IS IT ILLEGAL AND AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL PRACTICE FOR CPS TO REMOVE CHILDREN BECAUSE THEY WITNESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?
Yes it is illegal and an unconstitutional practice to remove children which results in punishing the children and the non-offending parent as stated. In a landmark class action suit in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, U.S. District Judge Jack Weinsein ruled on Nicholson v. Williams, Case No.: 00-cv-2229, the suit challenged the practice of New York’s City’s Administration for Children’s Services of removing the children of battered mothers solely because the children saw their mothers being beaten by husbands or boyfriends. Judge Weistein ruled that the practice is unconstitutional and he ordered it stopped. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ARE PARENTS GUILTY OF MALTREATMENT OR EMOTIONAL NEGLECT IF THE CHILD WITNESSES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE? “Not according to Judge Weistein’s ruling and to the leading national experts.” During the trial, several leading national experts testified on the impact on children of witnessing domestic violence, and the impact on children of being removed from the non-offending parent. Views of Experts on Effects of Domestic Violence on Children, and defining witnessing domestic violence by children as maltreatment or emotional neglect is a mistake. A “great concern [regarding] how increased awareness of children’s exposure [to domestic violence] and associated problems is being used. Concerned about the risk adult domestic violence poses for children, some child protection agencies in the United States appear to be defining exposure to domestic violence as a form of child…Defining witnessing as maltreatment is a mistake. Doing so ignores the fact that large numbers of children in these studies showed no negative development problems and some showed evidence of strong coping abilities. Automatically defining witnessing as maltreatment may also ignore battered mother’s efforts to develop safe environments for their children and themselves.” Ex. 163 at 866. EFFECTS OF REMOVALS ON CHILDREN AND NON-OFFENDING PARENT. Dr. Wolf testified that disruptions in the parent-child relationship might provoke fear and anxiety in a child and diminish his or her sense of stability and self. Tr. 565-67. He described the typical response of a child separated from his parent: “When a young child is separated from a parent unwillingly, he or she shows distress … At first, the child is very anxious and protests vigorously and angrily. Then he falls into a sense of despair, though still hyper vigilant, looking, waiting, and hoping for her return …” A child’s sense of time factors into the extent to which a separation impacts his or her emotional well-being. Thus, for younger children whose sense of time is less keenly developed, short periods of parental absence may seem longer than for older children. Tr 565-65. See also Ex. 141b. For those children who are in homes where there is domestic violence, disruption of that bond can be even more traumatic than situations where this is no domestic violence. Dr. Stark (Yale New Haven Hospital researcher) asserted that if a child is placed in foster care as a result of domestic violence in the home, then he or she may view such removal as “a traumatic act of punishment … and [think] that something that [he] or she has done or failed to do has caused this separation.” Tr. 1562-63. Dr. Pelcovitz stated that “taking a child whose greatest fear is separation from his or her mother and in the name of ‘protecting’ that child [by] forcing on them, what is in effect, their worst nightmare, … is tantamount to pouring salt on an open wound.” Ex. 139 at 5. Another serious implication of removal is that it introduces children to the foster care system, which can be much more dangerous and debilitating than the home situation. Dr. Stark testified that foster homes are rarely screened for the presence of violence, and that the incidence of abuse and child fatality in foster homes is double that in the general population. Tr 1596; Ex. 122 at 3-4. Children in foster care often fail to receive adequate medical care. Ex. 122 at 6. Foster care placements can disrupt the child’s contact with community, school and siblings. Ex. 122 at 8. Back to Table of Contents
The family is the basic unit of social structure. Families define and shape the individuals that are a part of the family unit. Parents teach their children their values, and teach them a moral value of what is right and what is wrong. Parents set boundaries as to what is acceptable behavior and what will not be tolerated. These are basic and fundamental rights given to parents. They are recognized by the highest court in America to be the responsibility of the parents, not the job of the government. - Dawn Michelle Irons, BSW
Georgia Senator Nancy Schafer
A GAG ORDER SENT FROM THE TOP, UNFORTUNATELY WORKED ALL THE WAY TO HER GRAVE.
One of our Biggest Children and Family Advocates is Murdered.....
Was she too close to exposing the Truth???
Check out the video below!!
About Me
- tracey sprague
- Educated and loving mother who is proud of her children and would like to see justice and constitutional conduct in our court rooms, but more importantly, the word Family needs to become something that is respected by all and protected by our constitution. It really does start with the parents. For more of "My" Story, see my blog and look for my picture and post called "My story to the Board of Supervisors".
OVERRULED: GOVT INVASION OF YOUR PARENTAL RIGHTS
scratch and search
My girls
MAKING A DIFFERENCE..AS ONE LIFE INTERSECTS ANOTHER
A SPECIAL THANKS...
to a select few, who have taken me under their wing, treated me as family and most importantly, NEVER abandon me, nor judged me, NO MATTER WHAT.
MY ATTORNEY.. JIM BRUNELLO.
If you ever read this, You must know...You saved my life, taught me through your experiences and never forgot to remind me of my talents and the lives I have touched. When I feel down, I think of what you always told me..."You're ok Kid".
FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, THANK YOU
MY PARTNER IN CRIME...PENNY ARNOLD (AKA) TRIPPLE "C".
We were two moms waiting to be seen at the court house that lonely morning. Fate brought us together, and together we stood through fear, disbelief, pain and sorrow. I will always cherish our nights of wine, crying, studying case law, but more importantly, when I stood alone and faced Pure Evil, I was not alone, as you were always there, when I turned around.
THAT FEELING IS PRICELESS
I LOVE YOU FRIEND
ROBERT SAUNDERS.
(Never judge a book by its Cover) YOU ARE AWESOME!!
YOU GAVE US HOPE, AND THE DRIVE WE NEEDED TO FIGHT
WHEN OUR MOMENTUM ALMOST CAME TO A STAND STILL
FATHERS FOR JUSTICE and JUSTICE REFORM COALITION.
MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER..CHLOE
I watch you unfold and am amazed every day, as I now learn much from you. Your calling is much bigger, as you will soon realize.
MY QUIET WARRIOR..MY LEGACY...
NEVER OF ME, BUT THROUGH ME...
THAT IS U MY DEAR.. MISS CHLOE
VOICES
*VOICES*
Can't they hear? Can't they see? This sweet, soft voice beckons for help, "Please Hear Me". One small mouth is never a match for the selective listening social worker, Indeed.
Sad eyes, stay there and don't despair, Your voice, it pierces me as it sailed through the air. This soft voice that I did hear, will now be delivered with Power, and very Clear.
Relax little one, breathe deep with no fear, your pain we will carry, your message "They" will hear.
I won't stop, I won't, as God as my witness, and now my carreer....Then off in the distance, soft voices, they wander.....It's ok little one, ...I'm coming "My Dear"
Yes We are Coming
Justice is Here!!
(This came from deep in my gut one night that I just could not sleep. I wept uncontrollably as I heard their voices in my head; I sat down to console them and gave them my promise, for which you've just read.
Can't they hear? Can't they see? This sweet, soft voice beckons for help, "Please Hear Me". One small mouth is never a match for the selective listening social worker, Indeed.
Sad eyes, stay there and don't despair, Your voice, it pierces me as it sailed through the air. This soft voice that I did hear, will now be delivered with Power, and very Clear.
Relax little one, breathe deep with no fear, your pain we will carry, your message "They" will hear.
I won't stop, I won't, as God as my witness, and now my carreer....Then off in the distance, soft voices, they wander.....It's ok little one, ...I'm coming "My Dear"
Yes We are Coming
Justice is Here!!
(This came from deep in my gut one night that I just could not sleep. I wept uncontrollably as I heard their voices in my head; I sat down to console them and gave them my promise, for which you've just read.
BOONDOCK SAINTS CREED
We do not ask for your poor or your hungry..
We do not want your tired and sick..
It is your corrupt we claim.
It is your evil that will be sought by us..
With every breath we shall hunt them down..
Each day we will spill their blood 'til it rains down from the skies