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| Sara Jane Wiens and baby Isabella |
It looks like the Ministry of Children and
Family Development is once again going to be defending a losing case in a B.C.
court. Sara Jane Wiens is suing the Ministry and the Minister, Stephanie
Cadieux. MCFD should acquiesce right now because Christopher Heslinga
and Jack Hittrich are the lawyers for Ms. Wiens. Mr.
Hittrich is exceptionally effective at exposing MCFD incompetence. Nevertheless
the MCFD will send its legal team into the fray at the expense of taxpayers. That's
the pattern. No admissions. Merely costly defenses. The Ministry wins most
cases. Perhaps not any longer.
The Ministry of Children and Family
Development was only doing it's job. That's the fallback cover line when any
case goes south. It's not good enough when the credo of MCFD is persistently,
'the best interests of the child.'
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| 21 month old Isabella died in foster care |
If the interests of the child are paramount
and when the child is an infant whose welfare is in question while in the care
of the birth mother, due diligence requires full investigation with a view to
returning the child to mom as soon as possible if there is good reason to do
so. If that requires assisting her with anything that enables her to cope or do
mothering more effectively, it stands to reason that in the child's best
interests, our MCFD should do that. That is, rather than retain that child in
foster care - in this most recently publicized case, a foster situation in which
Sara Jane's baby girl died.
My writing associate on this blog site, Ray
Ferris, is a retired Ministry of Children child protection worker and
supervisor, and author of ‘The Art of Child Protection.’ In one article he
wrote, "A children’s minister once
told me that 30% of cases are over-investigated and 30% under-investigated.
Looks like he was unintentionally saying that his staff got it wrong 60% of the
time. To anyone who has had dealings with that ministry, this will come as no
surprise. This GPS blog has been primarily concerned with the cases of
over-investigation. Those cases where a family has been persistently pursued
and harassed when there was no good reason to do so."
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| Honourable Stephanie Cadieux |
I have no intention of starting a new chapter of posts on this
case for months on end, but I want to raise awareness again, that when a system
has a major fault, those in charge must pay attention, must recommend a
correction and affect it post haste. My rear car tire was losing air pressure,
one pound each day for weeks. Every few days I pumped it up again. I thought a
plug might repair a possible nail hole. Now my mechanic had to replace the tire
because I drove it too long at low pressure and compromised the sidewall with
an obvious split in the structure. My problem may have begun with a nail but it
turned into an untreatable weakness. For so long parents, advocates,
journalists, and commissions have been recommending changes and fixes for MCFD
operations, but it may be necessary now to replace the existing ministry
altogether. I know I am overstating myself. I don't envy any Minister of
Children and Family Development. Each steps into a role as an elected officer
in charge of a Ministry over which other salaried personnel have charge. I
respect Stephanie Cadieux. I like her. I displayed my pantings in her offices when she was first elected. I am sorry she is named in the lawsuit. This
may compromise her objectivity when what is needed by a Minister finally, is a
willingness to cease reading MCFD documents and reports and begin to read with an open mind, parental pleas and complaints and heart wrenching testimonies of treatment at
the hands of ministry personnel, and concluding that it is time for an overhaul.
The Sara Jane Wiens story in this week's news:
Good technology for students
ReplyDeleteHow do I get in touch with Ray Ferris? I'd really like to speak with him, and I think the topic is of keen interest given the Information that's discussed online in these forums. I would very ugh appreciate any info about how to contact him or to pass my info, but not broadcast online. I hope someone can in fact help me contact him. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteGive me a day or so to make contact with Ray. If I see you respond to this note, then I will place his information here fore you. When people write on a post dated as long ago as 2015, often they cannot themselves go back to that site because they have lost it...
DeleteMany, many thanks Ron :) I have notifications on.
ReplyDeleteAlright, let’s approach it this way ... write to this email address, gpsadvocate@gmail.com
DeleteI will then forward to you, the contact info you need to begin your conversation with Ray Ferris. If you know little or nothing about Ray, he is a retired former MCFD supervisor. He knows the system very well. He remembers when parents and children were helped. In his later years he began to be a critic of the inefficiency and errors he was recognizing in MCFD, as well as being an advocate and adviser for parents looking for counsel in dealing with MCFD to recover their children. He has written a book entitled 'The Art of Child Protection.'
hi where could i get help? we have been harrassed by mfcd in creston bc for 6 years. all because of false calls. it is mainly one soical worker who is now trying to force a home worker or supervised custody of ours kids. we have had all the other social workers in the office close our case after viewing our house and seeing there is no risk to the kids. except her she will not stop till she takes our kids away. we are damn good parents and have letters from many people who have been to our house.
ReplyDeleteI would be curious to know what happened to your situation. I am in a similar situation now.
DeleteIf grandkids are placed with the physical abuser.what can we do.ministry is on his and making up more and more allegatiins
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same situation. We contacted a lawyer but it's not promising. How to fight MCFD? We are grandparents raising for 2 5 years our granddaughter and now MCFD returns her to father- who never was in picture and got over 22 domestic violence charges. MCFD says people change. Fine. Give him visit but not reward him with 5 years old girl. Devastating
ReplyDeleteMy youngest son is being forced into adoption by the Williams Lake MCFD office.
ReplyDeleteAfter July 31 2021.I would like to be in contact with a Ray Ferris immediately!
I've never gotten due process with this MCFD office or that racist courthouse...because of a sexual predator who works in MCFD office who was the first intake unregistered BSW worker. And so that's when my never ending nightmare began,is when this unregistered BSW came into my home. Please help me and notify Ray Ferris. The MCFD took my children all because a sexual predator who was my children's Indian day school principal for several years didntget his way with me.
He could not take me rejecting his continued sexual advances,and before this principal retired he called me into the MCFD to come pick up all my children without cause, saying that I abused my children and the MCFD did just that. I was also attacked by that same principal in front of two Indigenous INAC Band counselor's, and the male counselor had to pull the principal off of me. And when the RCMP were called they didn't even charge the raged-out principal for assaulting me. I was there to tell this full grown man to stop bullying my six small children. He refused and blamed me. Then before he retired he called me into child protective services in b.c.
My partner and I have bin continually victimized by mcfd they have now removed our aboriginal grandsons age 13 and 16 they where taken by our dauter from our home mid September without concent .I called rcmp and reported the ubduction and they said they were not able to assist us and the children were fine as they had seen them in the community.I later received a call to meet with mcfd as I was leaving to work at wich time I said I would be getting on a plane to work and I would not be able to meet them as I was out of town for 2 weeks.On October mcfd took our teen grandsons from our daughter (there aunt) at which time I tried to explain to mcfd that our dauter had just buried our grandchild (her dauter) and was struggling with addiction and we wanted our teen grandsons back and were refused at wich time a court date was set for dec 21 we spent from 930 till 430 in court yesterday and no proof of any wrong doing by us was proved and most allegations were so far fetched it was disgusting. We still denied our children's return another hearing is set for Feb 2022.I feel the system failed us and that mcfd is very corrupt but it seems there is little recorce against mcfd .This has to change they need to be exposed with all the aboriginal graves from the residential scoop being uncovered and the Canadian courts and governments are still doing it . I'm totally disgusted and wish to sue . I am a residential school survivor and have never bin recognized or compensated for my trauma and abuses and now my whole family is suffering again.Truth and reconciliation is a lie im loosing all hope in our family justice system and the damage that it causes to families. Worst of all the damage is irreversible. No Christmas for my family no gifts no tree no nothing just depression and disgust
ReplyDelete