We are Robert and Kathleen Raskin, and today we’d like to discuss a system that is helping to prevent young adults who have aged out of the foster care system from falling through the cracks. In the state of Kentucky, foster children who have reached the age of 18, which is the age of majority, have the option of recommitting to the state until they reach the age of 21. Approximately $3M per year is spent on services for foster kids between the ages of 18 and 21, and this includes many benefits like the waiving of college fees, free housing, life-skills training, one-on-one counseling, and grocery stipends. Despite this innovative program, the vast majority of foster children who age out of the system choose to go it on their own.

Family or Freedom
Why don’t more of these at-risk young adults accept the help that is offered to them? When you consider what many children go through in the foster care system, it’s not surprising that these kids are choosing to leave it despite the possibility of extended benefits. In one interview a foster mother in the state said, “You can put everything on a golden platter and hand it to them, but if it’s not family or freedom, they won’t take it.”

These individuals are seeking families and the freedom to finally not be controlled by the system, and it is clear that improvements to the system need to be made if they want to make any headway with the former foster children of the state. We hope you join us, Robert and Kathleen Raskin, in our quest to hold child protection organizations accountable. Once these issues are addressed, perhaps more of these Kansas kids will be willing to accept help.

The family of murdered child Adrian Jones has filed a lawsuit against the State of Kansas and the State of Missouri alleging that authorities knew the boy was being abused by his father and stepmother, but they did nothing to help him. We, Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin of Las Vegas, are deeply saddened that it is too late to help this child, but we are hopeful that the rise in suits filed against state child protection agencies is a step in the right direction as far as holding these agencies responsible for their criminal failings against families and children.

The Case Against the State

Adrian Jones was murdered in 2015. His father then fed his body to the pigs, an act so shocking and horrifying that it made national headlines. Adrian’s biological mother, his maternal grandmother, and his oldest sister have each filed lawsuits in both states. According to the lawsuit, the agency had a long and carefully documented record of numerous injuries against the child, including kicking and punching. Despite this, the boy remained in the home until his father and his stepmother beat and starved him to death. Unbelievably, at one point the agency had the child killers sign an agreement in which they stipulated they would no longer beat the child, which they took at face value. This proved to be a fatal mistake.

We, Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin, hope justice is served for this poor child and his grieving family. Nothing can bring little Adrian back, but a victory in court may help to prevent tragedies like this from happening to other families in the future.

Hello, this is Kathleen and Robert Raskin, and today we’re bringing you a bit of disappointing news. The Indianapolis Supreme Court is once again refusing to get involved or to set any limits on the power of their Department of Child Services. In 2015 the ACLU of Indiana sued the department on behalf of a case manager, and instead of stepping in to do what was right for children, the courts instead chose to continue to take a hands-off approach.

Children at Risk

Family case manager Mary Price claimed that she was just one of many case workers whose workloads were so heavy that children were being put at risk. As we all know, many of these cases aren’t cases at all and are instead merely abuses of the system. The case workers are being spread too thin because there is no watchdog group in place to prevent them from taking every report to the extreme, and the result is that children who are actually in danger are being harmed, while children who were never really in danger are being placed in harm’s way.

The Verdict

This past Monday, the court ruled that this isn’t an issue they can resolve, but if they can’t step in, who will? We are Kathleen and Robert Raskin, and we demand justice for children and families. The system needs a complete overhaul, but corrupt officials refuse to take even the smallest step in the right direction. With too many children to oversee, the danger to the kids who need protection the most is increased exponentially, and this is a risk that is morally unacceptable. It’s time to demand change.

This is Robert and Kathleen Raskin of Las Vegas, and once again we are angered and saddened to report that another child has been ripped from a loving family only to suffer permanent injuries in foster care, thanks to the agency that was supposed to protect her. When a neighbor heard three-year-old Devani’s parents fighting, they called the authorities. Devani was not present at the time, and despite the fact no abuse of the child was observed, proven, or even alleged, Arizona’s DCS removed her from her parents’ care and placed her into not one, but two, horrific situations, one of which will leave the girl badly scarred for life.

A Foster Care Nightmare

After the girl was taken for no reason, she was placed in a home in which she immediately began showing signs of abuse, which included everything from bite marks to the frequent UTIs that are hallmarks of sexual abuse. Devani’s parents reported this abuse to police and social workers, but they were ignored, and the girl’s mother was accused of disrupting the foster care system. It was eventually revealed that the foster father, David Frodsham, had been using the girl and other foster children in his child pedophilia ring. He is now serving a sentence of 17 years, but that is not anything compared to the sentence Devani is serving since her next foster parent—Samantha Osteraas—submerged the child in a scalding bath, resulting in the loss of all ten of her toes, organ failure, and burns over 80% of her body. Mrs. Osteraas is facing felony charges, but this is yet another case of too little, too late.

How are these monsters continually approved as foster parents, and when are these agencies going to learn that foster care is a risky option for many children? We, Robert and Kathleen Raskin, demand answers, so please join us in demanding change.

We are Kathleen and Robert Raskin, and today we’d like to bring to light the tragic case of a baby who was killed by his own grandfather after being placed in his care took a unique turn when several of the deceased child’s family members filed a lawsuit. One-year-old Kody Smart’s parents, his paternal grandmother and her husband, and his maternal grandmother are seeking compensation of $150K each for the loss of guidance, care, and companionship that led to the child’s death. The toddler’s killer, Brian Matthews, had been convicted of abusing Kody’s father when he was an infant, but caseworkers from CAS decided to put the baby in his care anyway despite his past. It was a fatal mistake, and now Matthews is on trial for manslaughter.

How Could This Happen?

Despite repeated warnings, Family and Children’s Services placed the baby, who was then 11 months old, into Matthew’s care. Having been abused by him in the past, Kody’s father knew his grandfather was a danger to children. The agencies own files contained documentation that future killer was using drugs and was verbally abusive to a female partner in 1998. Allegations of abuse against children surfaced twice more between 2007 and 2012, and yet the agency handed the boy over to his grandfather anyway. Despite further evidence the boy was not well-cared for, he remained in his grandfather’s care until he died from head injuries.

We, Kathleen and Robert Raskin, demand to know how this could have ever been allowed to happen. The sad truth is, until watchdog organizations are put in place, these tragedies will continue to take place.

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.