Our First and Final mtg with CPS Mngmt., Followed by my very direct letter to CPS Director, Mr. Daniel Nielson.

THIS IS A MUST READ!! Not for the Faint Hearted.

When my girlfriend and I had joined El Dorado County Victims of CPS,

It was a small group originating in South Lake Tahoe, So Penny and I decided to concentrate a little farther south so we could spread our organization out, but more importantly, El Dorado County encompasses both Lake Tahoe and the lower half, just shy of Sacramento.  I believe we had a great bunch of people, and although small, each one of us, just diverse enough to handle about any situation.  All CPS knew of us at this point was regarding out demonstrations and appearances at the Board of Supervisors mtgs, which became heated at times. We spoke of our frustrations, however, we needed to get through and talk to them on a  personal level; from one mother or father to another.  They (CPS) accepted our request for a meeting to discuss only a few issues that the parents were dealing with, so that we could relay to the parents any and all misunderstandings etc.
We narrowed it down to one issue we felt was the determining factor that left the parents in the court room absolutely helpless.
I drafted an agenda, gave it to them ahead of time as to keep everything in order...
Remember the phrase "stop short", well, that is exactly what happened, and it was only part of their (CPS) plan to make sure that we did not have access to any inside information, or heaven forbid, help or advocate for the fucking families that were shredded to bits during the kidnapping of their kids and finally terminating their parental rights, yes, all in the name of MONEY.
Ok Ok, I will cut to the chase... the meeting was completly focused on whether we had a leader, and if so, who.  This was you see, if anything went wrong, they could swiftly reprimand us, and of course to divert the attention away from the contents of the agenda.  We told them that we did not have a leader and preferred to make decisions as a team. That, of course, did  not sit well with the Big Cheese, Mr. Nielson, as he promptly needed a leader and a mission statement from our group, all within a  week or this would be the end of the road for our group.
I have attached, first, the agenda, and then after two weeks, the Director of CPS emails one of our staff, Ernie Claudio, and basically degrades who we are and what we stand for.. With Ernies permission, I told him that I would like to respond to the CPS DIRECTOR'S LETTER, point by point.  That letter is attached as well.  Harsh, but it was closure that I needed and one of my better letters.
Copies were sent to county cousel, our Lovely District Attorney, Board of Supervisors.
I go back and read this one frequently..
Enjoy

Justice Now/CPS Reform meeting with                   CPS Management Notice of Meeting and its contents                                                     June 15, 2010

To:  Janet Walker-Conroy, Daniel Nielson

           Mark Connotes

From:  Justice Now/CPS Reform,

We would like to begin by thanking each one of you for taking the time out of your busy schedule, in order to discuss a long standing issue, not only with us, but many families.  We would like to stay focused on the issue at hand during the meeting so we have created an agenda with a topic that we will present to you and try to gain some understanding of why things are done the way they are as well as the state of the agency at this point in time.  There are numerous items to address; however, the one common theme that stands out with most families is the issue of documentation (court reports) and the notice of hearing (timely manner).  

Below, we have enlisted some facts and information relevant to our meeting, and finally a few questions that we would like some answers to, only because what continues to happen is in direct contrast with the policies set forth by CPS.

We hope that providing you with our agenda allows you some comfort and time to think about the questions, information and your response to some very critical issues.  This should facilitate our meeting as we will work to keep a positive and productive tone throughout the meeting.    We also have hopes that this will be the beginning of a long-standing and productive relationship.

The one request we have is that a policy manual be available during the meeting so that we may refer to as well as clear up any miss-understandings. 

Notice of Hearings:   The fact is that the notice of hearing is to be in the hands of the parents and their attorney 10 days before the hearing.  Most would be happy if the post mark was within 10 days, but unfortunately, the notices, and more importantly the recommendations, are delivered in person to the families on the front steps of the court house.   The families are already nervous about court, nervous about what is going to happen and frustrated because they have learned that no one in the CPS/Juvenile system is there to act as their advocate. 

Without the 10 days notice, the parents are rendered defenseless in the court room.    What’s worse is that these reports are littered with inaccuracies and false statements, and when not challenged, the decision by the judge can be catastrophic.

 These reports should contain accurate and truthful information, and when they don’t, the parents and their attorneys must be ready to submit corrections to the report, as they are not allowed to speak up in court nor will the court appointed attorney stand up and object to any wrong doings.

We all know that undisputed testimony becomes fact, whether it is the truth or not.

1.       What can you do (CPS mngmt) to ensure that the reports are in the hands of the families and their attorneys within the proper time frame?   On a side note, the notice of hearing contains a box in which a check mark is to be placed if the notice and recommendations are delivered within the proper time frame.  The fact is, this box is checked even when we receive the reports 10 minutes before the hearing.

2.       If the above cannot be remedied, what options, if any, are available to the family?   More than not, the family is unaware that they can call for a continuance due to this delay, but are never told by the social worker or their attorney(court appointed)

3.       Will you advocate for the parent regarding a continuance.  Are you aware that both the attorney and the social worker rarely keep the parent informed of what is going on?

4.       This is where we come in, and could act as a liaison between the attorneys, social workers and then would be able to explain the process to the parents by someone who has been in their shoes. 

This 10 day time frame is very important, due to the fact that many reports are littered with inaccuracies, opinions as facts, and false statements or allegations.  These can range anywhere from minor to major, but the point is, this happens every day, and even when others are aware of these injustices, they remain silent  to keep the show running smoothly as the clock ticks it’s countdown towards parental termination.

1.       Are there consequences for the underwriter when these mistakes are founded?

2.       If so, what are the consequences when the law is broken, and what is the consequence when the policy manual has been violated?

3.       Is there documentation on file to show  these reprimands,  proving  that in fact that the social worker was written up, not just hearsay. 

4.       Aside from the multi level peer group, what other system of checks and balances are in place to ensure that the social workers adhere to the policy manual and abide by the law?  There are many sections to the 14^th amendment that CPS violates daily and these are punishable by fines, imprisonment, or both.  

** Some thoughts on the reports;   the mistakes they contain, and why the social workers might write the reports with such a negative tone and heavy hand. **

There is a preconceived attitude of clients by case workers that perpetuates disregard and disrespect of clients (parents) that often continues throughout their entire program.  My personal experience will attest to this. During my 18 long months in the system, every report had numerous errors. When I asked my social worker why her report was different from what we had talked about, she said” Just ask your attorney”.  Not one person was concerned with the fact that my report was filled with lies.  In some instances, the reports became worse and my daughter used as leverage the more I questioned these injustices.  Theses social workers are faced with challenging ethical dilemmas daily, compounded with the fact that their case loads are beyond full and there is just not enough time in the day to complete all necessary tasks.  Could this possibly be a reason for such horrible reports?    Are there unreasonable demands placed on the social workers by management, ethical or not?  Is there a pay value for writing the report in such a negative manner?  Is the social worker licensed or not?  Blatant lie vs.  Ignorance

Our hope is that by  having a day or two to familiarize yourself with this agenda, which should give you a little time to think about the questions and concerns we have.   These types of meetings have a propensity for becoming emotionally driven due to the nature and that is why we tried to keep everything   based on fact .  We also welcome  any questions, concerns or comments from your management, so

you will be able to prepare and answer our questions either at the meeting or, in writing, within 14 days of the meeting. (June 29^th)

The Board of Supervisors has been briefed on this meeting and has a copy of the same document you are now reading.  They will be waiting for a review of our meeting as well as the response to our questions, answered or not.  The public has been notified of the meeting and is anxiously awaiting the results.   Our community is becoming  frustrated with the operations of CPS,  however, if they see that there is positive communication between us,  I believe we could play a part  in changing the public’s perception  of CPS    and the manner in which it deals with the family and children.     

Every parent and child’s legal rights must be observed and protected by CPS.  Failure to consider the “Individual” may be CPS’S biggest failing.

Our only goal is to open lines of communication between the agency and the families who are working on re-unification.  Once there is a clear understanding of the case plan, court proceedings, and a time frame to re-unify, the tension and adversarial tone begin to subside, quite possibly clearing the way to a successful outcome for all.

We look forward to meeting with you,

Regards,

JUSTICE NOW/CPS REFORM

  

Sounds good right.?????

what a fucking letdown

11/5/2010

Mr. Nielson;

I would like to respond to your letter submitted to Ernie Claudio, on or about July 19, 2010

I will start by  saying, thank you, for the short lived effort and although you did inform us that you needed a leader and a mission statement before proceeding, we were quite busy due to the fact that this is a very busy time of the year for CPS, as we are learning, and as your case loads increase, magically,  our client base explodes.   Being that this is volunteer only, we had to make the decision on whether to get all of us together, sit down and chat about a leader and a mission statement, or  desperately help parents try and get some answers to things because their attorneys and social workers flat out refuse to keep them informed. 

I won’t be speaking from or through my fellow advocates;  I am speaking to you as a woman, a mother and one who still believes that one day that truth and justice will prevail. 

Yes Mr. Nielson, You were and are clear about who you won’t meet with, and unfortunately that includes families who are left in the dark, and recent history shows almost no representation by these so called “court appointed attorneys”;While these parents struggle daily to prove their fitness as a parent; and then, and only then,  if the social worker believes that the parent has benefited from the services, the children might come home.  That is a lot of power given to a social worker, and 90 % of the time there is an adversarial tone between worker and parent.   You will never hear of this Mr. Nielson, because these social workers have been here longer than you and they are trained in tactics that use fear and intimidation, and once used on the parent, they know it won’t go anywhere, because the threat of losing their children makes them comply immediately.

It is in fact quite simple, if you look at it from a business standpoint;  What we supply as advocates, is very much in demand.  You are correct when you say that we are simply a small collection of individuals, who have a very poor understanding about CPS operations, law, etc.

I will add by saying our understanding is less than poor when understanding the injustices that continue under your leadership and management.  Our primary focus has never been leadership and/or upper echelon management  that wears an empty title.    We are the “army grunts” on the front line, in the midst of battle, sacrificing life and liberty for our brothers in arms.  We advocate for the very thing this country was founded on!!

Mr. Nielson,  You rarely engage families with concern, and families that try and use the chain of command, are stopped abruptly by their social workers who use their tactics of leveraging the children against the parents.  So, while you think it is smooth running from up top,  your thumb has never really quite felt the pulse beat of your organization, even though your signature graces every clients paper work.   Mr. Nielson, are you aware that your supervisors and social workers are forcing children, 10 and under, to visit in a room, with the parent that brutally sexually abused them.  While the child screams and clings to the mother because they don’t want to go, the mother objects to this, and subsequently is restrained by the sheriff, the child is peeled off of the mother, and forced to go to the abuser.  My body shudders as I even write this.  2 days ago, I checked to see how the mother and family were doing, hoping that the visits would stop; someone must surely see that this is worse than hell.  The mother, with a blank stare, looking right through me, says”the visitations have turned into “overnights”.  Mr. Nielson, her life will never be the same, and YOU ARE TO BLAME!!  I must applaud you and your staff for having the ability to go “third person” which has got to be the only reason you can go home and sleep at night.  I comforted this mother as she screamed in my arms;  My old ways would tell me to do something else, but I must believe in KARMA,  and that goodness will prevail.

You say that any client who has problems with their report has access to anyone in the chain of command at any time.  Mr .Nielson, have you tried to call your own agency under a fake name just to check what a response time might be, maybe check on customer service? It might surprise you.

The parent never has the chance to rectify the situation, which can only be done very early on in the proceedings when the parents are, for the lack of a better word, deemed crazy and unfit, but the one who is to advocate simply tells the parent to sit back, be silent and accept the case  plan.  Once the box for reasonable efforts is checked, that wonderful title iv funding just flows down stream.  It is even a bonus if the kids clean up well, as they won’t languish in the system too long.   I sit back and try to imagine having the amount of  power you and even your social workers have, and if I had that much, I must admit, it would be quite hard to contain myself too!!

Yes, I’m not a client anymore, however, I now do what I do because I was a client, if that makes sense.   I am sorry to see that you believe we have failed to state our purpose;  Many in our county would disagree.  You will never hear the clients concern because you and your organization don’t think there is a problem.  A grand jury investigation of your agency almost every year from 2000 to 2009 might say different.

You have made mention of multiple meetings throughout the year with ernie; the fact is that there have only been two, after many distractions and cancellations, and I believe you only attended one. 

You are correct again in saying that your sole purpose was to have us identify a group leader, and our role and/or mission statement.  You made that such a priority, that it conveniently created a distraction in order for you to dodge the one question we had for you.   You have shown once again consistency in dodging important matters, questions and accountability. BRAVO!!  My wish for you Mr. Nielson?  Attend a hearing or two;   visit a family who has just had their parental rights terminated;  comfort a mother who has her child ripped from her arms; 

COMFORT A CHILD WHO SCREAMS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT REMEMBERING THE DAY HE WAS TAKEN.  I still do!!

The only one who has failed, Mr. Nielson, is you;  and perhaps your biggest failing is not recognizing the one you are obligated to protect;    THE CHILD