Police in Louisville, Kentucky, discovered heroin in the purse of a woman who works for the state’s Child Protective Services department, and this led to the discovery that she has been smoking methamphetamines with her own 14-year-old son. When interviewed, the boy admitted they had used drugs together on multiple occasions. We, Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin, are dedicated to protecting children and families against corruption in the CPS and DHR systems, because organizations that can’t screen their own employees have no business making these decisions about children’s lives until they get their own acts together.

The Case Against Stephenie Chism

Ms. Chism is a 39-year-old woman from West Point, and she was stopped by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as she left her home. When it was discovered that she had heroin in her car, she said she had “found” the drug and didn’t know what else to do with it but to keep it. After getting a search warrant, police entered the home just in time to see her son throw a meth pipe and a bag of meth out the window.  When he was questioned, the teen said his mother permitted and even encouraged his meth use, to the point that she had offered it to him in the past only to have him decline. The woman has since been arrested.

While it is unclear if CPS in Kentucky drug tests their employees, it is very clear that they will make parents who have no basis for the drug use allegations made against them submit to repeated drug testing, even if the results are consistently negative. We, Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin, are disgusted by the hypocrisy in this system, and we need to put better safety precautions in check. After all, if this woman does drugs with her own child, how is she to be trusted with anyone else’s kids?

An unidentified woman in Lincoln, Nebraska, has been attempting to persuade people to let her into their homes under the guise of being a CPS worker. We, Kathey Raskin and Robert Raskin, are relieved to hear that so far this woman has not been able to gain entrance into any of these homes, but she’s still out there, and she may be still trying. You do not have to let any child protective worker into your house without demanding identification verification and contacting your lawyer!

Four Incidents in Four Weeks

The woman has approached families at four different homes asking to be let inside by asking to “talk to the parent” of the child in question, but the families refused to grant her request when she was unable to provide proof that she was in fact affiliated with the state’s DHHS organization or any other identification. DHHS is concerned about the incidents, but at the same time they have created the impression that their workers must be let into homes or else there will be repercussions.

We, Kathey Raskin and Robert Raskin, are dedicated to raising awareness of the cracks in the foundations of the organizations that are supposed to protect children. A part of what we hope to accomplish is to make families aware of what their rights are in the event that a CPS or DHR worker shows up at their door, and this frightening situation is a perfect example of why it’s crucial that you know your rights.

Hello concerned citizens. Today we, Robert Raskin and Kathey Raskin of Las Vegas, are writing about how the money that is meant to be distributed to child protection agencies in Florida is distributed. What started off as a stopgap measure to protect funding levels in 2015 has today become a problem, because in Hillsborough County it has led to there being less funds available to help children and their families than is available in other areas.

The Problem in Hillsborough County

Hillsborough County has some of the highest rates of child abuse investigations in the state, and they also have high rates of child removals. Despite this, because of the policies that are in place, the county was shorted nearly $6M in state funds in 2016. In the meantime, other counties in Florida received approximately $44M to look after foster children that they do not even have. The problem was created due to shifts in the foster child population, and this has left already dangerously underfunded agencies and the children in their areas even more at risk than they were.

Last year alone, on average there were 3,6000 foster care in Hillsborough County, which is more than in any other county in the state. This is yet another reason watchdog organizations need to be put in place who will really advocate for children and make sure these agencies and their policies are doing the same. We are Robert Raskin and Kathey Raskin, and we hope you will stop by again soon, because raising awareness of these issues is so important.

If you’ve ever had a two-year-old, then you have had to deal with a tantrum. Perhaps even dozens. We, Kathleen Raskin and Robert Raskin, are parents and grandparents, and believe us we’ve seen our share of them! It is inconceivable to us that in this day and age children can be removed from loving homes over something as ordinary as a toddler tantrum, but for one mother in California that nightmare became reality when she was reported to Child Protective Services.

An Ordinary Day
As the mother, who wishes to remain anonymous, revealed in an interview on the website Mom.me, she was trying to cook dinner, and her two-year-old son began trying to take toys from the baby. When the mother told him not to take the baby’s toys, he—big surprise here—threw a tantrum. After screaming and trying to hit his mother, she put him on time-out on a patio that was directly next to the open window where she stood, never more than 12 inches away. That 12 inches was all it took for a neighbor to report her.

Kidnapped by CPS
With no proof of wrongdoing and no evidence outside of a neighbor’s report that a child was outside in a safe patio in a secure backyard in a gated neighborhood, CPS was able to have the family’s children, who included an exclusively breastfed infant, removed from the household. After hiring a lawyer, getting statements from family, friends, and doctors, submitting photos, and attending court-approved anger management and parenting classes, the children were returned a month-and-a-half later. The charges against the parents were dropped without a trial, but it is simply unbelievable that it got to that point in the first place.

This happens all too often in this system, because there are no watchdog organizations to stop it. We, Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin, hope this couple is able to get the settlement they deserve in court, though no amount of money can make up for what they went through. Unfortunately, in other cases, too many families who have tried to sue for wrongful removal of their children have not seen their rightful day in court.

When 17-month-old toddler Peter Connelly was found dead in his crib in North London, he was suffering over 50 injuries and clad only in a diaper. The child, known as Baby P, was known by child protective services to be at risk, but he was left in the home anyway, only to meet his tragic end at the hands of his stepfather. We, Kathleen Raskin and Robert Raskin, are sad to report that once again, the system has failed to protect a child who was in their care.

The Scandal

The death sparked outrage from citizens who were incensed upon learning the child had been considered to be at-risk, and social workers, police, and other health care professionals had already visited the child’s family 60 times over the previous eight months. His killer was his mother’s new husband, Steven Barker, who was sentenced to 12 years at HMP Wakefield. Many believe this sentence was too lenient, and the killer’s recent bid for parole only added outrage to injury.

The Aftermath

After the scandal arrested with Baby P’s death, five Haringey Council employees were terminated, including the children’s services director, who was later awarded a large settlement for her firing. The council spend the equivalent of $12M+ USD in confidentiality deals to cover their tracks. The only silver lining that has come from this child’s tragic death is the NSPCC’s Helpline has seen a 79 percent rise in calls due to the increased awareness on child abuse issues brought about by the case.

We are Kathleen Raskin and Robert Raskin, and our hearts go out to Baby P. We are relieved to see his killer is still behind bars, and we have to wonder how many more times the organizations that are meant to protect children are going to get away with failing kids and families before a system of checks and balances will finally be put in place.

When authorities told disabled US Marine Corps veteran William Johnson and his wife Jill to pick up their grandchild because they were in state company, they had no idea that was only the beginning of their nightmare. Instead of being thankful that loving, caring family members were willing to take the child, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services executed a warrantless search on the household and refused to give them the child. We are Robert Raskin and Kathey Raskin, and we have the utmost respect for our military veterans. We are very disturbed to learn that one of our best and brightest is being treated this way

An Unlawful Search

Despite the fact this search produced no weapons, the veteran disclosed that he had a concealed-carry license. The state demanded the vet register his guns with them or they could not have their grandchild. Mr. Johnson is a model citizen, and he is under no obligation to provide any information to this agency aside from a list of the firearms he owns. Instead, the state demanded the make, model, and serial number of each gun, and we can’t think of a single patriot who would give that information to any agency.

Your Child or Your Rights

Johnson has filed a lawsuit alleging that he was told that he would have to give up some of his constitutional rights if he wanted to be permitted to care for his own grandchild. As a veteran, the grandfather has gone above and beyond the call of duty to protect these rights, and we are appalled that there are any circumstances in which he would be asked to forego them. In his defense, he has cited the Second and Fourteenth Amendments, which protect his right to bear arms and state that he shall not be deprived of his liberty or his property without due process of the law.

The lawsuit is still in progress, but we, Robert Raskin and Kathey Raskin, with the Johnson family a speedy victory.

Good Samaritan James Fofanah was just 20 years old when he died while he was helping a stranded motorist. Rather than being laid to rest with the hero’s burial he deserves, Mr. Fofanah’s body is now trapped in legal limbo as his family fights for the right to bury him. We are Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin, and today we are here again to report yet another instance of child protective agencies grossly overstepping their boundaries. How does it serve this child or the adult he became to deny him a burial in his own cultural tradition?

Details of the Tragedy

Fofanah died around 3:00 a.m. on Interstate 635 in Garland on Friday July 21, 2017, after pulling over on the shoulder to help Mikayla Prince, also age 20. Prince had just been struck and had lost control of her vehicle while speeding, and then Ashlynn Hurley, age 23, killed him. Hurley is now facing a charge of intoxication manslaughter after striking Hurley’s car, which then crushed Fofanah. He lived without his family, he died without his family, and now there is also a question about whether or not he will be buried according to his family’s traditions.

Who is the Real Family?

When James’s caregivers were accused of mistreatment in 2011, the family was permanently stripped of their rights, making CPS his legal family. Although Fofonah had aged out of the system at 18, he was still receiving extended support services, and it is reported that he was adored by CPS workers and the community. Despite this, the deceased hero’s father, Foday Fofanah, hopes to have a burial that will honor the family’s Sierra Leonean culture. We, Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin, hope this former foster child’s body can be laid to rest soon and that his family has some kind of closure.

When 17-month-old Semaj Crosby was found dead under a sofa that had no legs and was flush to the living room floor, there were obviously many questions that needed to be answered. Where could those answers be found? Not in the reports made by DCFS during repeated visits to the child’s home, because many of those were not filed until after the toddler’s demise. We are Kathleen and Robert Raskin, and we are dismayed to report that once again another child has fallen victim to the huge cracks in this broken system.

On April 26, 2017, police searched for Semaj, and while they were conducting their search a DCFS investigator frantically typed reports about interviews that had been conducted as many as seven weeks earlier. According to the organization’s rules, “all investigative activities must be documented in a contact or case note within 48 hours,” which is a far cry from the seven-week timeframe in this case. Despite this, the delayed reports were approved by supervisors of the agency anyway. The toddler’s family had been investigated repeatedly, so clearly DCFS knew she was at risk, but they failed to take timely action just the same, and now it is too late.

Chief Resigns Over Scandal

In the wake of the report over the allegations of delays in the system contributing to the toddler’s death, DCFS director George Sheldon has resigned. We, Kathleen Raskin and Robert Raskin, believe his resignation is not nearly enough. According to the delayed reports, the Semaj was living in filth, the mother had previously denied that she was even her child, and one of the toddler’s siblings is a suicidal seven-year-old who was not being given his medications. The list of red flags goes on and on, and still no one from this organization stepped in to save this child. The public deserves more than Sheldon’s resignations—we need real changes to this system, with procedures in place that will hold them accountable for their actions.

Steffen Rivenburg Jr. is a baby who was born with serious health issues who has become much sicker since he was taken into the custody of child protective services. This child needs his family’s love and care more than ever, and instead he is being kept prisoner in a hospital, with only his foster mother and his case worker allowed to visit him for more than very short periods. Imagine having a critically ill baby and the state refusing to let you be by his side as he lay dying? This nightmare has become reality for one Tennessee family, and we, Kathleen Raskin and Robert Raskin, are heartbroken and outraged.

Baby Steffen was born with Down Syndrome and heart defects, however, the infant was not sick until after he was removed from the care of his parents and placed in DCS’s care. While in foster care the baby contracted a serious viral infection, and this did further damage to his already strained heart. Doctors at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital originally told the family the child would not need heart surgery until he was six months old. Instead, the seven-month-old has already undergone four heart surgeries and other procedures.

The problems for the Rivenburg family began when the couple missed three scheduled doctor appointments, one of which was a voluntary appointment for Down Syndrome. The other two appointments had to be rescheduled because the family had difficulty finding transportation. Rather than trying to help families in need to receive necessary transportation to their appointments, DCS has chosen instead to focus on removing children who needed a simple ride rather than placement in foster care, but this is typical of the abuses that are within these broken and corrupt systems.

There Is Still Hope

The critically ill infant is currently on life support, and the hospital obtained a court order to remove him despite the family’s strong objections, essentially handing down a death sentence to a helpless infant.  With their attorney’s help, the Rivenburg family was able to get the baby’s removal from life support delayed until June 6^th, and they are pushing for an extension while hoping the baby’s health will turn around. What would you do if you knew the exact date your baby would die and an agency wouldn’t let you be with him? We, Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin, are heartbroken for this family, and that is why we will continue to fight these injustices.