Release foster parent data, court asked
BY JON CRAIG |
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080108/NEWS01/301080039
COLUMBUS – Attorneys argued before the Ohio Supreme Court todayTuesday
whether the names and addresses of foster care parents should be public
record.
John C. Greiner, a Cincinnati lawyer representing the Enquirer, said,
“We are not asking for the names of any children.”
Enquirer reporter Gregory Korte made a public records request shortly
after the August 2006 death of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel, seeking an
electronic database of all foster homes in Ohio.
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Marcus died after his foster parents left him tied up in a closet while
they took a weekend trip to Kentucky. Liz and David Carroll Jr. were
later convicted in the boy’s murder.
The Enquirer reported in March that Hamilton County court officials
discovered 27 foster parents had arrest records.
Greiner said the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services made a
policy decision – not legal decision – to withhold foster license
records, effectively daring the Enquirer to file a lawsuit.
He said the newspaper never sought the names of foster children, so
would not have placed them in danger.
But Assistant Attorney General Henry G. Appel, in defense of the state,
said, “This case is about protecting vulnerable children against
dangerous people.”
Appel cited a case in which a natural mother tried to harm a foster
family in Licking County. “Imagine if they used public records” to find
her child, he said.
During questioning, Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer pointed out that the
state encourages contact between birth parents and their children, and
foster cases in which there was violence had nothing to do with media
coverage. “It’s no secret who the foster parent is,” he said. “They
don’t need to read that in a newspaper.”
Other justices focused on whether federal law bars release of the
information, because foster parents may receive federal money through
public assistance, or state training.
Greiner said identifying foster care parents would not violate federal
law because it would not identify who gets public assistance money.
When it rules later this year, the Supreme Court could:
-- order the foster records open
-- give state and county agencies authority to seal them from the public, or
-- rule on the narrower issue of whether parents receiving public
assistance should have their names protected.
While Marcus Fiesel’s name was not mentioned in the courtroom, Greiner
told reporters afterward that the boy’s death prompted the newspaper
inquiry and lawsuit.
“That’s really what the public records law is all about,” he said. “The
government should be subject to that scrutiny. . .I think it allows the
public to function as a watchdog and extra check.”
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAMS....
CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.
every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com
Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS
*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*
Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5
Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.
CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...
BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...
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