NATIONWIDE CLASS-ACTION LAW SUITS BEGIN!!!
[AS WELL AS, OTHER LAWSUITS AGAINST THE CURRENT CHILD "WELFARE" SYSTEM]
[Lawsuit #1 - NEVADA]
National Center for Youth Law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tracy Schroth, NCYL
August 30, 2006
National Center for Youth Law Files Lawsuit in Nevada to Improve Child Welfare System, Las Vegas
The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) filed a class action lawsuit today against Nevada Gov. Kenneth C. Guinn, state Health and Human Services Director Michael Willden, and Clark County officials for failing to protect the health and safety of children in Clark County’s child welfare system. The suit charges the defendants with causing serious harm to many children in the system, and calls for sweeping, system-wide reform. The county is responsible for the welfare of more than 3,600 children.
“Virtually every aspect of the county’s child protective services and foster care system is failing the children and youth it is charged with protecting,” according to plaintiffs’ complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas by NCYL and the law firm of Wolfenzon Schulman, co-counsel in the case.
During the past several years, the county’s failures have resulted in harm to an untold number of children:
#1: A recent state report indicates that since 2002, at least 79 children have died of abuse or neglect at the hands of their parents, foster parents, or other caregivers while under the watch of Clark County Department of Family Services (DFS). These victims include children who were left at home or in a foster placement after a substantiated report of abuse.
#2: A series of federal, state, and county reports have documented the county’s failure to protect child abuse victims and children in foster care. This documentation includes a letter from federal officials to state DHHS Director Michael Willden stating that “the manner in which the continuum of child welfare services is managed in Clark County should be a grave concern to the State.”
#3: For years, the county child welfare system has continuously avoided scrutiny by hiding “behind a veil of confidentiality meant to protect children and families, but which the county has used to shield itself from oversight and criticism,” according to plaintiffs’ complaint. For example, the county continues to violate federal law requiring public disclosure of findings and information about child abuse victims who have died or suffered near fatalities. Nevada and its counties receive millions of dollars in federal funds to provide child welfare services and are, therefore, required to comply with federal mandates. According to the complaint, Nevada spent more than $79 million on child welfare services in 2004, of which $44 million was federal money. The lawsuit identifies the following systemic problems with the Clark County child welfare system:
a) Severe overcrowding and unsafe conditions at Child Haven – an unlicensed child care facility. The facility houses infants and young children with older children with serious behavioral problems, posing a danger to the younger children; has children sleeping on floors and in gymnasiums, and fails to meet the mental health and other medical needs of children
b) High caseloads and inadequate child protective services caseworker training
c) Inadequate investigations of child abuse reports, resulting in children being left in dangerous situations
d) Insufficient foster parent recruitment efforts, inappropriate placements, lack of foster parent training or preparation, and little or no support or monitoring of foster parents.
e) Lack of responsiveness to complaints of children being abused or neglected in foster placements. At the same time, the county retaliates against foster parents who advocate for services or disagree with the agency’s plan for the child.
f) Lack of representation for children in dependency court proceedings
g) Failure to provide appropriate educational services
“The suffering of these children has gone on long enough. For years, state and county officials have known of the serious deficiencies in the system and the resulting harm to children, and yet the situation keeps getting worse” said Bill Grimm of the National Center for Youth Law and lead counsel on the case. “The lives of thousands of children are literally hanging in the balance.”
The National Center for Youth Law, based in Oakland, CA, is a national non-profit law center that advocates for poor children. Wolfenzon Schulman is a private law firm with offices in Las Vegas, Reno, San Diego, and Phoenix.
# # #
For more information about the National Center for Youth Law, please visit their website at www.youthlaw.org
The information above was taken from a Press Release from the NCYL. If you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle that lost a child due to the unconstitutional acts of Child Protective Services, and you would like to join and/or support others also affected by CPS, PLEASE visit www.squidoo.com/abolishcps/ (scroll down to Get Involved!!!). Thank you in advance for your participation!
[Lawsuit #2 - California]
Robert R. Powell
PRESS RELEASE
November 27th, 2006
The Law Offices Of Robert R. Powell will be holding a press conference at 6:30 p.m. on November 27th, 2006, at the Clarion Hotel, located at 1355 North Fourth Street, in San Jose, California regarding the death of Jaime Ceballos while in foster care with Monterey County on November 27th, 2005.
The Law Offices Of Robert R. Powell will be filing a complaint in the U.S. District Court of Northern California (San Jose) on the 27th of November, seeking damages for the wrongful death of Jaime on behalf of Megan Allen, Jaime's mother. The complaint also alleges the unlawful removal of Jaime and his three siblings from Ms. Allen by Monterey County Child Protection Services social workers.
At two years of age, Jaime and his siblings were removed from their mother after Ms. Allen contacted the police to make a report about allegations by daughter that she had been molested in some manner by a family relative. There were no allegations of abuse by mother of any kind.
After the children's removal by Monterey CPS, they were placed in a foster home, where Jaime was later found deceased in a hallway of the home on November 27th, 2005. At the time of his death, Jaime had multiple bruises all over his body, a depression of his skull from some unknown blunt force trauma, and had suffered a series of blows to his abdominal area, with one or more blows delivered with enough force to tear his colon and rupture other internal organs. He died a slow agonizing death, without receiving any medical treatment. Amazingly, the Monterey County Sheriff concluded the death was "accidental."
Jamie's sister had been removed from the home not long prior to Jaime's death for alleged abuse against her by the foster parents which was deemed "substantiated," and CPS had received numerous complaints of abuse of the children, not only from the mother, to whom the children reported abuse during visitations and revealed visible marks of their injuries to visitation supervisors, but also from third party witnesses, including neighbors of the foster family.
In addition, Jaime and his siblings were placed in a foster home that was carrying more than the allowable number of children under state law, and was not properly licensed and/or qualified for providing services to "special needs" children, a description Monterey CPS executives have claimed fit Jaime at the time of his death.
When Jaime was found in the hallway of the foster family's home early on the morning of November 27th, 2005, no attempts were made to resuscitate the child.
To contact the office handling this case, please send your letters to:
Robert R. Powell
925 West Hedding Street
San Jose, CA 95126
[Lawsuit #1 - NEVADA]
National Center for Youth Law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tracy Schroth, NCYL
August 30, 2006
National Center for Youth Law Files Lawsuit in Nevada to Improve Child Welfare System, Las Vegas
The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) filed a class action lawsuit today against Nevada Gov. Kenneth C. Guinn, state Health and Human Services Director Michael Willden, and Clark County officials for failing to protect the health and safety of children in Clark County’s child welfare system. The suit charges the defendants with causing serious harm to many children in the system, and calls for sweeping, system-wide reform. The county is responsible for the welfare of more than 3,600 children.
“Virtually every aspect of the county’s child protective services and foster care system is failing the children and youth it is charged with protecting,” according to plaintiffs’ complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas by NCYL and the law firm of Wolfenzon Schulman, co-counsel in the case.
During the past several years, the county’s failures have resulted in harm to an untold number of children:
#1: A recent state report indicates that since 2002, at least 79 children have died of abuse or neglect at the hands of their parents, foster parents, or other caregivers while under the watch of Clark County Department of Family Services (DFS). These victims include children who were left at home or in a foster placement after a substantiated report of abuse.
#2: A series of federal, state, and county reports have documented the county’s failure to protect child abuse victims and children in foster care. This documentation includes a letter from federal officials to state DHHS Director Michael Willden stating that “the manner in which the continuum of child welfare services is managed in Clark County should be a grave concern to the State.”
#3: For years, the county child welfare system has continuously avoided scrutiny by hiding “behind a veil of confidentiality meant to protect children and families, but which the county has used to shield itself from oversight and criticism,” according to plaintiffs’ complaint. For example, the county continues to violate federal law requiring public disclosure of findings and information about child abuse victims who have died or suffered near fatalities. Nevada and its counties receive millions of dollars in federal funds to provide child welfare services and are, therefore, required to comply with federal mandates. According to the complaint, Nevada spent more than $79 million on child welfare services in 2004, of which $44 million was federal money. The lawsuit identifies the following systemic problems with the Clark County child welfare system:
a) Severe overcrowding and unsafe conditions at Child Haven – an unlicensed child care facility. The facility houses infants and young children with older children with serious behavioral problems, posing a danger to the younger children; has children sleeping on floors and in gymnasiums, and fails to meet the mental health and other medical needs of children
b) High caseloads and inadequate child protective services caseworker training
c) Inadequate investigations of child abuse reports, resulting in children being left in dangerous situations
d) Insufficient foster parent recruitment efforts, inappropriate placements, lack of foster parent training or preparation, and little or no support or monitoring of foster parents.
e) Lack of responsiveness to complaints of children being abused or neglected in foster placements. At the same time, the county retaliates against foster parents who advocate for services or disagree with the agency’s plan for the child.
f) Lack of representation for children in dependency court proceedings
g) Failure to provide appropriate educational services
“The suffering of these children has gone on long enough. For years, state and county officials have known of the serious deficiencies in the system and the resulting harm to children, and yet the situation keeps getting worse” said Bill Grimm of the National Center for Youth Law and lead counsel on the case. “The lives of thousands of children are literally hanging in the balance.”
The National Center for Youth Law, based in Oakland, CA, is a national non-profit law center that advocates for poor children. Wolfenzon Schulman is a private law firm with offices in Las Vegas, Reno, San Diego, and Phoenix.
# # #
For more information about the National Center for Youth Law, please visit their website at www.youthlaw.org
The information above was taken from a Press Release from the NCYL. If you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle that lost a child due to the unconstitutional acts of Child Protective Services, and you would like to join and/or support others also affected by CPS, PLEASE visit www.squidoo.com/abolishcps/ (scroll down to Get Involved!!!). Thank you in advance for your participation!
[Lawsuit #2 - California]
Robert R. Powell
PRESS RELEASE
November 27th, 2006
The Law Offices Of Robert R. Powell will be holding a press conference at 6:30 p.m. on November 27th, 2006, at the Clarion Hotel, located at 1355 North Fourth Street, in San Jose, California regarding the death of Jaime Ceballos while in foster care with Monterey County on November 27th, 2005.
The Law Offices Of Robert R. Powell will be filing a complaint in the U.S. District Court of Northern California (San Jose) on the 27th of November, seeking damages for the wrongful death of Jaime on behalf of Megan Allen, Jaime's mother. The complaint also alleges the unlawful removal of Jaime and his three siblings from Ms. Allen by Monterey County Child Protection Services social workers.
At two years of age, Jaime and his siblings were removed from their mother after Ms. Allen contacted the police to make a report about allegations by daughter that she had been molested in some manner by a family relative. There were no allegations of abuse by mother of any kind.
After the children's removal by Monterey CPS, they were placed in a foster home, where Jaime was later found deceased in a hallway of the home on November 27th, 2005. At the time of his death, Jaime had multiple bruises all over his body, a depression of his skull from some unknown blunt force trauma, and had suffered a series of blows to his abdominal area, with one or more blows delivered with enough force to tear his colon and rupture other internal organs. He died a slow agonizing death, without receiving any medical treatment. Amazingly, the Monterey County Sheriff concluded the death was "accidental."
Jamie's sister had been removed from the home not long prior to Jaime's death for alleged abuse against her by the foster parents which was deemed "substantiated," and CPS had received numerous complaints of abuse of the children, not only from the mother, to whom the children reported abuse during visitations and revealed visible marks of their injuries to visitation supervisors, but also from third party witnesses, including neighbors of the foster family.
In addition, Jaime and his siblings were placed in a foster home that was carrying more than the allowable number of children under state law, and was not properly licensed and/or qualified for providing services to "special needs" children, a description Monterey CPS executives have claimed fit Jaime at the time of his death.
When Jaime was found in the hallway of the foster family's home early on the morning of November 27th, 2005, no attempts were made to resuscitate the child.
To contact the office handling this case, please send your letters to:
Robert R. Powell
925 West Hedding Street
San Jose, CA 95126
posted by DCFSvictim | 2:49 PM
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