It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 11:16 am



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 4 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: A horrifying journey through Arizona foster care
PostPosted: Mon Jun 05, 2017 8:40 am 
Offline
Superposter
User avatar

Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 8:48 am
Posts: 6857
Location: Oslo
  

Bob Ortega, The Republic:
A horrifying journey through Arizona foster care, and why we don't know how many more children may be abused
The Arizona Republic, 6 April 2017

"About this report
This story is part of an ongoing investigation of child-welfare issues in Arizona. In 2016, when the number of children removed from their families peaked at over 18,000, the Arizona Community Foundation gave The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com a three-year grant to support in-depth research on the topic. As part of that effort, reporter Bob Ortega and our other experts investigate the reasons behind the surge in foster children and the systems meant to support and protect them. Through our reporting and editorial pages, we seek solutions to those problems.
   Meet the experts behind our reporting: Arizona child welfare: There are some issues we just won’t let go
   Are you a part of the system? We want to understand your story. Go to childwelfare.azcentral.com."


"— as her mother fought to get her back — Devani suffered an odyssey of mistreatment in a succession of foster homes.
   She was physically abused. She was placed with David Frodsham, a man subsequently convicted of child molestation, who investigators suspect repeatedly sexually assaulted her and other foster children while he ran a pedophilia ring."


"— foster parents who harm children the state leaves in their care — are tracked in only the broadest terms. The state handles verified allegations of neglect or abuse in foster families much as it does those in other families.
   But officials admit they don't really analyze the data for patterns of foster-care problems that could be prevented. And data shows caseworkers often don't talk privately with children to identify what happens to them in foster care."


" 'Foster care can be dangerous. ... (Nationally), we see abuse in a quarter to a third of foster homes, and it's worse in group-care institutions.'
RICHARD WEXLER, NATIONAL COALITION FOR CHILD WELFARE REFORM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR"


  

_________________
Hjemmeside http://www.mhskanland.net


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: A horrifying journey through Arizona foster care
PostPosted: Mon Jun 05, 2017 11:14 am 
Offline
Rang: Storbruker

Joined: Fri May 29, 2015 2:49 pm
Posts: 906
Når jeg leser denne artikkelen kan jeg umiddelbart komme på flere mediesaker de siste årene der barn har mistet livet eller blitt alvorlig misbrukt i offentlig omsorg. I Norge. Tanken på at disse barna og andre mest sannsynlig ville ha vært i live eller hadde unngått å bli voldtatt, mishandlet el.l. dersom de hadde blitt hjemme hos sine foreldre, er kort og godt forferdelig.


Statistikken er jo nedslående også i Norge. Det vil si, man fører ikke statistikk over misbruk/mishandling i offentlig omsorg. Det var avisene som for noen år siden avslørte omfanget av dette. 52 domfelte overgrep i en tiårsperiode frem til 2011, mens mørketallene av noen anslås til 1500.

http://www.barnevernsaksjonen.no/presse ... grepssaker

Statistikken over død, helse og levekår taler uansett for seg.

Innenfor ethvert annet fagfelt hadde det blitt slått alarm, og man ville ha stengt ned for lenge siden. Man ville sett på innsats og på resultater og slått fast at virksomheten ikke var liv laga. At risikoen var for stor. Men nei. Innenfor barnevern fortsetter man den samme produksjonen av tragedier, selv om man vet at resultatene er deprimerende.

Vi bor nå i en annen verdensdel. Gudskjelov har ikke den vestlige tankegangen kommet hit enda. De fleste har ikke hørt om barnevernet i Norge, når jeg forteller dem. Men en del har hørt historier om barnevernet i USA og i England, og forstår derfor hva jeg snakker om.

Og selv om fattigdom er en forbannelse, er den en velsignelse når det gjelder barnevern. Det kan aldri bli så galt at det ikke er godt for noe.

Ingen land uten et romslig brutto nasjonal produkt vil finne på å bruke penger på en slik destruktiv måte. Derfor hender det også at jeg ønsker oljepengene og den norske velstanden dit pepperen gror.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: A horrifying journey through Arizona foster care
PostPosted: Wed Jun 07, 2017 8:40 pm 
Offline
Rang: Storbruker

Joined: Fri May 29, 2015 2:49 pm
Posts: 906
Generalsekretær Randi Talseth i organisasjonen "Voksne for Barn", har for øvrig noen befriende utsagn når hun tidligere kommenterte overgrepene i norsk offentlig omsorg.

Overgrep mot 52 barnevernsbarn
http://www.vfb.no/Overgrep+mot+52+barne ... FRLK4n.ips

Det er få omsorgspersoner å ta av, og da går det nok altfor fort i svingene når noen melder seg som fosterforeldre eller støttekontakt.

Ikke veldig betryggende.

Og om hvordan oversikten over overgrep i offentlig omsorg fremkom, sier hun: En avis måtte sammenstille informasjonen! Hvor er barnas rettsikkerhet når de er under offentlig omsorg?


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: A horrifying journey through Arizona foster care
PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2018 10:31 pm 
Offline
Superposter
User avatar

Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 8:48 am
Posts: 6857
Location: Oslo
  

Again from Arizona:

Back-to-back claims: Kids were abused in foster care, and DCS dropped the ball
The Republic, azcentral.com, 8 February 2018

(For the non-native English-speakers: to "drop the ball" here means to make a mistake, or to mishandle things. DFS stands for 'Department of Child Safety".)

"One claim alleges a decade of horrific abuse and neglect; another documents that a registered sex offender lived in a foster home and abused a young girl."

"In May 2016, a 7-year-old girl was sexually abused while in foster care.
    The man who assaulted her, known to her as "Papa Joe," was convicted last year of sexual conduct with a minor and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
    Now, her attorney is seeking $22 million from the state for the failure of the state Department of Child Safety to properly vet her foster-home placement and keep her from harm."



It is a long, informative article, with several links. One of them leads to this:

'Biggest challenge, biggest opportunity': DCS aims to keep more kids at home
The Republic, azcentral.com, 4 February 2018

"The state's child-welfare agency has revamped its training — officials call it a "renovation" — to emphasize keeping families together while still ensuring kids are safe."

"Both approaches pose risks to children. In a troubled home, a child could suffer neglect, or worse. In foster care, she could suffer from being separated from her parents. Plus, the system must for care for yet another child on top of the nearly 15,000 already in foster care."
They might well have added that the chances of abuse and neglect in foster homes are quite considerable. The new program sounds like a lot of fine words but perhaps not with quite sufficient realisation of the harm they have done up to now?

*

The writer is the same for both articles:
Mary Jo Pitzl, who says she is a "State government reporter. I cover issues and events at the state Capitol, from legislation to how policies are carried out by state government and how those policies affect Arizonans. I also write about the politics that surround many of these issues."

*

Still another article by her:

Court: Photos of your naked kids not a reason for DCS to take children
The Republic, azcentral.com, 24 January 2018

"Arizona child-welfare workers acted illegally a decade ago when they seized three children they believed were victims of sexual exploitation, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
    Nude photos A.J. and Lisa Demaree took of their three young girls in 2008 prompted a police investigation, a search of the Demaree's Peoria home, removal of their children by the then-Child Protective Services division, and a 10-year string of litigation.
    The couple, who defended the pictures as "bath time" photos of their little girls, sued the child-welfare workers, alleging they violated the family's constitutional rights when they took the children without a court order and absent an emergency situation."


"Judge Marsha S. Berzon added a separate statement to underscore that decision.
'(I)t is essential that the courts scrupulously guard a child's constitutional right to remain at home absent a court order or true exigency,' she wrote. "Taking a child from his or her home, family, and community constitutes a separate trauma, in and of itself."


"While the courts wrestle with guidelines for removal, Arizona lawmakers are planning to set their own standards.
    It will build upon their work last year, when they passed a law that required the courts to set up a warrant process for child removals. It must be in place by July 1."


"Lawmakers and the state Department of Child Safety are still working on language to define what constitutes an emergency that would allow a removal without a court order. A bill is expected in the coming week."

*

We have an earlier posting, from 2016, about an active CPS opponent in Arizona. Protesters do not appear in a vacuum! Where there are serious protesters against the way some CPS agency carries on, there is likely something to criticise! :
Courageous activist in Arizona, Crystal Nuttle
    
  

_________________
Hjemmeside http://www.mhskanland.net


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 4 posts ] 

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron
Theme designed by stylerbb.net © 2008
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
All times are UTC [ DST ]