Perhaps Your Child Was Taken Instead

pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby PNN/p pPerhaps your child was taken instead because of a weight problembr / that you couldn't explain. Perhaps you are a mom whose teenager wasbr / somehow ripped away from you only because you refused to let her stay outbr / all night. Or perhaps it was because you didn't have a home, or simplybr / because you were poor, but somehow, you have been singled out and targetedbr / unfairly by Child Protective Services and now you face long and frustratingbr / legal battles that might not even result in your child being returned tobr / you. Does any of this sound familiar?/p p If it does, than chances are you are probably confused, angry, andbr / frustrated, and you are not alone. According to Justice for Families ofbr / Barnstable, M.A., over 2,500 children are seized from their homes every daybr / in this country, only 400 of which due to substantiated abuse or neglect.br / Where do you turn to get help when the system itself seems to be workingbr / against you?/p p You can start right here. Courtwatch is a program launched bybr / PoorNewsNetwork to assist low- and no- income people who have been unfairlybr / persecuted by C.P.S. and the judicial system. Posted in this column willbr / be case information concerning victimized families to update you about whatbr / can happen to disrupt families and what to do if it does. It will alsobr / include valuable information on advocacy, policy- making, legislation,br / events and demonstrations, helpful organizations, and basic advicebr / relating to family justice, as well as suggestions of other places to lookbr / on-line for more help./p p The purpose of Courtwatch is specifically to serve those parentsbr / and families who have been targeted by C.P.S. because of their biasedbr / labeling system. All too often, we here at PoorNewsNetwork hear aboutbr / cases wherein families have been destroyed simply because of misunderstoodbr / cultural practices, misplaced suspicion that is never substantiated, orbr / merely because of poverty. Unfortunately, it is frequently these familiesbr / who lack the resources to fight back against a powerful but corrupt system.br / That is why programs like Courtwatch are so important./p p To begin with, here are some interesting and informative websitesbr / and links, all related to civil rights and family justice:/p p b*pacificjustice.org:/b/p p An organization fighting for religious freedoms, parental rights and civilbr / liberties. Broad-based network of individuals, various organizations,br / churches and attorneys. Includes press releases and press conferencebr / announcements, option to request more info, articles on file, seminars inbr / your area, info about unions, and several great links. Be sure to checkbr / out the article about what to do when C.P.S. comes knocking at your door./p pRecommended links: b Free Market Foundation/b- find your elected officials andbr / proposed legislation, also includes a legal division that representsbr / individuals free of charge for first amendment, family and religiousbr / freedoms cases/p pb Capitol Resource Institute/b- mostly info on currentbr / legislation, tracks bills and policies and lets you know how your electedbr / officials voted (VERY important!), also includes sign- up for bFamily Actionbr / Network/b which will automatically send you timely info through e-mail./p p b*firedocs.com/familyjustice/:/b/p p An organization specializing in support and advocacy for families unjustlybr / targeted by C.P.S. Message boards for on-line discussion, news updates,br / on-line articles, legislative info, and tons of good links. /p p Recommendedbr / links:b False Allegations/b- personal stories and articles related to falsebr / allegations and false memories. Bulletin board for related rallies,br / protests and demonstrations; bHuman Rights USA/b- info about human rightsbr / research and education, as well as advocacy within your community, humanbr / rights library and document search, sign- up forb Global Human Rightsbr / Information Listserve; Participating Attorney/b- this is fantastic! Allbr / kinds of legal info, question and answer forum, help finding attorneys inbr / your area; also search word- bCoalition for Juvenile Justice/b- leads to lotsbr / of other links that provide info concerning the status of juvenile justicebr / in the U.S. today and what is being done to change it, as well as thebr / organizations who are a part of the process./p p More websites and keywords to check out:/p pbOzFamily/b: links to pro-family and justice centers./p pbCommunity Resource Center/b: (based in Canada) resources and info aboutbr / women's issues, education, youth, justice, social development./p pbNational Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges/b: info and resourcesbr / related to juvenile justice, get in touch with or get info on a judge./p pbGovSpot/b: federal and local government resources- you never know what youbr / might find./p pbYouth and Family Services Resources/b: family services and juvenile justice./p pbCommunity Resources for Independence/b: if you are targeted by the courtsbr / because you are disabled, check out this site- aids disabled individualsbr / and their families lead an independent life./p pbWomen United for Justice, Community, and Family/b: Spanish and English-br / adding a collective voice to the political process- a site to educatebr / people about the needs of low-income women and their families./p pbCriminal and Civil Justice!/b: mostly family and divorce law, some info onbr / self- representation and the evils of "family cleansing"./p pbFamily Crisis Services/b: on and off- line services, mostly abuse related./p pbYahoo!Government--Law/b: learn about the law and your government./p pb a href="http://www.wtls.org/familyresources.html:" title="www.wtls.org/familyresources.html:"www.wtls.org/familyresources.html:/a /b/p p info on justice, advocacy, with a focusbr / on low-income and welfare families./p p bwww.westernjustice.org/casey/b:/p p foster care info mostly but some onbr / reunification services./p pbFamily Issues and Assistance/b:/p p leads to judicial branches by state- link forbr / assistance for parents whose kids have been removed from the home./p pbState Departments of Juvenile Justice/b: leads you to websites related tobr / youth and family services./p pbU.S. Federal Government Agencies/b: directory of various gov. agencies- couldbr / come in handy to contact your officials./p p bwww.frca.org:/b/p p bFamily Support America/b: updates and links on issues relatedbr / to family justice and family support across America./p pbSocial Justice and Peace- Resources for Catholic Educators/b: ok, so you maybr / not be Catholic, but this offers links about education, in particularbr / homeschooling, that may be useful./p pb www.divorcelawinfo.com/familylaw.html/b:/p p mostly divorce related info, butbr / some links to government resources and other family law resources./p pbMinistry of the Attorney General- Family Justice Matters/b: /p p(based in Canada)br / some interesting stuff about family court procedures, some legal aid links./p pbNorthwestern Law:Legal Clinic: Children and Family Justice Center/b:/p p infobr / about advocacy, wrongful convictions, human and family rights, etc. /pp bwww.firms.findlaw.com/b:/p p family justice law clinics./p p bwww.familymanagement.com/b:/p p family resources directory./p pbwww.jfa.net/b: victims' rights organization, mostly related to criminal justice./p p If this information isn't helpful or if you do not have access to abr / computer, check out your local phonebook for some resources. Sometimes yourbr / local children's council can refer you to other family servicesbr / organizations. You may also be able to track down volunteer legalbr / associations that specialize in aiding low- or no- income families andbr / individuals./p p A note of caution to families facing housing issues: transitionalbr / housing can be extremely helpful, but beware when it comes to dealing withbr / childcare contracts. In some cases, you will be responsible forbr / maintaining a written or oral contract with someone within the housingbr / program to care for your child at all times when you are not present at thebr / location. /p p If your child is discovered to be alone for even 30br / minutes and you cannot be reached by phone, some programs will contactbr / C.P.S. immediately!! The parent is responsible for contacting the programbr / before they can contact C.P.S., and the child will be forced to remain atbr / the location until the parent is reached. Not only can this jeopardizebr / your standing in these housing programs, but it can lead to an even worsebr / outcome if C.P.S. gets involved. Make sure you understand completely anybr / and all rules concerning childcare when residing at programs like these!!br / (ie. Hamilton House Family Transitional Housing Program in San Francisco)./p p An update on important legislation: the recent assembly bill 2068br / was thankfully vetoed by Governor Gray Davis in early September. The billbr / would have set up a panel of "experts" (including C.P.S. officials) tobr / create a program of interrogation for children entering the first grade.br / In addition to a medical exam, children would be subject to a wide range ofbr / questions for the purpose of detecting mental health problems early. Thesebr / questions could have focused on anything from spanking to bonding withbr / their parents to sexual and psychological abuse. This could have led tobr / all kinds of abuses of power by the school system and C.P.S. To find outbr / more about legislation like this, go pacificjustice.org and the link to thebr / Capitol Resource Institute, and sign up to receive timely postings aboutbr / your government!/p p A victory: also from pacificjustice.org: in August a Californiabr / father was reunited with his seven-year-old son after false claims of abusebr / through the help of Pacific Justice Institute and an affiliate attorney whobr / assisted him at no charge. If you need legal aid or advice, check out onebr / of the links above. Let's hope for more happy endings like this one!/p p If you know of or have been involved in a situation wherin C.P.S.br / has separated a family based on empty accusations, please contact us herebr / at PoorNewsNetwork. Not only can you help to spread the word to otherbr / families about how to deal with the system, but we may also be able to helpbr / you find the resources you need to fight back in your own case./p p/p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p