Parens Patriae

Parens Patriae (paa-wrens pat-tree-eye) n. Latin for "father of his country," the term for the doctrine that the government is the ultimate guardian of all people under a disability, especially children, whose care is only "entrusted" to their parents.
(http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Parens+Patriae)

States may also invoke parens patriae to protect interests such as the health, comfort, and welfare of the people, interstate Water Rights, and the general economy of the state. For a state to have standing to sue under the doctrine, it must be more than a nominal party without a real interest of its own and must articulate an interest apart from the interests of particular private parties.
(http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Parens+Patriae)

State governments may not properly override parental decisions or terminate custody, unless 1) parents delegate their authority to the state voluntarily and knowingly, or 2) the state demonstrates through appropriate due process that there is clear and convincing evidence that the parents have triggered state parens patriae interests by placing their children in clear and present danger. C.f. Croft v. Westmoreland County Children & Youth Servs., 103 F.3d 1123 (3d. Cir. 1997).
(http://www.quaqua.org/parenspatriae.htm)

State government exercises of parens patriae power are also subject to the United States Constitutional system of Ordered Liberty. See Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 290 (1923)("Determination by the Legislature of what constitutes proper exercise of police power is not final or conclusive but is subject to supervision by the courts."). Particularly after the enactment of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, the Supreme Court applied due process principles and strict scrutiny analysis to limit state invocations of its parens patriae power. Liberty in “matters relating to marriage, procreation, . . . family relationships, and child rearing and education” are “’fundamental’” and “'implicit in the concept of ordered liberty’ as described in Palko v. Connecticut, 302 U.S. 319 (1937).” Paul v. Davis, 424 U.S. 693, 713 (1976). “In these areas . . . there are limits on the state’s power to substantively regulate conduct.” Id.
(http://www.quaqua.org/parenspatriae.htm)





The Parens Patriae power has been recognized and exercised from time immemorial as being under the rule of a tyrant.
(http://www.barefootsworld.net/parensp.html)


*The posts made in this blog are of our opinion only* Without Prejudice UCC 1-207

Rare Disease Mimics Child Abuse and Tears Family Apart

 Rare Disease Mimics Child Abuse and Tears Family Apart


William "Dave" O'Shell, distraught over charges of child abuse that were being leveled against him, snapped on June 30, 2008, killing his wife, Tiffany O'Shell, in their Henderson, Colo., home before taking his own life.

Just a few weeks earlier, their green-eyed, 3-month-old daughter, Alyssa, had been placed in a foster home because x-rays revealed 11 broken bones and doctors assumed that she had been beaten.

But they were wrong.

On the same day as the murder-suicide, a doctor at Colorado Children's Hospital suspected something else and was later proved right: Alyssa had a rare genetic disorder that caused her bones to fracture -- one that authorities had confused for abuse.

Alyssa died of spinal muscular atrophy on Oct. 28, 2008, but the tragedy has rippled through a family and an aggressive social services system that is meant to protect children.

Now, four years later after all lawsuits have been unsuccessful, Alyssa's maternal grandparents are saying the tragedy could have been averted.

"We were looking for action. We could care less about the money," said Paul Cuin, Tiffany O'Shell's adoptive father. "We wanted someone to sit up and say, 'This is wrong and we need to change things.'"

Cuin said there were no avenues for the O'Shells, both respected police officers, to plead their innocence.

"If our kids had some sort of outlet or grievance process or gone to someone, we would have a whole different story today," he said. "The system has to change."

A judge gave Cuin, 59, and his wife, Jackie Cuin, 50, custody of Alyssa after the death of their daughter and son-in-law, despite the objections of social services, according to a story first published in the Denver Post.

The newspaper obtained medical, social services and police records in their investigation, as well as court documents on the Cuins' lawsuits.

"They were wonderful parents," said Paul Cuin, who is a supermarket manager. "We never had a single doubt in our minds [over whether] abuse was involved. We knew from the beginning, they loved that baby."

They nursed Alyssa until her death and are convinced that if doctors knew more about SMA, the disease might never again be confused with child abuse.

Spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, is a genetic neuromuscular disease characterized by muscle atrophy and weakness. It is caused by a mutation in the gene on the long arm of chromosome 5, which makes a protein that is important in the cells of the spinal cord and lower brain stem.

It is not always a death sentence, but those with the most serious form, like Alyssa, can suffer respiratory failure.

The disease is the leading genetic cause of death in infants and toddlers, affecting as many as 10,000 to 25,000 children and adults in the United States, according to the SMA Foundation.

"It took seven months to diagnose my 12-year-old daughter, and my husband is a scientist and we live in New York City," said Loren Eng, president of the SMA Foundation. "So few doctors are aware of the disease and it causes a wide variety of symptoms. It's really an awareness problem."

Dr. Darryl De Vivo, a professor of neurology and pediatrics at Columbia University, said SMA can "masquerade to some degree" as child abuse, "at least to the uneducated eye."

"The nature of this disease is such that it allows the bone to be unduly susceptible to fractures in the normal handling of the infant," he said.

De Vivo added that with heightened awareness to child abuse, "people jump in and say guilty before being proven innocent."

The Colorado case began in on June 16, 2008, when Tiffany O'Shell noticed that Alyssa cried when she lifted her right leg. The baby was referred to Children's Hospital of Colorado, where x-rays revealed fractures, but no bruises or abrasions.

"We pleaded with the doctor at Children's Hospital and social service to look for something else other than child abuse," said Paul Cuin. "They should have waited and not jumped to conclusions."

Elizabeth Whitehead of Children's Hospital Colorado said the hospital would not comment "on alleged child abuse cases, past or present."

Child protective services took Alyssa immediately and placed her in a foster home. Her grandparents were ruled out as guardians because Jackie Cuin had spent time babysitting the child and was considered a suspect.
SMA Broken Bones Looked Like Abuse

The O'Shells had one supervised visit with Alyssa, according to Paul Cuin. The baby turned her head away from her parents several times and authorities interpreted that as confirmation of abuse.

Dave O'Shell became a chief suspect when he admitted that he often held her by the legs upside down -- which he said made the baby smile, according to the Post.

Cuin said the signs of SMA were evident in Alyssa, "but no one saw it" until the baby's foster mother took her to the doctor because she was failing to thrive.

A pediatrician at Children's Hospital noticed the classic symptoms: the baby's thumb turned inward, a "bell-shaped" stomach and "frogs legs" that wouldn't straighten, according to Cuin. Alyssa's breathing was labored and she struggled to hold her head up.

Suspicious, the doctor called for genetic tests, but no one alerted Alyssa's parents, according to Cuin.

"If they had had a little bit of hope," Cuin said, "this all would have been different.

On July 9, the results confirmed SMA, and on July 11, a caseworker called the Cuins' lawyer. The O'Shells had been dead nearly two weeks.

By July 16 the Cuins went to court and a judge granted them custody.

The Cuins defend their son-in-law against abuse charges, but are still struggling to understand why he murdered their daughter.

"David was a very stable individual," said Cuin. "It shocked us. But I fully understand the pressures he was under."

Cuin said O'Shell had lost all hope, told by his lawyer that he would go to prison and lose not only his daughter, but his wife, his job and his military status. If arrested on felony abuse, he would have had to raise $50,000 bail.

Two days before the murder-suicide, O'Shell told his wife he was "going to shoot people" so police would have a reason to arrest him, according to the Denver Post. He became increasingly despondent.

One June 30, the couple was scheduled to meet with lawyers and a criminal investigator about the abuse charges. Jackie Cuin tried to call her daughter but got no answer.

She went to check on her at the house, but was too afraid to enter, calling her husband.

Paul Cuin found the bodies: Tiffany, who had been shot in the head twice, was covered in blood in bed. Dave's legs were sticking out the bedroom doorway.

"I haven't forgiven him," said Cuin. "And I don't know if I will ever be able to."

Cuin and his wife now live day-by-day, and their awareness campaign is what keeps them going.

"We don't want the kids' death to be in vain," he said. "We want something good to come of it."

"I don't have a problem at all with social services coming and taking a child and doing an investigation," said Cuin. "There is a need for this service. There are bad people out there and kids need to be protected."

"But the system did the opposite," he said. "It tore a family apart."









*The posts made in this blog are of our opinion only* Without Prejudice UCC 1-207

28 USC § 453 - Oaths of justices and judges

 28 USC § 453 - Oaths of justices and judges

 Each justice or judge of the United States shall take the following oath or affirmation before performing the duties of his office: “I, XXX XXX, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as XXX under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God.”


I just want to get this straight so there are no double standards. So help me God.


*The posts made in this blog are of our opinion only* Without Prejudice UCC 1-207

OCS DIRTY TRICK #1

DIRTY TRICK #1

DCFS/CPS/DSS [OCS] will PRETEND to help you, when in actuality they are gathering evidence against you.

· Beware of these tactics and

· Don’t give them the ammunition to use against you.

Some DCFS/CPS/DSS agents DO want to help you and the families they serve, and some don’t. You can believe that the system as a whole is on the negative side of this coin. It is estimated that Child Protective Services takes about 25% of the children of the families it services. Most Child Protective Services agents don’t know or respect the restrictions in the law against taking children. The sad fact here is that no one holds them accountable. Even the judges have not been able to reign them in, so these “outlaws” do as they please and not what the law allows or requires.

Source: http://www.nfpcar.org/References/DirtyTricks.htm






*The posts made in this blog are of our opinion only* Without Prejudice UCC 1-207

Alaska State Troopers Investigation Reports (again)

I would like to bring back mention of this blog post of the Alaska State Troopers Investigations into the allegations OCS brought that said I molested my grand daughter. Click the link, read the reports. OCS also did a paternity test on my grand daughter alleging she may be my daughter as well (because she has blue eyes like me). In other words they were accusing me of screwing my own daughter. There is certainly some mental derangement going on here, but it sure isn't here. This (from their secret training meetings) is where they learn to use false allegations, defamation and lies to get what they want (kids for paychecks). Did they acknowledge the trooper reports? Not one word. They just keep spouting the same vomit. Facts and kids don't matter, money does. Do a search. The same tactics (learned in secret meetings) apply all over the states and CPS. Look up Senator Nancy Schafer while your at it.
I have also authorized others who can access and post on this blog should anything happen to us.




*The posts made in this blog are of our opinion only* Without Prejudice UCC 1-207

Meet the Senior OCS leadership Team!

Meet the Senior OCS leadership Team!
 
http://hss.state.ak.us/ocs/newsletter/201203/leadership.htm

Christy Lawton
Years with OCS: 14
Title: Director
Work Philosophy: Quality and timely customer service has always been a priority in all my positions within the agency. We serve the citizens of Alaska and must be responsible, respectful, and responsive at all times with a “families first” attitude. I also have always found that communication that is direct and as transparent as possible serves everyone’s best interest, and I strive to hold myself and others to that goal. Christy.Lawton@alaska.gov

*After numerous, numerous, numerous times of calling ocs, they never returned our phone calls. All we got was voice mail, harassment and lies in person or the occasional call from Justin to gloat about already shipping the kids off to another state without telling us or letting us see them. We haven't seen nor heard from the kids or ocs since. The only way we ever received a response is when we called the Alaska Ombudsman's Office. I would recommend everyone call that office.
Like I said... If you can't dazzle them with brilliance...


*The posts made in this blog are of our opinion only* Without Prejudice UCC 1-207

2011 Citizen Review Panel Annual Report/Recommendation 1/OCS response

 2011 Citizen Review Panel Annual Report

The full report can be read at:

 http://hss.state.ak.us/ocs/publications/pdf/2011_crp.pdf

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN’S SERVICES


Recommendation 1:
Based on our recent site visits to the Fairbanks and Wasilla field offices, we recommend that OCS work to improve the culture within the agency. The current atmosphere impairs the ability of workers to appropriately protect Alaska’s children and families.

This concern was raised after we spent several days in each of these field offices talking with OCS workers at all levels. Line workers and supervisors felt that the OCS culture devalues them and that they are trying to do an extremely difficult job while often feeling disempowered. Staff at partnering agencies perceive the behavior of OCS staff as defensive. The perception among community partners was that many OCS staff
isolate themselves and do not collaborate or communicate in a collegial manner.

When asked about desired working relationships with partnering agencies OCS spoke of a desire to collaborate. Yet OCS does not collaborate with its own staff when it comes to changing policies and procedures. Staff from a number of field offices have mentioned how new policies or programs are handed down without them having an adequate opportunity to provide input. At present they are not asked the right

question in order to generate input—for example, they are offered an opportunity to wordsmith the policy without being asked about its impact. The assumption has already been made that the new initiative will be implemented; they can just weight on the ‘how,’ NOT the ‘if.’ We suggest that OCS leadership respect the enormous knowledge base of workers enough to ask them ‘if’ a new policy or procedure is a good idea and whether it would work well in their unique region of the state.

Staff indicated that they are on the receiving end, simply told what to do. We recognize that within a bureaucracy there is a necessity for a certain amount of hierarchy or nothing would get done. However, when feedback from staff is fully considered, not only is buy-in increased, but outcomes are usually better. Front line staff are just that—on the front line. They know how things will play out in the field, and how things will be received by partnering agencies, how the families would respond to a given policy.

The current culture within OCS stifles worker initiative and creativity. Workers in Fairbanks and Wasilla are reluctant to problem solve within the limits of policies and procedures because of fear of retribution. The current atmosphere limits individual professional initiative. Workers feel like there are check lists to be completed and no place that allows them to use their judgment, experience or discretion. Ultimately, this
costs OCS staff. Many competent professionals leave, some physically, some emotionally. We recommend that every staff member be empowered to talk to any level OCS staffer, without having to go through the chain of command. We prefer the chain of command and think it works in most circumstances, but sometimes an individual needs to be able to step out of the chain to get to the right person. The obvious goal is more open communication to improve relationships and lessen the ponderousness of the bureaucracy.

We recommend that training be more tailored to an employee’s skill needs rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. We understand that, at this time, individualized training is something OCS is interested in implementing in the future, once mass trainings required by the PIP are completed. We are very supportive of this effort.

In an effort to determine how staff and resources can more effectively be allocated, OCS identified three studies they would like to conduct. These three studies include the following:

A study to determine what tasks may appropriately be handled by support staff and which tasks must be handled by the line workers;

A study to determine to appropriate level of support staff for workers including SSA and clerks; and

A study to evaluate the staff to caseload ratio around the state to determine the equitable placement of PCNs.

Over the past several months, OCS staff attempted to evaluate this internally. They have decided the assessment is too complicated and time consuming for current staff to add to their existing workloads. They now plan to contract with an outside agency. In this time with fewer resources, these studies will allow existing resources to be spent as effectively as possible. *Ensuring the front line workers are doing social work not transporting children, supervising visits, or delivering documents to court will allow for a more satisfied and empowered staff. All these efforts will help decrease the high turnover rate among OCS staff. More continuity among staff coupled with feeling valued and empowered leads to better service to children and their families. The CRP supports their decision to get accurate data from professionals who can accomplish this in the most timely manner. Future l staff management cannot be successfully implemented without this information.

* Ensuring the front line workers are doing social work not transporting children, supervising visits, or delivering documents to court will allow for a more satisfied and empowered staff.

I read this as: More service providers pining for a piece of the pie and more free time for those poor social workers to snatch more kids. If this happens, the kid count will go up dramatically resulting in bigger profits for all. 

OCS Response to CRP Annual Report 

The full report can be read at:

http://health.hss.state.ak.us/ocs/Publications/pdf/2011_crpresponse.pdf

Recommendation 1:
Based on our recent site visits to the Fairbanks and Wasilla field offices, we recommend that OCS work to improve the culture within the agency. The current atmosphere impairs the ability of workers to appropriately protect Alaska’s children and families.

We recognize the important contributions made by all OCS employees and strive to foster a collegial, positive and collaborative work environment. There are times however when pockets of staff within offices or offices as a whole are feeling particularly overwhelmed and frustrated. The culture within offices is often heavily influenced by the leadership within them. Leadership being long term front line staff as well as supervisors or managers. The positive or negative energy can ebb and flow, sometimes being influenced
by as few as one disgruntled employee that impacts everyone around them. Office dynamics are challenging. We recognize that stress is inherent in this work and that in can play out in many ways with our employees. We encounter just as many employees who say they are leaving the agency because of the internal culture as we do who say they are staying because the culture of support, teamwork, and camaraderie is so positive.
In recent months, we have been trying some new approaches to involve OCS employees in fostering a more collegial and overall more positive work environment. These include soliciting feedback from employees, involving more employees in decision making, and modifying the way we share internal information.
Soliciting feedback from employees. We continue to modify and improve our annual employee survey. This year we had 317 responses representing 74% of our staff.
Among the many things we learned from the survey:
• 79% agree or strongly agree that the philosophy of the Office of Children’s Services as reflected in the Practice Model is clearly described to staff.
• 77% agree or strongly agree that they receive feedback from their supervisor regarding their performance which is useful in making changes in their work.
• 84% agree or strongly agree that their supervisor is available and responsive to questions they have regarding their work.

However, we also learned that only 42% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that there are regular opportunities to provide information and suggestions to regional and state office management. For this reason, we are committed to continue working to improve opportunities for open communication between all employees of the organization.
Modifying the way we share internal information. Based upon feedback from OCS employees, our internal newsletter will be undergoing a major overhaul in 2012. Among the many changes, the name of the newsletter will be changed from *“The Pipeline” to “Frontline” to reflect our focus on the importance of our employees on the front line of child protection. In addition, the content will be modified to include all levels of staff from across the state, and focus more on positive events, self care tips, humor, and photos rather than strictly programmatic information sharing from management to field staff. All employees will be encouraged to submit topics and articles for Frontline. Involving more employees in decision making. In recent months, the Wasilla field office has developed and started implementing a plan of improvement. This process was designed with the help of external facilitators who engaged local staff in problem solving and
strategy development. This process has been very effective and by their reports, found to be useful and beneficial by all level of employees who participated including front line workers, supervisors, managers and administrators. We intend to continue using these types of inclusive methods to involve all levels in decision making whenever possible.
In addition, we are currently soliciting volunteers to participate in a formal statewide Employee Advisory Committee. Beginning in 2012, we intend for this committee to represent the interests of our front line staff and to have a regular and consistent forum to express their interests through direct discussion with the Director and senior leadership staff.

*If you can't dazzle them with brilliance... baffle them with b%*(#%&t.
 

*“The Pipeline” to “Frontline”?  

Ocs Pipeline http://www.hss.state.ak.us/ocs/newsletter/201203/

 



*The posts made in this blog are of our opinion only* Without Prejudice UCC 1-207