Politics > Politics-USA > Think about the children tonight: From 2000-2005, 571 children werekilled by abuse or neglect in Florida. Here are the names of children whodied in our community from caregiver abuse or neglect over the last eight
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Politics > Politics-USA |
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30 Aug 2007 01:02:13 AM |
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Think about the children tonight: From 2000-2005, 571 children werekilled by abuse or neglect in Florida. Here are the names of children whodied in our community from caregiver abuse or neglect over the last eight |
Think about the children tonight
Originally posted on August 30, 2007
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070830/OPINION/708300368/1015
IF YOU GO
• WHAT: Vigil to help stop child abuse
• WHEN: 7 to 8 p.m. tonight
• WHERE: Centennial Park, Fort Myers
• WHO: Hosted by The News-Press
• INFO: Call Special Project Editor Betty Wells at 335-0354 or email her
at
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Would you have an hour tonight to reflect upon the lives of the child
victims of murder, abuse and neglect?
Would you be willing to grieve publicly for them and join with other
members of our community to say "no more"?
We hope you'll say yes to these questions and attend a vigil The
News-Press is hosting at 7 p.m. tonight at Centennial Park in Fort
Myers, to commemorate these victims and to empower all of us to take action.
We'll have music, a visual presentation and a few words from people who
know this topic well. We'll ask participants to sign a letter to Gov.
Crist about how we feel.
The torture and murder of 3-year-old Zahid Jones Jr. of Cape Coral in
May inspired this vigil. And last year we lost Michelle Fontanez, 13, of
Lehigh Acres the same way.
They are not the only ones.
From 2000-2005, 571 children were killed by abuse or neglect in
Florida. Here are the names of children who died in our community from
caregiver abuse or neglect over the last eight years:
• 1999: Keymone Leggett (Lee County)
• 2000: Andrian Zurita (Collier); B.J. Olivarez (Glades); Gretchen
Grodin and Vernon Jackson (Lee)
• 2001: Lexus Bohannon, Barbara Clark, Sierra Jordan, Rebekah Saint
Ulysse and James Wallace (Lee)
• 2002: Jabriana Christmas and David Crump (Collier); James Cotter,
Daniel McCray and Jacob Smith (Lee)
• 2003: June Jolene Bloomberg (Collier); Michael Anderson, Leah Brown,
Jorge Santos Diaz III, Gregory Fleming and Amanda Martinez (Lee)
• 2004: Hannah Burns, Matthew Eubanks and Shane Poling, Jr. (Charlotte);
Alexis De La Cruz (Hendry); Devin Ciccarone, Devon Matthew Clark, Camren
McDowell, Exavier McKay Benjamin Smitley and Lavontae Williams (Lee)
• 2005: Philip Blascone, Ella Grace Dixon, Lauran Dixon and Justin Mark
Krejci (Lee)
• 2006: Abigail Boran (Collier); Anthony Dume and Cheyenne Eairhart
(Charlotte); Solycia Divine Clark, Michelle Fontanez and John Hickman
III (Lee)
• 2007: Zahid Jones Jr. (Lee)
These children will never grow up to fulfill their potential. Let's not
lose any more.
Two weeks ago The News-Press sponsored a roundtable on child welfare and
protection.
The secretary of the Department of Children and Families, our state
attorney, a legislator, a judge, law enforcement officers, child welfare
activists and community leaders were there.
We came up with 10 solutions that we will commit to following up with in
the long term:
1. We need parents to become involved in their children's lives
2. We need to start new — and support existing — neighborhood programs
3. We need to attract more volunteers, such as, Guardians Ad Litem or
foster parents
4. We need to start supporting preventative care and services
5. We need to start adequately funding our social service needs
6. We need systemwide reviews to ensure things are working, and if not,
to make changes
7. Agencies, such as DCF and law enforcement, need to communicate better.
8. We need better training for all people in the field, from judges to
case workers
9. We must support the Community Alliance, a state-mandated group that
is supposed to help children in the system
10. We must review laws related to child abuse, neglect,
confidentiality, safety and liability.
Tonight we are going to commemorate our lost children, but we refuse to
let it end here.
Help us say "no more."
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....
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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