There is good news for Hoosiers.  Governor Daniels has less than a year to go as Governor.  Already, there are petition drives to overturn his time zone change.  Why anyone with any common sense would think Indiana needs to be on New York time is beyond us.  The latest black eye, the forced closing of Lee Alan Bryant, shows Daniels’ true nature.  For all the details see: http://www.indystar.com/article/20120101/LOCAL/201010339/State-s-clearing-homes-mentally-ill-disaster-vulnerable-residents?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|IndyStar.com 

 This is one of many reasons why Hoosiers will be glad to see him go.  But there is good news on the Horizon.

  From the website of Indiana State Representative B Patrick Bauer:  “We need to reverse the trend that has seen the numbers of child abuse and neglect cases rise by nearly 25 percent the past five years,” Bauer said.  “House Democrats will seek more reasonable case ratios for Department of Child Service (DCS) caseworkers, demand that this administration put more teeth behind oversight of child services, and conduct the first State of Our Children study in nearly 15 years to find long–term answers to these problems.

 We also believe it should be easier for victims of child abuse to apply for victim’s assistance sooner rather than later.  “While we’re at it, perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the state Department of Health to live up to its statutory responsibility by regularly reporting on women’s health programs,” he said.”  

See it at  http://www.in.gov/legislative/house_democrats/bauer_news_20111121.html  

 While Representative Bauer is on the right path, what Indiana really needs is more accountability of caseworkers.  Let us not forget Christian Choate Dead at age 13.  He spent much of the last year of his life in a three foot dog cage before being buried in a shallow grave.  All of this happened after 12 visits from Indiana DCS.  By the way, there is a gag order in place on this case.

  After accountability, more open court rooms are needed.  DCS doesn’t like a lot of people speaking against them.   Many Judges don’t want Honkforkids in their court room because we asked some very tough questions.  Representative Bauer, Hoosiers are hoping you do better than Daniels with DCS.  The Governor avoids any question of dead children at the hands of DCS.  We are hoping for more from the Democrats. 

Scott Ogden, DCS supervisor of Ripley and Decatur County, is one of Mitch’s 800 new caseworkers.
He tried to force a mother into “friendship” in order to see her children, plus gave her three Hydrocodone pills.  He then told State Police “he had no intention of letting her see her children.”
The whole story is here:

http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/east central/lewd-photo-drugs-land-dcs-worker-in-hot-water

But he is not alone.  Let’s not forget 12-year-old Devin Parsons, who died at the hands of her mother, just days after DCS closed the books on the case, or Christian Choate who at age 13, spent his last few months of life in a three foot case and two years in a swallow grave.
Yet, another blunder by DCS.

But there are gag orders issued, so the public will never know the full extent of DCS incompetence.
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If we as parents abused our children, then we SHOULD face the full fury of the law, but caseworkers are allowed to resign or move to a different district and never pay the price for their neglect.

Its time to end the 2 billion plus monster know as DCS.

When the wannabe politicians want your vote, asked them for the courage to reform DCS.

Continue reading “Child Fatalities”

In 2003, Lisa Machado was C.E.O. for Resolute, a residential facility for boys. This company was sold to Youth and family Centered Services in May of that year. As far as we know the program is the same.

Resolute, a for profit corporation, was and probably still is a very abusive environment. Boys were drilled continuously throughout the day about their sexual fantasies. They were required to fill out every morning sexual fantasy questionaires. Polygraphs were given in the name of therapy but in reality they were used to further convict and to lengthen sentences. It was nearly impossible to pass the lie detector. Boys were told they passed, some with “flying colors” only to learn in court they had failed. These young boys were humiliated and beaten down with slurs and threats of worse things to come if they didn’t “cooperate” or ”get on board with the program”. Physical abuse is common in residential programs. Many of the staff in these types of facilites clock in for their shift expecting a crisis in which physical restraint would be needed. Sadly, some even look forward to bullying kids in this manner. Injuries are almost always the end result and trust or any possiblity of rebuilding these boys’ broken spirits are lost. 

Resolute favors big profit margins over restoring the lives of children. Once a laundry mat, Resolutes’ building is nothing more than dark halls of horror filled with torture, degradation and isolation. Their unlicensed therapists spew words of unworthiness leaving the boys to feel unloved and all alone.

Parents are threatened with loss of visitation if they don’t go along with the program. They are lied to about their child’s behavior, past or present. Challenging the therapist or the program is a sure fire way to get reported to probation as being non-compliant or interferring with treatment.

Lisa machado was unlicensed in 2003, lacked any real credentials or education to practice therapy but she did with the approval of the State of Indiana. She is a real piece of work. Our politicians know her well. She presented herself in the right circles where favors were payment for loyalty. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, another slice of the pie and another bed filled at Resolute at taxpayer expense (per diem $300).

Lisa didn’t care about the kids under her authority, she just enjoyed the benefits of her enormous salary and fancy suv. It is shame we have to wait for people like her to get what is coming but judgment day will be around soon enough. God will have His say and we will all have to answer for our crimes and misdeeds. For now, the worthless, bias medical review panel we have in Indiana let another one get away with breaking the law. Their reason, many people in the mental health field are operating without a license. I guess it is the new norm so that makes it alright.

Matthew Rissman, a prisoner of the State, committed no crimes, yet he sits and waits for his sentence to end. What was his sentence? No one really knows not even Matthew. It would appear that Matthew will have to spend every day of the rest of his life in a place worse than prison. That particular location is unknown to nearly everyone.

The last known placement for Matt was Golden Living Centers (North Willow) but when his Guardian ad litem was asked where Matthew was transferred to, she did not know. Why would Attorney Susan Katt care anyhow afterall, she once said she would never want a loved one of hers in a place like that.

What kind of place is Golden living????

It is a kind of hell. A place where spring never seems to come. The smell of human waste is accompanied with disenfranchised spirits. Faces of gloom and worry. It is a place of nowhere. Night and day, hour after hour it is the same reoccurring nightmare of hopelessness, emptiness and lonliness. Matthew had a small room with bare dirty walls, a bed with stained sheets and a broken t.v. His only personal belongings, clothes, lay in a pile on the floor beside an old dresser. Matthews’ brief rays of sunshine came from weekly visits from his mother and grandfather while they stood outside Matthew’s window and waved from the parking lot. 

No wonder Att. Susan Katt didn’t want her loved one in a place like Golden Living center.

Matthew Rissman was taken from his mother in Jan 96 and placed in Charter hospital. This hospital, if you can call it that, was later closed down. It has been rumored that Charter abused the patients.

Matthew has never been returned to his mother and has been bounced around, in and out of hospitals and treatment centers. Approximately two years ago, Matthew’s mother was allowed to resume visits once again only to have them abruptly stopped without reason ( at least one that would pass the constitutional test). Matthew has not been seen or heard from since. During the time of the most recent visitation, Matthew’s state appointed guardian Starla Runkle, remarked in numerous recorded conversations that the State of Indiana had failed Matt. Runkle spoke about the over drugging of Matt and of his numerous placements. She spoke highly of Mom and even empathized with her since Runkle had her own personal experience with a family member who was disabled. Imagine what Runkle would do if the State took her family member. Oh, it is on tape what she would do and I think they F.B.I. would probably get called in.

This case is a gross miscarriage of justice. A loving family has been torn apart by a kangaroo court hell bent on having its’ way regardless of the consequences to Matt, his mom and his grandfather, Judge Paul Smith (Ret.) This family is and has always been dedicated to matt. Matthew was diagnosed with a mild form of autism. Every parent  of a child with this challenge should be very afraid. The State ignores its’ own laws and that of our Federal Gov’t. It is time to act! and to those who have kidnapped Matt, the tapes have been secured in several locations including the Indianapolis star.

More to come, stay tune:

Did you know that Indiana DCS is required by law to search for other families members who can care for your children instead of going to Foster care?

I’m writing this letter to try to get some help from government agencies that are supposed to be in the best interest of children in my home State of Indiana.

My daughter and her husband have lived in Southern Indiana (Shoals) their entire lives and raised 4 children there. They have financially struggled their entire lives but always maintained a sense of honesty and fairness dealing with every unforeseen thing that came their way. But now, something has happened that has taken them by surprise and has given me reason to ask for help (and understanding) for them. THEY ARE BEYOND BEING DEVASTATED !! They are beaten down by the ’system’ both local & state and are given no reasonably understandable answers.

For the past 5 years that have taken on the very important task of raising their 6 year old grandson after custody was taken from his mother.

During this time, they have complied with all measures asked of them - impromptu visits by county workers, random drug tests, classes in Evansville (when they barely had money for gasoline) (county officials say they don’t have records of any of this.) - they have taken him for supervised visitation with his mother (while the mother didn’t have to provide any form of support or effort for these visits). They have filled out many many pages of paperwork thinking they were getting closer to being qualified as Foster Parents (with financial aid) or to them the better option, being able to adopt their grandchild as their own. Last year they took on a new grandchild She and their grandson were supposed to be kept together as a unit. Because they have different Dads, They had to make separate supervised visitation dates for each of them, making their travel time, etc. double.

I am writing this letter to try to get some help from government agencies that are supposed to be in the best interest of children in my home State of Indiana.

He began school this year - just a week ago – They put him on the school bus at their home in the morning and in the afternoon, when he didn’t get off the bus they panicked and later found out that he had been “placed” in the home of The birth father, who has never paid ANY child support or provided any type of support whatsoever, nor had he EVER spent a night with him.. .he has NEVER spent the night anywhere other than with his grandparents. When after a few days, the biological father’s live-in girlfriend couldn’t handle having him there, he was returned to his grandparents home.

Thinking all was well, the routine of daily life began again. But.. .once again, one morning he was put on the school bus and that evening, he didn’t come home.

Calling around they found that he was being ‘placed’ (yet again) with a

Mennonite family in another town. But whomever was handling the

‘handover’ forgot to pick him up from school that afternoon, so he was left waiting outside with the principal of the school while everyone scurried about trying to ‘patch up’ the horrible job they had done. What could he have been thinking when he wasn’t allowed to get on his regular bus to go home? What could he have been thinking as he watched all the other students get on their buses towards their homes and he was held back with a woman (principal) that he had only met a few days ago? Then picked up by a county worker and driven to a home and people he had never met before and told he was now ‘home’?

This all seems so cloak and dagger when a family cannot maintain their grandchildren’s welfare without having situations played out without their knowledge or consent.

He has gone through so much in his young life. On visitation days with his mother, many time she had ‘passed’ and not shown up and he has said things like, “My mommy doesn’t want to see me today”.. ..things that wound the hearts of hid grandparents. Then when he was taken from school and placed in the home of his biological dad (with NO WARNING!),

he thought his grandparents didn’t want him now, without warning, he

has been placed in a home in a different county and I have been told that his grandparents are to have NO COMMUNICATION OR CONNECTION WITH HIM UNTIL HE IS 18 YEARS OLD!!

What is his little mind thinking? Why were the the grandparents never allowed any financial support for diapers, formula, etc. all these years? Were they allowed any type of financial support? Was the state saving money by not advocating for this family? Is the state prepared to pay for his physiological therapy as he ages wondering why he was so unlovable that his own grandparents didn’t want him after living with them almost his entire life?

What happened? Why were they not kept informed about what they needed to do to be able to raise their * grandchildren)?

I do not live in Indiana any longer but still maintain all my family ties. This is extremely upsetting..this is my daughter and her family and my great­grandchildren.

Where do we turn for help? I feel something needs to be done and soon. His life is at risk here and no one seems to have any answers for the Grandparents family.

The grandparents need to be returned to their loving grandparents quickly and the entire family should receive some answers as to why these children were taken away in a cloak of secrecy.. ..better yet, they should also receive an apology for the past five years of struggle they have endured at the hands of whomever facilitated the removal of the children.

The removal of the two grandchildren has been a horrible nightmare played upon this entire family. When his was with his biological father for less than a week, he cried every day and night for his grandparents and they for him. This latest incident of removing both children again has taken an unbelievable toll on grandparents. They are desolate. They are numb. The are inconsolable.

What can be done? Who can this family appeal to? Where can they go for help?

The granddaughter has been taken from the home also.. .she has been with the grand parents family since she was 2 days old.

I am writing to try to perhaps have someone in charge to take a look, a good in depth look, at the file of this family and of the state and/or county workers who worked that file and see that most likely it was wrong to take these children away from the only home they have ever had until August

2010.

I would appreciate very much your help in this matter.

Very Sincerely,

A grandmother

Our family is/has been patriotic to our last breathe and drop of blood. I feel we deserve better treatment than this for our loved ones. Please help us by looking into this matter.

First, dump Payne along with his anti-family, grab the kids first mentality.

Open courts to anyone the family wishes to be there.

Allow testimony from individuals who know the family.

Change the proposed Ombudsman legislation back to the original form and give the Ombudsman the power to enforce laws and regulations regarding DCS.

Hold caseworkers accountable.

Gayle Edelen, 54, a former Gibson County Child Protective Services supervisor was found guilty at trial on three counts of perjury and a count of official misconduct.  Shocking?  No.  It happens every day.

According to the Indianapolis Star, DCS is continuing to take more kids from their parents while national removals are steadily declining.  DCS tries to tell us that Hoosiers are worse parents than those in other states.  Isn’t it just possible that Payne is the problem? 

It’s time for a serious look at why this is happening as well as where these children actually end up.  Some facts that need to be examined:

• Numbers show that Payne is more worried about getting the federal dollars than he is about protecting children.
• 800 new caseworkers need to remove more children to prove that their jobs are needed.
•  The State has many options to help families in trouble that aren’t nearly as devastating to the children as removing them.
• There are few good options for placing a child.  Children are often beaten, molested and drugged while in the care of the State.
• Children who have been in the system are more likely to drop out of high school, have severe psychological problems and wind up in prison.

The cure isn’t simple, but a good place to start is by dumping James Payne.  There should also be increased accountability for caseworkers and judges.

Don’t elect Daniels to be our next President so he can do to other states what he has done to Indiana.