Marion, Lake and Scott Counties in Indiana have lawsuits filed against them on behalf of foster kids, and it’s about time. We are Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin of Las Vegas, and we are advocates for families that have been harmed by corruption in the CPS, DHR, foster care, and court systems. Stories of families and children fighting back and demanding justice when they have been wronged by these systems warm our hearts, because we understand how helpless most families feel when they are caught in the system.

Foster children are at the mercy of the court and the organizations that are charged with protecting them, but what happens when their rights aren’t protected? For most of us, when our rights are violated and harm is done to us, we call an attorney. Foster kids in Indiana need an attorney in these instances just the same as any of the rest of us would. Even felons who have committed violent crimes are appointed attorneys, so why not this vulnerable group of minors?

There are an astounding 17,000 children in foster care in Indiana. According to one 2018 report, the state has one of the highest rates of child abuse and neglect cases in the country, with children ending up in the system at over double the national average. That’s 17,000 kids whose constitutional rights to due process and equal protection under the law were violated. Parents in these cases are appointed legal counsel, so why aren’t the kids?

It’s time to start making these corrupt organizations pay and holding them accountable for their failures, and that’s exactly what these lawsuits have set out to do. Providing these children with legal representation is not just for their benefit – it’s for everyone’s benefit. Currently children who are not receiving counsel are being placed into group homes more often than they would otherwise. This costs the state more, and it costs the children, too, because outcomes for kids in group homes are worse than for those who are in foster homes.

The kids who aren’t getting a say in any of the details of their own lives are the ones who need it most, and finally the State of Indiana has a chance to give it to them. Let’s hope the courts do the right thing. After all, it’s in the Constitution.

Indiana is no stranger to scandals in their CPS system.

There is a shortage of qualified foster parents in Indiana.

If running away from your foster home isn’t a crime, why is the State of Washington jailing kids for it? That’s what we, Robert and Kathleen Raskin of Las Vegas, would like to know.

Unlike other runaways, when foster kids run away they are often simply trying to return to their normal lives. It is not uncommon for friends and family members to agree to harbor them until they age out of the system. Wherever these kids end up, there can be consequences for them, those who harbor them, and for the lawmakers and caseworkers who consistently fail them.

Inside many group home facilities there is simply no semblance of normal life, leaving these kids without access to the things they were used to being able to do, like watching TV when they wanted, hanging out with friends, or even simply being able to go outdoors. One foster child said she ran away because she knew wasting away in a group home was going to prevent her from ever meeting an adoptive family. There’s got to be a better alternative than that.

What these kids are running from:

• Abusive foster parents
• Loneliness and the loss of their support systems
• A system that may penalize them or their loved ones

What these kids are running to:

• The communities and connections they came from
• Their schools and educational opportunities
• “street parents” and communities of their own choosing
• Sex traffickers
• Predatory older “boyfriends”

Many foster kids are exposed to deplorable conditions while they are at the most vulnerable point of their lives and already suffering. Children report everything from being kept in shackles to being forced to sleep on bloodstained mattresses while in group homes. Many of the foster youth who run away have done so multiple times. In one study only one in eight children had run away a single time. Half had run away over ten times.

When children leave state care and refuse to return, it’s difficult to predict what the consequences may be. If you are a foster child who has run away, remember that you have rights. Call a lawyer and find out exactly what those rights are. You can contact that Foster Care Alumni Association at (703) 299-6767 for help with your situation.

For the rest of us, it’s time to contact your legislators to demand improvements that will help these kids.

Learn more about why children choose to run away from foster care.

Just one of many reasons we need to find real solutions to this problem, and fast!

Child Abuse Pediatrics is a fairly new subspecialty, and it’s one that’s already generated more than its share of controversy. Ostensibly, the mission of Child Abuse Pediatricians is to protect children and society from the long-term damage caused by child abuse. However, faulty training and overzealous practitioners have led to many cases in which innocent parents have been falsely accused of abuse.

According to the study “Exploring the controversy in child abuse pediatrics and false accusations of abuse” published in the journal Legal Medicine in 2016, Child Abuse Pediatrics is controversial for the following reasons:

• Practitioners are relying on the unproven hypothesis SDH & RH = abuse to determine when a case of child abuse has taken place.
• Child Abuse Pediatricians have been shown to reject both old and new science that doesn’t fall in line with their beliefs.
• The methods used by Child Abuse Pediatricians have been increasingly challenged after numerous doubts have been raised regarding their validity.
• There is a demonstrated lack of effort to eliminate false accusations of abuse.

When so many questions and doubts are being raised about the methods these pediatricians are using to determine when abuse has taken place, why are these doctors being allowed to tear families apart at will? That’s what we, Robert and Kathleen Raskin of Las Vegas, would like to know. Won’t you join us in our quest to hold the people who are working to destroy families accountable?

The Parker Family

A recent case has thrust the Child Abuse Practitioner controversy back into the spotlight. Last April, CPS workers removed Allie and Jimmy Parker’s two children, Isabella and Dylan, after a Child Abuse Pediatrician falsely accused them of abusing their infant son. The Parkers originally brought the newborn to the doctor over concerns about a mark on his abdomen, never dreaming they’d be accused of causing an injury to their child.

The Parkers were not permitted to get a second opinion because the doctor who accused them, Bethany Mohr from C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan, was a so-called expert. If that is the case, why not allow them to consult a second expert? Ironically, the Parkers chose this particular hospital because they were led to believe their child would receive the highest standard of care there. Instead, what this family received was nothing short of a nightmare.

The false accusation not only devastated the family emotionally and placed their children directly in harm’s way—it also devastated the Parkers financially when they were forced to hire attorneys and bring in outside expert witnesses. Ultimately, the family did not have their parental rights terminated after outside experts demonstrated that the infant had a severe vitamin D deficiency that caused him to have brittle bones. This family was lucky, but not all families who have been falsely accused by these practitioners can say the same.

While Dr. Mohr has not agreed to an interview, retired University of Michigan Pathologist Dr. Douglas Smith was willing to comment on the case.

“I’m seeing a great number of families that are being torn apart because they’ve been falsely accused of child abuse,” Dr. Smith said. “There are simple explanations or medical conditions that explain the injuries to the child…I think Dr. Mohr misleads families.”

Before you agree to be interviewed by a Child Abuse Pediatrician, educate yourself about your rights. Anything you say to these doctors can and will be held against you in a court of law, whether you have committed a crime or not.

Are parents being wrongly accused?

Wrongly accused Detroit family has charges dismissed.

It’s been two years since a much-needed audit of New Hampshire’s Division for Children, Youth, and Families determined a complete overhaul of the system was desperately needed, so why are there still so many problems? That’s what we, Rob and Kathleen Raskin of Las Vegas, would like to know.

A nine-month review has determined issues such as staff shortages, lack of resources, and inefficient policies are at the root of the problem. Children in the state are being placed in a vulnerable position because this lack of efficiency is leaving them in the system much longer than they should be. There have been increases in funding to add more staff, but it’s simply not enough. This, of course, is due in large part to chronic mismanagement.

Another issue is the increase in children who are being removed from their families. Are more children being abused in New Hampshire now than they were before, or is the increase in placements related to incompetence and corruption? When children and families are at stake, there is no excuse for not making sure there is adequate staff and resources in place. Mistakes in these cases destroy, and sometimes end, lives.

The commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services, Jeffrey Meyers, had this to say of the situation: “While we do not agree with every aspect of the report, we recognize that it is largely informed by the lived experiences of individuals who have experienced different aspects of the system and that those experiences are important.”

Meyers is missing the point, which is that it’s necessary for a third-party to handle the report. These agencies simply cannot be trusted to self-audit, and what the man charged with overseeing the corrupt agency thinks about the validity of the report’s findings is irrelevant.

What is being done for NH foster children?

• The OCA was created to act as a watchdog for the troubled child services agency
• Legislators are being pushed to write RSA 169-C, which is meant to ensure the best interests of the child are always put first.
• Demands are being made to implement better integration of therapeutic services
• Funding is being requested to hire more nurses to oversee cases in which substance abuse problems are involved.
• Demands are being made to reunify more children and their parents.

The children and families of New Hampshire deserve better, and we are here to do our part to make sure that happens. Won’t you join us in our cause?

Former New Hampshire DCYF Worker Shines a Spotlight on Corruption

Attorney Calls for DCYF Reforms

According to a new report, although improvements have been made, reforms in Oklahoma’s DHS system have failed to adequately protect children. Despite the report’s findings, the state is defending their failure to address several critical issues. We, Rob and Kathleen Raskin of Las Vegas, Nevada, want to know why. If you are also invested in putting an end to corruption and abuse in child protection agencies, please join us in demanding answers.

Unlike many other states, Oklahoma’s DHS is subject to regular reviews, so there is a system of checks and balances in place. Unfortunately, these checks are the result of a lawsuit, so they are mandated and were not something the state decided to undertake because it was necessary. Their hand was forced, and now it appears they are doing the bare minimum they can get away with. The report said the agency failed to make “good faith efforts,” but that is putting it mildly.

Foster children in Oklahoma have not been removed from foster homes that were proven to be unsafe, sometimes putting them at the mercy of sexual predators, drug addicts, and monsters who assault and batter. Rather than reducing worker caseloads, as was their original goal, they have managed to increase them.

Only four of nine areas targeted for improvements actually saw them. In the other five areas, efforts were woefully inept. One area that doesn’t seem to have been addressed at all is how the state agency plans to deal with special needs children who are in the system.

Sheree Powell, the Director of Communications for Oklahoma Department of Human Services, said, “We’re very encouraged and excited about the progress and we’re looking forward to the next commentary that we think will be even better.” We say we’ll wait and see what happens in the future, because actions speak louder than words.

Learn more about why Oklahoma leads the nation in abuse by foster parents.

Oklahoma’s failings have had tragic consequences.

Why isn’t the State of Arizona using the money they are being given for foster care to improve the lives of foster children? That’s what we, Robert and Kathleen Raskin of Las Vegas, would like to know. Arizona receives $56 million in no-strings aid from the feds, but they did not accept the funds because they haven’t come up with a plan of how they’ll use it.

Thanks to an agreement with early childhood organization First Things first, the state is provided with millions in federal money that is supposed to go toward foster children. The state contributes an additional $7 million that is allocated to cover the child care expenses incurred by foster families and family members who are caring for children while they are in the custody of the child protection organization. The stipend, however, is ridiculously low. So where is the money?

The support these families need is very much deserved, but their needs are woefully unmet, with wait lists up to eight months long and thousands of families left in the lurch. Studies have shown that affordable child care is one of the keys to keeping children out of the system in the first place. In a system that rewards caseworkers for placements, is it ethical to refuse to provide funds to these families, thus increasing the likelihood of placements?

What will happen to families with dependent foster and at-risk children who can’t afford child care? They will be left with few options, and these include leaving children home unattended, quitting work and relying even more on government support, and an increasing number of foster parents choosing to leave the system entirely. At a time like this, when good foster parents are needed, this would also be detrimental to children’s health and safety.

We the People DEMAND the State of Arizona do the following on behalf of its children:

• Ensure foster parents and other providers have adequate access to child care
• Raise the amount you pay child care providers – this hasn’t been done in 19 years!
• Provide funding for child care provider training

Get it together, Arizona. Your state has over $56 million provided for these purposes. The fact that you are leaving families and children in crisis while you sit on these funds is unconscionable!

Learn more about how Arizona DFC kidnaps kids LEGALLY.

The State of Arizona has been sued before, and they can be sued again.

When will the children of Arizona be protected?