PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS FOR CHILD PROTECTION.

Article by Ray Ferris. (Ray Ferris, my friend and fellow advocate is an expert on child protection and specifically the work of the Ministry of Children and Families in British Columbia (MCFD). He is the author of  'The Art of Child Protection."  Ray reissued this information now, sent to me September 27th, 2017-09-27. Ron Unruh).

PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS FOR CHILD PROTECTION.

This is based on material I wrote at the request of some NDP members of the legislative assembly for the election of 2009. 

Introduction.

The British Seebohm Commission of the 1960s noted that there were many problems of a non-administrative nature in the British social services and they could not be solved by administrative changes. This is important to remember because there have been many serious problems in the child protection services of British Columbia, but the repeated attempts at solving them have only been through administrative and legal devices, which have always failed. Indeed it could be argued that they have sometimes made the situation worse. 

DANNY FRANCIS IS DEAD & SO ARE SOME OTHERS

The Ministry of Children and Family Services is in the news again. Every few weeks another story breaks. This time MCFD's regrettable connection may relate to legislation as opposed to case management. The case? Danny Francis. 18 years old. Dead. By his own hand. That is enough to grab our attention. Now consider that three other teenage children also committed suicide within past months, and each one was a ward of the system. The occasioning factor of their suicides? A couple of them were ageing out of Ministry care. These have received government care, foster parenting or financial support, benefits … and with the changing of a calendar date, it's gone. Now they are gone. The desperation of these young people has to be the subject of an official inquiry of course, but a few people with a salary will have to make policy and legislation that better equips children in the CPS system so they are not overcome by loneliness and hopelessness.

There is so much more to each of these four youths' stories. Will reviews ever care enough?

LEGALLY KIDNAPPED & CARLOS MORALES

The video was published on Oct 14, 2015 and is found at this YouTube site.

Please watch CPS Whistleblower, Carlos Morales, tell you truths about Child Protective Services, using his reference sources and stats in the USA. Proportionately, these are similar in Canada. He will make a case for the abolition of CPS moving it beyond government oversight in order to produce a freer society. 
You can find the book "Legally Kidnapped: The Case Against Child Protective Services," at Carlos' website here. Unlike anything ever published, he tells what families should do to protect themselves from this monolithic agency that has destroyed the lives of children & parents. Parents across the country have already used his legal recommendations and saved not only thousands of dollars on lawyer fees, but also protected the future of their family. It is imperative that people understand Child Protective Services in order to save their families, and this book accomplishes that in a gripping and thought provoking manner. Take a look.

You can buy the book, "Legally Kidnapped" here. It's $8 hard copy and $2.59 Kindle.

Y

WHETHER TO REMOVE OR TO RETURN

Parents frequently find it so difficult; it is almost impossible to recover custody of their children, once the child is removed. The emphasis of the cases changes from whether the child should have been removed, to should the child be returned. Now the parent must demonstrate entire cooperation with CPS, good behaviour, complete control of emotion and attitude and the tongue, and fitness to be reunited with the child. The need for the CPS agency to demonstrate the need for out-of-home placement evaporates. The burden of proof shifts from CPS to the parents by virtue of who has physical control of the child. It is a procedural spectacle. Once a child is removed it is very difficult for lawyers to get a child returned to parents whether the removal was appropriate or it wasn't. Children who are removed, are likely to remain in government care for a long time, perhaps years.

DEFENSIVE SOCIAL WORK

It is uncertain why there has been an increasing number of 'emergency removals' of children from parents over the past twenty years. One plausible answer is an increase in defensive social work. Child protection workers are generally drawn to their work for the best of reasons, to assist children and families. When severe injuries and even deaths occur to children, with whom CPS has had a history, social workers and the Ministry itself have received adverse publicity. When the media have sensationalized such stories, a defensive tsunami of removals has typically occurred. One might deem this erring on the side of safety, on the side of the best interests of the child, yet it has often been an unnecessary over-reach, an exaggerated attempt to do what is right. What must not be overlooked is the extent of harm caused by unnecessary removals. The stresses sustained by affected families can provoke psychological, financial and marital harm. The Child Welfare system becomes stressed because unnecessary removals divert resources, overcrowd the courts leading to lengthy delays of process and to terms that children must remain in foster care.

ANOTHER UNWISE CHILD REMOVAL

The case to which I am making reference today is outside of Canada, outside of British Columbia and we might assume it is irrelevant to the focus upon Ayn Van Dyk, the subject of so many posts in this site for many months. It is not irrelevant.

There are numerous distinctions between the two cases but fundamentally, both cases contain an autistic child who wandered from home and hours later was discovered by police, and after reporting the incident to child protection authorities, case workers overreacted with the unnecessary outcome of distress and agony for parents and child due to separation for a prolonged time. 

MORE FROM FERRIS ON JUSTICE WALKER'S STUNNING VERDICT

You will need to refer back several blog posts to catch the significance of the court case that has captured Ray Ferris's attention. The judge ruled against a father who he said had abused his children, and roundly faulted MCFD for believing him and getting it so wrong, and awarded the children to the mother. Now she is suing MCFD. Listen to Ferris below ... By the way, he is a colleague advocate for change to MCFD and for justice to the improperly treated.

OF COURSE, CRITICS CALL FOR CHANGES

For years sympathizers with the Bayne family dominated the readership of this blog site. Then I took a break but began again to write about Ayn Van Dyk, autistic 12 year old removed from her family to undergo assessment and investigate her family life. This was occasioned by her afternoon skip over the family fence and a wander down the street. She could not be found for three hours. Other readers, occasional and curious take a peek. Some with vested interest in the Ministry of Children browse as well. Be assured that the parents and advocates of child protection reform who comment here are not a small troublesome faction of uninformed complainers.

Critics exist across Canada and in enlightened countries around the world. Critics are calling for greater accountability for the child protection segment of child welfare. That is what must be understood and processed by responsible parties.

Please hear me say that I believe child protection agencies do serve a vital function to safeguard children. Note that I am saying just as emphatically that child protection departments overstep their mandate.

DEREK'S PLEA FOR AYN

DEREK'S PLEA FOR AYN
By Derek Hoare

Derek and one of his sons on a hike

My name is Derek I am a single father of three wonderful young children, aged 9, 10 and 11; my youngest two have both been diagnosed with severe autism. Though a constant and challenging struggle, I have done my best to protect and nurture them, as I love them so much and have dedicated my life to their achievement of happiness. My youngest child is a bright and beautiful little spitfire named Ayn. She has and is blossoming so well here at home and has come so far to overcome her obvious disability, she does however continue to struggle and outburst when in other environments, particularly at school.

Ayn is bit older now, still a bright light

Ayn is naive and unaware of the dangers that exist in the world at large, so when on Sunday June 12th she escaped the backyard we were very worried for her safety. With each passing moment the likelihood that something terrible had happened increased, as Ayn should stand out from other children easily and should have been quickly spotted. Fortunately Ayn was discovered two doors down playing in a neighbour’s backyard; the neighbour had taken an afternoon nap which provided Ayn with the ability to play undisturbed. The challenges I have faced in caring for my daughter have been encompassing and life altering, these challenges are very dynamic and new challenges arise as fast as the old one depart. Now with her discovery of the neighbours nearby trampoline and pool, she will undoubtedly seek to return there, vigilance will be required to face this new found challenge, but it is one which I must now face just as I have with each prior challenge and as I would have to with our future challenges as well. As it stands today I may never get that opportunity.

CHILD PROTECTION WORK IS DEMANDING / 543

Expeditiously investigate concerns. Empathetically communicate with parents. Absolutely protect vulnerable children. Committedly try to stabilize a family. Compassionately assist parents.

No one says that the child protection worker’s job is an easy one. The CP worker is mandated not merely to protect children but to enhance their life quality as well as to strengthen families, including perhaps the families from which children have been removed.

How quickly a CP worker adjusts to the demanding rigor of the job is uncertain. It is documented however, that there has been much difficulty for many years in recruiting and retaining competent child protection workers.

THE BALANCE OF PROBABILITY / 533

Let me clear up a legal factor that seems to be cloudy to some readers who in their frustration with child protection agencies in Canada, spout “I thought we were innocent until proven to be guilty.”  That axiom continues to be true in criminal proceedings. Child protection proceedings however, are not criminal in nature. Rather they are civil proceedings and that means that the standard of proof is a balance of probability. You may still dislike that.

That balance of probability proviso when harnessed to child protection’s remarkable degree of legal authority over children disturbs and even angers many parents beset by CP case workers. In every Canadian jurisdiction there is now comprehensive child protection legislation. If that were not enough, the common law has given courts inherent jurisdiction over children who are in danger, and this jurisdiction is called parens patriae. The summary truth is that in Canada the natural parental custody and even court ordered guardianship is superceded by child protection or child welfare orders.

YES, CRITICS CALL FOR CHANGES / 530

Sympathizers with the Baynes dominate the readership of this blog site. I accept that. Other readers, occasional and curious take a peek. Some with vested interest in the Ministry of Children browse as well. Be assured that the parents and advocates of child protection reform who comment here are not a small troublesome faction of uninformed complainers.

Critics exist across Canada and in enlightened countries around the world. Critics are calling for greater accountability for the child protection segment of child welfare. That is what must be understood and processed by responsible parties.

Please hear me say that I believe child protection agencies do serve a vital function to safeguard children. Note that I am saying just as emphatically that child protection departments overstep their mandate.

“BEST INTERESTS” - THE WAY IT WORKS AND COULD WORK

I confess that I still struggle to understand the concept. That is, I have struggled to comprehend the way CP personnel interpret the concept of the “Best Interests of the Child.” And I do give it an honest attempt.

Our child protection laws authorize child protection (CP) workers to investigate allegations of abuse or neglect. They can apprehend children from their families and they are enabled to place the seized children with foster families. The authority of CP workers is supported by our Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the criminal justice system and the court system. CP workers are immensely powerful.

The processes never fail to leave affected parents irate, estranged and often in despair.

For Love and For Justice / Part 94 / Zabeth and Paul Bayne

An original song entitled ‘Justice’ written by Tom Simanek and Rob Elliott is performed by Rob Elliott in dedication to the struggle to reunite families that have been shattered by the family courts. A video using this song’s lyrics has been prepared by Linda McDermott, Dave Ellison, Shaun O'Connell, Layton Bevan and Julia Langmaid. You can listen and watch this on YouTube at this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkWQDWnsyfw

Justice

The race-car bed is empty,
no toys are on the floor,
not many changes you can see...
but Johnny doesn't live here,
doesn't live here any more...
never coming through that door.

Feel what I feel
my heart bleeds...
Show me mercy,
hear me plead...
Give me justice,
give me justice,
It's what I need.

A scrap of legal paper,
an expert testifies,
the child you love is taken...
but justice doesn't live here,
doesn't live here, it's a lie...
nothing you can do but cry.

Feel what I feel
my heart bleeds...
Show me mercy,
hear me plead...
Give me justice,
give me justice,
It's what I need.

A judgement not of Solomon,
no wisdom in the words,
and after all is said and done...
your Johnny doesn't live here,
doesn't live here and what's worse...
nothing lives here but the hurt.
Nothing lives here but the hurt.

Feel what I feel
my heart bleeds...
Show me mercy,
hear me plead...
Give me justice,
give me justice,
It's what I need.

copyright 2009 Simanek/Elliott