SOMETHING GOOD FOR A CHANGE

[Gary Shaw]

THIS WAS IN THE TOCCOA GEORGIA NEWSPAPER THIS WEEK. SENATOR SCHAEFER IS ONE OF THE SENATORS WE HAVE BEEN IN REGULAR CONTACT WITH TRYING TO SOLICIT HELP WITH LEGISLATION. SHE HAS BEEN VERY PRO ACTIVE IN DFCS/CPS MISDEEDS FOR THE LAST YEAR OR SO. SHE IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR INTERVENTION IN A HALF DOZEN CASES WE REFERRED TO HER. IN ONE CASE SHE EVEN TOOK THE CHILDREN FROM FOSTER CARE AND BECAME THEIR GUARDIAN HERSELF. SHE IS A WONDERFUL AND CARING PERSON WHO IS STICKING HER POLITICAL NECK OUT TO HELP. SHE IS VERY BUSY BUT STILL SEND HER A THANK YOU EMAIL. SHE REALLY DOESN'T NEED MORE STORIES, SHE HAS THOUSANDS, JUST A SIMPLE THANK YOU TO LET HER KNOW WE SUPPORT HER EFFORTS AND APPRECIATE THEM.

THE LAST COMMUNICATION I HAD FROM HER SHE SAID SHE WAS GOING TO SOLICIT THE ASSISTANCE OF SENATOR JEFF CHAPMAN, ANOTHER SENATOR WE INTRODUCED TO THE EVIL OF CPS, TO HELP HER DRAFT LEGISLATION FOR THE JANUARY, 2008 SESSION OF THE SENATE IN GEORGIA.

The Toccoa Record

State Sen. Nancy Schaefer last week called for an overhaul of the state's child protection services provided through the Department of Family and Children's Services (DFCS).
Among the recommendations by Schaefer, who represents the 50th District which includes Stephens County, was that a jury trial be held when a child is taken from their parents.
Schaefer also called for the requirement of a warrant signed by a judge before removing a child from their parents, except in an emergency situation such as a medical crisis.
"The Department of Family and Children's Service, known as the Department of Child Protective Services in other states, has become a protected empire built on taking children and separating families," Schaefer said in a lengthy e-mail.
"This is not to say there are not children who do need to be removed from wretched situations and need protection," Schaefer said. "This report is concerned with the children and parents caught in legal kidnapping, ineffective policies and DFCS that does not remove a child or children when a child is enduring torment and abuse."
Schaefer offered as an example an unnamed county in her district where she met with 37 families to discuss the "gestapo" tactics of the DFCS.
"I witnessed the deceitful conditions under which children were taken in the middle of the night, out of hospitals and off school busses," Schaefer said. "Having worked with probably 300 cases statewide, I am convinced there is no responsibility and no accountability in the system."
Among Schaefer's conclusions:
Poor parents are targeted to lose their children because they do not have the wherewithal to hire lawyers and fight the system.
"Being poor does not mean you are not a good parent or that you do not love your child or that your child should be removed and placed with strangers," Schaefer said.
All parents are capable of making mistakes and that making a mistake does not mean children should be removed from the home.
Parenting classes, anger management classes, counseling referrals, therapy classes, etc. are demanded of parents with no compassion by the system while they are at work and while their children are separated from them.
Caseworkers and social workers are often guilty of fraud.
"They withhold evidence. They fabricate evidence and they seek to terminate parental rights. However, when charges are made against them, the charges are ignored," Schaefer said.
Separation of families is a growing business because local governments have grown accustomed to having taxpayer dollars to balance their ever-expanding budgets.
DFCS and juvenile court can always hide behind a confidentiality clause in order to protect their decisions.
There are no financial resources and no real drive to unite a family and help keep them together.
The incentive for social workers to return children to their parents quickly after taking them has disappeared.
The policy manual for DFCS is considered the last word.
"The manual is too long, too confusing, poorly written and doesn't take the law into consideration," Schaefer said.
Children removed from homes may not be safer in foster care.
"Children of whom I am aware have been raped and impregnated in foster care and the head of a foster parents association in my district was recently arrested because of child molestation," Schaefer said.
Grandparents are not often contacted by DFCS when children are removed from homes.
"Grandparents who lose their grandchildren to strangers have lost their own flesh and blood. The children lose their family heritage, and grandparents lose all connections to their heirs," Schaefer said.
Schaefer is calling for an independent audit of DFCS to expose possible "corruption and fraud."
She also called for immediate change. "Every day that passes means more families and children are subject to being held hostage."
Schaefer said any financial incentives to separate families should end, and parents should be given their rights in writing.
She also called for a required search for family members to be given the opportunity to adopt their own relatives, and when someone fabricates or presents false evidence, a hearing should be held with the right to discovery of all evidence.








http://www.thetoccoarecord.com/articles ... /news2.prt
Senator Nancy Schaefer
50th District of Georgia
Senator Nancy Schaefer
302 B Coverdell Office Building
18 Capitol Square, SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Phone: 404-463-1367
Fax: 404-657-3217
Senator Nancy Schaefer
District Office
P O Box 294
Turnerville, Georgia 30580
Phone: 706-754-1998
Fax: 706-754-1803
email: [email protected]
Please forward to anyone interested

FOR ALL OF US WHO HAVE WAITED FOR SOMEONE TO HELP US, HERE IS YOUR CHANCE. EVERYONE NEEDS TO CONTACT THIS SENATOR AND FLOOD HER WITH SUPPORT. WHETHER SHE IS YOUR SENATOR OR NOT, IT DOESNT MATTER IF YOU DONT LIVE IN GA, SHE WILL GET THE ATTENTION AND THEN IT FORCES OTHERS TO JUMP ON BOARD. YOU NEED TO WRITE HER EVERY DAY AND SAY THANK YOU, WE SUPPORT YOU.

[good dad]

Thats great news Gary!!

She got an email from me