Parents Trade Tips to Prevent Confiscation of Kids at Washington D.C. Meeting

About a dozen parents and medical marijuana activists gathered in the nation’s capital recently to share horror stories and advice on how to shield families from authorities who wield the power to take away their children. State marijuana laws are increasingly common in the U.S., but protections for parents who legally use the drug as medicine or administer it to their children are missing, panelists and audience members at the event said. Roughly half of states currently allow medical marijuana – four of them also allow legal recreational pot use – and a handful more allow use of cannabidiol (CBD), a compound thought to have medicinal benefits that doesn’t produce a high. Maria and Steve Green of Michigan, where residents approved a medical pot law in 2008, shared the well-reported story of officials taking away their 6-month-old daughter, Bree, in 2013. In California, the first state to set up a medical marijuana program in the 1990s, a couple sued in 2013 after their children were taken for a year because the father, a veteran, allegedly used the drug for medical purposes near them. Another California couple sued, alleging their son was sexually abused in foster care after he was taken from his San Diego home when a raid recovered pot his father says was grown for medicine.

CPS Defies Doctors and Police to Take Young Children Away from Mother

It was a sequence of events that could happen to any new mother, but Brenda Maney of Richmond, Kentucky, could never have anticipated that it would result in her losing her children, perhaps forever. But that is what is happening. In less than a month, on May 7, Brenda faces a hearing to permanently terminate her parental rights. Brenda's baby girl was born two weeks early via c-section. She went to the NICU and was in a coma for eight days. She was diagnosed with sleep apnea and severe GERD, and required an apnea monitor when she was finally released to go home. Between an infection in her surgical scar, and a monitor that sometimes went off every half hour or hour, Brenda wasn't getting much sleep. She was also caring for her 11 year old special needs son. She didn't have much help either, because her mother had passed away not long before the birth, and she was a single mom. When her baby was 6 weeks old, she learned that she was going to have to move soon because the building she lived in was being sold. By this point, she was still under doctors orders not to lift anything over 10 lbs. Then the transmission on her car went out. It was a bit overwhelming, and Brenda called a friend, crying about the series of unfortunate events. Her friend offered to try to help her. Her friend was a bit naive, and called CPS to help the new mama, believing that their role was to help parents in time of need. That is when the problems really started. Although local police objected, CPS took away her children. Even after doctors cleared Brenda of any psychological or medical problems, CPS refused to give her children back.

Arizona Families Hold Umbrella Rally on Anniversary of Diegel Sisters Medical Kidnapping

It has been a year now since Melissa Diegel's daughters, Kayla and Hannah, were seized by Arizona CPS and Phoenix Children's Hospital, one year since that horrible week last April when the Diegel sisters joined the ranks of not hundreds, but thousands of children in foster care in Arizona, many of whom are believed to be there unjustly. The Diegel story helped to thrust the issue of medical kidnapping into the national spotlight. In commemoration of the painful anniversary, other families and supporters joined together for an Arizona State House Umbrella Rally, to "rally for the 17,000 Arizona children currently in State Care." Umbrellas have become a symbol for these children, starting out as simply a tribute to the Diegel sisters because Hannah has always loved umbrellas. As the number of supporters grew, the umbrellas have come to symbolize much more, as a rallying cry for activists fighting to bring these children home: "All children belong under the protective umbrella of loving parents."

Cook Family vs. CPS Case in Texas Heads to Grand Jury

In this interview with Angel Cook, she explains how a Texas CPS worker came into their home after the death of one of their adopted children, and misrepresented herself as a police detective, and then accused her of murdering her child, a charge that was later dismissed in a court of law. CPS removed their other 7 children from the home, and they were subsequently mistreated and sexually abused while in Texas foster care. Today, the Cooks have their children back, but they continue to fight against the abuses of Texas CPS and the foster care system. Angel Cook and two of her sons have testified twice before legislative committees about the failings of CPS and the foster care system. Although all charges were dropped against the parents for the death of their adopted son, who was allegedly abused and mistreated prior to coming into the Cook Family's care, Angel Cook is now listed as a Child Abuser and can no longer get a job or visit her children in school. The social workers who knew about the mistreatment and sexual abuse of their children while in foster care remain on their jobs as social workers, and the foster parents who allegedly abused their children are still fostering other children.

Court Approves $2.075 Million Settlement for Ex-foster Children Who Were Abused

The federal court in Nevada has approved a $2.075 million settlement for seven former foster children who claimed they were injured while in Clark County’s child welfare system, the National Center for Youth Law announced. “The track record for the county is not good,” said Bill Grimm, a senior attorney at the Oakland, Calif.,-based National Center for Youth Law, which filed the lawsuit and lobbies for the protection and care of foster children. The suit cited concerns with numerous aspects of the county’s child welfare system, including the use of psychotropic medications on children, reported physical and sexual abuse in foster homes, and the adequacy of Child Protective Services investigations.

Isaiah Rider Speaks out on Robert Scott Bell Show – Wants to go to Mayo Clinic for Pain but Held Hostage

Isaiah Rider, the 17 year old teenager who is still in the custody of Illinois against his will, appeared on The Robert Scott Bell Show last night (April 6th) along with his mother Michelle Rider to give an update on their current situation. As reported on the Epic Times today, one of the more amazing moments in the interview was when Isaiah was asked by Robert Scott Bell “What do you need?” Isaiah’s response was: “The one thing that I need is I really need people to help me make a difference in the world. I want kids to have better lives than having DCFS take them away from their families.” Today (April 7, 2015), Michelle Rider reported that Isaiah is experiencing another pain crisis, and they desperately need help. The family wants Isaiah transferred to the Mayo Clinic, but they need the permission of the State of Illinois DCFS to do so.

Vermont Teen Drugged Against Her Will, Held in Custody in Massachusetts Mental Health Facility

"I'm just literally here as a hostage. I didn't do anything. I haven't harmed anyone. I haven't harmed myself, and they won't let me go home. I just want to go home to my mom, so I can have my life back. They took it from me. They are drugging me up every single day against my will." This is the heartfelt plea recorded by a homeschooled American teenager being held in a mental health facility in Massachusetts against her will and that of her family in Vermont.

Arizona CPS on Trial in Federal Court – Will Justice Prevail?

Leanna Smith has been fighting the State of Arizona for several years for allegedly taking away her two daughters illegally in a massive medical cover-up and fraud case. Now she gets her day in federal court on Friday April 17th in the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco. But will justice prevail? Leanna Smith has over 1700 audio recordings of alleged interviews with government and medical personnel in the case, which have been sealed. Why have these recording been sealed for so long in Arizona courts? Will they finally be released, and will Leanna Smith be able to present her case against the State of Arizona and medical authorities in federal court? Health Impact News has published the stories of several families who claim their children were medically kidnapped in Arizona. One of the most tragic stories we have published is the story of Leanna and Darrell Smith's two daughters, which perhaps most illustrates the depth of corruption that many families have reported exists in the Arizona "medical kidnapping" system. The Smith family was completely destroyed, as they lost 2 of their 3 children, and they have been embattled in years of legal proceedings. Now, their case will be heard outside of Arizona in the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

HSLDA Takes Prosecution of Arizona CPS Workers to Supreme Court

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit excused two Arizona social workers from liability for threatening to take John and Tiffany Loudermilk’s children into state custody if they didn’t immediately consent to a search of their home. This result is deeply disappointing. It allows CPS workers to continue to coerce parents into cooperating by threatening to take away their children. It endorses their tactic of calling in the police to intimidate parents in their own home. And it sharply discourages parents from seeking legal counsel to find out what their rights are. This is why we at HSLDA take cases like this one. We will be asking the Supreme Court to review the case.

Federal Court Rules Against South Dakota for Taking Children Away from Native Americans

We have previously reported how the Department of Social Services makes up 53% of the entire budget for the state of South Dakota every year, mainly by removing children from Native American homes, and usually placing them in white people's homes. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced this week that a federal court has ordered South Dakota officials to stop violating the rights of Indian parents and tribes in state child custody proceedings.