Is Foster Care “In the Best Interest of the Child”?

Current laws in the United States that give legal authority to social workers and law enforcement to remove children from their families and place them into foster care often use the term "in the best interest of children." This sounds like a noble reason to take children away from their families, but what do measured outcomes of such actions really instruct us about the definition of "the best interest of children"? Are children truly better off in foster care than they would be if they had stayed with their natural parents who are accused of some "abuse" or "neglect"? Let's take a look at some statistics to find the answer to that question.

Arizona Family Court, CPS, and Doctors on Trial in 9th Circuit Court

On Friday April 17, 2015 9:00 a.m. the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit heard the Leanna Smith v. State of Arizona case in the medical kidnapping of Leanna Smith's two daughters by CPS and Arizona doctors. The contrast between the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and the Arizona Juvenile Courts is the difference between transparency and darkness; the difference between fairness and corruption; the difference between hope and despair. The entire trial was recorded in the court room in San Francisco, and you can view it here.

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."

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.

Is Arizona Governor Doug Ducey Continuing Practice of Medical Kidnappings?

This new report from The Arizona Republic suggests that it is business as usual in Arizona in the area of state-sponsored child kidnappings. Arizona has the highest percentage of children being removed from biological parents and put into foster care among the 50 U.S. States. According to The Arizona Republic, Governor Ducey's office is refusing to release a whistle-blower complaint made against Greg McKay, who is now the department director the Department of Child Safety.

Retired Arizona Judge Reveals Corruption in Legal System

Justice John F. Molloy was an attorney in Arizona who went on to serve as a judge on the Arizona Superior Court bench. He is probably best known for his time serving as Chief Justice to Court of Appeals for the State of Arizona, where he authored the famous Miranda decision that was subsequently appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, resulting in what is known today as the "Miranda Rights" which law enforcement now quotes to suspected criminals upon arrest. Judge Molloy wrote a book that was published in 2004 a few years before he died in 2008. He was apparently suffering from cancer at the time, and perhaps knew his remaining time on earth was short. The title of the book is: The Fraternity: Lawyers and Judges in Collusion, published by Paragon House. It is an amazing expose on just how corrupt the American Judicial System is today, and it perhaps gives us a better understanding on how so many judges in family or juvenile courts across the United States are able to successfully remove children from the custody of their parents in medical kidnapping cases.

Dr. Gregory Smith Exposes Medical Kidnapping in Arizona

Dr. Gregory Smith, M.D., is the executive producer of the award winning film American Addict, and hosts a weekly radio talk show on KABC 790 in Los Angeles every Saturday night. This past Saturday, February 7, 2015, Dr. Smith discussed the problem of medical kidnapping in Arizona. He interviewed investigative reporter Jennifer Margulis, who recently covered the Leanna Smith case: Corruption and Medical Malpractice Coverup involving Arizona CPS? How One Family was Destroyed. Also interviewed on the show with Dr. Smith was Leanna Smith herself, along with Child Advocate and author Steve Isham, and Attorney Beth Maloney.

Arizona Judges Continue to Threaten Parents and Restrict Free Speech

Family court in Arizona has threatened another family with a gag order, and forced them to contact Health Impact News asking us to take down their story, exposing what is happening in Arizona in abusing parental rights. Health Impact News and MedicalKidnap.com will not comply with this request.

BREAKING: ARIZONA SUED BY ABUSED FOSTER CHILDREN!

The Associated Press and many other media outlets today (February 3, 2015) have announced that a federal class-action lawsuit was filed against the directors of the Arizona Department of Children's Services and the Department of Health Services by ten foster children in Arizona. The children in the lawsuit are represented by the groups Children's Rights, the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest, and Phoenix law firm Coppersmith Brockelman PLC. Arizona's treatment of foster children is so bad it actually puts kids at risk of greater harm, says the federal class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit, which names as plaintiffs 10 foster children ages 3 to 14, said the agencies failed to address ongoing failures. The suit also accuses the state of a "widespread failure to engage in basic child welfare practices aimed at maintaining family relationships." That includes placing siblings together, trial reunifications with parents, adequate visitation between children and biological families, and having caseworkers visit parents to work toward reunification.