It is because the elected officials come and go but the administrations remain the same.
Steve Yager and the entire administration of the last 10 years need to go. They all need to pray I do not get elected. These are the same administrators who paid these people to slowly murder this little boy. Only one person was held accountable who immediately died when the state investgative findings report was published.
Michigan OCO Ricky Holland Investigative Report
This is a text book case of poverty being considered as abuse and neglect. That was it. This is also a classic case of fraud.
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| Michigan Childrens Institute Superintendent Bill Johnson |
Why, you may ask, because there was fraudulent billing to Medicaid.
Ricky Holland's Mother Fighting For Custody of Infant Son
LANSING -- Casey Caswell, the biological mother of Ricky Holland, told News 10 in 2006 that her son should have been in her custody.
LANSING -- Casey Caswell, the biological mother of Ricky Holland, told News 10 in 2006 that her son should have been in her custody.
"It's just wrong for them to put my kids in a home to where one of them ends up dead," she said at the time.
Ricky, just 7 years old, was murdered in 2005 by his adoptive parents. Caswell's rights had been terminated by the state.
Now, her lawyer, William Campbell, says she is fighting for parental rights over her 3-month-old son.
"Casey and her husband Matt at this point in time are awaiting adjudication on a petition to terminate their parental rights," Campbell told News 10 on Thursday.
Campbell says Caswell, who has lost custody of five children in the last several years, is fighting the issue in court. He admits she and her husband are homeless, but argues that -- with some help from the Department of Human Services -- they could provide for the child.
"They are doting parents to this baby, and they want to do the right thing," Campbell said.
Caswell, 19 years old at the time, turned Ricky into the state when he was 3 years old. A judge subsequently revoked her rights to him.
He went missing in July of 2005, touching off a national media storm and massive community search effort for the boy.
We later learned Ricky was killed by his adoptive parents, Tim and Lisa Holland. Mr. Holland is serving a 30-60-year prison term. Mrs. Holland is behind bars for life.
Campbell argues Caswell had no say over where Ricky was placed, and says she now has no trust in the state's foster care system.
DHS officials wouldn't talk specifically about Caswell's case, but argue a woman who's had her parental rights revoked has to prove she's fit to raise a new child.
"We cannot ignore severe situations that led to a prior termination when we look at the new instance," said Steve Yager, director of Children's Services at DHS.
He also points out the agency has made several changes to the system since Ricky's case, noting they've lowered caseloads for each CPS worker and established more comprehensive reviews of foster homes.
This July, they'll begin conducting random visits of foster homes, including random visits of children in those homes to make sure they're getting the services they need.
Caswell appears before a judge at the end of July.
Stay with News 10 and WILX.com for updates on this story.
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CPS accepts anonymous complaints, illegally violates parent's and children's civil and constitutional rights. They also assume the parent and child are lying during the illegally held interviews. They also claim that the material gathered from these interviews can be turned over to law enforcement to pursue criminal charges against the parent, but claim they do not have to read Miranda Rights to the parents.
ReplyDeleteI am concerned that CPS feels justified in trumping federal laws during investigations. Parents and children are told that if they refuse to conduct the interview that CPS can take custody to force the interview. CPS also assumes that the parents and children are lying, so they can take "emergency" custody without a court order or evidence to prove the accusations are true!
CPS and the courts do not consider the emotional trauma inflicted on the parents and children when taking children away from the parents; children's emotional well being especially! Mandatory reporters can hide behind the mandatory standing and can make falsified accusations and know they are protected from prosecution. Even if the complaints turn out to be untrue, CPS has no desire to investigate as to why the accusation was made.
CPS even uses previous unsubstantiated complaints as evidence of neglect, even if the investigators believe the complaints to have zero merit. CPS also allows an investigator to sit alone with a child even if the investigator is a middle aged male and the child is a teenage girl. This violates federal sexual harassment laws, but is allowed under state law. This also allows CPS to make claim of statements by the child even if the child never made them, or allows CPS to withhold any statements the child does make from their report.
"The phenomenon of children dying in state care is one that deserves special scrutiny. We know that there are many more deaths than made the newspapers. The total number of children who die annually while under state care is unknown. While multiple agencies track their numbers, no central tracking agency exists and tracking methods differ between agencies. That's one of the issues should be addressed." Justice Maura Corrigan (This is the same Maura Corrigan that is now mismanaging the Michigan DHS!!)
From the Michigan DHS website:
• In 2008, DHS and private agencies completed 2,638 adoptions and received $875,000 in federal funds for the accomplishment. In 2009, DHS and private agencies completed 3,030 adoptions - more than ever before - and were awarded a $3.5 million federal adoption incentive award for the accomplishment.
• In 2008, there were 6,315 foster children residing with unlicensed relatives. (CPS receives no Title IV-E money if a child is placed with a relative) The agreement required Michigan to move the children to licensed settings or relative homes approved for a waiver. As of October 2010, the state is in 99 percent compliance.
DHS receives $4,000- $6,000 per child per month placed in foster care from Social Security Title IV-E, but no $ if they do not find abuse & neglect, or if they leave the child at home or place the child with a relative. This encourages CPS to find evidence where none exists. Michigan puts almost 20,000 children per year into foster care; but only return 50.1% to the parents. The rest are left in foster care to age out at 18 or can now stay in till 21. CPS gets a huge monetary bonus for every child that is adopted out of foster care, provided the adopting family is not related!