tagged w/ Parental Rights
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VENTURA, California, Nov 13 (IPS) - U.S. Army Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, a single mother, is being threatened with a military court-martial if she does not agree to deploy to Afghanistan, despite having been told she would be granted extra time to find someone to care for her 11-month-old son while she is overseas.
Hutchinson, of Oakland, California, is currently being confined at Hunter Army Airfield near Savannah, Georgia, after being arrested. Her son was placed into a county foster care system.
Hutchinson has been threatened with a court martial if she does not agree to deploy to Afghanistan on Sunday, Nov. 15. She has been attempting to find someone to take care of her child, Kamani, while she is deployed overseas, but to no avail.VENTURA, California, Nov 13 (IPS) - U.S. Army Specialist Alexis Hutchinson, a single... more
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As much as mothers want their partners to be involved with their children, experts say they often unintentionally discourage men from doing so. Because mothering is their realm, some women micromanage fathers and expect them to do things their way, said Marsha Kline Pruett, a professor at the Smith College School for Social Work at Smith College and a co-author of the new book “Partnership Parenting,” with her husband, the child psychiatrist Dr. Kyle Pruett (Da Capo Press).
Yet a mother’s support of the father turns out to be a critical factor in his involvement with their children, experts say — even when a couple is divorced.
“In the last 20 years, everyone’s been talking about how important it is for fathers to be involved,” said Sara S. McLanahan, a professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton. “But now the idea is that the better the couple gets along, the better it is for the child.”As much as mothers want their partners to be involved with their children, experts say... more
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~y2009m11d7-Crystel-Strelioff-sentenced-to-12-years-for-abducting-children
Crystel Strelioff sentenced on four counts of felony child abduction.
The father said Crystel was sentenced to the maximum of three years on each count, but they run concurrently and in Illinois, where she is serving time, prisoners can be released after 50% of the sentence is served. Because the child abductor already served about six months of her sentence, she may be released in a year.
This case is shameful. The mother tricked protective parent organizations such as Justice for Children into spending their time and other resources on a sham case. The father underwent extensive testing voluntarily and the children did not give convincing accounts of any abuse by the father, according to court documents. Worse, the children seemed to the evaluators to have been coached, meaning they suffered verbal and emotional sexual abuse by the people who coached them.~y2009m11d7-Crystel-Strelioff-sentenced-to-12-years-for-abducting-children
Crystel... more
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BEAR, Del. — A Delaware first-grader who was facing 45 days in an alternative school as punishment for taking his favorite camping utensil to school can return to class after the school board made a hasty change granting him a reprieve.
The seven-member Christina School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to reduce the punishment for kindergartners and first-graders who take weapons to school or commit violent offenses to a suspension ranging from three to five days.
Zachary Christie, 6, had faced 45 days in an alternative school for troublemakers after he took the utensil — a combination folding knife, fork and spoon — to school to eat lunch last month. Now, he could return Wednesday.
"I want to get him back as soon as possible. I want to put this behind him as soon as possible," said Debbie Christie, Zachary's mother. "But I also want him to know that he has a voice, and when things are not right, he can stand up and speak out against them."
A spokeswoman for the school district said more changes to the school system's code of conduct were possible in the coming months.
The punishment given to Zachary was one of several in recent years that have prompted national debate on whether schools have gone too far with zero-tolerance policies.BEAR, Del. — A Delaware first-grader who was facing 45 days in an alternative school... more
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A father who has been fighting for custody of his two children has won that right, and is now suing the county’s Department of Human Services and a local hospital.
Ray Woodson and his children’s mother Carla Legates have been battling DHS for nearly two years and now both mother and father have filed federal lawsuits against the state agency.
Their first child was removed in October 2007 at 2 months old. His sister was taken in August 2008 when she was only six hours old and still in the nursery at Claremore Regional Hospital.
Legates had been previously involved with DHS and the court system concerning custody of her first child who was only a few months old when he entered a foster home in 2005.
In May, Woodson won custody of the children after a 14-day jury trial, according to the filing. Now Woodson is claiming the state violated the HIPPA law and his civil rights.
The couple’s first child was born in Wichita, Kan., and was taken into custody Oct. 2, 2007, by Rogers County DHS after Legates returned for a court appearance concerning her first child and was asked where her newborn baby was located. She was arrested and placed in the county jail for not revealing the baby’s whereabouts and later charged with misdemeanor obstruction of justice to which she pleaded guilty.
Authorities were able to learn where the baby and Woodson were located through recorded jail telephone conversations and subsequently seized the baby and took Woodson into custody for violating a child custody order. During court hearings throughout Woodson’s criminal case following his arrest, testimony revealed the child custody order was signed less than an hour before he was arrested. However, Woodson eventually pleaded guilty to the charge and spent several months in county jail.
During their battle for custody of their first child, Woodson and Legates gave birth to a second child in August 2008. But that child was taken into DHS custody straight from the hospital just six hours after birth. The state claimed the child was deprived, even though Woodson and Legates had not been given a chance to be parents to either of their children. In his filing, Woodson claims Claremore Regional Hospital violated the HIPPA law by providing medical information concerning his child to DHS.
The filing — which names Claremore Regional Hospital, DHS, Kila Bergdorff, Jessica Pruitt, Barbara Priest, Janie Vecsey, Kelly Gassaway-Oxford as defendants — states that even though there was a two-day adjudicatory hearing in December 2008 concerning the second child and “the child was found not deprived by the father,” DHS kept the child in custody for eight more months.
Woodson is seeking actual damages in excess of $10,000, punitive damages in excess of $10,000 and a reasonable amount of attorney fees.
In Legates’ federal suit, she is claiming her Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution were violated when her children were taken into state custody. The Fourth Amendment guards against unreasonable searches and seizures and the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to provide substantial due process such as parental and marriage rights, which includes holding hearings before a person’s property interests can be taken away.
More info in link.....A father who has been fighting for custody of his two children has won that right, and... more
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Hello Everyone. My name is Dave Nash, and on April 25th, 2010, Parental Alienation Awareness Day, I will attempt to break the Guiness World Record for the Fastest Crossing of Canada on Foot (Male). The current record is 72 days, 10 hrs and 23 min. It was set from June 21st, to September 1st, in 1991 by Al Howie, who ran across Canada, from St John's, Nfld, to Victoria, BC, a distance of 7295.5 km (4,533.2 miles).
I am attempting to break this World Record to raise awareness about our Country's FAILING and BROKEN, so-called "Family" Justice System, as well as our Governments' UNWILLINGNESS and OUTRIGHT REFUSAL to reform the system for the sake of our children.Hello Everyone. My name is Dave Nash, and on April 25th, 2010, Parental Alienation... more
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The sexual orientation of adoptive parents does not play a significant role in the well being of their children, a new study contends.
The study, recently published in Adoption Quarterly, was written by Paige Averett and Blace Nalavany, assistant professors of social work at East Carolina University, and Scott Ryan, dean of the University of Texas School of Social Work. It compares the extent of emotional and behavioral problems of adopted children in the context of the sexual orientation of their adoptive parents.
While income and a history of abuse may affect a child’s behavior and welfare, the parents’ sexual orientation plays no part in the happiness of the child, according to the research.
“Sexual orientation did not matter,” Averett said. “Both sets of parents face a lot of the same struggles. If a child has a history of abuse, it makes the child’s behavior difficult regardless. Income factors into behavior and well-being but sexual orientation does not.”
The research was based on survey results from parents who adopted children through Florida’s public child welfare system and data from gay and lesbian couples throughout the United States. It included 155 gay and lesbian couples and 1,229 heterosexual couplesThe sexual orientation of adoptive parents does not play a significant role in the... more
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Question do schools still have four walls and little desks? Ohh and a teacher?
The problem is the teachers today are to busy trying to keep order then teaching. Teachers today are more like jail guards then educators.
Parents take responsibility for your children, instead of expecting everyone else to raise your child. Get your fat ass off the couch and take interest in them.Question do schools still have four walls and little desks? Ohh and a teacher?
The... more
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TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Had this parental abduction drama played out in the United States, Christopher Savoie might be re-united with his two little children, after snatching them back from an ex-wife who defied the law and ran off with them.
A Tennessee court awarded Christopher Savoie custody of his son, Isaac, and daughter, Rebecca.
A Tennessee court awarded Christopher Savoie custody of his son, Isaac, and daughter, Rebecca.
But this story unfolds 7,000 miles away in the Japanese city of Fukuoka, where the U.S. legal system holds no sway.
And here, Savoie sits in jail, charged with the abduction of minors. And his Japanese ex-wife -- a fugitive in the United States for taking his children from Tennessee -- is considered the victim.
"Japan is an important partner and friend of the U.S., but on this issue, our points of view differ," the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said Tuesday. "Our two nations approach divorce and child-rearing differently. Parental child abduction is not considered a crime in Japan."TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Had this parental abduction drama played out in the United... more
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In this case, a single father actually wins a round in family court. It's not over yet, for reasons I don't understand, but read the court's opinion here and maybe you can figure it out.
Shawn and Samantha lived together in the little Texas town of Granbury just southwest of Fort Worth. They weren't married, but they had a daughter, Kaylee in 2003. In late 2004, Samantha moved out of the house and within weeks was living with Darrell. A few months later, she announced that she was pregnant and intended to place the child for adoption. Shawn immediately told her that, if the child were his, he wanted custody and would not agree to any adoption.
Samantha learned of a couple, Travis and Sabra Hess, who lived in Boise, Idaho, who wanted to adopt. The Hesses were using the services of LDS (think "Latter Day Saints") Family Services, which coincidentally was one of the adoption agencies involved in the Utah case I blogged about earlier. Samantha spoke with LDS caseworker, Kimberly Sidwell and according to the court,
Sidwell met with Samantha two weeks before the baby was due to be born. At that time, Sidwell asked Samantha whether she knew the identity of the baby's father. Samantha told Sidwell that Shawn was the father and indicated he was not aware of her pregnancy. Sidwell asked for an address to contact Shawn, but Samantha said she did not know where he was. Samantha did, however, provide Sidwell with Shawn's date of birth and social security number. After the meeting, Samantha asked LDS if she could work with a different caseworker due to a “personality conflict” with Sidwell.
Samantha next met with Eric Larsen from LDS. Larsen also asked about the paternity of the baby, and Samantha told him she was fairly certain that Shawn was the father. Samantha also stated, however, there was a possibility that the father was Darrell. When Larsen asked where he could find Shawn, Samantha told him she thought he was either living in Dallas or going to school in Florida. After being asked multiple times how to contact him, Samantha finally admitted that Shawn lived in Granbury and gave Larsen a phone number for Shawn's mother, Sandra.
Both Sidwell and Larsen were informed by Shawn and his mother that Shawn had no intention of relinquishing his parental rights if the child were his. When Shawn and his mother found out what hospital Samantha was in, they both talked to a social worker there and told her Shawn would request a DNA test to determine paternity and assert his rights.
At that point, everyone involved in the case knew very well that Shawn refused to give up his parental rights. The sensible thing - the humane thing - to do would have been to perform genetic testing and, if Shawn were the father, turn the baby over to him. But that is not what happened.
In fact, Samantha, LDS Family Services, the Hesses and the hospital all worked hand in glove to keep the baby from Shawn. That included the hospital's designating Samantha a "no information" patient. That meant that the hospital could only release information about the baby to people Samantha approved. Needless to say, that did not include Shawn. Despite knowing of Shawn's intentions, the Hesses took the baby boy back to Idaho, Samantha signed a relinquishment of her parental rights and presumably, LDS got paid.
But Shawn was not deterred so easily. He filed the correct forms with the Texas Paternity Registry within the 30 days alotted him. He talked to several attorneys, contacted the FBI and even wrote a letter to the governor.In this case, a single father actually wins a round in family court. It's not over... more
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Over the past couple of years much has caught our attention and concerned us about the adversarial divorce process, it certainly isn't a peaceful process and often the type of process that brings out the worst in people. Some might think that mud slinging comes to mind, but really there is a growing connection between the adversarial process and "family court related violence" which also sometimes results in gun slinging.Over the past couple of years much has caught our attention and concerned us about the... more
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INTERVIEW:
Kristine Cassady is many things to many people; devoted wife, homeschool teacher, chef, nurse, and nurturer to her five children, along with being a friend, and daughter. However, new roles have crept into her busy life, ones that have taken her quite by surprise, the roles of activist for her children’s freedoms and crusader of responsible government. Like many, Kristine was dismayed to read the news and see her children’s hopes for future prosperity be replaced with debt and taxation. Not one to sit around and complain, she looked for ways to make a difference. This led to her involvement with helping organize the Indianapolis Tax Day Tea Party, and subsequently, becoming involved with the Independence Caucus (whose mission is to replace 40% of the compromised incumbents in the 2010 elections, and has the proven track-record to achieve this goal).INTERVIEW:
Kristine Cassady is many things to many people; devoted wife, homeschool... more
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Two special guests from the organization Parental Rights . Org joined us live on July 8, 2009 to discuss the importance of a Parental Rights Amendment being proposed as a Constitutional Amendment to our Country’s Constitution. A great turn-out and conversation from two of the volunteers that are heading up a great portion of the grass roots advocacy throughout the United States.Two special guests from the organization Parental Rights . Org joined us live on July... more
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ST. LOUIS (Sept. 5) - A boy allegedly abducted in a custody dispute nearly two years ago has turned up alive, hiding with his mother in a small, specially built secret room at his grandmother's Illinois home, investigators said.
Richard "Ricky" Chekevdia, who turns 7 on Sept. 14, was in good spirits and physically fit after being found Friday by investigators with a court order to search the two-story rural home in southern Illinois' Franklin County, about 120 miles southeast of St. Louis.
The boy's mother, 30-year-old Shannon Wilfong, is charged with felony child abduction. The grandmother, 51-year-old Diane Dobbs, is charged with aiding and abetting. Wilfong remained jailed Saturday on $42,500 bond in Benton, Ill., where Dobbs was being held on $1,000 bond. The women did not have attorneys listed Saturday in online court records.
The boy was staying Saturday with one of his father's relatives while state child-welfare workers investigated claims the father abused the child before his disappearance — allegations rejected by the dad, who's thrilled the agonizing search has ended.
"Two years? You have no idea," Mike Chekevdia, a 48-year-old former police officer who's a lieutenant colonel in the Illinois National Guard, told The Associated Press by telephone Saturday from his house in Royalton, Ill., some three miles from the home where his son turned up. "I've lost sleep. I've lost weight. I've gained weight. I wouldn't wish this on anybody."
After hearing his son had been found, Chekevdia said, "you could have knocked me over with a feather."
Chekevdia won temporary custody of his son shortly before the boy and his mother — Chekevdia's former girlfriend — disappeared in November 2007.
Chekevdia said he long suspected his son was being stowed by Dobbs, although there were no signs of the boy at her home when it was searched with her consent after his disappearance. Wilfong was charged in December 2007 with abducting the boy but couldn't be found.
For much of the time since, Chekevdia said, the windows of Dobbs' home were blocked off by drawn shades or other items, presumably to prevent anyone from peeking inside.
"I had a firm belief he was in there, and yesterday it was confirmed," Chekevdia said.
Investigators, during a news conference Friday, did not detail what led sheriff's deputies and federal marshals with a search warrant to Dobbs' house Friday, when they found the boy and his mother in a hideaway roughly 5 feet by 12 feet and about the height of a washing machine.
"We let him out of the (patrol) car and he ran around like he'd never seen outdoors. It was actually very sad," Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Stan Diggs said. "He was very happy to be outside. He said he never goes outside."ST. LOUIS (Sept. 5) - A boy allegedly abducted in a custody dispute nearly two years... more
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Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services Secretary Don Jordan accused Sedgwick County prosecutors of bullying state social workers to amend affidavits used in child custody cases.
...at least one social worker from each of the state's six geographic areas said they had been pressured to adapt an affidavit to the demands of a district attorney or county attorney handling a child-in-need-of-care case.
...according to the audit survey, with at least half of respondents absorbing pressure from an attorney to misrepresent facts to an extent the social worker felt the report distorted a child's circumstances.
...Sedgwick County prosecutors "bullied" social workers.Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services Secretary Don Jordan accused Sedgwick County... more
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Personally I think not, it's something they all need to know about... what are your views?
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Parents nationwide have complained for decades that their families were destroyed and children seized by corrupt child protection agencies for no other reason than to obtain federal funds for State governments. They have been telling the truth all along. Clear evidence has been discovered documenting how organized crime methods and procedures are integrated into juvenile and family courts. This documentation has been assembled through the combined efforts of independent researchers in California, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, researchers for the American Family Rights Association, and document research conducted by THE SOCIOLOGY CENTER.
Instructions for shaping judicial child and family protection decisions to maximize child protection system federal fund claims have been documented in the CALIFORNIA JUDGES BENCHGUIDES: BENCHGUIDE 200: Juvenile Dependency Initial or Detention Hearing (2004). The instructions are scattered throughout the Benchguide emphasized by the label "Judicial Tip." One example states:
Page 100-13
"JUDICIAL TIP: Failure to make this finding (of abuse or neglect) may cause permanent loss of federal funding for foster care. See discussion of other required findings in §100.36. The court may make this a temporary finding pending the continued detention hearing."
(In the judge's bench guide, family judges are told to make a finding of abuse or neglect harming the parents and children even though no evidence was presented so DCF can get their funding. So judge's rulings are funding driven, not whether some is guilty or not. When money determines the outcome of a case in favor of DCF, that's called corruption. DCF's funding should NEVER play a factor in a judges ruling. Judges are no longer impartial they have become corrupted. Connecticut DCF Watch)
The full text of JUDGES BENCHGUIDES: BENCHGUIDE 200: Juvenile Dependency Initial or Detention Hearing is available at http://thesociology center.com/ EvidenceBooks/ Bench%20Guides% 20SmallFile. pdf (35.1Mb)
A publication of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges titled RESOURCE GUIDELINES: Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse & Neglect Cases provides additional evidence that this represents national judicial policy and that strategies using juvenile and family judicial decisions to maximize child protection system federal fund revenue is a well known corrupting influence on the judicial system. Two example state:
Appendix C, Page 158, Note 15
15. Two commentators summarize the barriers facing judicial oversight:
[T]he authority of judges in these matters is often limited; they do not have the power to order the agency to provide services to an individual. In some states, the courts will make a positive “reasonable efforts” determination regardless of agency efforts in order to ensure federal funding. Judges are not trained in matters over which the juvenile court has jurisdiction and, because of rotation schedules, remain in the assignment for a short period of time. Consequently, they do not acquire the experience needed to handle these sensitive cases. While judges in some localities make a good faith effort to determine whether adequate services have been offered to the family, in many localities a positive finding is merely a matter of checking a box on a preprinted form.
Appendix C, Note 110, Page 162
110. In many jurisdictions the trial judge must merely check a box on a preprinted court form to indicate that reasonable efforts were provided in the case. Shotton, supra end. 3. In some other jurisdictions the court order forms simply include a preprinted statement that reasonable efforts were made, thus making the finding possible without the judge’s even checking a box. Id., at 227. In some states, courts and agencies have taken a cynical approach, seekParents nationwide have complained for decades that their families were destroyed and... more
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Book Trailer Dean Tong First Cut .
25 Years of blood, sweat, and tears
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Guilty untill proven innocent?? Not when it comes to public housing.......
No conviction, yet labelled as a criminal. Some people do not have any other choice but to live in these housing programs, yet they are refusing to let intact families participate.....Guilty untill proven innocent?? Not when it comes to public housing.......
No... more
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Home videos show 5-year-old Liam McCarty horsing around with his father, his blond curls bouncing around a cherubic face.
Michael McCarty is working to get his son back from an Italian orphanage.It's a face his father, Michael McCarty, hasn't seen in months.
Liam, an American citizen, was placed into the custody of an Italian orphanage this spring after his mother, Manuela McCarty, fled to her native Italy with the child in the middle of a custody dispute with Michael McCarty.
Yet shortly after arriving, a court reportedly ruled that she was an unfit parent and Liam was put into an orphanage instead of being returned to his father. Now father and son are stuck in a tangled legal battle that involves several courts in what Michael McCarty said is an "archaeic" system.
"The last time I saw him was a few months ago and he's not doing very well," McCarty told "Good Morning America's" Chris Cuomo today. "He has deteroiated."Home videos show 5-year-old Liam McCarty horsing around with his father, his blond... more
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