CPS v. Anti-Vaxxers - The Battle For Parental Rights In The Default Of The Chattel Grant

The State of New York is now using Child Protective Services to open child abuse under educational neglect.

The States are diffusing Parental Rights legislation, again, but this time they are using immunizations of children platform to trigger that default to the grant of the rights to custodianship and guardianship, to be transferred to a corporate parent, who is privatized and foreign, which means there are no civil rights.

Medicaid is the cost-reimbursement source, which means there are lots of revenue maximization schemes being constructed and pitched.

The following is the testimony of Brooke Jordan on medical and religious exemptions for childhood immunizations.

I found it interesting that she met her GoFundMe goal.

Child welfare shall be a presentation to crush many spirits and rip many souls from the shadows of life, because no one wants to talk about the residuals of the peculiar institution.

Praise the lord because this is about Parental Rights and it started in Detroit.

Anti-vaccine parents pull all-nighter in protesting vaccination bill

Hundreds for and against state vaccination legislation rally at the Capitol
A public hearing on the state's proposed vaccination legislation draws hundreds of supporters and opponents

The state's plan is to eliminate the current religious exemption for schoolchildren.

The debate over childhood vaccinations wrapped up shortly after 8 a.m. Thursday after raging more than 20 hours and through the night, sustained by upset moms from around the state who recoil at the prospect of government telling them how to take care of their children.

The public health committee next meets on Friday in Room 2D at the Legislative Office Building, said its chairwoman, state Sen. Mary Daugherty Abrams. The committee is not expected to vote at that time, however.

Drafted around the time measles was starting to make a comeback in a Jewish community in New York state, the bill would prohibit parents from citing religious or philosophical beliefs in refusing to vaccinate their children. It drew the ire of thousands at the state Capitol Wednesday, some of whom pulled their children out of school to join them.

One child was in the hearing room with her mother during testimony early Thursday. It wasn’t clear if the child was there all night; some of those at the hearing said they had gone home before rejoining fellow speakers.

Some speakers were emotional, with one mom unable to hold back tears. There were more than a dozen people in the hearing rooming at dawn.

On Wednesday, thousands of concerned parents gathered at the state Capitol to speak out against the bill, which would prohibit them from citing religious or philosophical beliefs as a reason for not immunizing their school-age children.

Parents with small children and posters reading “Parents call the shots" packed the Legislative Office Building, waiting for hours to get into a public hearing on vaccines, or one of several overflow rooms needed to contain the crowd, which was by far the largest at the Capitol this year.

Hundreds more vaccine skeptics gathered outside, chanting and holding signs that stated “Kill Bill 5044” and “I am informed, I do not consent."

Vaccine Public Hearing
Hartford, CT - 2/19/20 - Hundreds of protesters rally against mandatory vaccination across from the Legislative Office Building Wednesday as a public hearing regarding state vaccine legislation takes place inside. Photo by Brad Horrigan | bhorrigan@courant.com (Brad Horrigan)
Legislators on the public health committee heard hours of testimony from those on both sides of the issue, but the committee’s co-chairs said early in the day that it was unlikely the primary purpose of the bill, to eliminate the religious exemption, would change.

“We know what we’re talking about is highly controversial, but we’re confident that what we’re doing is in the best interest of the state of Connecticut,” said Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport. “Though it may not be perfect and may go through some little tweaks between now and the time it reaches the floor, I am confident [the bill] addresses the current circumstances.”

In the 2018-2019 school year, about 96% of kindergarteners in Connecticut were vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella. But the state Department of Public Health, following a record-breaking measles outbreak last year, has expressed concern about a small, but growing, percentage of religious exemptions that could create pockets of vulnerability to the virus throughout the state.

Between the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years, the number of kindergarten students with a religious exemption jumped from 2% to 2.5%, a 25% year-over-year increase. The department estimated that 7,800 children had religious exemptions in the 2018-2019 school year.


Hartford, CT - 2/19/20 - Opponents and supporters of mandatory vaccination crowd the halls of the Legislative Office Building for a public hearing regarding state vaccine legislation Wednesday. Photo by Brad Horrigan | bhorrigan@courant.com (Brad Horrigan / Hartford Courant)
“We’re going in the opposite direction,” state public health Commissioner Renee D. Coleman-Mitchell told legislators. “What’s to say that next year the religious exemptions won’t continue to skyrocket ... and we had a chance to prevent that from happening?”

But opponents said the bill was an example of governmental overreach. James Turkosz, a father from Woodbridge, said it removed his choice as a parent not to vaccinate his children.

In his testimony, Turkosz said he had spent countless hours and sleepless nights thinking about the vaccination issue. Under the current version of the bill, students without proper vaccines would be blocked from enrolling in school starting this fall. Exemptions would be granted only for specific medical reasons.

“People are scared,” Turkosz said, calling the 25% increase cited by the department a “misleading statistic.”

His wife, Kristen Turkosz, a public school teacher, called the bill “discriminatory” against children who are not vaccinated due to a religious exemption.

Vaccine Public Hearing
Hartford, CT - 2/19/20 - Television producer and anti-vaccination activist Del Matthew Bigtree testifies at a public hearing regarding state vaccine legislation at the Legislative Office Building Wednesday. Photo by Brad Horrigan | bhorrigan@courant.com (Brad Horrigan)
Other opponents raised concerns about the safety of vaccines, which doctors repeatedly addressed in their own testimony.

“I want to clearly, vociferously, state that vaccines are highly effective and safe,” said Dr. Saad Omer, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health.

“I believe individual parents come from the right starting point," he said. "It’s perfectly reasonable to seek information around vaccines or anything else. It is therefore our responsibility to make sure that information is correct.”

Vaccine Public Hearing
Hartford, CT - 2/19/20 - Hundreds of protesters rally against mandatory vaccination across from the Legislative Office Building Wednesday as a public hearing regarding state vaccine legislation takes place inside. Photo by Brad Horrigan | bhorrigan@courant.com (Brad Horrigan)
Omer asked legislators and families to take seriously the medical consensus that vaccines are safe.

“We have to do something about his,” he said. “We cannot sit around and not act in face of a real prospect of a resurgence of major disease.”

One health professional warned legislators that the large crowds at the Capitol Wednesday were not representative of how the majority of parents fell.

“You’re hearing from a very vocal minority,” said Dr. Linda Niccolai, professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, urging lawmakers to “listen to the experts, people who are professionally trained and have science on their side.”

Most Americans support mandatory vaccination for schoolchildren, according to public opinion polls. A 2016 Pew Research Center study found more than 80% of adults support the notion that healthy children should be required to receive vaccines in order to attend school because of potential risk to others.

Another study conducted by Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health last year found broad support for school vaccination requirements but more limited trust in the safety of vaccines themselves and in public health agencies.


Hartford, CT - 2/19/20 - Renee Coleman-Mitchell, Connecticut Commissioner of Public health, speaks at a public hearing regarding state vaccine legislation at the Legislative Office Building Wednesday. Photo by Brad Horrigan | bhorrigan@courant.com (Brad Horrigan / Hartford Courant)
In 2019, the World Health Organization named vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 threats to global health, Coleman-Mitchell told legislators. Much of the skepticism surrounding vaccines is due to misinformation, she said.

Common arguments against immunization include claims that vaccines are linked to autism or infect children with disease. Multiple experts testified Wednesday that neither of these claims are true.

Some opponents to the bill expressed concerns that eliminating religious exemption would be a violation of constitutional rights. In an opinion issued last May, Attorney General William Tong said the proposal was constitutional.

“There is no serious or reasonable dispute as to the State’s broad authority to require and regulate immunizations for children: the law is clear that the State of Connecticut may create, eliminate or suspend the religious exemption ... in accordance with its well-settled power to protect public safety and health," Tong wrote in his seven-page opinion.

Vaccine Public Hearing
Hartford, CT - 2/19/20 - Jaspar Prescott, 4, of New Milford draws a sign that reads "Parents Call the Shots" in an overflow room at the Legislative Office Building public Wednesday during a public hearing regarding state vaccine legislation. Photo by Brad Horrigan | bhorrigan@courant.com (Brad Horrigan)

Tong said the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed the authority of states to “require and regulate immunizations for children.” The Connecticut Supreme Court has also upheld mandatory school immunizations, he wrote.

Gov. Ned Lamont Wednesday also voiced his support for removing the religious exemption.

“When it comes to the health and safety of our kids, it is our responsibility to act out of an abundance of caution,” he said, in a written statement. “Vaccinations are safe. They are the reason dangerous diseases disappeared for decades.”

BEHOLD! The Residuals of the Peculiar Institution.

We still cite law under the Thirteenth Amendment Exception Doctrine.

You will see in the parental rights movement that they used "to further a compelling government interest", more intuitively understood as Child Protective Services, otherwise known as "gerrymandering".

Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905)

This case involves the validity, under the Constitution of the United States, of certain provisions in the statutes of Massachusetts relating to vaccination.
The Revised Laws of that Commonwealth, c. 75, § 137, provide that
"the board of health of a city or town if, in its opinion, it is necessary for the public health or safety shall require and enforce the vaccination and revaccination of all the inhabitants thereof and shall provide them with the means of free vaccination. Whoever, being over twenty-one years of age and not under guardianship, refuses or neglects to comply with such requirement shall forfeit five dollars."
An exception is made in favor of "children who present a certificate, signed by a registered physician that they are unfit subjects for vaccination." § 139.
Proceeding under the above statutes, the Board of Health of the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the twenty-seventh day of February, 1902, adopted the following regulation:
"Whereas, smallpox has been prevalent to some extent in the city of Cambridge and still continues to increase; and whereas it is necessary for the speedy extermination of the disease that all persons not protected by vaccination should be vaccinated, and whereas, in the opinion of the board, the public health and safety require the vaccination or revaccination of all the inhabitants of Cambridge; be it ordered, that
Page 197 U. S. 13
all the inhabitants of the city who have not been successfully vaccinated since March 1, 1897, be vaccinated or revaccinated."

Connecticut Attorney General Legal Opinion Letter On Religious Exemption on Immunizatoins 5-6-2019 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Connecticut Gets Crafty In Its Asset Forfeiture RFRA Corporate Parental Rights Trafficking Tiny Humans Legislation - Happy Child Abuse Propaganda Month!

Boy, oh, boy!

Connecticut has been quite quiet lately, when it comes to child welfare, but now we know why!

It seems someone has gotten a hold of "The Elected Ones" over there in the Children's Committee to come up with another one of those crafty privatizational privateering of the children's trusts!

With this being a auspicious Child Abuse Propaganda Month, I thought it only befitting that I give you a throwback on Medicaid fraud in child welfare for the State.

I have always held, close to my heart, lots of fun questions surrounding the identities of these children, who will now have parental rights signed through a Psuedo Public Private Partnership using licensed nurses function as, well, I guess you can call creating a fake office of authority over the children's trust to testify, as to the authenticity of Medicaid fraud in child welfare?

See, I know they do it in Michigan, and I have found some really odd operations in Conneticuit child welfare NGOs having popped up, in times of discord, but I will not go there right now, for the timing of the national measles outbreak is just serendipitous to the events about to unfold.

If you have a situation where you have fake identities of children on paper, where all you need is someone with a nurses license to sign, en masse, like robo-signing property foreclosures or rubber stamping CPS child removal orders, you can bill Medicaid for lots and lots of vaccines for the kids, while implementing another crafty privateering revenue hustles to privatize the judicial system and continue their campaign, to swashbuckle those children's trusts.

I am waiting to see what they do in Michigan.

Connecticut Often Did Not C... by on Scribd

Bill That Reiterates Connecticut’s Religious Exemption to Vaccines Advances

Sen. Derek Slap and Rep. Liz Linehan
 co-chairs Children’s Committee

HARTFORD, CT — The Children’s Committee forwarded a bill to the House Tuesday that changes vaccine exemption forms to notify parents of the current law.

The bill had initially sought to remove school nurses as a person approved to witness a parent’s signature on a religious exemption form. That language was scrapped in favor of adding a disclaimer to the top of the form to let parents know a nurse has the right to refuse to witness their signature.

CLICK TO VOTE ON 2019 HB 7005: An Act Prohibiting The Acknowledgment Of Parental Statements Concerning Religious Objections To Vaccination By School Nurses And Permitting Members Of The Clergy To Acknowledge Such Statements

The bill squeaked through committee on a 8-6 vote. Three Democrats joined three Republicans in voting against the measure.

The new language would also require the Department of Education to send one written notice to each local and regional board of education and the Association of School Nurses of Connecticut a statement that says any school nurse can acknowledge or refuse to acknowledge a religious exemption.

Connecticut allows attorneys, judges, family support magistrates, town clerks, justices of the peace, and school nurses to sign the religious exemption forms.

“There are some nurses that have problems signing these papers and they have rights as well,” Sen. Christine Cohen, D-Guilford, said.

She said there are other people who can sign the form.

However, some parents objected to the legislation because not all the officials capable of signing the form also have to comply with health privacy laws under HIPAA.

Sen. Kevin Kelly, R-Shelton, said individuals have the right to privacy regarding their medical records.

He said the other individuals on the list are not bound by HIPAA like the school nurses. He said asking them to have others acknowledge their forms are “asking them to breach the privacy they have in their medical records.”

In 2015, the General Assembly passed a law that required parents to acknowledge their religious exemption annually. That was a year after one of the worst measles outbreaks in the U.S. following its elimination in 2000.

“This seems not to be a legislative issue. This seems to be an education issue,” Rep. Noreen Kokoruda, R-Madison, said. She said the legislation does nothing that isn’t already current law.

“Why would we need more legislation to educate people when it’s the law?” Kokoruda, who voted against the bill, said.

Rep. Gary Turco, D-Newington, said the best practices say vaccinations are very important to children’s well-being.

“We’re seeing cases across this country now where people aren’t vaccinating and there are serious consequences to that,” Turco said.

He said Connecticut allows for a religious exemption and there’s nothing in this legislation that changes that.

Rep. Noreen Kokoruda, R-Madison,
with the face of 

Rep. Patricia Wilson Pheanious, D-Ashford, who also voted against the bill, said the nurses are only being asked to acknowledge the signature of the parent.

“They’re not being asked to make a judgment,” Wilson Pheanious said.

Sen. Derek Slap, D-West Hartford, said he knows they’ve been getting a lot of emails from constituents on both sides of the issue and one of the arguments against the bill is the “slippery slope” argument.

“This is not getting rid of a religious exemption,” Slap reiterated. “This is not putting another obstacle in the way of parents claiming a religious exemption. This is simply restating what current statute already says.”

Those who oppose vaccinating their children for religious reasons believe the bill could be used as a vehicle to eliminate the religious exemption to vaccines.

Kokoruda said parents have every reason to be concerned that the bill could be used to eliminate their religious exemption. She said legislation intending to do one thing becomes something else all the time.

“It’s the nose under the carpet,” Kokoruda said. “...I just think this is the first step toward totally getting rid of religious exemptions.”

Rep. Liz Linehan, D-Cheshire, said she’s given everyone her word that she has no intention of using this bill a vehicle for getting rid of religious exemptions.

Linehan said she would like to eliminate the religious exemption, but will use another piece of legislation to accomplish it.

“I’ve made it very clear that I’m 100 percent for getting rid of the religious exemption, but you have my word that this bill is not the vehicle,” Linehan added.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

LK Report for 8/16/17 - Suing CPS and More...

Here are today's headlines.  

Check back later.  You never know when I might update this post.

http://www.LegallyKidnapped.com

---

LINCOLN, Neb. - Four reports from Omaha and one from Holdrege have been received regarding a woman posing as a child protective services employee seeking admission into homes, the Department of Health and Human Services said. More >> Woman posing as Child Protective Services worker tries to enter homes -------------------- While she sought custody of her newborn son during her treatment for methamphetamine addiction and mental health counseling, she got to raise him herself. More >> Can giving babies back sooner to parents in drug treatment be best? A court is trying it. ---------------------- As the nation's opioid crisis has deepened, the number of drug treatment centers for pregnant women has grown. But experts and advocates say there aren't enough services for pregnant women to meet the demand, and many don't offer the drugs doctors would normally use to treat addiction because they are concerned about the effects they might have on a fetus. And some laws requiring that babies going through withdrawal be removed from their mother's care can be a deterrent to seeking help, they said. More >> Pregnant women addicted to opioids face tough choices -------------------- A SOCIAL worker has been struck off after he allegedly told a highly vulnerable child to self harm. David Steare was alleged to have told the youngster to ‘only cut’ herself on alternate days at set times, with her mother there to treat her wounds. More >> Social worker struck off after allegedly telling vulnerable child to self-harm --------------------- South Africa’s child protection system is failing its children‚ says World Vision South Africa. “Despite comprehensive law and policy regulations‚ the lack of inter-sectoral collaboration has led to very low cross-referrals between social services and the SAPS‚” the humanitarian and child advocacy organisation said on Wednesday. More >> SA child protection system failing its children – World Vision SA ---------------------- Raising the minimum wage by $1 per hour would result in a substantial decrease in the number of reported cases of child neglect, according to a new study co-authored by an Indiana University researcher. More >> Raising the minimum wage would reduce child neglect cases ----------------------- DES MOINES, IOWA  --  Iowa jurors awarded Heidi and Rachel McFarland $3.25 million, saying they believe Des Moines adoption attorney Jason Reiper failed to file crucial adoption paperwork in a timely fashion, which ultimately led to the loss of their child. More >> Ankeny Couple Awarded Millions in Adoption Malpractice Lawsuit ------------------------ ASHLEY — A local mother filed a federal lawsuit Monday alleging Luzerne County Children and Youth Services put her two children into a home where they were physically and sexually abused by an adopted child. More >> Woman says CYS put her children in abusive home

-------------------------

A 19-year-old who says she suffered years of abuse at the hands of her adoptive mother filed a lawsuit Tuesday alleging assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and outrageous conduct.

More >> Iowa teen files civil suit against mother convicted of abuse
----------------------

TOPEKA (TNS) — Kansas is asking that reports of child abuse and neglect be made by phone for now because of computer problems.

More >> DCF taking reports by phone due to computer issues
-----------------------

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the state's child welfare agency cannot vaccinate children placed temporarily in its custody when the parents object.

More >> Court: State can't vaccinate kids in temporary custody

• Conn. Supreme Court: DCF Can't Mandate Vaccinations Over Parental Rights

------------------------

The British Columbia Court of Appeal has determined that a child’s Indigenous heritage does not attract a “super-weight” over other factors in adoption in a decision the birth mother plans to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

More >> B.C. court rules Indigenous heritage doesn’t override child’s best interest in adoption
-------------------------

Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea holds a very strong opinion in regards to removing music education from schools. The bassist sat down with Rolling Stone to give his thoughts on politicians looking to cut funding for such programs, stating: "It's child abuse. It's just plain wrong."

More >> RHCP’s Flea says removing music education from schools is “child abuse”

---------------------------

A SENIOR Catholic priest has argued lifting the seal of confession and forcing clergy to report admissions of child sex abuse would make children more vulnerable.

More >> Senior priest claims breaking confessional seal could make children more vulnerable

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

CPS Files Child Abuse Charges for Connecticut Teen to Get Chemo

This is a basic Child Protective Services case of child abuse and medical neglect.

Cassandra Fortin's mother

The parents fail to exhibit a rudimentary understanding of medicine.  As a result the parents failed to provide for the necessary needs of the child.

This is considered medical neglect.

The girl, being under the age of 18 years, falls under the auspices of the state.

I am waiting to see how the child welfare case plays out in court as the parents can face termination of parental rights.

Connecticut Teen With Curable Cancer Must Continue Chemo: Court

A 17-year-old Connecticut girl with a highly curable cancer is not mentally competent to make her own medical decisions and will continue to receive the chemotherapy treatments she's battled to halt, the Connecticut Supreme Court ordered Thursday.

Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers ruled that the teen — listed only as Cassandra C. in legal records — is not mature by any standard. 

That means Cassandra will remain at a Hartford hospital, in the temporary custody of child-welfare workers, and will receive her full course of chemotherapy to treat Hodgkin lymphoma. Doctors have said her odds at recovery are 80 to 85 percent with chemo, but that she will die without it. 

Cassandra, diagnosed in September, had sought to avoid chemo treatments because she views the medicine as "poison." Her mother, Jackie Fortin, has said she support's her daughter's decision.

But recent behaviors and actions by Cassandra's mother — including several skipped oncology appointments and exams — were cited by state lawyers Thursday as they asserted the teen is too immature to make life-altering decisions. 

"The mother took the front seat on this," John E. Tucker, assistant Connecticut attorney general, testified before the panel. "She (Fortin) didn't bring her to the first medical appointment. 

"The child was very quiet, did not engage in conversations during the medical appointments. And for a 17-year-old, as you can imagine, that's a little bit unusual," Tucker added. "Really, the mother did all of the talking and sort of the fighting with the medical personnel. And so, really, the child stands in the shadow of her mother here. She's not an independent decision maker. 

"It was really the mother driving the bus." 

In an interview Wednesday with NBC News, Fortin denied pressuring her daughter into her decision to forgo chemo. 

"I am not coercing her at all and that is what this is about, what they think I am doing," Fortin said.

Cassandra simply does not want to be infused with "toxic" chemicals, Fortin added. 

"My daughter does not want poison in her body. This is her constitutional right as a human being," Fortin told NBC News. "She is almost 18. [Her birthday is nine months away]. If she was 18, I don't think this would be an issue. She is not 10. She is over 17. She is very bright, very smart." 

To that point, Fortin's attorney, Michael Taylor, argued before the panel Thursday that Connecticut laws allow teens under age 18 to drive and to donate blood. 

And when it comes to a minor's ability to make decisions about their own bodies, Taylor argued that both Connecticut courts and the U.S. Supreme Court have previously ruled that a person's right to "common-law bodily integrity is a fundamental right," and that right "exists in the minor the same as it could in an adult." 

What's more, if Cassandra is found to have reached an adult level of maturity, that should preclude state child-welfare workers from retaining temporary custody of the 17-year-old and allow the girl to make her own medical decisions, Taylor argued. 

"If a person is sufficiently mature, if Cassandra is sufficiently mature, then that state interest evaporates. Her fundamental right remains. … Then, the state has no interest in undermining her fundamental rights," Taylor said. 

After Cassandra was removed from her mother's home in December by state child-welfare workers, she was admitted to Connecticut Children's Medical Center (CCMC) in Hartford. The teen's cell phone was taken away and hospital staff pulled the land line out of her room, blocking communication between daughter and mother, court records show. 

Since early December, she's been undergoing chemotherapy. Assistant attorney general Tucker told the panel "the child is doing remarkably well" amid those treatments. 

"And I would note that the child is mid-treatment here," Tucker said. "To interrupt that treatment would be devastating, even more devastating than delaying the treatment in the initial instance." 

Starting, stopping and then, later, re-starting chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma can transform the disease from a highly curable illness to far more lethal disease, Dr. Mitchell Smith, director of the lymphoid malignancy program at the Cleveland Clinic, told NBC News. 

"If she's been in the middle of treatment and then stops and then the disease comes back, that's harder because a lot of times what (cancer) cells that will then come back are now resistant to the chemotherapy," Smith said. (He is not involved in Cassandra's care). 

"Then you're talking about, if you want to cure the disease, you have to go through stem-cell transplant," Smith said. "You (would then) have to go through even more intense treatment with more risks to try to get rid of it." 

Bioethicist Arthur Caplan believes Cassandra, at 17, should not have the right to make a life-and-death medical decision. 

"The primary goal in this case is to save a young life," Caplan wrote in an essay for NBCNews.com. "This is a disease where medicine can do that. Admittedly, the treatment sucks, but it works ..." Caplan is founding head of the division of bioethics at NYU Langone Medical Center. 

"Respecting choice is important," Caplan wrote. "Not burying a young teenage girl who would have lived is far more important.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Federal Audit Finds $17 Million In Connecticut Adoption Assistance Violations

If Connecticut was found to have improperly billed adoption assistance to the tune of $17 million, then calculate the other 49 states' errors, keeping in mind of the size of Connecticut.

I would seriously like to know why those in congressional leadership who continue to clammer about the size and waste of government on entitlement programs have never stepped up to the plate to go on the offensive of the billions in dollars wasted in child welfare programs that are proven, audit after audit, not to be efficient, let alone effective.

Any comments, Ms. Bachmann?

Connecticut Often Did Not Comply With Federal Adoption Assistance Requirements Audit

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Obama's Speech At Newton Prayer Vigil

Why did it take such a tragedy to bring into the national rhetoric the fact that we refuse to talk about mental health and the well-being of our children?  The time has come.

JOIN THE LIVE CHAT

VISIT WHITEHOUSE.GOV

OBAMA: Thank you.

Thank you, Governor. To all the families, first responders, to the community of Newtown, clergy, guests, scripture tells us, "Do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly, we are being renewed day by day.

"For light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all, so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

"For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven not built by human hands."

We gather here in memory of 20 beautiful children and six remarkable adults. They lost their lives in a school that could have been any school in a quiet town full of good and decent people that could be any town in America.

Here in Newtown, I come to offer the love and prayers of a nation. I am very mindful that mere words cannot match the depths of your sorrow, nor can they heal your wounded hearts.

I can only hope it helps for you to know that you're not alone in your grief, that our world, too, has been torn apart, that all across this land of ours, we have wept with you. We've pulled our children tight.

And you must know that whatever measure of comfort we can provide, we will provide. Whatever portion of sadness that we can share with you to ease this heavy load, we will gladly bear it. Newtown, you are not alone.

As these difficult days have unfolded, you've also inspired us with stories of strength and resolve and sacrifice. We know that when danger arrived in the halls of Sandy Hook Elementary, the school's staff did not flinch. They did not hesitate.

Dawn Hocksprung and Mary Sherlach, Vicki Soto, Lauren Russeau, Rachel Davino and Anne Marie Murphy, they responded as we all hope we might respond in such terrifying circumstances, with courage and with love, giving their lives to protect the children in their care.

We know that there were other teachers who barricaded themselves inside classrooms and kept steady through it all and reassured their students by saying, "Wait for the good guys, they are coming. Show me your smile."

And we know that good guys came, the first responders who raced to the scene helping to guide those in harm's way to safety and comfort those in need, holding at bay their own shock and their own trauma, because they had a job to do and others needed them more.

And then there were the scenes of the schoolchildren helping one another, holding each other, dutifully following instructions in the way that young children sometimes do, one child even trying to encourage a grownup by saying, "I know karate, so it's OK; I'll lead the way out."

As a community, you've inspired us, Newtown. In the face of indescribable violence, in the face of unconscionable evil, you've looked out for each other. You've cared for one another. And you've loved one another. This is how Newtown will be remembered, and with time and God's grace, that love will see you through.

But we as a nation, we are left with some hard questions. You know, someone once described the joy and anxiety of parenthood as the equivalent of having your heart outside of your body all the time, walking around.

With their very first cry, this most precious, vital part of ourselves, our child, is suddenly exposed to the world, to possible mishap or malice, and every parent knows there's nothing we will not do to shield our children from harm. And yet we also know that with that child's very first step and each step after that, they are separating from us, that we won't -- that we can't always be there for them.

They will suffer sickness and setbacks and broken hearts and disappointments, and we learn that our most important job is to give them what they need to become self-reliant and capable and resilient, ready to face the world without fear. And we know we can't do this by ourselves.

It comes as a shock at a certain point where you realize no matter how much you love these kids, you can't do it by yourself, that this job of keeping our children safe and teaching them well is something we can only do together, with the help of friends and neighbors, the help of a community and the help of a nation.

And in that way we come to realize that we bear responsibility for every child, because we're counting on everybody else to help look after ours, that we're all parents, that they are all our children.

This is our first task, caring for our children. It's our first job. If we don't get that right, we don't get anything right. That's how, as a society, we will be judged.

And by that measure, can we truly say, as a nation, that we're meeting our obligations?

Can we honestly say that we're doing enough to keep our children, all of them, safe from harm?

Can we claim, as a nation, that we're all together there, letting them know they are loved and teaching them to love in return?

Can we say that we're truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose?

I've been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we're honest with ourselves, the answer's no. We're not doing enough. And we will have to change. Since I've been president, this is the fourth time we have come together to comfort a grieving community torn apart by mass shootings, fourth time we've hugged survivors, the fourth time we've consoled the families of victims.

And in between, there have been an endless series of deadly shootings across the country, almost daily reports of victims, many of them children, in small towns and in big cities all across America, victims whose -- much of the time their only fault was being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

We can't tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change.

We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society, but that can't be an excuse for inaction. Surely we can do better than this.

If there's even one step we can take to save another child or another parent or another town from the grief that's visited Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek and Newtown and communities from Columbine to Blacksburg before that, then surely we have an obligation to try.

In the coming weeks, I'll use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens, from law enforcement, to mental health professionals, to parents and educators, in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this, because what choice do we have? We can't accept events like this as routine.

Are we really prepared to say that we're powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard?

Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?

You know, all the world's religions, so many of them represented here today, start with a simple question.

Why are we here? What gives our life meaning? What gives our acts purpose?

We know our time on this Earth is fleeting. We know that we will each have our share of pleasure and pain, that even after we chase after some earthly goal, whether it's wealth or power or fame or just simple comfort, we will, in some fashion, fall short of what we had hoped. We know that, no matter how good our intentions, we'll all stumble sometimes in some way.

We'll make mistakes, we'll experience hardships and even when we're trying to do the right thing, we know that much of our time will be spent groping through the darkness, so often unable to discern God's heavenly plans.

There's only one thing we can be sure of, and that is the love that we have for our children, for our families, for each other. The warmth of a small child's embrace, that is true.

The memories we have of them, the joy that they bring, the wonder we see through their eyes, that fierce and boundless love we feel for them, a love that takes us out of ourselves and binds us to something larger, we know that's what matters.

We know we're always doing right when we're taking care of them, when we're teaching them well, when we're showing acts of kindness. We don't go wrong when we do that.

That's what we can be sure of, and that's what you, the people of Newtown, have reminded us. That's how you've inspired us. You remind us what matters. And that's what should drive us forward in everything we do for as long as God sees fit to keep us on this Earth.

"Let the little children come to me," Jesus said, "and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."

Charlotte, Daniel, Olivia, Josephine, Ana, Dylan, Madeline, Catherine, Chase, Jesse, James, Grace, Emilie, Jack, Noah, Caroline, Jessica, Benjamin, Avielle, Allison, God has called them all home.

For those of us who remain, let us find the strength to carry on and make our country worthy of their memory. May God bless and keep those we've lost in His heavenly place. May He grace those we still have with His holy comfort, and may He bless and watch over this community and the United States of America.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Michigan Passed School Gun Bills In Secret Just Hours Before Connecticut School Shootings

In a lame duck session of the Michigan House, in the wee hours of the morning, the Legislature passed a series of bills on carrying guns.  The significance of this is not that people can now purchase a gun without a background check and carry the weapons in schools and churches but the fact the Bills were pushed through without public comment just hours before the massacre at the elementary school in Newton Connecticut. 

The final versions of the Bills have not even been published, yet.

Governor Rick Snyder, even though he has not officially made a statement, is not going to sign the Bills.  It would be political suicide.  Instead, he will do a pocket veto by allowing the Bills to linger on his desk until the end of the session, the Bills die and the governor does not have to soil his hands.

Here is a list of places where one may carry guns if Governor Snyder decides to sign the Bills:

-- A school or school property, except for a student's parent or legal guardian while in a

vehicle on school property, if he or she is dropping off or picking up the student.

-- A public or private child care center or day care center, child caring institution, or child

placing agency.

-- A sports arena or stadium.

-- A licensed bar or tavern whose primary source of income is the sale of liquor by the glass

for on-premises consumption.

-- Any property or facility owned or operated by a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, or

other place of worship, unless its presiding official or officials permit the carrying of a

concealed pistol on the property or facility.

-- An entertainment facility with a seating capacity of 2,500 or more that the person knows

or should know has such a seating capacity or that has a sign stating that capacity.

-- A hospital.

-- A dormitory or classroom of a community college, college, or university.

What I do not understand is if a child can be removed by CPS if there is there is a gun in the home in certain situations, then why is it a parent is not allowed to remove a child from a school if there are guns in the facility?  That is not parallel parent rights because it gives the state government more power.

Parental Rights is an organization, originating in Michigan, that equates gun rights to parental rights.  These were the people and the power behind these Bills and it all started in Michigan.


Michigan Senate Analysis On Ending Background Checks For Gun Carry Permits
Michigan Senate Analysis On Bill Passed Allowing Guns In Schools And Churches Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Conyers Offers Sympathies to Victims of Newtown Shooting, Calls for Legislation to Reduce Gun Violence

(DETROIT) –Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement today in response to the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut:

“Today, our hearts go out to the victims of the horrific shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.  We offer our condolences to their families,” said Conyers.

“The level of gun violence in this country is unacceptable.  There have been too many tragedies: the shootings in Columbine and Virginia Tech, the shooting of citizens including Congresswoman Giffords in Tucson, the Sikh Temple shootings in Wisconsin, the movie theater shooting in Aurora, and now Newtown.  And there is tragic gun violence on our streets every day.  Every year, on average, almost 100,000 people in America are shot and killed with a firearm.

“In response to this wave of violence, which reaches far beyond this one tragic incident, we must commit ourselves to taking action to review and strengthen our national gun laws as we approach the beginning of a new year and a new Congress.“

The bills that Congressman Conyers has co-sponsored this Congress to protect the country from gun violence include measures to ban high capacity ammunition magazines, require background checks for all gun sales, and prohibit the transfer of multiple firearms to anyone who is prohibited by law from possessing guns or who intends to use the guns unlawfully.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

WALGREENS PAYS $140,000 TO SETTLE ALLEGATIONS UNDER THE FALSE CLAIMS ACT

WALGREENS PAYS $140,000 TO SETTLE
ALLEGATIONS UNDER THE FALSE CLAIMS ACT

United States Attorney David B. Fein and Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen today announced that The WALGREEN CO., a nationwide retail pharmacy chain, has entered into a civil settlement with the federal and state governments in which it will pay $140,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act and common law.

The allegations against The WALGREEN CO. (“Walgreens”) involve fraudulent billing to Medicaid and the Connecticut ConnPACE Program for prescription drugs. It is alleged that Walgreens submitted duplicate or multiple claims to Medicare and Medicaid or ConnPACE for some or all of the cost of prescription drugs provided to individuals who were dually eligible for Medicare Part D as the primary payor, and Medicaid or ConnPACE as the secondary payor.

“The Medicare and Medicaid programs rely on pharmacies to bill honestly and accurately, and the U.S. Attorney’s office is committed to vigorously pursuing health care providers that submit fraudulent claims to federal health care programs,” said U.S. Attorney Fein.

Attorney General George Jepsen agreed. “Health care providers, such as Walgreens, must be especially vigilant about billing taxpayer-funded programs accurately for goods and services for the elderly, the disabled, and the needy. ‘Double billing’ the federal and state government for medications is simply unacceptable,” Jepsen said.

“The billing errors were detected by the Department of Social Services’ pharmacy service unit and confirmed through our quality assurance/audit process,” said Social Services Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby. “In this situation, Walgreens did not have adequate controls in place to identify it was getting paid twice for the same claims – by both Medicaid and Medicare. This demonstrates the ever-important need for program integrity oversight by government and law enforcement authorities, as well as meticulous care by our enrolled pharmacy providers.”

A “dually eligible” claim refers to a prescription that must be billed to more than one insurance company - a payor with primary responsibility for the claim and a payor with secondary responsibility to pay what the primary payor did not pay.

As a general rule, individuals who were “dually eligible” had access to Medicare Part D as the primary payor of their prescription claims, and either the Connecticut Medicaid program or the Connecticut ConnPACE program as the secondary payor of their prescription claims.

Medicare Part D was usually responsible for 80 percent of the cost of the drug, unless Medicare Part D did not cover the cost of the drug. Medicaid or ConnPACE would pay for the remaining 20 percent, or the “co-pay,” unless the drug was not covered by Medicare Part D, in which case the state program would pay the full cost of the drug, if covered under the state programs. The government alleges that Walgreens had charged the full cost of prescription drugs both to the primary payor (Medicare Part D) and to the secondary payor (the Connecticut Medicaid program or the Connecticut ConnPACE program).

To resolve its liability under the False Claims Act, Walgreens has paid $140,000 in order to reimburse the Medicaid and ConnPACE programs for conduct occurring between June 1, 2006 through and including August 31, 2008.

This matter was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anne F. Thidemann and Auditor Kevin A. Saunders of the United States Attorney’s Office, and by Assistant Attorney General Karla A. Turekian for the state Office of the Attorney General, with the assistance of the state Department of Social Services.

In entering into the civil settlement agreement, Walgreens did not admit liability.

U.S. Attorney Fein encouraged individuals who suspect health care fraud to report it by calling the Health Care Fraud Task Force at (203) 785-9270 or 1-800-HHS-TIPS.

Foster Care: It's All About The Dollar

Foster care: It's all about the dollar and everyone knows this except the general public.  

...because it's a secret.  Shhhhhh

Audit finds problems at DCF

Published: Monday, November 15, 2010 8:07 AM EST

�©2010, Connecticut News Project Inc.
By Jacqueline Rabe
CTMirror.org

HARTFORD — A new audit has found widespread problems at the Department of Children and Families, including improper use of discretionary spending accounts, missing equipment, improper documentation of payroll records, and overpayments to service providers — in one case, for a total of $111,267.

“There are lots of issues that the Department of Children and Families needs to fix,” state Auditor Kevin P. Johnston said. “With an agency with their kind of funds it could be very expensive for the state if the proper monitoring is not done.”

State of Connecticut Auditors’ Report Department Of Children And Families For The Fiscal Years Ended June 3...

And here is the Consent Decree.
Federal Consent Decree Between State of Connecticut and Children's Rights 1991
If one notices, no matter what level of federal consent decree a state enters into with Children's Rights, there is no way possible for a state to come into compliance because the entire child welfare system was designed not to function according to the terms of the decree.


It's like this:

CR: If you do not go to parenting classes and therapy you will not get your kid back.

CT: I have to go to work.  Those are my work hours.  I will loose my job.

CR: If you loose your job then your parental rights will be terminated.

States who have been found victim of Children's Rights actions find it impossible to even come into federal compliance, let alone a consent decree.  Children's Rights secures a guaranteed funding stream in attorney fees because they know this fact, well.

Guess who pays the attorney fees.  You do.

Childrens Rights Attorney Fees