Tag Archives: Kathleen Raskin

Kansas Task Force Created to Protect Foster Kids

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The state of Kansas is finally taking steps to protect children in foster care from unscrupulous contractors. We are Kathey Raskin and Robert Raskin, and we are thrilled that this state is finally stepping up to the plate to regulate their own out-of-control services. Senate Bill 126 will require intensified scrutiny of these contractors, who are charged with caring for children who were not receiving the care they needed while they were in state custody. This is just one step of many that need to be taken, but it is a good start and it shows that these problems are being taken more seriously.

 

Bill 126

This bill would produce action plans by January of 2018 based on annual reports that are compiled by a specially appointed task force. This is designed to hold the Kansas DCF accountable for the implementation of new laws, which is much-needed in this state, which currently has record-setting high numbers of children who are in state custody. This situation was brought to light after a tragic recent case in which a child in Wyandotte County was murdered by his stepfather and fed to the child murderer’s hogs.

 

A Big Problem

There have been ongoing issues with the care of approximately 7,000 foster children in the state, and these have intensified in severity and frequency of occurrence over the years. Countless reports have been issued regarding the problems, but too often these end up filed away and sitting on a shelf. This task force will change that, because it will force the DCF to demonstrate that they are applying recent findings and strategies to their broken system and following recommendations that are designed to stop children from being further victimized.

 

Time for Action

The task force will have 18 voting members, and among them will be individuals who work directly with foster children. Non-voting members of the task force will represent Kansas DCF and contractors who provide both adoption services and foster care. Whether the bill is passed or it will really make a difference in the quality of children’s lives still remains to be seen. We are Robert Raskin and Kathey Raskin, and we are hoping these lawmakers will finally do what they should have been doing all along, and that is to protect children and families from this corrupt system.

Proposed Bill Would Require CPS to Tape Child Interviews

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One Michigan father blames not being able to play recorded testimony of his young daughters’ psychological examinations for a jury cost him his children, and he is taking steps to prevent future tragedies like this from occurring by fighting to pass a bill that will require electronic recordings of any interviews with young children in the future. This bill’s detractors claim videotaping may retraumatize children, but how is being permanently removed from a parent not also incredibly traumatizing? We are Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin, and we are concerned that children are being removed from their families not for safety reasons, but rather due to policies.

 

Cary Flagg’s Story

Mr. Flagg is a 35-year-old father of four daughters, all of whom were removed from his custody after it was alleged during his contentious divorce battle that he had sexually abused two of them. They were removed from the home based upon the testimony of a psychologist who was hired by the state, despite the fact that this deviated from the established protocol that is commonly adhered to in these cases. Although Cary Flagg was never formally charged with any crime, his parental rights were stripped, and this is why he is fighting for changes to the system by insisting that forensic interviews be video recorded.

 

HOUSE BILL 4298

House bill number 4298, if it passes, will require electronic recording of any interviews of children that are requested by department investigators or law enforcement officers that take place at accredited or accreditable child assessment centers. The person who is conducting the interview will be required by law to record it in its entirety, at no point shutting the recording device off. After this, the Department of Child Protective Services will be required to allow access to and to retain these recordings so they can be viewed later on in court or at any other time when documented proof is needed.

 

CPS and Divorce

The sad truth is, CPS is involved in divorce battles all too often, often for the sole reason that an embittered spouse is bent on revenge or obsessed with winning at all costs. Without videotaped evidence, we will never know what was really said during the forensic interviews of Cary Flagg’s daughters, because in court the details quickly devolved into a mess of he said-she said accusations. Although it is too late for Mr. Flagg to do anything about his situation, if this bill passes, it will prevent this from happening again in the future. We, Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin, only wish this bill had been passed sooner, but it’s never too late to right the future wrongs of these corrupt organizations.

300 Illegal Children’s Homes Shut Down by the Social Welfare Department

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We are Robert Raskin and Kathey Raskin, and we are committed to raising awareness of child protection issues not only here in this country, but also worldwide, because children everywhere deserve to be protected from government-sponsored corruption and abuse. In India, 300 of the 1,113 registered homes in Tamil Nadu are being shut down because they are not receiving sufficient funding under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme. This is over one-quarter of the homes that were available, leaving a huge number of children displaced by the system that is charged with their care.

 

What is the Integrated Child Protection Scheme

This proposal by the Indian Government’s Ministry of Women and Child Development was enacted to protect children while providing them with a safe environment in which they will be able to flourish and to develop. Many children in India are vulnerable to abuse and are thus at-risk through abandonment, exploitation, abuse, neglect, or separation from children. The scheme set out to institutionalize essential services, to create important databases, to strengthen protections at both the family and the government level, and to coordinate with institutions both governmental and private to ensure effective implementation.

 

How the Shutdowns Will Affect At-Risk Children

Prior to the recent shut-downs-the Tamil Nadu welfare department had already closed over 550 unregistered homes. The children who were rescued were sent to other homes that are registered, and many were returned to their parents, leaving their fates uncertain and potentially exposing them to the risk of further abuse. Many of the children who were in care did not have parents, or their parents cannot be located, which creates an extra level of difficulty where their next placements are concerned.

 

What Will Happen in the Future?

The commissioner of the welfare department wants to improve inspections and monitoring of these homes, including providing extra training for staff members. Educational and health facilities will also need extra supervision and monitoring to make sure the children are getting the tools they will need for improved future outcomes. Another task of the organization is to raise awareness of children’s rights, and she has suggested the government train organizations regarding these rights and legislation that will take place in 32 districts. Such an organized effort and a rapid response is admirable, and we, Robert Raskin and Kathey Raskin, wish our own government here at home would act this quickly to protect children here.

NC Gets Tough on Parental Reunification Laws

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We, Kathleen Raskin and Robert Raskin, are sad to report that yet another child has died due to corruption within the organizations that are meant to protect them. On Oct.25, 2015, a woman named Samantha Nacole Bryant lost custody of her toddler son, Rylan Ott, after she and her boyfriend were in a drunken fist-fight in her Carthage-area home. This fight involved both alcohol and guns, so the system stepped in to protect the boy, but unfortunately for Rylan, they did not do nearly enough to ensure his continuing safety. Both Rylan and his sister were placed in temporary custody, only to eventually be returned to a mother who remained unfit to parent.

 

Rylan’s Story

In Moore County in April of 2016, a child who drowned after he was returned to his mother’s custody. Rylan, who was just 23 months old when he died, was able to slip out from his house and wander a half-mile to this pond. He was reunited with his mother without any prior observation by child protection agencies, so there was no attempt to make sure she was fit to parent or that her parenting skills had improved since he was initially removed from her care. He had only been in her care for four months when tragedy struck.

 

The DSS Response

A caseworker claimed in her report that Rylan’s mother visited the child while he was in care three times a week, but his guardians say this is not true. Rylan’s Guardian Ad Litem, Pam Reed, and the boy’s kinship parents, Shane and Amanda Mills, had attempted to argue in court that Samantha Bryant was still an unfit mother, and they were proven correct too late. His mother is now being charged with child abuse and involuntary manslaughter, but the caseworker who was involved has not been penalized or charged with any wrongdoing. His case has undergone a second investigation, but the results of this are not public. The Moore County DSS director resigned as a result of this case.

 

Rylan’s Law

As a response to Rylan’s senseless death, Rylan’s Law was enacted. This bill requires social workers to document and observe two successful visits between children who are in state care and the parents they were removed from before they can be reunited. Until this law was passed, this was considered to be a “best practice,” for obvious reasons, but why it was not a requirement is less clear. This law is intended to close this loophole in an effort to strengthen this broken system, and it will help other children to be spared from Rylan’s fate in the future. We are Kathleen Raskin and Robert Raskin, and we won’t stop fighting to protect families and children until this corruption has been stopped.

Cracks in Canada’s Foster Care System

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They say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but that isn’t necessarily true when you are talking about the child protective system of our neighbors to the north—Canada. We are Robert Raskin and Kathey Raskin, and the sad fact is, the US isn’t the only country that needs to overhaul its child protection agencies. While most of Europe and Australia take a “family welfare” approach to child protection that is geared toward reuniting families, Canada instead focuses on the welfare of the child, so they are quick to remove children and put them into care.

 

One Baby’s Story

For one Canadian baby who was born with opiates in his system, Canada’s system resulted in the child being placed in a foster care home for two years as the court case experienced delay after delay. The parents had many chances to turn their lives around to regain custody, but their issues were too deeply entrenched, leaving the baby to become very securely attached to its foster parents as the case dragged on. The child already is at risk for learning disabilities and behavioral disorders thanks to his opiate addiction, and now, thanks to the system tying him up in legal limbo, he risks attachment disorders as well.

 

Lasting Effects

In Ontario, children under six years old are not permitted to be in foster care for more than twelve months, and there is a very good reason for this. When a child this young is put in foster care, they may not have any memories of their biological family, which means the foster parents effectively become the only parents they have ever known. When they are ripped away from their foster parents, the negative effects can be lasting, and these include both attachment disorders such as attachment anxiety, regression, and undermining the child’s sense of security and ability to form bonds with others.

 

How Common is This Issue?

In 2011, there were at least 30,000 children in foster care in Canada. The majority of these children will have court hearings at some point to determine whether or not they will be returned to their parents or be placed for adoption. In some jurisdictions, cases like these are resolved in a week’s time, while in others cases can average 20 weeks. There have been 132 cases in the system for more than two year. If you ask us, Robert Raskin and Kathey Raskin, this is far too long when you consider the risk to the child and how much is at stake when it comes to the child’s future relationships.

Custody Battle? What You Need to Know About DHR Abuse

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When a couple decides to divorce, one of the most underhanded tactics that is sometimes employed is getting child protective agencies involved. Of course if a child is actually being abused the authorities need to be notified, but all too often the truth is the parent has committed no crime, the child is not in any danger, and the parent is simply using the system as a weapon. We are Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin, and we want you to know that if your soon-to-be-ex has called DHR to try to get revenge on you or to gain control of the children, these are the facts you’ll need to know. If you are thinking about putting your child through this yourself, consider the fact that you may be the one who is not a fit parent.

 

The Immediate Danger to Your Child

Outside of the perils of an uncertain foster care system, there are other horrors that your child could experience once these agencies are involved in a contentious divorce. They will be cross-examined by investigators and asked to answer traumatic questions about the parents they love. This can border on a full-blown interrogation, and it is not an experience your child will soon forget. In most cases, a physical examination by a doctor, or even a gynecologist in the case of false accusations of sexual abuse, will also be a part of this process.

 

Consider the Potential Outcome for the Child

If the parent who must win at all costs uses CPS or DHR and is successful, that leaves children in a terrible position. Separating a child from a loving parent is wrong and will leave long-lasting damage that they may very well carry over into adulthood and into their own future relationships. In the present, they will suffer depression, anxiety, fear, and anger, and once they are put into foster care or a group home they will also risk abuse. Children who are lost in the system often do not have good outcomes when they transition into adulthood, so you could be setting them up for a life of misery.

 

How This Tactic Can Backfire

There are many cases when child protection agencies were involved that resulted in the children being permanently removed from the family and placed up for adoption. Sure, your ex could end up out of the children’s lives, and thus also out of your own. However, there are consequences to making false reports, and you may also end up out of your children’s lives for good. The court could very well determine that neither of you are fit to parent once they see that you or your former partner are willing to use and abuse a child in this way. This is Robert Raskin and Kathey Raskin, reminding you that these agencies should only be called if you are certain beyond any shadow of a doubt that they are in danger.

Los Angeles Social Workers Face Trial

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We are Kathleen Raskin and Robert Raskin, and we are dedicated to raising awareness of shortcomings and corruption in organizations that are responsible for protecting children. One case in Los Angeles has shocked us and many others to the core, and that is the tragic murder of little eight-year-old Gabriel Fernandez, who was savagely tortured to death by his mother and her boyfriend. When paramedics arrived at the scene, the boy’s mother claimed he had been roughhousing with siblings and had then fallen and struck his head, but the physical evidence painted a different picture—one of abject horror.

 

Red Flags Were Everywhere

Superior Court Judge Mary Lou Villar said, “red flags were everywhere,” because Gabriel’s injuries, his frequent absences from school, and the multiple calls his teacher made to child protective services made it clear that this child was in danger. The workers who stand accused of wrongdoing and their attorneys insist the case was closed before Gabriel was killed, but that is not much of a defense, as clearly there is no situation in which a case in which a child was being so viciously—and obviously—abused should have been closed in the first place.

 

The Charges

Four social workers who were responsible for protecting the child are now going to stand trial, and they are being charged with felony child abuse and falsifying documents. Gabriel’s mother and her boyfriend were indicted on murder charges in 2014, and they are currently awaiting trial, though the two have pleaded not guilty. Unlike the mother and boyfriend, however, there is a chance that the workers may not be punished for their complicity, as cases like these have been attempted before, but they typically are thrown out of court or there is a not guilty verdict.

 

Passing the Buck

Despite the fact that many officials failed this child, thus contributing to his death, no one seems willing to accept the blame. Social workers and sheriff’s deputies were all informed about Gabriel’s injuries on multiple occasions, and despite many visits to the home and investigations, no one stepped in to help this child, who had specifically asked his teacher if she could call workers on his behalf. She did, but no one came to the child’s rescue, and for that they need to be held responsible. We are Kathleen Raskin and Robert Raskin, and we are eager to see justice done.

Killer Caseworker to Be Released from Prison

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We are Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin, and as parents and grandparents ourselves, we know that every parent’s worst fear is that something will happen to their child. For one Maine mother, the pain of losing a child has increased exponentially because her daughter’s killer is being released from prison. Little five-year-old Logan Marr was suffocated by Sally Ann Schofield, who was a former child services state worker who was acting as the girl’s foster mother at the time of her death. Schofield is now being placed on probation, and one condition of this is she is not to be around children under the age of 16. Unfortunately for Logan’s family, this comes many years too late.

 

A Fatal Mistake

Unfortunately, Logan did not like her foster mother, and she reacted to this by throwing tantrums, which Schofield did her best to escalate. On the day of Logan’s death, which was January 31, 2001, the girl, who was five, resisted being put in a high chair that is meant for infants. Schofield reacted to this by putting the child in the basement and using approximately 40 feet of duct tape to bind the child to the chair and to bind her mouth shut. When she checked on the girl over an hour later, she was dead from suffocation. Before calling emergency services, she hid the tape and concocted a story about the child falling from the high chair, which the evidence at the scene did not support.

 

Schofield’s Sentence

At the trial, the jury recommended that Schofield be charged with murder, but the judge did not agree and convicted her of the lesser charge of manslaughter instead because he believed that the experienced caseworker, who should have known better, did not intend to kill the child. Schofield was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The lead prosecutor in the case was quoted as saying, “I haven’t seen one iota of acceptance or responsibility on the part of that woman.” Schofield was convicted and went to prison in 2002, and her release date is April 25th of this year, so in total the killer foster mom served just 15 years.

 

Schofield’s Release

In January of this year Logan’s mother, Christy Darling, was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. This same month she received a letter notifying her that Schofield will be released from prison in April. She says her daughter’s killer’s sentence was not nearly enough, and many agree. Darling is working to keep her daughter’s memory alive, and her death served as a catalyst for transforming the Maine foster care system. Since the girl was killed, the number of children who have been removed from their homes in the state has dropped by 30 percent, the number of foster children placed in group homes has dropped to just 10 percent, and the number of children in foster care has been cut in half. This is Robert Raskin and Kathleen Raskin, and we encourage you to check back with us so you can stay up-to-date on the latest DHR corruption news.

DCF Worker Charged with Falsifying Reports

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This month Vanessa Arias, 33, a former employee of the nonprofit Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services, which is a subcontractor of the Florida DCF, was arrested after an investigation determined that she documented a welfare check that never happened. According to DCF records, she was fired in January. We are Kathey Raskin and Robert Raskin, and we are committed to bringing these cases to light so families and other concerned citizens can be made aware of the shortcomings within the systems that are set up to protect children.

 

A Tragic Case of Neglect

There were five children living in the household in question, and one girl reported to the police that her mother had been staying in the house sporadically, leaving the children to fend for themselves when she was not there. The girl told the police that she had been caring for her younger siblings and getting them ready for school every day on schedule, but the children had been using a single wax candle as their only source of light or heat. Between 2005 and 2014, 140 people died from fires in the state of Florida alone, making this a very risky situation for children.

 

What Arias’s Report Said

At the time of her false report, the disgraced DCF worker reported that the children were free from any visible signs of abuse or neglect, and all of their basic needs were being met. Within a week the Kissimmee Police Department visited the home in response to yet another report of neglect. It was during this visit that they determined Arias had not only not visited the home at all, she had not returned more than a dozen calls from the children who were depending on her for help.

 

The Case Against Arias

After her arrest, Arias was booked into Osceola County Jail, and her bond was set at $2,000, which she has since posted. Her trial is still pending as of this report, but the Office of the State Attorney, 9th Circuit, has said that they will prosecute.  In response to the charge that the worker knowingly stated erroneous information, DCF released a statement that said, “The department has no tolerance for any individual compromising their integrity and, thereby, potentially jeopardizing the safety of a child.” In this case law enforcement was called in, but how often does this same thing happen when the case goes unreported? We are Robert Raskin and Kathey Raskin, and we, like many others, demand answers.

Beware the Forensic Interviewer

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If you are being investigated by DHR or another child protection agency, you’ll need to be aware of the forensic interview and what it can mean to your case. We are Robert Raskin and Kathey Raskin, and we are dedicated to raising awareness of this process so you can arm yourself with the knowledge you’ll need to protect your family as you navigate the system. Your child will be separated from you for this interview, so the time to get the info you need is before this happens and not after it’s too late.

 

What is Forensic Interviewing?

This interview is crucial, as it will yield the information these organizations need to get the criminal prosecution they are seeking. This will be the first step in your typical investigation, and it is used to determine whether or not a child has been subjected to abuse, neglect, or other harm. The results of this can be used as evidence in court. Although the interviewer is ethically bound to use non-leading techniques and to remain a neutral and non-objective party, if you are not present, you may not be able to ensure that this standard is upheld.

 

One Tragic Case

Forensic psychologist Stuart Greenberg offers a particularly disturbing look at how this system can go wrong. The doctor evaluated over 2,000 people during the course of his 25 years of testifying as an expert in court, and his findings resulted in the removal of many children from loving, caring parents whose only crime was being involved in a divorce or other case where the other party was willing to use the court and child protective systems for revenge. Greenberg’s damning testimony caused a huge amount of damage, and it was later revealed that he was in counseling himself because he was well-aware that he was not able to empathize with his clients.

 

Can the Damage be Repaired?

If you experience a bad evaluation, there is still hope. It took more than three years for the state of Washington’s court system to account for the damage this crooked psychologist caused, and it may never have come to light if it weren’t for one tenacious mother’s refusal to accept his findings. If you feel that you have been the victim of an unscrupulous investigator, document everything and refuse to stop demanding answers until your issues are addressed. There are plenty of people working in this system who have malicious intentions and are not afraid to lie to get the outcome they want. We are Robert and Kathleen Raskin, reminding you not to let them get away with it.