Innocence Destroyed: Case Against Texas Homeschool Family Dismissed as Traumatized Children Try to Rebuild Their Lives

The Rembis family in Texas is rejoicing and giving glory to God. Family court Judge Cyndi Wheless has ruled that the CPS case against them is dismissed. Their children are home, and there are no more "hoops" to jump through to prove that they are good parents for their 11 homeschooled children. Though they are thankful that the case is over, the trauma that the family has experienced is not. The children have reportedly lost some of their innocence. They no longer have the security of the childlike faith that their daddy can protect them from anything, because they saw that, against the monster of Child Protective Services, their strong daddy was powerless. The fears of the children are triggered by simple things like the ringing of the doorbell. They are afraid of the police now. Their parents have taught them that the police are the good guys, but the children no longer trust that. They are fearful that any police officer they see works with CPS and will take them away from their parents. Some of the children have been having nightmares, and cry out in the night from dreams "that I was in the foster home." They come to their parents room in the middle of the night, scared.

Child Protection Employees Rarely Pay Price for Failing to Protect Foster Children from Abuse

When it comes to Child Welfare and Child Protection Service (CPS) agencies across the U.S., the public is fed a very one-sided view that justifies these massive federal programs funded by American taxpayers. The view is that there are vast numbers of children being abused in their homes by their families that need rescuing by these CPS agencies. The failures of these agencies to themselves protect the children they take out of homes and put into foster care are brushed aside under the umbrella excuse that they are under-staffed with not enough funding to properly take care of all these supposedly abused children. The truth, however, is far different than this picture being painted before the public. Studies clearly show that children left in their homes with their parents, even when they are left in troubled homes, are far better off than they would be in foster care away from their family. (See: Foster Care Children are Worse Off than Children in Troubled Homes.) Children in foster care are routinely abused physically and sexually, given psychotic drugs they would not normally be on if they had remained with their families, and far more likely to die before reaching adulthood. When these failures of CPS agencies are discovered and prosecuted in court, resulting in settlements and payouts, the social workers seldom are held accountable, according to a new investigative report by Will Drabold of the Seattle Times. He found that over the past eight years, the Washington state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) has been hit with scores of lawsuits, ultimately paying $166.4 million for personal-injury claims. Many of the most severely injured were children who were tortured, starved or raped. Some died. And yet, in every single case they looked into, not one social worker was fired or suspended. None was demoted or lost pay.

LA County DCFS Continues to Allow Corruption in Foster Care System

Prosecutors have charged two executives of a Los Angeles County group home for youth in the juvenile delinquency system and foster care with misuse of public funds, embezzlement and filing false tax returns. The charges against Gary O'Neil Batchelor and Steven Bryan Smith, the financial officer and executive director, respectively, of Moore's Cottage, mark the second time in a year that the district attorney's office has alleged criminal wrongdoing within the multimillion dollar industry that county officials entrust with the care of some of Southern California's most vulnerable youth. As in the district attorney's recent case against leaders of the Little People's World group home, the alleged wrongdoing at Moore's Cottage may have festered for years as county officials ignored signs of financial mismanagement, records show.

Baltimore Child Welfare Director: Foster Care is a Bad Idea – Kids Belong in Families

Child welfare is an industry and industries are self-protecting ecosystems. Think about it, the only time the federal government pays me is when I take somebody’s kid. And as soon as that kid’s in foster care they instantly become a commodity, and the industry starts to wrap around, doctors, lawyers, judges, social workers, advocates, whole organizations. The industry is committed to this intervention, this taking other people’s children, ‘cause that’s what it needs to survive. And it’s on auto pilot and it’s going to do whatever it has to do to stay alive.

Another Baby Medically Kidnapped in South Carolina over Broken Bones – Parents Thrown in Jail

Jason and Mattie Walls from South Carolina took their frail, premature daughter to the emergency room after she became limp and was not breathing properly. What followed next was a chain of events resulting in every parents' worst nightmare: The seizure of their daughter and removal from their custody, and charges made against them for child abuse which resulted in spending time in jail - all because they took their baby to the hospital looking for help.

Judge Orders CPS to Return Baby to Parents in Texas Medical Kidnap Case

Tears of relief and joyful smiles were a few indicators of the emotions that Diana Gonzalez and Ethan Johnson felt Tuesday morning when state District Judge Charles Van Orden ruled that their 10-month-old daughter, Melodi, must be returned to them that afternoon by Child Protective Services. But their rejoicing was cut short briefly Tuesday afternoon when a CPS investigator allegedly defied Van Orden’s order that the couple could be with their daughter at McLane Children’s Hospital Scott & White for testing. They were holding Melodi when the investigator ordered them to surrender her and then the couple was escorted from the hospital by security officers, Brad Williamson, the couple’s attorney, said. “Melodi had better be back in their arms no later than 4 p.m.,” Williamson said. “They are defying the judge’s ruling that the parents could be there.” Williamson mentioned possibly calling CPS headquarters directly to file a complaint against it for not following the judge’s orders and could even file a motion for enforcement, he said. Melodi was returned to her parents before 4 p.m. and was taken home.

Native American CPS Whistleblower Goes Missing in North Carolina – Daughter on the Run

Two videos recorded the scene on the night of April 14, 2014, when Cheyenne and Randy Davis were followed for at least a mile by law enforcement, pulled over, and brutally separated by Sampson County Deputies. No reasons were given for the stop and subsequent arrest of Randy, nor the abduction of his daughter, Cheyenne. What we do know is that Randy Davis is a whistleblower on State corruption related to CPS and Native American funding. His whereabouts are currently unknown, and his daughter, who has escaped from Foster care, is on the run and hiding until she turns 18.

Illinois Governor Vetoes Bill For DCFS Services Past 18 – Does This Mean Isaiah Rider Could Go Free?

Advocates for Missouri teen Isaiah Rider's freedom are cautiously optimistic following the news that Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed a bill on Friday. The bill would have extended DCFS services to young adults between the ages of 18 and 21. According to the Chicago Tribune, the bill sent to Rauner's desk "would require that foster care cases remain open until wards reach the age of 21, instead of 18." He vetoed the bill on August 21, calling it an "unfunded mandate" which"places a significant financial burden on the department, particularly because the department would not be eligible for matching federal funds for all these services." Representative Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, sponsored the bill and is vowing to fight back. She made this chilling statement in response to the veto: "We made a decision to make them wards of the state. That means we're their parents." Isaiah has made it clear on numerous occasions that he neither wants nor needs the government of Illinois to be his parents. Isaiah turns 18 on August 27. Advocates are hopeful that Governor Rauney's veto signals Isaiah's freedom, but are afraid to celebrate just yet, until there is confirmation from the Governor's office that the Missouri family's nightmare journey with Illinois DCFS is over.

Homebirthed Newborn Medically Kidnapped at Illinois Children’s Hospital

The date was May 23, 2012. It was a beautiful midwife-assisted homebirth: a planned water birth and lotus birth. Mother Dontia, father Armondo, big brother Deon, and new baby sister Asaliah, were all happy and doing great after the birth. However, concerns regarding redness around the umbilical cord at Asaliah’s navel caused mom to seek medical treatment on June 8, 2012, at the OSF St. Francis Children’s Hospital in Peoria, Illinois. Little did Dontia know that this seemingly unassuming trip to the E.R., seeking help for her baby’s infection, would reportedly end up completely destroying her life by removing both her 11 year-old son and her newborn baby from her custody, violating what she claims is her constitutional right to religious freedom, and later, while still in the midst of fighting CPS for her medically kidnapped children, sending her into a life of hiding and secrecy to protect the life of her third unborn child. Deon is now 14, Asaliah is now 3, and her third child (un-named to conceal her identity and protect her from being seized), is now 2. Dontia has not seen or spoken to Deon in three years, nor has she had visitations with Asaliah since she fled Illinois, unable to bear the loss of another child. Dontia and her third child remain in hiding today. This is her story.

California Parents Blamed for SIDS Death – Lose Remaining Children to CPS

Crystal Avenger of El Dorado, California states that 3-month old Alana Jo received a Hepatitis B vaccination in the hospital shortly before her death. Approximately one week prior to her death, in March 2015 they took her back to the hospital for a sick visit and she was diagnosed with a common cold. On the morning of March 18, 2015, Christopher awoke and noticed his daughter, Alana, didn’t look normal. His voice laden with emotion as he recalled, “I picked her up from the bed and her arms went completely limp.” He immediately called 911 and frantically followed the 911 operator’s instructions for CPR on his baby. The other children were watching in horror as Christopher tried desperately to revive Alana. The baby was taken away in an ambulance, and her mother Crystal was not even allowed to go with her. An investigation began, and despite no evidence of abuse with the parents, the remaining four children were removed from the home by force, screaming as they were ripped away from their parents.