Justice in Kentucky! Courts Deny “Qualified Immunity” for Social Workers Medically Kidnapping Children

It's nice to know the U.S. Judicial System still works sometimes. Two recent cases out of Kentucky ruled against social workers who misused their positions to illegally remove children from their families, denying the principle of "qualified immunity" for social workers. Senior Judge William Bertlesman of the U.S. District Court in Covington ruled that social workers are not entitled to qualified immunity in their case with Maureen ‘Nikkie’ Holliday versus the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services social workers imposed a restrictive “Prevention Plan” the single mom was coerced into signing. It required her to have strictly supervised contact with her four-year-old daughter. The threatened penalty was foster care for her child. Bertleman has ruled that Holliday’s due process claims and her emotional distress claims are legitimate and that the social workers are not entitled to qualified immunity. This is the second time that Judge Bertlesman has ruled against qualified immunity of social workers abusing parental rights and illegally removing children from their home. The other case involved Holly and David Schulkers, in Schulkers v. Kammer, and his judgment in that case denying qualified immunity to social workers was upheld by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in April this year, setting forth important legal precedence.

Prostitution Camp in Marshall Islands Provided Teenage Mothers for Arizona Mormon Politician’s Child Trafficking Business

Last year (2019) Health Impact News reported on the arrest of Paul Petersen by federal agents in Arizona for illegally trafficking children from the Marshall Islands. Paul Petersen was the Maricopa County Assessor and a Mormon adoption attorney who was arrested and indicted in three states for trafficking children through an illegal adoption scheme.  Dillon Rosenblatt of the Arizona Capital Times reports that a prostitution camp in the Marshall Islands, where girls as young as 15 or 16 did sex work in exchange for food and housing, provided many of the birth mothers for the children that were trafficked through adoption to the U.S.

Georgia House Approves Legislation to Ban Foster Parents from Having Sex with Children in Their Care

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that a new proposed bill has just passed the Georgia State House of Representatives "that would make it illegal for foster parents to have sexual contact with children they are caring for." It is House Bill 911 sponsored by Republican state Representative Ed Setzler. Health Impact News supports Rep. Setzler's bill, but we disagree with his published statement that these situations are "rare instances where a foster parent has inappropriate sexual contact with those in his or her care." Statistics show that the U.S. Foster Care system is the main pipeline for child sex trafficking, and is not that rare at all.

Idaho Lawmaker Wants to Rein in Abuse of Power by Child Protection Services

Idaho Representative Heather Scott is apparently getting too many calls from her constituents regarding the abuses of Idaho Child Protection social workers in the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. She has proposed legislation that would require every social worker visiting someone's home to provide a print-out of parents Constitutional rights, which seem to be routinely violated by social workers and local law enforcement. As is to be expected, she experienced strong push back on her bill from those in Government profiting from the trafficking of children through Child Welfare and the Foster Care System. She took her case to the public recently via a video she posted on Facebook, as she is proposing other bills now as well, such as requiring that social workers receive training on parents' Constitutional rights. Representative Scott is also encouraging parents to visit IdahoCPS.org to learn more.

Wisconsin Child Abuse Pediatrician Loses Job After Complaints – Becomes Medical Director in Alaska for Child Abuse

Reporter Dee J. Hall has published an article in The Cap Times of Madison, Wisconsin, regarding Dr. Barbara Knox, formerly head of the Child Protection Program at American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison. According to Hall, Dr. Knox was considered "a national expert on child abuse who testifies as an expert for prosecutors around the country." The University of Wisconsin reportedly put Dr. Knox on paid leave in 2019 "after colleagues inside and outside of the hospital accused her of intimidation or retaliation." According to Hall,  "Knox now works as the medical director of Alaska CARES, a child abuse response and evaluation program based at the Children’s Hospital at Providence in Anchorage." Hall's article also documents cases where Dr. Knox allegedly falsely accused parents of child abuse.  It is good to see more and more local media sources exposing the practices of these Child Abuse Pediatricians, who have to find child abuse from injuries in order to justify their position.

Florida’s Top Child Abuse Doctor Exposed – Second Opinions by Other Doctors Not Allowed When Examining Child Injuries

With the recent, negative media attention focusing on the sub-specialty Child Abuse Pediatrics, Dr. Bruce McIntosh, the statewide medical director of nearly two dozen child protection teams in Florida, has broken his silence to speak out in defense of these Child Abuse Pediatricians (CAP’s). According to a story by Katie LaGrone with WPTV in West Palm Beach, Dr. McIntosh is quoted as saying: “We do not set out to diagnose abuse; we set out to find out what happened.” Katie LaGrone reports, “This is the first time Dr. McIntosh has responded, on the record, after their investigation found several families were wrongly accused of child abuse by child abuse pediatricians who work for the state as experts on abuse.” The response was the result of questions posed by WPTV regarding a 2017 training video they found on the state child welfare website. The video includes 62 minutes of Dr. McIntosh and state legal experts presenting common defenses in child abuse cases and why those defenses are false. Dr. McIntosh claims these false defenses are often made by hired witnesses to offer alternative explanations for the child’s injuries. What McIntosh and others fail to mention is the fact that child abuse pediatricians are paid by the prosecution to testify in these cases as well. They are paid because most of them are “hired” or contracted with the state to consult on suspected abuse cases and testify for the prosecution. Often times, the Child Abuse Pediatrician is the primary and/or only expert witness for the prosecution. This is never told to families when they are being questioned by the Child Abuse Pediatrician in the hospital.

Alabama Mother Separated from Newborn Baby for Days Because of False Drug Test After Eating Poppy Seeds

Another case where a false drug test was used as justification to medically kidnap a newborn baby and separate the infant from the mother, during one of the most crucial times when a baby needs to bond with their mother just after birth. WAFF 48 News in Huntsville, Alabama, picked up the story. "A Huntsville mom and her doctor fear poppy seed bread may be the reason she no longer has custody of her 2-day-old baby boy. Rebecca Hernandez was given a drug test after her delivery at Crestwood Medical Center Tuesday. According to her doctor, the screening showed traces of opiates in her system. 'This is a nightmare for the whole family,' said Hernandez. 'Ya know, a newborn baby has to be close to mom. They have to be with the mom. That’s the most important time in their life to be close to the mom when they’re just born.' Through the help of her doctor, Hernandez learned the poppy seed bread she had eaten the day before may have caused a false positive. Dr. Yashica Robinson, Hernandez’s doctor, said same day drug screenings are a problem and wants hospitals to rely on laboratory confirmed tests." When WAFF posted the story on social media, they say the story was exposed to tens of thousands of people who read it, and they received hundreds of comments from people saying they had experienced similar experiences with Child Protective Services. Why the hospital tested Ms. Hernandez for drugs, and whether or not Ms. Hernandez agreed to the drug testing, is not known. She spoke to reporters via a Spanish interpreter.

False Child Abuse Charges Caused Couple to Lose their Home, Job, and two Children Before Being Cleared 2 Years Later

Lorina Troy is on a mission to make sure what happened to her doesn’t continue happening to others. “My children were wrongfully taken from me for five months and placed into the foster care system,” Lorina Troy said. Five years ago, in Austin, Texas, doctors found fluid inside the head of Troy's second-born son, JJ. She says they automatically assumed it was Shaken Baby Syndrome. Soon after, JJ, and the Troy's four-year-old son were taken away by Child Protective Services. It took five months for Troy and her husband, Jason, to get their kids back. And two more years passed before JJ was properly diagnosed with Benign External Hydrocephalus. It’s a rare condition where spinal fluid can build outside of the brain, leading to swelling. To make matters even more complicated, The Troys also had to prove their innocence. They spent $80,000 dollars in attorney fees, had to sell their house and Jason lost his job. It took more than two years and the accurate diagnosis for the couple to finally be cleared of all charges. Troy says the whole ordeal led her to action, and taught her there are other families in the same situation.

Florida ABC News Covers Widespread Medical Kidnappings Due to Child Abuse Pediatricians

As year 2020 gets underway, we are seeing more and more mainstream media sources covering medical kidnapping stories, especially when Child Abuse Pediatricians are involved. One of the latest investigative reports comes from the Tampa ABC News I-Team Investigations. Katie LaGrone, reporting with ABC Action News, writes: "A Florida lawmaker believes the state’s medical experts on child abuse need more checks and balances after an I-team investigation revealed several pediatricians have made questionable calls against parents who appeared to have done everything right. 'Any position of authority that isn’t checked by something is concerning,' said Florida Democratic Representative Anna Eskamani of Orlando. Eskamani was responding to our investigation that found several cases where child abuse pediatricians, who were hired to be the state’s experts on abuse, wrongly accused Florida parents of child abuse."

Arizona Foster Father Who Adopted 18 Kids with His Husband Will not Face Charges in Death of 4-Month-Old Baby Left in Hot Car

This past August we covered the tragic story of 4-month-old Samora Lesley Cousin who died when one of her foster dads allegedly left her in a hot car for hours. Roger Ham, the foster parent who left the 4-month-old baby in his car, was not arrested at the time. ABC 12 News in Phoenix is reporting that the Maricopa County District Attorney's Office will not move forward with criminal charges against Mr. Ham. The current, newly appointed Maricopa County DA is Allister Adel, the former general counsel for the Arizona Department of Child Safety (CPS), the agency responsible for putting children into foster care. The Arizona Republic has published multiple articles about foster dads Steve and Roger Ham over the past several years, portraying them as wonderful parents who have adopted 18 kids. Reporter Karina Bland even published an article just after 4-month-old Samora Lesley Cousin died, casting the foster parents in a positive light. The baby was taken away from her mother Jennifer Haley due to her mother allegedly testing positive for drugs, something that Jennifer Haley denies. “They take our kids because they say we’re unfit, and when they take our kids a lot of bad things happen,” Haley said. “I want CPS to look at this, remember my daughter, and realize nobody is perfect and bad things happen.” So while baby Samora's mother and father had to mourn the loss of their baby girl twice, once when the State of Arizona took her away from them, and then again when she died a few months later, the Hams are allowed to continue as foster parents.