was acquitted of criminal charges, "FCCYS agents Kari Coccagna and Minnie Tuner threatened to immediately send the police to forcibly remove T.R. and L.B. from Jamel and Jackie if Jamel and Jackie did not agree to a 'voluntary' safety plan. The 'voluntary' safety plan required that Jamel 'agree' that he would not be alone with his children and required Jackie and Jamel to 'agree' to unannounced visits from employees of defendant FCCYS or suffer the immediate removal of their children from their care by the police. At all times relevant to this complaint, defendant Franklin County and defendant FCCYS had a policy of using safety plans as voluntary placement agreements and extending those agreements beyond 30 days in violation of 55 Pa. Code §3130.65. Defendants Franklin County, FCCYS, Coccagna and Tuner extended the voluntary placement agreement beyond 30 days without obtaining a court order in violation of Pennsylvania law and Jamel's and Jackie's right to due process pursuant to Franklin County and FCCYS policy or, in the alternative, defendants Coccagna and Watson violated the due process protection provided in 55 Pa. Code §3130.65 and failed to obtain a court order to extend the 'voluntary' safety plan beyond 30 days on their own."

The parents add: "On June 18, 2011, FCCYS closed its case with the Billups family and terminated the 'voluntary' safety plan."

The parents and their children seek punitive damages for reckless indifference to civil rights, due process violations, negligence, failure to train, extending voluntary placement agreements beyond 30 days, unconstitutionally favoring expert witnesses for the prosecution and disadvantaging expert witnesses for the defendants, and for the 414 days that Jamel was jailed for a crime he did not commit.

They are represented by Mark Freeman of Media, Pa.

Source http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/10/03/40229.htm

Oregon woman loses fight to keep sons from home of child killer

August 30, 2011

She was a Brownie troop leader, a room mother, a Sunday school teacher and almost the definition of an Orange County soccer mom -- until she shot her two small daughters to death in 1991 while they slept in their home in Laguna Niguel, Calif.

Kristine Cushing, then 39, said she was the victim of anti-depression medication, a debilitating heart condition and worry over the impending dissolution of her 17-year marriage to former Marine Corps fighter pilot John Cushing Jr. when she shot her daughters, ages 4 and 8, and then attempted to kill herself.

She was found not guilty by reason of insanity and spent four years in a mental hospital. In 2005, California authorities concluded that she posed no risk and granted her an unconditional release.

Fast forward to now: The Cushings are back together, living on Vashon Island in Washington state, and an Oregon woman who married John Cushing four years after the killings has temporarily lost her legal bid to prevent her own teenage sons from living with the couple.

In his ruling, King County Superior Court Judge William Downing said Trisha Conlon, who only recently discovered that Kristine was living in the home, has not proved that Kristine Cushing poses an immediate threat to Conlon's two boys, ages 13 and 14, though he called for a full investigation to determine an appropriate final order.

John Cushing married Conlon in 1995, and the couple had two sons. But they divorced in 2005 and Cushing, unbeknownst to Conlon until recently, got back together with his first wife.

Conlon's elder son has been living with the Cushings full time during the school year; custody of the two boys is shared during summers and holidays.

Both boys until recently had been told by their father to refer to the woman who had effectively become their stepmother simply as "Mrs. M." After learning the truth, Conlon, who lives in Silverton, Ore., went immediately to court to try to modify the custody order to keep her boys away from Kristine Cushing.

John Cushing has argued in court that Kristine is fully recovered and has a good relationship with the boys. "She is busy, enjoys life and loves me and my sons," he wrote in a court declaration.

The court recognized that the elder boy has been thriving socially and academically under the Cushings' care. But Conlon was doubtful. Why, she wondered, had Kristine Cushing's therapist contacted Washington state's Child Protective Services in 2007, informing them that the children were living with his client, if there wasn't cause for some concern?

Court commissioner Leon Ponomarchuk ruled this summer that the current custody plan should remain in place, and Conlon was forced to drop off both boys with the Cushings at the beginning of August.

"It wasn’t easy," she said in an interview with NBC's Today show. "It was gut-wrenching. I don’t even have words to describe it."

Ponomarchuk acknowledged in his legal finding that there is no cause to remove the children from the Cushings' custody, but his personal inclination as a parent might be different.

"I have to look at this dispassionately," Ponomarchuk said. "Would I ever want my children around her? I would say no. But that is an emotional reaction coming from a parent."

The new ruling overturns the commissioner and says the parenting plan can be reviewed, but the judge found no reason to set it aside immediately, pending a thorough study by a court-appointed guardian over the next 90 days.

In the meantime, the judge ordered that John Cushing ensure that there are no firearms or other deadly weapons in the home, that he stop living with Kristine if she does not follow her doctors' recommendations, including those for medications, and that he comply with any "safety plan" imposed by state child protection workers.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/08/conlon-cushing-child-shootings-custody.html

Detroit mom cleared of charges that stemmed from standoff at home

11:14 PM, Aug. 29, 2011

In a case that sparked debate about parental rights versus state involvement in the medical care of children, a Detroit woman won a major victory Monday when all the charges against her were dropped.

Maryanne Godboldo, 57, was accused of firing a gun at Detroit police officers who were assisting a state Child Protective Services worker when they came to her Blaine Street home on March 24 to get her daughter.

The charges against Godboldo were dismissed at her preliminary examination in 36th District Court in Detroit. Judge Ronald Giles agreed with her lawyers that the court order to remove Godboldo's 13-year-old daughter was not valid.

"I am very, very happy and blessed that Judge Giles did the right thing," Godboldo said at a news conference at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit.

Giles also agreed that there was no evidence supporting the charge that Godboldo fired a gun at police during the standoff.

When asked about Giles' ruling, Detroit Police Sgt. Eren Stephens said: "Ms. Godboldo was afforded her due process under the law. We abide by and respect the decision."

Maria Miller, spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, said the prosecutor will appeal the dismissal of charges.

Godboldo legal team confident that case will survive an appeal

Maryanne Godboldo's legal team is confident that a Wayne County District Court judge's dismissal of all charges against her on Monday will survive an appeal.

"The standard is abuse of discretion," said Byron Pitts, one of Godboldo's lawyers. "The court today did not abuse his discretion."

Godboldo, 57, of Detroit was charged with discharge of a weapon, three counts of felonious assault, resisting and obstructing an officer and felony firearm.

She was accused of firing a gun at police who had accompanied a state Child Protective Services employee to Godboldo's home on Blaine on March 24.

The employee had a Juvenile Court order to take Godboldo's 13-year-old daughter after Godboldo had been accused of neglecting her by discontinuing a psychotropic drug. Godboldo has maintained she has the right to decide her daughter's medical treatment.

Police said Godboldo barricaded herself in her home with her daughter and shot at them.

After hearing testimony at Godboldo's preliminary examination in 36th District Court on Monday in Detroit, Judge Ronald Giles ruled that the court order was not valid and that there was insufficient evidence that Godboldo fired at police officers.

Maria Miller, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor's Office, said the dismissed charges will be appealed. Miller said that Wayne County Circuit Judge Lynne Pierce earlier determined at a Juvenile Court hearing that the order to remove the child was valid.

The appeal will be heard in Wayne County Circuit Court.

At a news conference Monday at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church, Pitts and Godboldo's other attorney, Allison Folmar, explained why they prevailed.

Folmar said Godboldo "never shot at an officer -- period. It never happened."

They said the court order was not valid because a court clerk stamped the judge's name to the order without consulting the judge.

"A judge never looked at this, never saw it," Pitts said. "It has to be an elected authority. This lady took the judge's stamp, stamped the judge's name and off she goes."

He called it "a huge constitutional error."

As a result of this case, Pitts said, there has been a policy change. Court employees are no longer allowed to stamp judges' names on court orders.

Godboldo's supporters say Giles' ruling was justice.

Sandra Hines, a member of the Godboldo Action Committee, said: "This case is rooted on the grounds of parental rights. It's the right of every parent to be the custodial caregiver over their child."

Ron Scott of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, said, "It's a victory for parental rights."

He also said that "Citizens have the right not to adhere to questionable reasons for entering their home. A person does not have to allow an unreasonable search and seizure to their home."

Neema Yacen of Detroit and a member of the Godboldo Action Committee, said it was a case of state overreach. "This is a mother who said her child had a problem, took her to the people who she thought could help her, and they crucified her."

Godboldo, whose daughter is now in the custody of her sister Penny Godboldo, is working to get her child back.

Judge Pierce has said she needs to evaluate the girl's current treatment and is seeking a report from her doctor.

Source http://www.freep.com/article/20110830/NEWS02/108300383/Detroit-mom-cleared-charges-stemmed-from-standoff-home

Maine Couple Seeks Answers from DHHS After Losing Custody of Son

From MPN 08/08/2011 Reported By: Jay Field

Two Bangor lawyers are calling for more openness in the child protective proceedings run by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The push for more transparency stems from a case in which a client of theirs---a woman struggling with severe mental illness---lost custody of her son.

In 2002, Eleanor Handler's life took a dark turn. She became severely depressed and entered a clinic in Boston to get treatment. Two years later, her illness flared again and she went back into the hospital. After one more hospitalization, in 2005, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services moved to take away her son on grounds that Handler was unwell and incompetent.

She got notice of what's called a jeporady hearing, where the state gathers information about whether a child is at risk in their parents custody. Handler, who was still in throes of mental illness, was told by state officials that she could waive her right to the hearing.

"By agreeing to a jeopardy order, you're agreeing that your child is in jeopardy if the child is with you or your husband," says Joseph Baldacci, one of Handler's lawyers. "She consented to it, despite the fact that it's our opinion that she lacked the mental capacity to provide a knowing, intelligent and voluntary waiver."

Waiving the right to this kind of hearing has serious consequences. The information that's gathered can be used against you down the line when a final decision is made. Handler eventually lost custody of her son David.

Then, the family's ordeal got even worse, prompting the Handlers to post a video on the internet.

"David, I'm your mom Ellie. David, I'm your dad Russ. David is, David is, David is, David is the very best. Yes, yes, yes. We love you, we miss you, we're looking for you every day," Eleanor and Russ Handler say in the video, sitting on a piano bench holding photos of their now 11-year-old son. finddavidstuarthandler.com

State and federal rules require that kids first be placed with relatives, if reunification with a parent isn't possible. David Handler's grandmother and some first cousins all tried, unsuccessfully, to get custody of the boy. Instead, David Handler was placed in foster care.

"We sought an ombudsmen's report that the Handler's themselves had requested in 2009, about whether the Department had violated federal and state policies concerning placing their child with kin," Baldacci says.

Baldacci says Eleanor Handler is doing better now. She and her husband want to find their son. But recently, the Handler's got some disturbing news: The U.S. Social Security Administration was trying to locate David Handler to pay out some money the boy was owed by the federal government. But the state of Maine told federal officials it had no record of the boy being in the foster care system.

"There are studies, empirical studies, that show, that the mental and emotional well being of a child is improved, when he is preserved some family connections, has some ties to the family that raised him," Baldacci says.

The state has refused to provide a copy of the ombudsmen's report to Baldacci. But the Handler's lawyer has submitted a Freedom of Access request to try to get a copy of the records.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services would not agree to an interview about the Handler case, citing client confidentiality rules.

Source: http://www.mpbn.net/Home/tabid/36/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3478/ItemId/17532/Default.aspx