CALIFORNIA DEPENDENCY COURTS NEED TO BE OPEN LEGISLATORS TOLD

Nearly 60,000 California children are supervised by a county dependency court. But who's supervising those courts? Children's advocates and officials say accountability and transparency would be improved in cases involving child abuse, neglect and foster care placements.

Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles), who introduced the bill, said that based on the comments at the hearing, he would probably introduce a bill proposing a pilot program for open court proceedings.

"Ultimately, I believe it's in the best interest of children to have a court where the public can see both strengths and deficiencies in the system," Feuer said after the hearing. He cited Minnesota's move to open dependency courts, where, he said, no additional harm to children or their families was shown.

Edwards said the presumption that dependency court proceedings are secret leads to a closed atmosphere that does a disservice to the court and the families involved.

------------------------------------------ COMMENTS -----------------------------------------------------
In our present state, children are being taken from loving parents at will. In one horrendous case, two teen-age children were given to Commissioners Alan Friedenthal and Steff Padilla to adopt. There is huge controversie surrounding Commissioner Friedenthal's decisions in Family Court. It is awfully suspect that he was able to adopt children against the parent's wishes.

If dependancy court records were open, we may find out if certain lawyers such as Kenneth Sherman garnered favor in family law by assisting Friedenthal and Padilla in the aquisition of the two children.
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As for Los Angeles DCFS caseworkers, the allegations are “100 percent true.”

“I’ve witnessed DI-CSW Christina Lin (Torrance office) lie and withhold exculpatory evidence. I've seen her supervisor Minda Light cover up for her. I’ve witnessed Debra Ramirez manipulate people. It’s absolutely true that they are untrustworthy,” former DCFS employee Pendolphi said. “They intimidate and threaten parents. I’ve witnessed that first hand and I quit because I could not be the part of the corrupt system that destroys families.”

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This bill should be passed, it will solve much of the incompetence and dysfunction in the DCFS and court system. By allowing transparency in the children’s court system, due process and the rights of families can be restored without risking the lives of children. As it stands now, DCFS/Children’s court can take your children at their discretion without any accountability.

They do not follow any constitutional guidelines when investigating or handling cases and their agenda can be imposed on anyone, innocent or guilty of any crime. This amounts to cruel and unusual punishment in some cases, for accused parents and especially for the children that wind up being abused/further abused while in the system.

It makes DCFS and children's court accountable for their decisions and for their cases. What we have now is not working, we have empowered sometimes untrained immoral civilians with enforcement/investigation of criminal statutes and have given them powers that they are not equipped for and are not accountable for. If they are not held accountable, then the children’s court system, referees and judges cannot be held accountable either and it’s one giant corrupt and screwed up system.

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“Opening dependency courtsmay yield the biggest bang-for-the-buck of any child protection measure. Any solution to our current child safety crisis lies in expanding, not curtailing civil rights.

“In other words, those worthy of scrutiny could no longer hide behind confidentiality; and those who suffer false accusations silently could defend themselves with the public record.

SEN. NANCY SCHAEFER EXPOSES EVIL CPS

US Senator Nancy Schaefer was murdered several years after coming out against CPS, describing them as "Protected Empire Built on Taking Children and Separating Families"...Great, MUST SEE Video!

FEDERAL APPELS COURT FINDS DCFS TACTIC UNCONSTITUTIONAL

City: Sacramento, CA

As families gather for the holidays, a recent ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals offers hope to hundreds of thousands of parents haunted by the nightmare of unproven child abuse allegations.

For years, attorneys with Pacific Justice Institute have warned parents that, once CPS decides to investigate them for child abuse - sometimes based on anonymous tips from neighbors or vindictive ex-spouses - their names can end up on California's Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). Parents are listed on the CACI even when CPS eventually deems the charges "inconclusive" and closes its files. The CACI listing shows up on background checks for years to come and prevents parents from obtaining jobs or state licenses.

In Humphries v. County of Los Angeles, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sharply criticized the ease with which people are listed on the CACI and the obstacles which prevent their names from being removed. The court was also troubled by a study indicating that as many as half of the more than 800,000 individuals listed on the CACI "may have a legitimate basis for expungement." Calling the list "the reverse of the presumption of innocence in our criminal justice system," the court ordered the state to enact greater procedural safeguards.

PJI President Brad Dacus commented, "It is gratifying that the Ninth Circuit has acknowledged what we have been saying for years-that treating parents as criminals when they are never convicted of a crime is unjust. We call on the legislature to finally fix this broken system in a way that honors basic constitutional rights."

Karen Milam, who directs PJI's Southern California office, stated, "Every year, PJI is inundated with hundreds of calls from desperate parents who do not understand how they could be labeled as child abusers based solely on unproven suspicions. This ruling is an important step toward keeping CPS honest."

L.A. COUNTY DCFS OFICIAL FALSIFIED DEATH REPORTYS, TWO STAFFERS CLAIM!!!

The senior managers say they faced a hostile work environment after reporting the alleged wrongdoing to the department's director. County supervisors act to remove child-death investigator.

By Garrett Therolf, LATimes, September 9, 2010  

  

Los Angeles County's child welfare system, already under fire for failing to report dozens of child deaths tied to abuse or neglect, is facing allegations that an official intentionally falsified fatality reports.

   The existence of the civil allegations, filed in June by two senior managers and revealed this week after a public records request by The Times, comes to light as the Board of Supervisors acted to remove the county's independent child-death investigator, according to three sources familiar with the decision.

The existence of the civil allegations, filed in June by two senior managers and revealed this week after a public records request by The Times, comes to light as the Board of Supervisors acted to remove the county's independent child-death investigator, according to three sources familiar with the decision.   It was unclear who would replace Rosemarie Belda, who was appointed last year to the position after it had been vacant since 2006. The job, which reports directly to the supervisors, involves the politically sensitive task of reviewing child fatality cases in search of ways the county's case management errors might have contributed to the deaths.   

 The claim that some child fatality reports had been intentionally misleading was made by Cassandra Turner, a Department of Children and Family Services senior manager who said her superior "purposefully falsified at least three child fatality reports."   "These falsifications, which occurred in spite of my fervent protest, are clearly contrary to department policy," Turner wrote in a civil claim that seeks unspecified damages.    

Turner served as an administrator in the department's child fatality section at the time of the alleged falsifications. Her claim does not contain specifics about those cases. She also says in the claim that she reported the wrongdoing directly to department Director Trish Ploehn in April 2008.   

After her meeting with Ploehn, Turner said, the department failed to properly investigate the allegations and retaliated by assigning her to less-desirable duties. 
She listed Darlene McDade-White, the department's chief internal affairs investigator, as a witness to the alleged wrongdoing. McDade filed a claim jointly with Turner saying she too faced a hostile work environment and, like Turner, was subject to racial discrimination because the two women are African American.   Melvin Neal, Turner's and McDade-White's attorney, declined to offer further detail. If the county denies their claim, the two women will be free to pursue a lawsuit in court.  Asked about the allegations Wednesday, Ploehn issued a written statement: "These are serious claims and they are being taken seriously.  These claims are under investigation by the department, and our policy is not to comment on ongoing investigations." 

    
The allegations about falsifications were made more than two months before last week's revelations that the department had failed to comply with state disclosure laws. Those findings were contained in a report by Michael Gennaco, chief attorney for the county's Office of Independent Review, who found that in many cases department officials referenced deaths from abuse or neglect in confidential court filings but then left those cases off the child-death lists for public release.     

The lack of disclosure hid dozens of cases from public view, giving the false impression that far fewer children were dying of maltreatment under the department's watch. County officials have yet to establish a complete tally of improperly undisclosed records.     

The move to end the tenure of Belda, who had recommended at least 25 reform measures for Children and Family Services and the Department of Mental Health in her role as child-death investigator, was made behind closed doors at Tuesday's board meeting, according to the sources familiar with the situation.     

The previous child-death investigator was quietly dismissed in 2006 after investigating just two cases.      On Wednesday, all five supervisors — Michael D. Antonovich, Don Knabe, Gloria Molina, Mark Ridley-Thomas and Zev Yaroslavsky — refused to comment on Belda or the future of the position. A source familiar with the discussion said Yaroslavsky was the only person to speak in defense of Belda.     

garrett.therolf@latimes.com

DEPENDANCY - WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILDREN ARE REMOVED BY DCFS?

One of the most traumatizing things that can happen to parents and children is to have their children removed by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Unfortunately, DCFS conducts interviews of parents and children without a right to counsel first. Thus, they often discover information that they can use to justify taking the children, information they would not have gotten if in the parent(s) had the right to speak with an attorney first, or have an attorney present when they were interviewed.

So what can you do? You can refuse to be interviewed or you can ask to have an attorney present when you are interviewed, either of which may not prevent DCFS from detaining the children. However, it will give them less information to plead as to why your children should be detained from you. You may also assert your 5th Amendment right to not reveal information that may incriminate you. Understand, statements you make to social workers are discoverable by District Attorneys and should your case involve criminal charges, everything you tell a social worker can be used against you in a criminal proceeding.

What you should do is immediately contact an attorney qualified to practice in Dependency Court and seek counsel as to your rights and legal options.

ADVISEMENT: The preceding is for informational purposes only and should not be construed or interpreted as legal advice.

LA DCFS SEXUAL PREDATOR ARRESTED FOR ASSAULTING A MOTHER

December 02, 2010 Los Angeles County DCFS
Social Worker Arrested for Sexual AssaultLos Angeles: A Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) social worker was arrested today on felony sexual battery charges stemming from allegations he had sexually assaulted a woman during a home visit in Woodland Hills on September 17, 2010.

The 30-year-old victim claimed the suspect, 53-year-old Yadullah "Eddie" Lorghaba, forced her to submit to unwanted sexual advances after threatening to remove her children from her home.

After the assault, the suspect told her he would not be removing her children that day; however, he would be returning the following week for another follow-up visit.

The victim immediately reported the assault to DCFS and law enforcement. DCFS supervisors immediately removed Lorghaba from the field and placed him on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. The district attorney's office filed charges after forensic analysis of crime scene evidence, DNA, confirmed the victim's allegations

Lorghaba has been employed with DCFS for 13 years. LAPD Detectives are trying to determine whether this is an isolated incident and are requesting any other person who may have been victimized by Lorghaba to come forward.

Lorghaba was released on $75,000 bail. His next court date is January 5, 2010, at Van Nuys Court to set a date for the preliminary hearing.

Anyone with information regarding this matter is asked to call Topanga Area Detective Stewart at 818-756-3375. After-hours or on weekends, calls may be directed to a 24-hour, toll-free number at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (527-3247). Callers may also text "CRIMES" with a cell phone or log on to www.lapdonline.org and click on "Web Tips." When using a cell phone, all messages should begin with "LAPD." Tipsters may remain anonymous.

DCFS + DEPENDANCY COURT = NIGHTMARE!

The more you know the worse it is, at least in dealing with DCFS. Each day he meets with his clients attorney Howell says, he listen to horror stories about how their family has been torn apart by the intervention of DCFS.

It is thus ironic that the intent of the legislature regarding Welfare and Institutions Code Section 300 is that..."[n]othing in that code section should be used to disrupt the family unnecessarily or intrude inappropriately into family life, prohibit the method of parental discipline, or prescribe a particular method of parenting."

The facts are, at least in Los Angeles County that DCFS most often acts in a way that violates the legislative intent. In my own practice I have had to defend many parents who were dealing with aberrant teen age behavior (usually the result of mental illness) or the normal tensions brought on by raising children in a poor economy (translate that as poverty).

Discipline is also a big issue, as the dependency courts continually find that spanking a child is jurisdictional and remove the child from the parent. Finally, the most egregious intervention into family life is when DCFS is not in agreement with a parent’s method of raising their children.

These allegations are the most insidious, because they usually add other allegations to hide their true intent. However, the most tragic and far reaching allegation used to destroy a family is an accusation that there is sexually inappropriate behavior, usually by the father. When this happens DCFS immediately begins to drive a wedge in the family, insisting the mother seek a restraining order, commences a divorce and never allow the father around the children again.

These families usually never recover from this intervention. What furthers the tragedy is that the father is still being labeled a sex offender, yet has none of the protections that would have been afforded him if he were charged criminally (in most my cases there is no criminal charge).

Adding to this tragedy is that the victim (especially if it is a teenage girl) often recants, admitting it was a false allegation used to gain power in a family where she did not like the rules being imposed on her. In several of my cases I have tried to have the matter reheard, without success.

Thus, I must participate in an event that results in the destruction of a nuclear family unit. Statistics indicate that the national average for returning children to their families is 80%, but the average in Los Angeles is closer to 30%.

Thus, if your children are placed into the custody of DCFS, it is twice likely in Los Angeles County than for the rest of the country that they will never return home.

Finally, attorney Howell said, he attended a conference for attorneys who represent parents in which one of the speakers, a well respected child psychologist with more than 20 years of dealing with DCFS, noted that in her experience, children removed from the home (even the home of the abuser) are more likely to suffer severe emotional trauma than if they had been left in the home with their abuser. Welcome to the real nightmare.

PLOEHN REMOVED AS HEAD OF L.A. COUNTY DCFS

Antonia Jimenez, who wrote a critical report of the troubled department, is expected to be named interim chief.
Antonia Jimenez, who wrote a critical report of the troubled department, is expected to be named interim chief.

December 14, 2010|By Garrett Therolf, Times Staff WriterTrish Ploehn, the embattled director of Los Angeles County's Department of Children and Family Services, was removed Monday and is expected to be replaced for now by a top county official who wrote a recent report which found the agency to be in "crisis."

Antonia Jimenez, a top aide to county Chief Executive William T Fujioka, called for focused attention on reducing a backlog of child abuse investigations in the report, which was released last month. She also found numerous management deficiencies in the department, saying that the agency needed to improve its system for employee discipline and simplify directions given to workers.

UPDATE: Trish Ploehn, the recently departed director of Los Angeles County's Department of Children and Family Services, has been appointed assistant county executive.

In her new position assisting county Chief Executive William T Fujioka, she will be responsible for education initiatives at the county and will retain her current $260,000 salary indefinitely....

CRIMINAL COURT vs. DEPENDENCY COURT TRIAL

You would have more rights in criminal court than you do in dependency. Some examples:

1.If you are charged in a criminal case and you request a lawyer you are immediately provided with one.
a) In dependency the Social Workers interview parents without any right to an attorney and if you request one, they will remove your children (if they haven’t done that already).

1.Once charges are filed in a criminal case you know what you are facing and if they can’t prove the charge as it is written, then you are acquitted.
a) In dependency, if they don’t prove the allegation as written, the judge can ‘…conform it to the proof’ offered at trial and rewrite the allegation.

1.At a criminal trial, hearsay is for the most part not going to be admitted as evidence.
a) In dependency there is an exception in Welfare and Institutions Code that allows for almost all hearsay to be admitted, at least that generated by DCFS.

1.In criminal court the prosecution must turn over all evidence in a timely fashion.
a) In dependency, you can be presented with evidence on the day of trial and you have to deal with it, even if you object.

1.In criminal court the prosecution must notify you of all witnesses being called, and do so well in advance of the trial.
a) In dependency, you can be presented with the County’s witness list on the day of trial and you have to deal with it, even if you object.

1.In a criminal trial you have the right to a trial by jury of your peers.
a) In dependency you only get the judge or commissioner or referee.

1.In criminal court there is the prosecution and the defense.
a) In dependency there is County Counsel (prosecution), minor’ counsel, and counsel for the other parent. You can find yourself in trial with ALL of them against you.

1.Finally, the burden of proof in a criminal matter is beyond a reasonable doubt.
a) In dependency the burden of proof is a preponderance of the evidence, or ‘more likely than not.’ Not really much of a burden for the County Counsel.

The lesson here is be prepared for the fact that the system is HEAVILY weighted against a parent in dependency court. Although you may be appointed an attorney by the court, consider whether or not that attorney will provide you with the best representation possible, because you’re going to need it!