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Sat, 18 Jul 2009 05:25:22 -0700

Have you ever called a government agency for help only to be chuckled at and made fun of? Then chances are you have never had to contact the Cocke County Department of Children Services (DCS) located on Heritage Street in Newport, Tennessee.

Such was the case on Monday, July 6, when Ren�e Lynn, Editor-in-Chief of "The Knoxville Journal," needed to discuss a dire situation with Kim Ramsey, a case worker at the Cocke County DCS. Mrs. Lynn tried numerous times to reach Ms. Ramsey or anyone in the department to no avail.

Finally, Mrs. Lynn got in touch with Ms. Ramsey to converse about a very serious issue concerning information relevant to two foster children under their jurisdiction. Apparently the information was ignored.

When asked very pertinent questions about the care of these children, Ms. Ramsey began laughing over the phone along with other employees. They just kept on laughing. Ms. Ramsey made no effort to correct her rude behavior with an apology. Mrs. Lynn then informed Ms. Ramsey that this was not a laughing matter, but was a grave set of circumstances. Again Mrs. Lynn was met with snickering.

It just so happened that Mrs. Lynn's telephone was on speaker phone and at least one other person witnessed the outrageous behavior of Ms. Ramsey.

Mrs. Lynn commented, "It is a sad day when upstanding citizens are being subjected to such disrespect from government employees."

This is not the first complaint lodged against the Cocke County DCS. This reporter knows of at least one other incident in which the Cocke County office has overstepped their bounds.

Ms. Vicki Hodge, supervisor of the Cocke County DCS did return a call to Mrs. Lynn on Tuesday, July 7, but did not apologize for the offensive conduct of her employees.

If you have any information about the Cocke County DCS you would like to share, please call Myra Wheeler at The Knoxville Journal at (865) 546-5353.

http://www.theknoxvillejournal.com/inside/pages/news/Cocke-County-DCS.html

I am sure they would be interested in all the stories in TN, give it a shot.

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Wed, 04 Mar 2009 11:15:12 -0800

tampabay.com
The girl in the window

Lane DeGregory, Times Staff Writer

Published Thursday, July 31, 2008

Part One: The Feral Child

PLANT CITY -- The family had lived in the rundown rental house for almost three years when someone first saw a child's face in the window.

A little girl, pale, with dark eyes, lifted a dirty blanket above the broken glass and peered out, one neighbor remembered.

Everyone knew a woman lived in the house with her boyfriend and two adult sons. But they had never seen a child there, had never noticed anyone playing in the overgrown yard.

The girl looked young, 5 or 6, and thin. Too thin. Her cheeks seemed sunken; her eyes were lost.

The child stared into the square of sunlight, then slipped away.

Months went by. The face never reappeared.

Just before noon on July 13, 2005, a Plant City police car pulled up outside that shattered window. Two officers went into the house -- and one stumbled back out.

Clutching his stomach, the rookie retched in the weeds.

Plant City Detective Mark Holste had been on the force for 18 years when he and his young partner were sent to the house on Old Sydney Road to stand by during a child abuse investigation. Someone had finally called the police.

They found a car parked outside. The driver's door was open and a woman was slumped over in her seat, sobbing. She was an investigator for the Florida Department of Children and Families.

"Unbelievable," she told Holste. "The worst I've ever seen."

The police officers walked through the front door, into a cramped living room.

"I've been in rooms with bodies rotting there for a week and it never stunk that bad," Holste said later. "There's just no way to describe it. Urine and feces -- dog, cat and human excrement -- smeared on the walls, mashed into the carpet. Everything dank and rotting."

Tattered curtains, yellow with cigarette smoke, dangling from bent metal rods. Cardboard and old comforters stuffed into broken, grimy windows. Trash blanketing the stained couch, the sticky counters.

The floor, walls, even the ceiling seemed to sway beneath legions of scuttling roaches.

"It sounded like you were walking on eggshells. You couldn't take a step without crunching German cockroaches," the detective said. "They were in the lights, in the furniture. Even inside the freezer. The freezer!"

While Holste looked around, a stout woman in a faded housecoat demanded to know what was going on. Yes, she lived there. Yes, those were her two sons in the living room. Her daughter? Well, yes, she had a daughter . . .

The detective strode past her, down a narrow hall. He turned the handle on a door, which opened into a space the size of a walk-in closet. He squinted in the dark.

At his feet, something stirred.

* * *

First he saw the girl's eyes: dark and wide, unfocused, unblinking. She wasn't looking at him so much as through him.

She lay on a torn, moldy mattress on the floor. She was curled on her side, long legs tucked into her emaciated chest. Her ribs and collarbone jutted out; one skinny arm was slung over her face; her black hair was matted, crawling with lice. Insect bites, rashes and sores pocked her skin. Though she looked old enough to be in school, she was naked -- except for a swollen diaper.

"The pile of dirty diapers in that room must have been 4 feet high," the detective said. "The glass in the window had been broken, and that child was just lying there, surrounded by her own excrement and bugs."

When he bent to lift her, she yelped like a lamb. "It felt like I was picking up a baby," Holste said. "I put her over my shoulder, and that diaper started leaking down my leg."

The girl didn't struggle. Holste asked, What's your name, honey? The girl didn't seem to hear.

He searched for clothes to dress her, but found only balled-up laundry, flecked with feces. He looked for a toy, a doll, a stuffed animal. "But the only ones I found were covered in maggots and roaches."

Choking back rage, he approached the mother

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Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:04:38 -0800

Food, personal items are sought for distribution to local homeless

Published: Jan 23rd, 6:47 AM

The Somerset County Department of Human Services is seeking donations to
distribute to the homeless when the county conducts its annual
"Point-in-Time" survey of homeless individuals and families in Somerset
County on Wednesday, Jan. 28.

The deadline for donations, including food, drinks and personal items, is Friday, Jan. 23.

Volunteers
will be sent out in groups of two to conduct the survey. They will
distribute packages of donated items to homeless individuals.

Areas
of focus will be Bound Brook, Bridgewater Township, Franklin Township,
Manville, North Plainfield, Raritan, Somerville and South Bound Brook.

Donations
also will be given to individuals and families who visit Project
Homeless Connect, at S.H.I.P. (Samaritan Himeless Interim Program), 87
East High St. Project Homeless Connect provides information and
referral services to the homeless.

"The more we know about the
homeless within Somerset County and the state, the better we will be
able to serve them and move toward reducing and ultimately ending
homelessness," said Freeholder Deputy Director Rick Fontana, human
services liaison. "We greatly appreciate the time and effort of
volunteers who help us complete the `Point-in-Time' survey and
residents who generously donate items to be distributed."

Items Needed

Requested
food items include bottled water, juice boxes, and individually wrapped
snacks, such as granola bars, crackers, nuts and trail mix.

Personal
items include tooth brushes, toothpaste, travel-size soap and
deodorant. New gloves, hats, mittens, towels and blankets are being
accepted.

Donations may be dropped off at the Somerset County
Community Development Office, located on the second floor of the Human
Services Building at 27 Warren St., Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m., through Jan. 23. County Offices will be closed Monday, Jan.
19, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Survey

The
purpose of the survey is to count, describe and understand homeless
people who do not use shelters and are typically found on the streets,
in abandoned buildings or other places not meant for human habitation.

The
"Point-in-Time" survey is part of a statewide effort to obtain an
accurate snapshot of New Jersey's homeless population in response to a
directive from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD).

The baseline data will be used to analyze the causes of
homelessness and to design responses. Somerset County is required to
report the number of people who are homeless at particular intervals in
order to apply for HUD Continuum of Care funding. This funding is a
discretionary grant that provides housing and supportive services to
people with special needs.

For more information, contact Program
Specialist Tracey Rizk of the Somerset County Community Development
Office at (908) 541-5756 or rizk@co.somerset.nj.us.

http://www.recordernewspapers.com/articles/2009/01/29/echoes-sentinel/news/doc497915aec2529159417799.prt

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Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:26:45 -0800

Drunk worker kept Glenwood job

ww.desmoinesregister.com | Printer-friendly article page

December 28, 2008

Drunk worker kept Glenwood job

By CLARK KAUFFMAN
ckauffman@dmreg.com

A caregiver at a state-run home for the disabled showed up for work drunk, then fell asleep, but was allowed to keep her job by promising to stay out of bars and taverns for 18 months.

A few months later, the worker was fired after her name was placed on the state's registry of known child abusers.

The case highlights one of the contradictions in state and federal employment laws: Under Iowa law, abuse or neglect caused by a worker's alcoholism can lead to a ban on all future employment as a caregiver. But under the federal disability laws, that same worker's alcoholism can also provide a small measure of job protection.

For 18 years, Jeanette Mitchell of Malvern worked for the Iowa Department of Human Services as a residential treatment worker caring for the disabled residents of the Glenwood Resource Center in western Iowa.

Six months ago, she was disciplined for an incident that happened April 24. Glenwood's treatment program adviser, Kathy King, described the incident at a recent state hearing dealing with Mitchell's request for unemployment benefits.

King testified that Mitchell showed up for work shortly after midnight while under the influence of alcohol. A few hours later, Mitchell was found sleeping when she was supposed to be providing one-on-one supervision of a mentally retarded child. King said Mitchell was told to go home and rejected a supervisor's offer of a ride.

"She had alcohol in her vehicle at that time, and she was arrested for OWI before she left the town of Glenwood," King testified.

Mitchell was suspended, but was eventually reinstated to her job pursuant to a "return-to-work agreement" between the state and Mitchell's union. It stipulated that for the next 18 months Mitchell could not go into a bar or tavern. It also said Mitchell had to abstain from alcohol and undergo treatment for substance abuse.

In September, Glenwood officials began investigating a tip that Mitchell violated the agreement by going to a tavern. At the same time, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals ruled that the April 24 incident at Glenwood constituted child abuse.

Mitchell's name was placed on the state's registry of known abusers, which made her ineligible to work at Glenwood or any other Iowa care facility. At that point, she was fired.

Asked why the Department of Human Services agreed to let Mitchell return to work after the April 24 incident, department spokesman Roger Munns said the agency consulted with the state's personnel department and "concluded that state and federal disability laws" would likely have forced a return to work by Mitchell.

Alcoholism is considered a "disability" under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The act says workers can't be fired for being alcoholics, but they can be fired for failing to meet the performance standards their employer imposes on all workers. That's true even in cases where the failure to meet those standards is due to alcohol abuse.

Sylvia Piper of Iowa Protection and Advocacy, a federally chartered agency that oversees mental health services in Iowa, said she is surprised the state agreed to keep Mitchell on the job after the April 24 incident.

"While the union is protecting the employee, who is protecting the child under circumstances such as this?" she asked. "If an employee has a serious addiction issue and is using, during or close to employment hours, where are the safety factors for the residents under their care? Impaired judgment, combined with people who are depending upon their caregivers for their very lives, does not work."

Mitchell could not be reached for comment, but at her unemployment hearing, she testified she had stopped drinking a few hours before reporting to work on April 24.

"I had only had three drinks, and I felt that by midnight I would be, you know, legally safe to go to work," she said.

Mitchell admitted going to a bar after she signed the return-to-work agreement, but said she was there only to retrieve her 22-year-old son. She said she is appealing the state's finding that she is guilty of child abuse.

Mitchell's case is not the first time Glenwood's employment practices have raised questions.

Earlier this year, The Des Moines Register reported that the facility hired a former high school teacher who lost his teaching license for having sex with a student.

The home also employed two successive medical directors who never obtained Iowa licenses to practice medicine before they were fired. This fall, another Glenwood physician was fired because he, too, never obtained an Iowa license to practice medicine.

The Register also found that none of the home's nine psychologists w

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Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:34:54 -0700

How Does It Work:

1.

Register at http://www.adoptatheater.com to obtain an "organization code"
2.

Select your state from our location map for participating theaters
3.

Select (Adopt) a theater for your organization to go see the film on opening weekend
4.

Purchase your advance tickets using your "organization code"
5.

We will donate $1.00 to your organization for every advance ticket purchased

Help�

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Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:33:43 -0700

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday. The politically charged inquiry imperiled her reputation as a reformer on John McCain's Republican ticket.

Investigator Stephen Branchflower, in a report to a bipartisan panel that looked into the matter, found Palin in violation of a state ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain.

The inquiry looked into her dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan, who said he lost his job because he resisted pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce and custody battle with the governor's sister. Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute.

Monegan's firing was lawful, the report found, but Palin let the family grudge influence her decision-making _ even if it was not the sole reason Monegan was dismissed.

"I feel vindicated," Monegan said. "It sounds like they've validated my belief and opinions. And that tells me I'm not totally out in left field."

Branchflower said Palin violated a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Lawmakers don't have the authority to sanction her for such a violation, and they gave no indication they would take any action against her.

Under Alaska law, it is up to the state's Personnel Board _ which is conducting its own investigation into the matter _ to decide whether Palin violated state law and, if so, must refer it to the Senate president for disciplinary action. Violations also carry a possible fine of up to $5,000.

Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein disagreed with Branchflower's conclusions. "In order to violate the ethics law, there has to be some personal gain, usually financial. Mr. Branchflower has failed to identify any financial gain," he said.
Story continues below

Palin and McCain's supporters had hoped the inquiry's finding would be delayed until after the presidential election to spare her any embarrassment and to put aside an enduring distraction as she campaigns as McCain's running mate in an uphill contest against Democrat Barack Obama.

After a court fight to block the report failed, the panel of lawmakers voted to release it _ though not without dissension. The panel did not vote on whether to endorse its findings.

"I think there are some problems in this report," said Republican state Sen. Gary Stevens, a member of the panel. "I would encourage people to be very cautious, to look at this with a jaundiced eye."

The report was made public the same day an Anchorage judge issued a temporary restraining order forcing the state of Alaska to preserve any government-related e-mails that Palin and top aides sent from private accounts in what critics contend was an effort to conceal that they were doing political business while working at state government jobs.

The state paid Branchflower, a retired state prosecutor, $100,000 to prepare the nearly 300-page report. He interviewed or accepted affidavits from about two dozen people in the eight-week investigation.

"Legislative Council seriously overreached, making a tortured argument to find fault without basis in law or fact," McCain campaign spokesman Meg Stapleton said.

The Legislature could vote next year to censure Palin, but committee members appeared divided over the report and Democratic state Sen. Kim Elton, the committee's chairman, gave no indication that would happen.

Stapleton also dismissed the report as "a partisan-led inquiry run by Obama supporters." The inquiry has been dogged by such criticism since Democrat Hollis French, who oversaw the investigation, predicted an "October surprise" for the McCain campaign.

Elton rejected the accusation of partisanship.

"When we began investigating this, we had no idea that Sarah Palin would be a part of the national ticket," said Elton, an Obama supporter.

The report notes a few instances in which Palin pressed the case against trooper Mike Wooten, but it was her husband, Todd, who led the charge. Todd Palin had extraordinary access to the governor's office and her closest advisers and he used that access to try to get Wooten fired.

Gov. Palin knowingly "permitted Todd to use the governor's office and the resources of the governor's office, including access to state employees, to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired," Branchflower's report reads.

Wooten had been in hot water before Palin became governor over allegations that he illegally shot a moose, drank beer in a patrol car and used a Taser on his stepson. The Palins said they feared for their family's safety after Wooten made threats against them.

In proceedings revealed by the report, former Alaska State Trooper Col. Julia Grimes told investigators that Sarah Palin called her

http://BellasMom06.stumbleupon.com/review/25741035/

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:12:35 -0700

I mean really was there ever a question about this?

NEW YORK - Clay Aiken is finally confirming what many people already knew:

He's gay.

The cover of the latest People magazine shows Aiken holding his infant son, Parker Foster Aiken, with the headline: "Yes, I'm Gay." The cover also has the quote: "I cannot raise a child to lie or hide things."

The magazine has an interview with Aiken and confirmed that he was on the cover but refused to release the article to The Associated Press until Wednesday.

The baby's mother is Aiken's friend and record producer Jaymes Foster.

Aiken, who gained fame as the runner-up on "American Idol" in 2003, rarely addressed the frequent rumors about his sexuality. In an interview with The Associated Press two years ago, he said: "I don't really feel like I have anybody to answer to but myself and God and the people I love."

The multi platinum singer recently released the CD "On My Way Here" and made his Broadway debut this spring in "Monty Python's Spamalot."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080924/ap_on_en_mu/people_clay_aiken;_ylt=AmuOHE5aHfYGjuLgFuKlpQms0NUE

http://BellasMom06.stumbleupon.com/review/25311716/

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:46:51 -0700

We have court Monday, Ive had this petition out now for about 6 months. It really hurts me when I see petitions for animals with 25,000 plus signatures, and Im struggling to save my child, and only have close to 1500. Not saying I don't love animals and all that shit, but this is a child, 4 years old, this is not a custody issue, this is a safety and abuse issue, did you read my page those are court documents, not my opinions. How can ppl not take 2 minutes to sign a petition,? I dont get it. I am asking for all of you to help me, I need you and 2 of your friends to sign this, I need this filled TODAY. It is very effective, we are supposed to stand together, to be unified and strong, please help me take a stand. To those who have signed, thank you very much.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/5/in-support-of-lisa-and-bella-smith-2

Hugs to all,

Bellas Mom STILL

http://BellasMom06.stumbleupon.com/review/25135295/

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:48:57 -0700

Protest Rally at ACS Headquarters

ACS
NYC Administration for Children's Services

Steals Children for Profit!

ACS' foster care system is a modern day slave trade that steals and sells our children. From multi-national pharmaceutical companies and major medical centers for drug experiments to juvenile detention centers for free labor. ACS and its Family Court staff are paid in full for every child they steal from our families.

FIGHT BACK!
Protest Rally at ACS Headquarters

Monday, Sept. 22, 2008 at 12 Noon
NYC Administration for Children's Services
150 William Street, Downtown NYC

Trains 2, 3 to Fulton Street; 4, 5 to Fulton Street; R, W to City Hall; A, C to Broadway-Nassau)

Rally Against the Biggest Child Abuser in NYC

Foster Care = Slavery

Let Our Children Go!

Organized by Parents in Action and the Committee to Save Amber James

http://www.parentsinaction.net

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Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:59:55 -0700

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRnhSnVR8s4