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Saturday, May 06, 2006

Public Rally May 17, 2006

Wednesday May 17, 2006
10:30 a.m.
Courtroom 4-9
361 University Ave.

is the date for sentencing subissions before Justice Watt.

Please come out and show your outrage for failure to protect Jeffrey, failure to permit Ombudsman investigative oversight of CASs and for failure to take steps to hold CCAS criminally accountable as well for its unconscionable failure to protect Jeffrey. Stand up for Jeffrey, don't just hide behind the scenes!!!

154 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is there anything we can do from Vancouver on May 17th? Wish I could be there with you all.

Anonymous said...

This information concerns the anti CAS Mothers Day rally scheduled for May 14. It is reposted from another board on the site as the original post may be easily missed due to its position toward the end of the comments.

TAKE BACK MOTHER'S DAY

MARCH AND PROTEST
May 14th 2006 at 15 Huntley Street at 2:00pm

For most Canadians, Mother's Day is a time when families honor their mother's hard work. But for many of low income families find that on Mother's Day, peace and joy is in very short supply, especially now that more than 30,000 of their youngsters languish in foster homes.

We did not lose our children because of abuse, rather we lost our children because of poverty, lack of affordable adequate housing, being single, being young, having a child with special needs, being in recovery from substance abuse issues, having survived an abusive partner, or having worked in the Adult Entertainment Industry.

Silenced for decades by shame and guilt, we suffered alone with our grief, believing that we were the only ones. Now we find that we are not alone. Mother's Day began as a day to honor the public activism of mothers. It began in 1870 because mother's declared that they would not lose their children as casualties of war.

On Sunday May 14th 2006, lets "Take Back Mother's Day" by joining with Mother's across Toronto as we rally in front of the Children's Aid Society at 15 Huntley Street at 2:00pm to demand:

* 40% increase in social assistance rates
* The creation of more housing geared to low income families
* Build more daycare spaces for low income families
* End to the clawback of child tax benefits
* End the discrimination against mother's who work in the Adult Entertainment Industry
* End the apprehension of children because their mother has a disability
* That the city of Toronto create family orientated treatment centres

Since the Mike Harris cutbacks to social assistance payments more and more mother's are in precarious financial circumstances often finding themselves unable to afford their hydro, gas, telephone and other necessities. By not being able to afford these necessities the Children's Aid Society can intervene and remove the child, citing "neglect".

Cutbacks in social programs — particularly in the area of housing — have led to shortages of affordable housing. A recent study by the Children's Aid Society of Toronto found that in the year 2000, housing was a factor in one in five cases where children were taken in care — a dramatic 60% increase over a similar study in 1992. They also found that lack of adequate housing caused a delay in the return of children to their parents in more than 11% of cases.

In cases where their children are taken into care, parents lose their child benefits forcing them to move into smaller apartments or rooms inadequate for living with their children. This creates a catch 22 system where in order for a mother to get her children back she must obtain proper living arrangements that she cannot afford without custody of her children. Thus, it becomes extremely difficult for low income mother's to get their children back once their children are taken into care. Imagine instead a system that worked in the best interest of the children and their mother's instead of a system that perpetrates a cycle of poverty and foster care.

Women with disabilities may find themselves under the scrutiny of Children's Aid Society by virtue of their disability alone. Once scrutinized, it may be difficult to remove oneself from the child protection system. In some cases, women have contacted the Children's Aid Society for support and assistance with parenting, only to find themselves the subject of an investigation. Other women are reported to the authority during pregnancy and have to fight to prevent the removal of their newborn from their care solely because the authority believes their disability prevents them from being able to parent. Other women, perhaps because of vulnerabilities caused by disability (a tendency to defer to authority, for instance), enter into what they believe to be "voluntary" agreements with Children's Aid Society only to find those voluntary arrangements used against them later by the same officials.

Many women experiencing substance abuse issues or mood disorders are often hesitant to seek treatment as they fear that in doing so they may lose their children.

Sex workers (dancers, escorts, dominants, phone sex operators), are also at risk of losing their children due to their profession. Even though it is NOT illegal to be a sex worker in Canada, the Children's Aid workers have discretionary powers for apprehending children of women working in the sex industry. This means that if a CAS worker objects to the mother's profession based on their own personal moral values, her children can be apprehended and taken into care regardless of whether they've experienced any actual abuse.

Furthermore, the number of children who have been taken into temporary custody as a result of witnessing their mother's being assaulted increased by at least 870% (no that is not a typo) between 1993-1998. With limited income supports, affordable regulated childcare, affordable housing, and emergency shelters operating at full capacity, there are few options for women who are being assaulted and abused, leaving them and their children at risk of continued violence, poverty and involvement with the Children's Aid Society. Thus, the shortages in affordable housing and emergency shelters are closely linked to the number of children who are victims of prolonged violence and involvement with the Children's Aid Society.

THIS MOTHER'S DAY LETS STAND UP FOR WOMEN AND THEIR CHILDREN AND

TAKE BACK MOTHER'S DAY!

For more information please contact info@takebackmothersday.com

Anonymous said...

TO EVERYONE: Remember that it is the silence of good people that lets evil flourish.

Get out on May 17 and make some noise, do not allow such an inexcusable tragedy ever happen again to another helpless child!

The only justice for Jeffrey is for people to speak out publicly - do not sit back and hope that things will change or that the problems with the system will just go away - they will not without public outcry and vigilance.

Please take a bit of time out of your day and let's get people thinking about how to help our most vulnerable children and access their untapped potential.

LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!!

SHOW YOUR SOLIDARITY ON MAY 17!!!

Anonymous said...

It may be better to have one rally and join the group May 14, after all it is mothers day.

Anonymous said...

And yet another protest against CAS - this one on May 19:

Former foster children are drawing attention to sexual abuse in care.

Walk identifies abuse in foster care

Thunder Bay

A major effort is being launched to draw attention to the problem of sexual abuse in our foster care system.

Tuesday afternoon, a group of survivors of foster care gathered to hear details of the First Annual Survivors Walk, planned for May 19. A group that is walking from Winnipeg will be in the city to join local victims, who will then march on the offices of area Members of Parliament.

Diane Ogima says she is among the many children who were molested while in foster care. But because of the stigma attached to the crime, she says many victims remain silent. She is encouraging everyone who has been affected to get involved.

Ogima says the Children's Aid Society has to become more accountable and do a better job of screening families that foster children are sent to.

Survivors are starting to fight back for the abuse they've suffered while in the care of child and family services and in foster homes. Ogima feels the CAS should do more home visits and better screening of the families that they send children to to keep them safe.

Anonymous said...

Good for them in the walk to end foster care abuse. Many adopted were also abused in various ways - only they had their entire identities wiped out along the way. In either situation the CAS has been dismal in screening people.

Anonymous said...

To the poster from Vancouver - yes please encourage all friends and relatives in Ontario to support Bill 88 - or as well write to politicians and tell them that you support the bill. As well maybe alert all friends and relatives etc.. about this site. Ontario appreciates your support. The issue is really across the country as well.

Anonymous said...

The excuse of the CCAS that the death of Jeffrey was due to a policy error I think is a feeble attempt from their legal department. It is pitiful.

Anonymous said...

Amanda, I will be there if I can...

Anonymous said...

Girl starved by foster parents - The Lori and Tommy Allain case

A series of articles in different American media June 19 - 30, 2004.



BROOKSVILLE, Florida - She spent a third of her young life behind a bedroom door, locked to keep her brother from sneaking in snacks. She drank milk and, three times a day, received a spoonful of food. When the authorities found her, she was 10 years old and 29 pounds.

The couple entrusted by the state to care for her said it was for her own good.

``When they showed me pictures of the 10-year-old girl, it reminded me of the photos after World War II of the Nazi death camps,'' Hernando County Sheriff Richard Nugent said. ``Her eyes and face are sunken. The little girl has some serious problems that may affect her mental development.''

A month after child welfare workers removed the girl and her brother from the Brooksville home, authorities on Friday arrested Arthur Thomas Allain Jr., 46, and Lori Allain, 47, both of 14327 Hurricane Drive, on charges of aggravated child abuse and neglect.

They were released from the Hernando County Jail after posting $20,000 bail each.

Anonymous said...

No doubt the slimy bastards are now going to try and stop kinship care though they are responsible for Jeffrey being murdered - and the only reason they will stop it is to get more funding as well.
The CCAS especially needs to be dismantled they are an evil agency based on organized religion - and an agency that persecutes others based on that. They are lying about the focus on family preservation in the 90's and they are also lying about the lack of policies with this - as other agencies checked at that time?

What is Kinship Care?

By "Doug"


This explanation of Kinship Care was formerly published in June 2001on the Join-Hands web site www.join-hands.com.

The posting "What is "Kinship Care" ? - Re: Help me please ..." seems to have been removed from the Join-Hands site, so it is published here because it is important for parents whose children are being taken into public care to know that they have the right to demand placement of their child/children in their extended family.

It is also important to make social workers aware of the fact that children who are removed from their parents fare much better and have a greater chance to a normal life if they are placed in Kinship Care.










M Vanderpool" asks:

Please explain to me what Kinship Care is.





Hi, M Vanderpool!

Kinship care is a buzzword used by child protective agencies to describe placing a child who has been removed from his parents with a member of the child's extended family.



Family members are often puzzled why state agencies go to such lengths to avoid placing children with grandparents or other relatives that the children know and love. Rather, the agencies prefer to incarcerate the children with strangers or in state institutions, called "group homes" or "residential care facilities."



Actually, the reason is quite simple. It's all about how the system is financed. State agencies receive substantial amounts of money (about 90% of its federal child welfare funding) for each child placed into the foster care system. These entitlements are uncapped and paid on a per-head basis.



They amount to much more than the actual cost of maintaining the child and, since they are "fungible" monies, they are used to finance administration of the agency. Agencies do not receive these funds if the child is placed with her grandparents or other relatives.



Congress has put considerable pressure on the states to turn to "kinship care" to relieve an already overburdened and abusive foster care system.

States have resisted because it does not pay them to do so. In 1998, 29% of foster children were placed with relatives (AFCARS, 2000). In 1999, that number had dropped to 26% (AFCARS, 2001). This decrease has occurred during a period where the number of children removed from their homes has risen dramatically.



Agency workers will claim that they are reluctant to place kids with their extended families based upon their assumption that "bad parents" are products of "bad families." Social service workers labor under what is called the "medical model" -- a theoretical approach that holds that child abuse is a disease. This approach leads to many system malfunctions and errors in judgment among them discrimination against extended families.



The medical model has been under intense attack by national child welfare experts for nearly a decade and the literature abounds with studies that solidly disprove its effectiveness in field practice (Costin, et al., 1996; Pelton, 1989; Lindsey, 1994). Until Congress repeals the way it distributes Title IV-E and Title XX funds, state agencies will continue to incarcerate children with strangers or in institutions. It simply does not pay to place them with extended family members, who will care for the children out of love rather than for money.



Puzzling? Let me explain.



Uncapped Title IV-E entitlements, like most federal funds, require states to provide some matching funds. The best way for states to open up the gates to the stream of federal "fungible" funds is to dedicate almost all of their state funds to paying foster caregivers, institutions, etc. That way, the states are free to use the primary source of funding -- federal matching funds -- for everything else in their budget. For instance, Maryland spent 96% of its 94,614,355 state budget on out of home services and adoption. The remaining 4% was spent on administration (Urban Institute, 1999:47).



Nebraska, where newsgroup poster Ron hangs out, spent 82% of its state budget of 30 million on out of home services and another 5% on adoption

(Urban Institute, 1999:61). The remaining 13% was spent on administering out of home care.



As you may guess, states generally do not pay family members participating in kinship care.

While "kinship care" remains the most viable and humane way of caring for children forcibly removed from their parents, it does not resonate with a state agency's agenda of maximizing federal dollars.



I hope this helped answer your question.



Doug







References:

Costin, Lela B., Karger, Howard J. et. al. (1996) The politics of child abuse in America New York: Oxford University

Lindsey, Duncan (1994) The welfare of children New York: Oxford University Press

Pelton, LeRoy (1989). For reasons of poverty. New York: Praeger.

The Urban Institute (2000). State child welfare spending at a glance. New York: Author. Available online.

US Department of Health and Human Services (2001). The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System: AFCARS Report 4 and 5. Washington, D.C.: Author. Available online at:

www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb







REPORT TO THE CONGRESS ON KINSHIP FOSTER CARE

Anonymous said...

CAS foster teen charged with killing 3-year-old foster boy By CHRISTIE BLATCHFORDFriday, December 16, 2005 Posted at 2:27 AM ESTFrom Friday's Globe and Mail Toronto — Two children involved in a shocking slaying in Welland, Ont., yesterday wereboth clients of local children's aid societies. Niagara Regional Police, called shortly after 8 a.m. yesterday to a Frazer Street foster home, took a 14-year-old girl into custody andcharged her with first-degree murder in the death of a three-year-old boy.The Globe and Mail has learned that the boy was in the two-storey detached home on a temporary placement from the Children's AidSociety of Haldimand and Norfolk, while his accused killer is a Crown ward placed there by Family and Children's Services of the NiagaraRegion. The names of the dead boy and the accused teen cannot be published because both areminors. The slaying has stunned even police in the town of about 50,000 in the south Niagara region west of Toronto. "Three-year-olds aren't supposed to die, bottom line," Niagara Constable Sal Basilone told The Globe last night. "There's nothing to be said to anyone by way of condolences." Constable Basilone said the force is concerned "for everyone involved, including our officers." An autopsy was performed at Hamilton General Hospital yesterday on the boy's body, but the results weren't immediately available.Spokesmen for the two children's aid agenciesinvolved couldn't be reached for comment last night. The news that another young charge of a children's aid society has come to a violent end while "receiving services," as the language of child welfare casts it, couldn't come at a worsetime for the province's 53 CAS organizations. Just last week, Ontario OmbudsmanAndré Marin appeared before a legislative committee to ask that his office be allowed to probe complaints against children's aid societies and to demand independent oversight of the agencies. Officials with Ontario's Ministry of Children's and Youth Services are also braced for a barrage of questions about the role of the Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto incustody arrangements that saw Jeffrey Baldwin placed with his maternal grandparents although both of them were convicted child abusers. The boy, not quite six years old, died ofseptic shock and pneumonia, but expert witnesses at the grandparents' criminal trial have testifiedthat prolonged, chronic starvation was theunderlying cause of death. Jeffrey weighed only 21 pounds and resembled a Third World famine victim when he died. Elva Bottineau and Norman Kidman, now 54 and 53 respectively, are charged with first-degree murder in the death, and their trial is slowly winding its way to a close, with lawyers in the case expected to deliver closing arguments next month. Note: Children’s Aid Agencies claim that children are safer in their care than in the care of parents. Here is one story where one parent’s 3 year-old son will never be coming home after being murdered while on a temporary placement in a CAS approved foster home. CAS agenciesoften refuse to tell foster parents about the background of the children they are asked to take in, so many foster parents have no idea that some kids are at risk of committing violence. How many other children in foster care are at risk?

Anonymous said...

Social workers think they are using a medical model, EXCUSE me but where are the peer reviewed studies, and then they must throw out MSBP PII or PFI, and almost all of it, and the multi generational abuse, as it is NOT evidenced Based medicine. less important to them is trafficking in child flesh, and the lack of total morality, unethical and NOT even close to legal actions they take, and use.
We need to put an end to it all ask Harper for and inquiry into Ontario's Child and Youth and CAS agencies, I am sure he wont mind. ( the perpetrate the multi generational abuse, look at the residential schools) how on earth can crown wards parent, with such shoddy abusive treatment in so called care, this is why the remove their children although many are foster parents !!!!!, the collect ODSP or welfare, lost souls, damaged, and abused by the CAS they NEVER help a child or family. why the fear of oversight, it says it all.

Anonymous said...

I agree we need an inquiry - but many former wards can be and are good parents as they would not wish their children to be abused the way they were. The stereotype that sets all wards up for failure is unfair to say the least. The so called cycle is being used to apprehend more children based on bias, fear and conjecture.

They are picking on the former victims of the system to obtain more products and it is shameful. With help people can overcome childhoods that were filled with hell and abuse. The CAS coming along and labelling former wards as incapable is really sinister and a repeat of the very abuse that they have endured all along!

Anonymous said...

I hope the march by the former wards will go a long way in helping others who have remained silenced and broken, and to change a system that has nothing to do with children.

Anonymous said...

Amanda & All:

There is a recent article in TIME magazine which indicates one state in the US is putting $ into 'educating' parents rather than taking the child/ren away. Something similar to suggestions I've been reading on this site. When I have reference details, I'll post. Get out there everyone and make sure you're heard on May 17th. May Jeffrey's voice (and all other abused children's voice) be heard!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for mentioning the TIME article - it will be very interesting to see it. Considering the disaster of Child Welfare on a global basis, new solutions are really needed. Looking forward to reading the article.

I too will be at the sentencing for Jeffrey and all abused children - both from the past, as well as today.

Anonymous said...

BC is starting to see good changes.......



Safety, Well-Being Focus of Child Protection System

by Stanley B. Hagen
Minister of Children and Family Development

November 22, 2005
Right now, there are 9,000 children in the care of government. Every day, we are working to protect each and every one of those children, and give them an opportunity for a safe, quality life. And every day, we receive new reports of possible abuse or neglect that we investigate thoroughly.

The reality is that protecting children may be the most challenging work in government. Our obligation to protect children from abuse or neglect demands that we continually review what we do and how we do it, and that we continually strive to build the most effective child protection approach possible.

What happens when there is a report of child neglect or abuse? First, a Ministry child protection social worker - supported by experienced supervisors - assesses the report to determine the best course of action. Sometimes that means bringing in the police, physicians or other officials. Other times it involves working with a family and providing them with parenting education, home support, counselling, or respite care.

Over the last few years, we have made a deliberate attempt to keep more families together, if that is at all possible. We looked at the mounting evidence from across the globe that children do better when they're kept safe in their families and communities. Since 2001, we've moved from an intrusive and adversarial child protection philosophy - which was much more likely to result in the immediate apprehension of children from their family - to a less intrusive and more collaborative approach. Our goal: to take the least disruptive action that ensures the child's safety.

One of these possible actions is to enter into a "kith-and-kin" agreement where a child who needs to be removed from his or her home is placed with a relative or close family friend, instead of being placed in the home of a stranger. This approach is based on a very successful model long in place in New Zealand. Today, nearly all North American jurisdictions have or are working toward kinship care as a best practice. Early evidence indicates that overall it can be better for children than a foster placement.

If there is a disagreement between family members and a social worker on how to best meet a child's needs, the ministry may involve a trained, impartial mediator in working toward a mutually acceptable solution. This mediator works at no cost to the family.

The overall emphasis is on collaboration - involving extended family, community and others in planning and decision-making for children. For example, we have increased parental involvement in planning for their children through family group conferencing. This shift to collaboration and respect for the child's long-term interests has resulted in a 15 per cent decrease in the number of children in care, from about 10,500 in 2001 to about 9,000 today.

Rarely, and despite the best efforts of social workers and other professionals, a tragedy does occur and a child dies. It is important to point out that in the vast majority of cases, these deaths are accidental or result from ongoing complex medical issues. Every child death in B.C., no matter the cause, is now reviewed by the Coroner's Office; every sudden, unnatural or unexpected death is fully investigated. When a child dies while in care of the government, the ministry examines the circumstances and, if warranted, the Director of Child Protection conducts an internal inquiry to examine whether proper procedures were followed and to ensure lessons are learned. And the independent Child and Youth Officer has the power to investigate any child death, and provide observations and advice to government on child protection services.

We must also strive to be as open and transparent as possible. This past summer, I instructed staff to review how we can provide more public information while continuing to respect personal privacy. And I have committed to regularly posting child fatality statistics for children in care or children who have received child welfare services.

I'm proud of the work that's been done over the past five years to improve the system. But we can always do better. That's why the provincial government has appointed Ted Hughes to look at all the issues around child protection - including the system around how we review child deaths.

Child protection is among the most challenging work in government - but it can also be among the most rewarding. Every year, there are hundreds - even thousands - of success stories. Every day, there are children thriving because of the hard work put in by social workers, foster parents, families, and the many other dedicated individuals in the child protection system. And every day, we will keep working to make the system even better.

Anonymous said...

http://www.aboriginaltimes.com/culture/nation-jun02/view

Alberta

Edmonton

The Samson First Nation is reinstated its jurisdiction over child welfare after Children’s Services Minister Iris Evans issued a ministerial order to strip the band’s Kasohkowew Child Wellness Society of its authority. The move came after the death of a 10-month old boy, who accidentally drowned in a bathtub, was found to be one of seven foster children to die under the band’s authority over the past two years. Advisor to the Samson Band Mel Buffalo says members do not approve of children being sent to off-reserve homes. In April, the fatality inquiry into the death of Korvette Lynn Crier, an Aboriginal child killed by her foster mother in an unaccredited and unlicensed foster home in Red Deer, reports that the province’s flawed foster care system may have contributed to her death. Many believe that strict government rules makes it difficult for Aboriginal foster children to be place with members of their own extended family.

Anonymous said...

INSTEAD OF GIVING ADOPTERS $10,000 TAX CREDITS WHERE IS THE SUPPORT FOR NORMAL FAMILIES??? $10,000 in a tax credit could go a long way to struggling families for housing, education and other opportunities. The tax credit by the Federal governnment is simply disgraceful - giving such a tax credit to those literally purchasing infants is disgusting beyond words. Why do people get tax credits to buy Chinese babies for $30,000 a head when regular families continue to be over-taxed, stressed, and living in poverty which leads to needless apprehensions by the CAS!!! Why are people allowed to buy babies in this country???

Federal adoption tax credit not enough for some
CTV.ca News Staff

In his federal budget plan, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale promised adoptive parents tax credits that could add up to $5 million in savings. But parents left out of the plan aren't pleased.

Montrealer Tania Szarkow is now a proud mother of two children adopted from China. Despite the fact it cost her nearly $60,000, she believes was lucky.

"Many families can't afford it, the burden is too great," she told CTV News.

But now, thanks to Goodale's proposal, prospective parents will be eligible for a maximum $10,000 tax credit on recognized, specified adoption expenses.

For Charles De Lean, who is in the process of an adoption he can't quite afford, that's good news.

"We were going to take out a loan for the adoption, but this will help reduce the loan by a lot," he told CTV.

Although he has been lobbying for years for an adoption credit -- albeit at a higher level -- Conservative MP Jay Hill nevertheless found cause to celebrate.

"It was great to see the government finally recognizing the inherent value of adoptive parents providing a stable home life for children."

But Dino Mazzone, who adopted his son from Moldova two years ago, isn't happy. He thinks Ottawa's help should be made retroactive -- so that he might have the chance of recouping some of the $30,000 he paid.

"On the list of social priorities adoption seems to be almost a zero for the federal government," Mazzone said, making clear his disgust.

With files from CTV's Jed Kahane

Anonymous said...

This article really speaks to the truth - it is CHILLING that people can buy babies and have no checks afterwords. Jay Hill has a lot of nerve in giving adopters a $10,000 tax break considering how many people are struggling - and considering how dangerous International adoption is - as it is every bit as dangerous as domestic adoption is - neither have solid checks.

Globe and Mail Newspaper

By TIMOTHY APPLEBY

Saturday, May 6, 2006 Page A12

When 13-year-old Russian-born Masha Allen testified in Washington this week at a House of Representatives subcommittee investigating child pornography, she described five years of Internet-distributed sexual torment at the hands of the American pedophile who adopted her from an orphanage -- a chronicle of abuse that left her audience shocked.

But in one key regard, Masha's ghastly tale is not unusual, shedding light on a gaping rip in the safety net that is supposed to govern international adoptions. And so worrying is the gap that some of the home countries have periodically blocked adoptions entirely, often when the process is midway through.

After Masha arrived as a five-year-old at the Plum, Pa., home of Matthew Mancuso in 1998, no social worker or government official ever stopped to check on her, she recounted, even though regular visits and follow-up reports were part of Mr. Mancuso's adoption agreement with the Russian authorities.

So it goes in many Western countries, experts say, including Canada, where foster parents take in about 2,000 foreign-born children each year. In most jurisdictions, screening prior to adoption is rigorous. What comes next is a different story.

Non-compliance with the reporting all source countries now demand after an adoption is "an epidemic," says Michael Blugerman, director of Toronto-based Children's Resource Consultation Centre of Ontario, one of 19 licensed agencies provincewide that help expedite foreign adoptions. The core problem, Mr. Blugerman and others say, is that once the foreign child is in the new home, complete with the requisite paperwork, there is no legal mechanism compelling the family to do anything more.

"All the receiving countries have the same problem," concurred Claire-Marie Gagnon, president of the Quebec Adoptive Parents Federation, estimating that up to 25 per cent of the Quebec families who adopt from abroad shrug off their obligations to supply periodic updates to the source countries.

"It's true everywhere," said Yvonne Devitt, international co-ordinator for the Adoptive Families Association of British Columbia. "And it's really unfortunate because there have been instances where the sending countries have closed the process because families are not sending the postplacements reports."

A case in point is Russia, which blocked adoptions to North America for several months last year. Ukraine did as well, citing an extraordinary 700 cases in which Ukrainian-born children living in the United States weren't being monitored, along with 19 in Canada.

China -- still the source country of choice among Canadians adopting from abroad -- has also in the past frozen adoptions to jurisdictions where non-reporting was a problem, and recently threatened to do so again.

The rules are laid down by the source countries and after-adoption reporting requirements vary widely. One common practice is for two or more reports in the first year, with less frequent updates after.

India is particularly diligent about keeping track of its expatriate orphans, said Mr. Blugerman, who has worked in the field for 25 years and aided in adoptions from dozens of countries. "But none of these countries really want their kids to go," he said. "They have very ambivalent feelings about the whole adoption process."

Masha's ordeal stands out for the exceptional brutality of Mr. Mancuso, now serving a prison term from which he will likely never be released. Nonetheless, in the United States over the past decade, at least 11 Russian-born children have been killed after reaching their foster homes.

Screening prior to adoption -- home visits by social workers or children's aid officials, references, background checks for a criminal record or other warning signs -- is designed to forestall such disasters. In Ontario the system works reasonably well, Mr. Blugerman said.

Reporting after an adoption is a major problem, said Irina Zaretsky, executive director of Toronto's Adoptions Horizons Inc., which in the past 10 years has connected about 460 Canadian families with foreign-born children, chiefly Russians.

Adoption in Canada is supervised by the provinces. Officials in Newfoundland -- the other jurisdiction with which Ms. Zaretsky often works -- tend to be insistent about getting the reports done. But in Ontario, "The ministry just washes its hands and says, 'It's the agency's responsibility.' "

Ministry spokeswoman Anne Machowski did not disagree. Because it's the source countries that specify the different reporting requirements, she said, "the onus is on the country where the child is adopted from."

The widespread non-compliance stems chiefly from three factors, Mr. Blugerman and Ms. Zaretsky suggested. One is cost -- the foster family must pay the $300 cost of each report, which requires a visit to the home and a report that must be notarized and translated before being sent to the source country.

As well, the private-sector social workers routinely complain of being too busy, Ms. Zaretsky said.

And too often, she added, "Sometimes families don't think it's important. They have the attitude, 'I'm done, I don't care what happens now.' Sometimes I feel like the monkey in the middle."

INTERNATIONAL ADOPTIONS

Figures for 2004 (most recent year available) reported by Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Where they came from

China 1,001
Haiti 159
Russia 106
South Korea 97
United States 79
Philippines 62
Thailand 40
Colombia 38
India 37
Ethiopia 34
Belarus 32
Jamaica 23
Ukraine 16
Taiwan 15
Cambodia 14
Other 202
Total 1,955

Where they went

Quebec 783
Ontario 673
British Columbia 227
Alberta 90
Nova Scotia 53
Manitoba 38
New Brunswick 34
Saskatchewan 29
Newfoundland 13
Yukon, PEI, other 15

Anonymous said...

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Foster parents guilty of starving girl
Child abuse - A Marion County judge convicts a Salem couple whose adopted child weighed 27 pounds at age 9
Saturday, September 24, 2005
MICHELLE ROBERTS
SALEM -- A Marion County Circuit Court judge on Friday found a Salem couple guilty of nearly starving to death a child they adopted from the state foster care system.

Tammy and Christopher Nickel, both 33, did not visibly react as they were convicted of three counts each of felony criminal mistreatment for withholding medical treatment and for failing to provide adequate and necessary physical care to their adopted daughter, Kayla.

The girl weighed less than 27 pounds when she was removed from their home in December 2003, a month before her 10th birthday

"Without any shadow of a doubt, I find them guilty," said Judge Joseph Guimond shortly after the conclusion of a three-day bench trial. "They took this child in and made a commitment to her. Then they gave up trying to care for her. She was being allowed to starve to death."

Guimond said photos taken the night Kayla was removed from the Nickels showed a girl so emaciated that she resembled a "Holocaust survivor or a child from a refugee camp."

According to testimony by social and medical workers, Kayla's skin was translucent and sloughing off in large patches, her teeth were crowded and discolored, and her mouth was full of open sores.

Kayla, now 11, testified during the trial that she often became so thirsty that she drank from the toilet, and that she was closed in her room for hours and days at a time. When she was given food -- rarely anything other than oatmeal and SPAM, she said -- she was forced to eat alone in her bedroom while the Nickels and their biological son, the same age as Kayla, ate elsewhere.

The girl testified that her adoptive mother also tortured her by pouring hot sauce on her SPAM, which hurt the open sores in her mouth. And she testified that Chris Nickel, her adoptive father, once held a gun to her head and threatened to kill her after she tried to sneak a piece of pizza.

The girl's current foster parents testified that Kayla appeared to have been exposed to few foods during her five years with the Nickels. When the girl came to live with them, they said, she didn't recognize such items as peaches and ketchup.

The Nickels took Kayla in when she was 5 years old. The adoption was finalized in January 2001. Testimony and records show that the girl did not see a doctor or dentist in the nearly two years that followed, even as she wasted away.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1127559384271250.xml&coll=7&thispage=1#continue

Anonymous said...

I have no confidence in Harper to do anything period as to an inquiry. His MP Jay Hill has given a tax credit of $10,000 for people to buy children and it is revolting. The CAS and the baby broker industry are one in the same - if they are that in bed with one another to the point where an MP is giving such a massive tax break in child buying then it is an obvious sign that Harper will do absolutely nothing about this mess. Really the Feds should be responsible though. Maybe the other parties can intervene on a Federal level.

Anonymous said...

Codeine can turn toxic in nursing mothers
Gene transformed drug into morphine, which killed infant
LISA PRIEST

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

TORONTO — Some mothers prescribed codeine after childbirth carry multiple copies of a gene capable of transforming the common pain reliever into morphine, producing a toxic breast milk that in one case killed a newborn.

The case, to be presented today at a scientific meeting in Toronto, will reveal what is described as the first documented fatality of its kind -- a morphine overdose through the ingestion of breast milk, said Gideon Koren, director of the Hospital for Sick Children's Motherisk Program.

"An estimated 150,000 women a year receive codeine following childbirth," said Dr. Koren, adding that it is commonly prescribed to alleviate the pain of episiotomies and cesarean sections. "Even if the gene is relatively rare, you're talking about a large number of kids at risk."

In this case, the mother of a baby boy was prescribed the tablets, a mixture of codeine and acetaminophen last spring, after an episiotomy, a surgical procedure used to enlarge the vaginal opening before childbirth.

For two weeks, the woman took the drug, not knowing she had multiple copies of the gene, which rapidly metabolizes the drug, Dr. Koren said. As the first-time mother nursed her newborn son, he became very sleepy. He became more difficult to breastfeed and more lethargic by his seventh day.

Concerned, she brought the baby to the doctor. Her physician told her: "Let's wait," according to Dr. Koren, adding that most doctors are not aware of the problem.

By the 12th day, the boy had grey skin and decreased milk intake. He died at home on the 13th day.

About 1 per cent of Caucasians are estimated to have multiple copies of the gene. That compares with 30 per cent of Ethiopians and 10 per cent of Southern Europeans, who are estimated to have the gene in multiple copies.

Strategies to prevent overdoses include not prescribing codeine to nursing mothers, using the drug in lower amounts, and watching babies for signs of morphine overdose and in suspected cases, giving its antidote, naloxone. Testing mothers for the gene is considered a less plausible approach, largely because of cost, Dr. Koren said.

"The fact that codeine is taken by so many women and some have this gene duplication makes it a serious situation," said Dr. Koren, who is also professor of pediatrics, pharmacology, pharmacy and medical genetics at the University of Toronto.

He is to present his findings to the Canadian Therapeutic Congress, a meeting of doctors, scientists and pharmacists who specialize in pharmaceuticals.

Although the American Academy of Pediatrics lists codeine as compatible with breastfeeding, Dr. Koren said there is a "lack of sufficient published data to support this recommendation."

Whatever the case, the drug is popular and is used to alleviate all forms of pain.

Canadian pharmacies dispensed more than 8.7 million prescriptions for the codeine and acetaminophen combination pills from April of 2005 to March of 2006, according to Sue Cavallucci of IMS Health, a private health-information and consulting-services company that serves the pharmaceutical and health-care industries. The drug is made by several drug companies.

In this case, solving the mystery of how the baby died was no easy feat; it required medical detective work worthy of a novel.

When the baby boy was sent to the coroner's office, they initially thought he likely succumbed to sudden infant death syndrome, said Jim Cairns, deputy chief coroner for Ontario.

Toxicology tests were performed on the baby, routine for all sudden and unexplained deaths of children under 2. The tests revealed a morphine level that "wasn't just at the lower end of fatal, it was sky high," Dr. Cairns said. "There was a huge level of morphine that none of us could figure out."

Dr. Cairns contacted Dr. Koren who had a hunch the mother was what is medically referred to as an "ultra rapid metabolizer" of 2D6, a liver enzyme, that transforms codeine into morphine. This enzyme is in the cytochrome P450 family, which processes 25 per cent of all drugs, including those that can cause the most adverse reactions.

This mother exhibited telltale signs of having multiple copies of the 2D6 gene: she suffered constipation and severe drowsiness after taking codeine, Dr. Koren said.

To deal with severe episiotomy pain, she was instructed to take two tablets, each containing a mixture of 30 milligrams of codeine and 500 milligrams of acetaminophen, four times a day or every six hours. On the second day, the dose was cut in half -- she was told to take one tablet every six hours, Dr. Koren said.

Doctors were able to solve the mystery, in part, because she had stored the breast milk she had pumped when her baby wasn't feeding well.

When Dr. Koren tested it, high levels of morphine were revealed. The levels were about ten-fold what the infant would have been given for pain after an operation.

Though the Ontario mother did not want to be identified, she wanted others to know about the problem. She has since given birth to another child, Dr. Koren said.

"She's very eager for other women to know," he said.

"If moms know the dose should be limited, it's important. And anything that looks unusual, mothers should seek medical advice."

HOW can a parent take a child to a doctor when things are unusual, they call the CAS. They HAVE NO EXCUSE, for not knowing about CYP 450, many medications are metabolized though that pathway, NOT just codeine, moms get accused of poisoning their baby's every day some place, its insane an epidemic of MSBP? hardly,
Its an epidemic an uniformed and broken medical system.1 percent of Caucasians are estimated to have multiple copies of this gene, I believe its much higher,How many southern Europeans and ancestry, partners married to one, are here? the may account for at least 10 percent ( how do they know they don't test) Ethiopians, 10 percent, are they going to go back into files now, and ensure no parent was accused of taking morphine, or giving a infant opiates??? that they have lost children for. or is it MSBP. how much of this maybe Sid's, the shaking baby syndrome, they so often get wrong.
THIS IS NOT NEWS I am just a mom and read about the high numbers of people with problems metabolizing codeine. CYP 450, and others are still not all understood nor are inborn errors of metabolism. Vaccine injuries, environmental causations, fluoride in the water is causing an epidemic of thyroid disease! what else. Yet every day mothers lose more then an infant that may have died, they lose a part of themselves forever wounded by a false allegations of child abuse, for what medicine still does NOT KNOW, and in many cases parents may already, but don't tell a doctor what you think, that's a sure way to have CAS at the door, your a MUNCH mom in no time. When did it all become so ugly. Mother Risk, yes good name the mother is at Risk. The child is wanted by an agency to fund its business, and this doctor at Sick Kids running the Mother Risk clinic, is concerning. was this not the same doctor that was willing to allow a dangerous drug on the market FOR children and hide try and stop the researcher that found it to be so, wrote poison pen letters, is this the same man? they had to catch him with his own DNA, greed for research money from the drug company. Willing to allow a harmful drug, it happens everyday, just most don't go to the extremes he did. Mother At Risk, so the next time you hear about that mom that swears she never took any illegal drugs, perhaps they need to listen. But as far as new discovery for whom?? and all the other medications should be listed as well. Children do die before the age of two in today's crazy world, they think of child abuse because its gone to far. Children are always safer in there own homes. Medicine needs to get up to date, it was not long ago, that a women made sure and inquiry would be held in her baby's death, two major children's hospitals Sick Kids and CHEO, two doctors visits, mom was concerned, but they wrote her off as anxious, her baby died of the flu, Preventable, the inquest recommended doctor take into account mother intuition and that they know their own children best, she never sued anyone, she wanted to make a difference in Madeline Hunters name, I don't think they heard. Perhaps the only thing they would have is a few million for the gross negligence, malpractice, remember the word is practice of medicine, its you and I are OUR children they practice on. Better education in medical schools stop the multiple choice crap, and perhaps privatization is where we are heading sooner rather then later,who will we trust to treat sick children. The epidemic of MSBP must stop, its fabricated by the wild imaginations of a health care system gone mad.
Lisa Priest has written about a few of the falsely accused moms in the past, perhaps truly someone should be making sure someone's baby has not been removed or many many baby's, because of this. Then there is Dr. Charles Smith, are the moms all out of jail yet?

Anonymous said...

John Caswell - THANK YOU - I like all of the posters, and I think they say it well. I especially like the 3rd version asking how many other children under CAS care are in the same boat so to speak. As to the anger I know what you are saying but respectfully disagree - anger shows care, anger shows passion. Civil rights movements showed anger which is a normal emotional response to such a horrible situation. Solutions can be discussed as well though to repair the system.

Anonymous said...

I appreciate your doing this for Jeffrey the signs look very good, and they are sobering with a clear message. Well done.

Anonymous said...

I have a suggestion for the posters - "Pass Bill 88 and Ombudsman Oversight In the Name of Jeffrey Baldwin".

Anonymous said...

The Ombudsman having oversight of the CAS is imperative. In situations where they refuse or fail to investigate properly as they believe their homestudies are magic - it could give one the option of contacting the Ombudsman for instance. Furthermore, it is not moral, or even legal in many situations of apprehension.

Anonymous said...

John I think that anyone that loves children wishes that they could have held that beautiful, darling little boy as well, and that they could have prevented this horrible tragedy. The CCAS could have and should have prevented it - the precise wording from the Fifth Estate.

Anonymous said...

WE DECLARE the natural family holds fixed characteristics rooted in human nature. The complementary nature of men and women is rooted in the psychological and physical differences between the sexes. The love of parents for their children, also rooted in human nature, uniquely qualifies parents to rear their own young. Children, for their part, innately long for a direct bond with their parents in whom they place their trust. Parents and their children constitute a unique natural community that is necessary to human spiritual, moral and intellectual development; and

WE DECLARE that the family is the first social unit, and it holds primacy over all man made communities, economic entities and government; and recognize as inviolable the rights of families, parents and children to protection from state intrusion; and

WE DECLARE that policies which undermine the family erode the bedrock of society, thereby undermining the very source of their own authority. Such policies include:

This is the Harper MPs people write them. and ask for an inquiry into all CAS pratices. Bill 210 could be struck down by the PM if we really take action and NOW.

WELL SAID and quite brilliant but no I do not trust Harper who has an MP giving tax credits to buy babies.

The rest is well done, and thank you for posting it!!! It is the truth, it is the heart of the matter.

Anonymous said...

Thank you John! It is very kind and generous of you to produce these posters!!!

Anonymous said...

Jeffrey was an innocent lamb sent to a slaughter, CCAS should not be defended in this.

Anonymous said...

CBC AND FOSTER CARE DRUGGING STORY AND INVESTIGATION TO AIR.

Folks - The National Story about foster care and the drugging of crown wards will air on Monday May 15th at 2200. The reporter Michelle Cheung has been investigating this serious matter for awhile now. Considering the mess that child welfare is in - this program will be quite interesting to watch. I encourage all people reading this blog to watch the program.

Anonymous said...

If you are living in poverty right now write to Stephen Harper and tell him that you do not appreciate a $10,000 tax credit going to infertile strangers to buy babies. I would like a $10,000 tax credit as well - wouldn't you? Most people would like this.

Why are infertile strangers being given a red carpet in tax credits over real and normal families in Canada. Those in poverty are the very target of the CAS. Give them tax credits. So many families are struggling in Canada and they DESERVE A TAX CREDIT not those that are buying babies.

The blind and crazed empathy that we have bestowed to those who cannot have children in this country is so insain it is mind boggling.

Children DO NOT WANT TO BE BOUGHT AND SOLD. Can we as people agree on this.

The Minister is working with someone that arranges private adoption for massive fees to be in charge of the crown wards. I think Jeffrey's siblings deserve more don't you?

Selling children is evil. How much are you for sale? How much is someone that you love for sale?

How can a price figure be attached to a child's head. I thought slavery ended in the late 1800's? Foster care and adoption is modern slavery. They take children for others and they use everything about them along the way. The children lose their identities, their families, and their rights in a system that has nothing to do with them what so ever.

Anonymous said...

And now according to some reports the system may be drugging the stolen children along the way. God help the siblings of Jeffrey Baldwin - they deserve much better then what is going on.

Anonymous said...

Those in poverty are the bull's eye of the child protection system where they launch the mother of all missiles at their heads. They take children from people struggling and pay total strangers to care for them in foster care? Isn't there something wrong with this? If this was about money - well they seem to have the money to give to strangers to take other people's children. They have the money to transport children all over the place, they have the money to fund those looking for a "job" by being a foster caregiver, and they have the money to give the caregivers everything in between. But no money for families struggling, no money at all - just a henchman system where the poor and oppressed are the enmey and those with money superior. After all the PM of Canada is giving money to strangers to buy children for $30,000 a head. Some sick, twisted people call this love? I call it slavery as it is.

In the UK it is illegal to broker children privately and Canada should ADOPT THIS POLICY.

Real help needs to be given to address poverty in Canada. Help is not severing children from their families and shipping them to "forever families" where they are expected to be the cure for any number of problems.

Anonymous said...

Oral Questions
PLACEMENT OF FOSTER CHILDREN

L. Reid: In the past we have seen numerous examples of inappropriate foster care placement by the Ministry for Children and Families. Today the children's commissioner has revealed yet another tragic story. A 16-year-old died last year, after spending his life in ten different foster homes, four of which had allegations of physical and sexual abuse lodged against them. Will the minister tell us why her ministry is continuing to place children in foster homes which are inappropriate and often dangerous?

Hon. L. Boone: Hon. Speaker, you know, this is probably the most difficult job that I have, which is to review the very

[ Page 11005 ]

serious cases -- the deaths of the children -- that are brought through the children's commissioner's reports. Anybody who reads those reports can't help but be moved by the situations and ask themselves: "How did this happen? How, in today's society, are children dying?" It's a very serious situation. But we have been making massive changes in the ministry. We will continue to make those changes. We have introduced a number of different situations -- risk assessment tools, training for foster parents, training for social workers -- and we will continue to refine and make our system better as we do.

Hon. Speaker, I am not going to pretend that we can ever stop all the deaths of children out there. It is something that I don't think anybody over there. . . . And if you were in my situation, hon. member, you'd be saying the same thing. We have a responsibility as a society, I have a responsibility as the minister and the children's commissioner has a responsibility to try and ensure the safety of children. We must all work very hard to do that, and I certainly make my commitment to do that within this ministry.

The Speaker: Thank you, minister. First supplementary, the member for Richmond East.

L. Reid: Certainly I don't believe that the minister's response is adequate. And I can tell you that the reports that I have now read are riddled with inadequacies, serious deficiencies in care, missed opportunities to provide. This child lived his life in a situation that was not in his best interests. Three years after the Gove report, this ministry is still placing children at risk. Why?

Hon. L. Boone: You know, three years later this opposition is still trying to make politics out of the very, very difficult situation of children who are dying. This is a terrible situation. The foster parents that we have, have received training and continue to receive training. Our social workers continue to receive training. We have introduced a risk assessment tool that is now touted as one of the best in the nation. We are doing everything we can to make sure that children are not placed into inadequate situations.

But we're not dealing with a science here; we're dealing with human beings who have to make human assessments. This is not a job where people can expect that they're not going to make the wrong decisions sometimes. Those things happen. We will do everything within our power to give our staff the necessary assessment tools to make sure that they make the right decisions, but we can't guarantee that there won't be some wrong judgments made there.

FUNDING IN BABY MOLLY CASE

C. Clark: The minister would like to lead us to believe that she has fixed all the problems in her ministry. It was just a year ago that her ministry. . . .

Interjections.

The Speaker: Members. . . .

C. Clark: If the minister would like to listen. . . .

The Speaker: Members, I can't hear. The Chair can't hear the question. Members, come to order.

C. Clark: Thank you, hon. Speaker.

It was just a year ago that this ministry signed an agreement with the Engbrecht family to provide for Baby Molly's care for the rest of her life. The minister will remember that the children's commission, when it investigated the case, found that the ministry was to blame for inadequately managing Baby Molly's foster placement. And now this ministry has the gall to try and yank some of the funding that they've provided for Baby Molly's care. How can the minister credibly claim that she's doing everything in her power to fix the problems in her ministry when she won't even live up to the obligations that she made a year ago to Baby Molly's family?

Hon. L. Boone: I'm not sure what the member is talking about. I will have to look into that and find what exactly she is referring to.

However, I have never said. . . . Obviously the member listens as well as she did last year, because I have never said that I've fixed all the problems. I said far from that. I said that we are living in a situation. . . . This is very much a human issue. We are human beings; we are dealing with human beings. My staff are human beings. They make value judgments and decisions all the time, and sometimes those decision are wrong. I have told my staff over and over again that if they follow the procedures -- if they do the best job they can -- and they make the wrong judgment, I will back them up on that, because I recognize that not one of us in this House can say that we've never made a mistake. I don't expect that to happen, but for you to say that I've ever pretended that we've fixed all the problems is an outright untruth, hon. member.

The Speaker: First supplementary, the member for Port Moody-Burnaby Mountain.

[2:45]

C. Clark: I would say this, hon. Speaker. If the minister wants us to believe that she is fixing the problems in her ministry, she'd better first convince us that she knows what's going on in her ministry. With Baby Molly's family, they have been receiving threatening letters from this ministry for three months -- threatening to yank their funding. A commitment that this ministry and this government made to them, a firm commitment. . . . They sent a letter -- and it was just three days ago -- where they said that the level of support they're receiving may not continue and that they should "plan accordingly." Pay attention, hon. minister.

This minister should stand today. . . . If she is serious about doing everything in her power to fix the problems in her ministry, she should stand today, keep her commitment, live up to what she said she was going to do and guarantee Baby Molly's family that her ministry won't yank the funding that they promised to provide for them.

Hon. L. Boone: Hon. Speaker, you must know that ministers are not going to stand here and make decisions that are based on a question from the opposition.

On a regular basis, funding is assessed for different families and different programs, based on their needs. For us to say that we are not going to reassess various families' funding at different times would be absolutely ridiculous, because those things do in fact happen on an ongoing basis. We have a responsibility to the public to make sure that our dollars are spent as best we can, and we will continue to do that.


What happened to baby Molly? why did
they need to fund Baby Molly for the rest of her life?
answer: Baby Molly was taken from her parents at birth, as some idiots blamed her parents for the death of her sibling born two years before Baby Molly was born.
Baby Molly turned out to be a very sick baby, like the sibling before her, she had a genetic disorder, that almost killed her as well, but in a terrible foster home, and social workers not telling the foster family anything about the baby, no one took baby Molly to a doctor,because they said Baby Molly's mother had MSBP.So left untreated in the foster home and the social workers and doctor, all not wanting to admit they had been wrong about Baby Molly's mother. Soon they could not hide it anymore, and Baby Molly suffered brain damage as a result of not being treated at birth, or soon after. Her mother never killed her sibling an easy to diagnose disorder did. And parents pleading with child protection the ministry and everyone that would listen did nothing. And the great foster family never took the baby to a doctor either. No one is accountable for Baby Molly, no one was held accountable to her parents, for the pain and suffering, the false allegation and slander, and the injnorance and neglect of the medical professionals to monitor the infant,who should have known better. This is happening all over the place. Can you imagine losing an infant, and being accused? if you have children they are taken into care, ( and we know how unsafe that is) and your future children are going to be taken as well. All because some doctor and social worker said maybe mom had MUNCH.
The entire MSBP or Factious illness, or what ever new name they give it is based on one doctors lie, Meadows, the case he published in Lancet, that has torn families apart left children to die, left mothers to never have medical care, is based on a genetic error, and the doctor himself salt loaded the child and caused the Childs death, he came up with mom did it and the infamous MSBP, and NO ONE has LOOK to SEE the entire thing, was if it even happened at all, ( as there are no witness and all papers have been shredded) an inborn error of metabolism. What does this say to the psychologist that took this and have made a living off his one claim to fame. What does it say about the doctors and social workers that still do today? Perhaps a few should re read the original MSBP, the so called Hinterlands of child abuse, and look up inborn errors of metabolism. And stop the witch hunt on innocent parents. Baby Molly would not be in need of the money the Minister office threatens to take away, had they only listened.

Did the foster family save her from the suffering?

Anonymous said...

A study making the rounds in press, family's with higher incomes, children do better, they are healthier, brighter , Well of course they can afford to take the children to American hospitals if need be, and private schools. DUH. this study what a waste of money, was it done to give CAS a reason to remove more poor children? cynical, perhaps but I would not put anything past them. Stop the claw backs of the poorest family's, and spend some money for special ed. Home work clubs, and recreation, put gym back into schools and music programs. Stop blaming the parents.And kidnapping the poorest children, what the study did not show is, what is most important to children in love, and family.

Anonymous said...

Moreover families with higher incomes are for the most part higher educated.

With education comes a lot of bonuses.

For those who can afford private school education good. We need some positive youth in society.

Anonymous said...

There is a wonderful series of stories in the Toronto Star today about people helping Mom's and being mother roles to them. This is what we need more of - helping people to keep their children by assisting them in various ways.

Anonymous said...

I think the study is part of the propoganda that is being launched by an industry. Money is the "God" of adoption and foster care. Those who are poor are the enemy and those rich the saviours. The whole thing is sick. I agree we should not be spending money on such studies, and furthermore I don't believe them. Those who are rich are just as capable of child abuse as anyone else. It is a myth that the wealthy are exempt from anything human.

Look at how many well off families abused and killed children in care.

As well the majority of those adopted in the past were given to wealthier, more educated people - yet the abuse rates are staggering which bursts the illusion that money or those with money are safer.

Such studies only make the problems worse - they are for the people who have more power, and more money. It is another dig to empower them more.

I agree and you said it so beautifully what is missing is the factor of love in these studies. We live in a society that equates all things happy with money - and we live in a society that values money over what is right. Do children want to be taken from loving parents in poverty to be bought by wealthy one's? I think not - but that is exactly what is happening here.

Anonymous said...

Baby Molly - another sad story - I have not heard of this case before. It does not surprise me though. How many more children are going to be abused in the child welfare system? The whole thing is insain.

Anonymous said...

This is the formula of child welfare

1) single parents = the enemy
2) living in poverty = the enemy
3) victims of domestic violence = the enemy
4) struggling = the enemy

and the survey says...

1) infertile stranger or strangers who are married = safety
2) wealthy = safety
3) strangers are not capable of abuse and domestic violence they have money and they are strangers = safety
4) not struggling = safety

No wonder so many were abused in care and no wonder so many are to this day.

No group is exempt from being child abusers except for one to the CAS - those who they "screen". And we wonder why so many in care were and are abused. They teach society a dangerous lesson over and over again - if they screen someone they are "forever safe" they are "forever families". They also teach society that anyone they have branded is not safe.

They are responsible for so much. If we have hope for children we need to look where these agencies claim there is no need. Take a close look and stop believing the lies of the CAS. In fact it makes me wonder if someone in the neighborhood of Jeffrey would have intervened if they were even bothering to look in the first place. Maybe they thought "well the CCAS screened them so they are safe"?

How many people didn't act who lived in the area of the murderers of Jeffrey as they thought the family was "safe" due to the CCAS doing a "homestudy"???

Anonymous said...

And when they went back to investigate after a complaint is it possible that the social worker was so arrogant about this to start with that they went into the house and thought, "well this can't be right, they are not abusive after all our agency did a homestudy". So, I'll go as I have to legally but just have tea and cookies with them for a few minites and not entertain that anything is wrong because we are God - we are right, we are superhumans, we know, we did a homestudy, we are invicible - we are the "experts"???

Once we check well hey there is no going back because we are never wrong - never wrong, we are "better".

A CCAS supervisor saw a little boy who was being tortured and did nothing what so ever about it - they did not even see the bedroom which was a chamber of horrors - they did not even look. And then in the trial they attempted to lose 30 files of information to protect themselves. This time they need to finally be responsible. Jeffrey's case is too big, his horror to big, and the blunders too big.

Anonymous said...

this study what a waste of money, was it done to give CAS a reason to remove more poor children? cynical, perhaps but I would not put anything past them. Stop the claw backs of the poorest family's, and spend some money for special ed. Home work clubs, and recreation, put gym back into schools and music programs. Stop blaming the parents.And kidnapping the poorest children, what the study did not show is, what is most important to children in love, and family.

WELL SAID AND I WOULDN'T PUT ANYTHING PAST THEM EITHER. The public is fed a constant diet of lies by the CAS - this has always been the way.

Anonymous said...

Yes could it be that baby brokers and the CAS suddenly funded the studies?

Let's not forget Matthew Reid in this either a little boy who was molested and then killed in foster care - he was taken as his mother had a history of depression? Name one person if you know of anyone who was in foster care or adopted who does not have depression?

Anonymous said...

I hope on the other side that Jeffrey Baldwin is being hugged today by a Mom who has passed.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if the group that said "adoption is the price of a car, it could be a luxury sedan, or a compact model" is circulating the study???

Anonymous said...

Children's well-being tied to household income: StatsCan
Last Updated Fri, 12 May 2006 00:29:13 EDT
CBC News

The well-being of Canadian children is almost always linked to their family's household income, suggests a Statistics Canada report.

The federal agency examined the links between physical, social, emotional, cognitive and behavioural well-being in children aged four to 15 and household income.

The study found "higher income tends to be related to better physical, social/emotional, cognitive and behavioural well-being among children."

Increases in household income continue to remain associated with better well-being, even when children are no longer considered low income, suggested the study.

"In fact, the results did not find a point at which high household income stops being associated with better child well-being."

The report used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth for 1994 to 1998.

Write the news papers that publish the waste of time and MONEY study's, also old so why release NOW, who does this benefit? the children and family's struggling with poverty, is there any middle class left in Canada? NO. does the study have give us some awe inspiring solution? NO.

And who the heck was so BRAINLESS they even needed to do a study in the first place, to see if children living in poverty have different
outcomes (and how many, and not all)
ITS blatant discrimination, and does not touch on what is really important to children. The wealthy can also afford better legal council and there for are more of a threat to CAS.
I personally was blessed to grow up in an affluent family, BUT more so because parents taught us not to discriminate, and give back. To advocate for those less fortunate, and not be judgemental. However many of my friends some of the most known sir names in this Country and beyond, have not ever worked, although they went to the best schools,lived in the best community's, had the best horses, and trainers, private tennis lessons,of course the all important trips to Whistler, a cottage in the where ever, and they DON'T WORK, or what they do DO is not only unethical,sometimes illegal. Conrad, Black? would you be please to say he was my father. GIVE ME A BREAK.
unless children are taught to behave ethically, and understand the importance of tolerance and the emotional well being of all citizens, is just as important as there own, and love unconditionally, ( and nanny's don't count) are taught delayed gratification, something the poor only know to well, and no matter what the economical class your family happens to fail in, the unconditional love, and support and decent role modeling by a parent or parents,will matter much more to a child, then money ever has or will.
Bill Clinton, mother was a single mom, not wealthy, and the list goes on. Look at the AMAZING, accomplishments made by those brought up in utter poverty. Ghandi.
Mother Theresa. Melinda Gates,and the example she and her husband set for their children. Get REAL, and shame on the papers for publishing such trash. The only way to guarantee and end to the unethical and immoral treatment of people is to HOPE that a child being raised today in poverty will grow up and do something to change the world for those less fortunate, in fact they are the only people that truly ever have. Rosa Parks took a seat on a bus. Have you told your child about her? inspire, and dare to dream. And get out and stop the discrimination, its alive and well and in the nation post, CBC and anyone that printed that study.I agree this crap will be abused by those that do not have children's interest at heart, the CAS.

Anonymous said...

Who is helping? they take the poor children, yet do nothing to help, Do you know why Africa is poorer today, and more children are dying and the people with Aids, EVEN with trillions of dollars in aid. There government is corrupt. We allow one corrupt government to sponsor another, and NO government has the RIGHT to legislate so called child protection till they clean up.

Easy to figure out read the news.
are they doing this to regulate society, absolutely.Its a genocide

The core reason for these miserable figures, Save the Children officials say, is the same as in the Third World: lack of access to prenatal and postpartum health care. The difference is that national priorities, not poverty, keep America from ensuring that all mothers receive these services

05 May 2006
More damning government data emerged today showing Londonderry's high deprivation levels.

Report highlights Derry deprivation
Belfast Telegraph, United Kingdom - 5 May 2006
... findings of a new Department of Social Development study which shows ... Children living in Coleraine and Derry are most at risk of low income before housing ...

Local teenager named Millennium Scholar
Gainesville Sun, FL - 7 May 2006
... awarded to just 1,000 minority students from low-income homes each ... and heads to the high school library to study. ... "I read to her from her children's books, and ...

Effect of Maternal Mental Health Problems on Child Treatment ...
Psychiatric Services (subscription) -
11 May 2006
... that address mothers' as well as children's needs may be helpful and appropriate for these families. ... address the needs of low-income families treated in ... PERHAPS better housing?

A tax cut only
the rich could love

St. Petersburg Times, FL - 12 May 2006
... tax cuts on the backs of low-income Americans whose ... inflation and now unfairly penalizes middle-class families. ... and their successors and our children will have ...

$70 billion tax-cut bill clears Senate, heads to Bush


CAS checks claims of abuse at school

Ottawa Sun, Canada - 14 Apr 2006
THE CHILDREN's Aid Society has launched an investigation into allegations of emotional and physical abuse at the Ottawa Montessori School. ...
high income families can only afford this type of education.

Abuse of statistics won't save children

Ventura County Star (subscription), CA - 15 hours ago
... Alvarez's claim that 3 million children are abused every year simply isn't true ... to live, caseworkers took away her granddaughter and placed her in foster care. ...

Parents forced to lower expectations
Toronto Star, Canada - 2 May 2006
... will stop funding those agreements next spring in favour of the child-care allowance and a tax-credit scheme to create spaces.

Under the Liberals, Toronto was ... Giving the rich a break
Ottawa Citizen, Canada - 3 May 2006
... Forest Hills parents a few extra dollars a week for child care, say ... increase as quickly as it would have under the Liberals, the $1,000 tax credit to cover ...

Danbury News TimesLove, adoption and a search for answers

Danbury News Times, CT - 9 hours ago
... Joan Lemieux, then 40 and married with a family of her own, provided food and temporary shelter for underprivileged children from low-income families. ...

May 12, 2006, 11:48PM

Mother's Day
U.S. infant survival rate is second lowest in the industrialized world. What is the excuse for neglecting our mothers and newborns?


Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Tories doing nothing to close gap between rich and poor: NDP
Canada.com, Canada - 11 May 2006
... above all, the one-third of low income Canadians who ... budget also included several targeted income tax measures ... per year (minus taxes) to families with children ...

McGuinty government fails vulnerable citizens
Toronto Star, Canada - 18 Apr 2006
... The cost of the tax cuts brought in by the previous government ... enough to end the clawback of the national child benefit from Ontario's most vulnerable ...

No such thing as `just a mom'
Kalamazoo Gazette, MI - 12 hours ago
... of school supplies to local kids from low-income families. ... moms -- moms who hold their families together when ... them apart, moms who raise children alone, moms ...
Michele.

Anonymous said...

Kids On ADHD Drugs - Dangerous Path To Addiction
Tell A Friend

by Evelyn Pringle

http://www.opednews.com

Experts say the stimulant drugs prescribed for the treatment of ADHD are not only dangerous, they are highly addictive. And although no drug has been approved for the treatment of autism, drugs are routinely prescribed off-label to treat autistic children.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, over the period of 5 years between 1997 and 2002, the number of children between the age of 3 to 17, diagnosed with ADHD went from 3.3 million to 4.4 million.

In direct correlation, the number of children prescribed ADHD drugs also rose steadily. In fact, spending on these types of medications for children is now higher than spending on antibiotics and asthma drugs. In February 2006, the FDA revealed that between 1999 and 2003, seventy-eight million prescriptions for ADHD drugs were written for children between the ages of 1 to 18. Terry Davis, a member of an FDA advisory committee, has said prescriptions for ADHD drugs filled annually have a value of $3.1 billion.

According to Dr Peter Breggin, author of "Talking Back To Ritalin, “parents and teachers and even doctors have been badly misled by drug company marketing practices,” he warns. “Drug companies have targeted children as a big market likely to boost profits and children are suffering as a result."

What critics say is most alarming, is the fact that very young children are being placed on drugs. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2000 provides some insight into this trend. The study found that fifty-seven percent of 223 Michigan Medicaid patients younger than 4, diagnosed with ADHD, received at least one psychotropic drug during a 15-month period in 1995 to 1996.

Additionally, the study found that in the Medicaid population in Midwestern states, there was a 3-fold increase in the prescribing of stimulant drugs between 1991 and 1995 for children between the age of 2 and four.

More recent statistics show a 369% increase in spending on ADHD drugs for children under five. From 2000 to 2003, the rise in the use of attention deficit drugs by children under 5 contributed to an overall 23% increase for all children, according to an analysis by the nation's largest prescription benefit manager, Medco Health Solutions.

The debate over the drugging of children in this country has been raging on for years. Schools have been accused of promoting the use of drugs to control normal but active children. At a September 26, 2002, Reform Committee hearing on the “Overmedication of Hyperactive Children,” Chairman, Rep Dan Burton (R-IN), asked pediatrician, Dr Mary Ann Block, "what have you found that the schools do specifically to encourage the use of medications for attention and behavior?"

Dr Block said, "parents that come to me report consistently that the teachers and the principals and even the school nurses pressure them to go to a physician and get their child labeled and drugged."

"Some schools," she said, "are giving lectures to parents, inviting parents to come hear talks about diagnosing and drugging their children for ADHD."

Congressman Burton pointed out what he considered to be inadequate and unscientific methods of diagnosing ADHD:

"When you take your child to a doctor, instead of blood tests and a thorough medical evaluation, you have a conversation with a doctor about the school's checklist. And you leave a few minutes later with a prescription for your young child for a psychotropic drug."

"Did the doctor test your child for a thyroid disorder? Did your doctor test your child for a heavy metal toxicity? Did you doctor talk to you about your child's allergies?

"Did your doctor even mention nutrition or possible food sensitivity? Did your doctor ask if your child's IQ had been tested and if he was gifted? Probably not," he said.

Sandra Lucas testifies at FDA advisory committee hearings on behalf of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a psychiatric watchdog group. She produced a copy of a January 20, 2005, pamphlet used at a training seminar for teachers composed by Susan Barton, who billed herself as the "Founder of Bright Solutions for Dyslexia," located in San Jose California.

Under Medication for ADD, Ms Barton states: "Medication is the most often an essential component to effective treatment for the ADD child."

"As I've said many times now," she told the teaches, "ADD is a neurobiological disorder and needs to be treated as such."

Ms Barton also says that without medication, other interventions are ineffective, and claims: "This medication does not cause illegal drug use or addiction."

Dr Fred Baughman, author of "The ADHD Fraud - How Psychiatry Makes Patients of Normal Children," and one of the nation's leading experts on the issue, vehemently disagrees. He calls the medical practice of ADHD a fraud - "one in which the FDA was fully complicit," he says.

"ADHD doesn't exist--it is not a physical abnormality," he explains, "and as such bears no risk of causing physical injury or death as does every drug used in its treatment," he says.

In testimony on behalf of the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, at the March 22 and 23, 2006, FDA advisory committee hearings on the dangers of ADHD drugs, Dr Baughman asked the panel of experts to "give us the reference, cite to the article, giving proof that ADHD is a disease."

He also asked the committee to give the reference, or cite the literature, that describes the test that provides objective evidence that children diagnosed with ADHD have a disease.

The silence in the hearing room was deafening. According to Dr Baughman, no one answered the questions because there is no study, test, or scientific literature to back up the assertion that ADHD is a disease.

"ADHD is not a disease," Dr Baughman says. "This being the case," he maintains, "giving such drugs for ADHD is not "help" or "treatment"."

He makes the point "that all practice of medicine begins with diagnosis."

"Informed consent," Dr Baughman explained, "demands not just a description of the drugs or surgery to be used but of the condition they are to be used on--its prognosis and how that natural course/prognosis is likely to be altered by the treatments to be applied."

At the March 2006, FDA advisory committee hearings, it was noted that no other countries are drugging children with stimulants. In fact, psychiatrist, Dr Grace Jackson, who also testified at the hearing, explains in her book, "Rethinking Psychiatric Drugs," how in 1996 and 1997, the World Health Organization issued press releases about the rise in the use of the stimulant, Ritalin, in this country, "noting that the United States was responsible for 90% of the drug's production and consumption."

At the time, the International Narcotics Control Board identified a number of concerns about America's use of the drug, including the dangers of: "inappropriate diagnosis of ADHD; widely divergent prescribing patterns; off-label prescribing to children under six; and excessive duration of treatment," Dr Jackson reports.

A report by the FDA released in February 2006, said that between 1999 and 2003, there were 25 deaths in persons using ADHD drugs, including the deaths of 19 children. The FDA also reported receiving more than 50 cases of cardiovascular problems, including stoke, heart attack, hypertension, palpitations and arrhythmia.

Because only between 1 and 10% of adverse events are ever reported to the FDA, the numbers above represent an extreme understatement of actual cases of harm, critics point out.

According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, there were only 271 Ritalin-related emergency room visits in 1990, but there were 1,478 Ritalin-related emergency visits recorded in 2001.

In 1999, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, found some 165 Ritalin-related poison calls in Detroit and 419 cases in Texas. Of the nearly 600 calls, only 114 cases involved intentional misuse or abuse.

Dr Breggin maintains that ADHD drugs actually bring on the symptoms they are supposed to treat such as hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention, which can lead to a vicious cycle of incorrect and dangerous dosage increases, he warns.

In addition, Dr Breggin says, stimulants can cause “agitation and irritability, anger, hostility, disinhibition, hypomania and mania.”

A recent review of data by the FDA seems to verify Dr Breggins assertions. The FDA found that children on ADHD drugs had an increased the risk of psychosis, a mental disorder characterized by the inability to distinguish between real and imaginary events. The most important finding, the FDA said, was that signs of psychosis or mania, particularly hallucinations, occurred in patients with no risk factors, at the usual doses of any of the drugs used to treat ADHD.

The FDA found a "substantial portion of the psychosis-related cases were reported to occur in children 10 years or less," an age group which does not typically suffer from psychosis, the FDA said.

From January 2000, through June 30, 2005, FDA identified nearly 1,000 reports of psychosis or mania possibly linked to the drugs, including Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta, and Strattera.

Most of people who have investigated the matter seem to agree that heavy metal poisoning is by far the most likely cause of the epidemic in autism spectrum disorders that erupted in the 1990s. Studies show that the mercury-based preservative, thimerosal, that was used in all childhood vaccines until recently, is the likely culprit.

Beginning in the late 1980s, the CDC began adding more and more vaccines to the immunization schedule but failed to keep track of the toxic levels of mercury that children would receive as each new shot was added to the list or the amount of mercury that infants would receive when 3-in-one shots were injected.

Nancy and Tim Hokkanen are the parents of Andy, a 6 year-old boy who was diagnosed with autism but who is now recovering from mercury poisoning. In June 2002 a neurologist prescribed Adderal for Andy.

"My son became psychotic," Nancy said, "for four days by mid-afternoon he had to be held down in a dark quiet room while he screamed himself limp."

Next the neurologist prescribed Ritalin, saying, "Usually if one drug doesn't work, the other one does," Nancy continued.

"My instincts told me that this was another disaster in the making," she said, "so I quit seeing that neurologist and began reading studies."

Nancy discovered the theory of mercury poisoning published by chemistry experts, Boyd Haley, PhD and Andrew Hall Cutler, PhD, in the study, "Autism: a novel form of mercury poisoning," which documents about 100 matching symptoms.

In November 2002, when Andy was 4 and-a-half, tests were done on Andy's hair, blood, urine and stool samples, and the test results showed mercury toxicity as well as high levels of copper and other metals, and various nutritional insufficiencies.

Within 2 weeks of giving Andy supplement including Vitamin B-6, zinc, manganese and magnesium, he showed drastic improvements in mood, behavior and abilities, Nancy says.

"We had an almost-normal Christmas," she reported, "without tantrums and bizarre behavior."

The Hokkenans estimate that their insurance company was billed about $100,000 for therapy to treat autism. "However, we never noticed any drastic improvement until we began biomedical treatment, which has cost about $2,000," Nancy says.

"Strangely," she notes, "our insurance company wouldn't cover the costs of those medical tests."

Nancy says that since public health officials realized their error of failing to keep track of the toxic mercury levels in vaccines in 1999, she views the failure to restrict the use of mercury in vaccines as a form of fatal entrenchment -- "when an unhealthy practice or norm is allowed to continue, she explained, "simply because it has been done that way for so long."

In addition to all the other side effects associated with ADHD drugs, Dr David Stein, author of "Unraveling the ADD/ADHD Fiasco," says stimulant drugs are "near the top of the heap of potentially addictive drugs."

He says, "we have no way of knowing which child has a potential risk for becoming addicted to drugs."

Recent studies have shown that more and more students are using the drugs illegally. In 2004, a nationwide University of Michigan study on non-medical use of amphetamines, found 4.9% of 8th graders had used stimulants in the previous year, 8.5% of 10th graders had used the drugs, and one in 10 seniors admitted to non-medical use of amphetamines.

The Partnership for a Drug Free America, released the results of a survey in 2005, that polled more than 7,300 teenagers, and found one in 10 teenagers, or 2.3 million young people, had tried ADHD drugs without a doctor’s prescription, and that 29% of those surveyed said they had close friends who had abused the drugs.

Experts agree that the wide-spread prescribing of stimulants will lead many children down the path to addiction and they warn of the perils that will follow.

"Psychology and psychiatry have extremely poor track records for treating abuse and addiction problems," Dr Stein notes, "and therefore the very drugs they are recommending can trigger a problem from which there may be no return."

If medical professionals begin telling children at a very young age that they can change the way they think, feel, and behave by simply taking a pill, they will logically continue to take drugs in attempt to mood-alter whenever they have problems in life.

Evelyn Pringle
evelyn.pringle@sbcglobal.net

(Evelyn Pringle is a columnist for Independent Media TV and an investigative journalist focused on exposing corruption in government)



none

Evelyn Pringle is a columnist for Independent Media TV and a freelance investigative journalist focused on exposing corruption in government
Bush Uses FDA To Shield Big Pharma From Lawsuits The ploy was also readily recognized by state lawmakers and trial lawyers as another ploy to reduce the public's ability to hold Big Pharma accountable. "Eliminating the rights of individuals to hold negligent drug companies accountable puts patients in even more danger than they already are in from drug company executives that put profits before safety," said Ken Suggs, president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

The CAS better not dream of coming after family's for making informed choices, and not putting children on dangerous drugs,or vaccinations, they have done so, taken children and called it medical neglect, given the
risk, parents need to make informed choices, doctors are unaware of effects from medicine, and treatment, read the news again Sick Kids head of Mother Risk thinks he has found a new discovery, the dangers of codeine to infants with a genetic defect, ITS OLD News, the baby died, the mother of course went though hell like ever mother is assumed guilty when a child under the age of two dies, Did the Ontario government know the harm of such a ludicrous law. How many parents will suffer, how many child go into care right away as the clock ticks away and the coroners office in no hurry to get the post done. And the utter mess of that office and past history of it. They know, they don't care.
If CAS comes calling see a criminal lawyer, child abuse is criminal, they have made a criminal allegation and it should be heard in the criminal courts period, see how fast they stop this crap. The family lawyers all know CAS is corrupt, they
either join them or let you know you need deep pockets to win, even if its a bogus allegation.
How can we say every family that loses a child under two, must be presumed guilty until proven other wise, and children and future children to be removed,HOW? and who on earth does this law protect. Go take a look at the family's that have going though the grieving, the terrible loss, the children in care, what for SIDs, a known but missed doctors error, such as the codeine metabolizing problem of a mother and her now perished child. That the tox and cornier think are a new finding??? who are they protecting. The so called poisonings of infants, lol IBEM. ever heard of it. And vaccine injury's. I want the politicians that passed this Bill to take a look at the damage. Children die and are abused in care at far higher numbers then in the general population. The governments children are forced dangerous drugs, used for medical research, no one cares about them, and adoption?

Anonymous said...

Kids On ADHD Drugs - Dangerous Path To Addiction
Tell A Friend

by Evelyn Pringle

http://www.opednews.com

Experts say the stimulant drugs prescribed for the treatment of ADHD are not only dangerous, they are highly addictive. And although no drug has been approved for the treatment of autism, drugs are routinely prescribed off-label to treat autistic children.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, over the period of 5 years between 1997 and 2002, the number of children between the age of 3 to 17, diagnosed with ADHD went from 3.3 million to 4.4 million.

In direct correlation, the number of children prescribed ADHD drugs also rose steadily. In fact, spending on these types of medications for children is now higher than spending on antibiotics and asthma drugs. In February 2006, the FDA revealed that between 1999 and 2003, seventy-eight million prescriptions for ADHD drugs were written for children between the ages of 1 to 18. Terry Davis, a member of an FDA advisory committee, has said prescriptions for ADHD drugs filled annually have a value of $3.1 billion.

According to Dr Peter Breggin, author of "Talking Back To Ritalin, “parents and teachers and even doctors have been badly misled by drug company marketing practices,” he warns. “Drug companies have targeted children as a big market likely to boost profits and children are suffering as a result."

What critics say is most alarming, is the fact that very young children are being placed on drugs. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2000 provides some insight into this trend. The study found that fifty-seven percent of 223 Michigan Medicaid patients younger than 4, diagnosed with ADHD, received at least one psychotropic drug during a 15-month period in 1995 to 1996.

Additionally, the study found that in the Medicaid population in Midwestern states, there was a 3-fold increase in the prescribing of stimulant drugs between 1991 and 1995 for children between the age of 2 and four.

More recent statistics show a 369% increase in spending on ADHD drugs for children under five. From 2000 to 2003, the rise in the use of attention deficit drugs by children under 5 contributed to an overall 23% increase for all children, according to an analysis by the nation's largest prescription benefit manager, Medco Health Solutions.

The debate over the drugging of children in this country has been raging on for years. Schools have been accused of promoting the use of drugs to control normal but active children. At a September 26, 2002, Reform Committee hearing on the “Overmedication of Hyperactive Children,” Chairman, Rep Dan Burton (R-IN), asked pediatrician, Dr Mary Ann Block, "what have you found that the schools do specifically to encourage the use of medications for attention and behavior?"

Dr Block said, "parents that come to me report consistently that the teachers and the principals and even the school nurses pressure them to go to a physician and get their child labeled and drugged."

"Some schools," she said, "are giving lectures to parents, inviting parents to come hear talks about diagnosing and drugging their children for ADHD."

Congressman Burton pointed out what he considered to be inadequate and unscientific methods of diagnosing ADHD:

"When you take your child to a doctor, instead of blood tests and a thorough medical evaluation, you have a conversation with a doctor about the school's checklist. And you leave a few minutes later with a prescription for your young child for a psychotropic drug."

"Did the doctor test your child for a thyroid disorder? Did your doctor test your child for a heavy metal toxicity? Did you doctor talk to you about your child's allergies?

"Did your doctor even mention nutrition or possible food sensitivity? Did your doctor ask if your child's IQ had been tested and if he was gifted? Probably not," he said.

Sandra Lucas testifies at FDA advisory committee hearings on behalf of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a psychiatric watchdog group. She produced a copy of a January 20, 2005, pamphlet used at a training seminar for teachers composed by Susan Barton, who billed herself as the "Founder of Bright Solutions for Dyslexia," located in San Jose California.

Under Medication for ADD, Ms Barton states: "Medication is the most often an essential component to effective treatment for the ADD child."

"As I've said many times now," she told the teaches, "ADD is a neurobiological disorder and needs to be treated as such."

Ms Barton also says that without medication, other interventions are ineffective, and claims: "This medication does not cause illegal drug use or addiction."

Dr Fred Baughman, author of "The ADHD Fraud - How Psychiatry Makes Patients of Normal Children," and one of the nation's leading experts on the issue, vehemently disagrees. He calls the medical practice of ADHD a fraud - "one in which the FDA was fully complicit," he says.

"ADHD doesn't exist--it is not a physical abnormality," he explains, "and as such bears no risk of causing physical injury or death as does every drug used in its treatment," he says.

In testimony on behalf of the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, at the March 22 and 23, 2006, FDA advisory committee hearings on the dangers of ADHD drugs, Dr Baughman asked the panel of experts to "give us the reference, cite to the article, giving proof that ADHD is a disease."

He also asked the committee to give the reference, or cite the literature, that describes the test that provides objective evidence that children diagnosed with ADHD have a disease.

The silence in the hearing room was deafening. According to Dr Baughman, no one answered the questions because there is no study, test, or scientific literature to back up the assertion that ADHD is a disease.

"ADHD is not a disease," Dr Baughman says. "This being the case," he maintains, "giving such drugs for ADHD is not "help" or "treatment"."

He makes the point "that all practice of medicine begins with diagnosis."

"Informed consent," Dr Baughman explained, "demands not just a description of the drugs or surgery to be used but of the condition they are to be used on--its prognosis and how that natural course/prognosis is likely to be altered by the treatments to be applied."

At the March 2006, FDA advisory committee hearings, it was noted that no other countries are drugging children with stimulants. In fact, psychiatrist, Dr Grace Jackson, who also testified at the hearing, explains in her book, "Rethinking Psychiatric Drugs," how in 1996 and 1997, the World Health Organization issued press releases about the rise in the use of the stimulant, Ritalin, in this country, "noting that the United States was responsible for 90% of the drug's production and consumption."

At the time, the International Narcotics Control Board identified a number of concerns about America's use of the drug, including the dangers of: "inappropriate diagnosis of ADHD; widely divergent prescribing patterns; off-label prescribing to children under six; and excessive duration of treatment," Dr Jackson reports.

A report by the FDA released in February 2006, said that between 1999 and 2003, there were 25 deaths in persons using ADHD drugs, including the deaths of 19 children. The FDA also reported receiving more than 50 cases of cardiovascular problems, including stoke, heart attack, hypertension, palpitations and arrhythmia.

Because only between 1 and 10% of adverse events are ever reported to the FDA, the numbers above represent an extreme understatement of actual cases of harm, critics point out.

According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, there were only 271 Ritalin-related emergency room visits in 1990, but there were 1,478 Ritalin-related emergency visits recorded in 2001.

In 1999, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, found some 165 Ritalin-related poison calls in Detroit and 419 cases in Texas. Of the nearly 600 calls, only 114 cases involved intentional misuse or abuse.

Dr Breggin maintains that ADHD drugs actually bring on the symptoms they are supposed to treat such as hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention, which can lead to a


vicious cycle of incorrect and dangerous dosage increases, he warns.

In addition, Dr Breggin says, stimulants can cause “agitation and irritability, anger, hostility, disinhibition, hypomania and mania.”

A recent review of data by the FDA seems to verify Dr Breggins assertions. The FDA found that children on ADHD drugs had an increased the risk of psychosis, a mental disorder characterized by the inability to distinguish between real and imaginary events. The most important finding, the FDA said, was that signs of psychosis or mania, particularly hallucinations, occurred in patients with no risk factors, at the usual doses of any of the drugs used to treat ADHD.

The FDA found a "substantial portion of the psychosis-related cases were reported to occur in children 10 years or less," an age group which does not typically suffer from psychosis, the FDA said.

From January 2000, through June 30, 2005, FDA identified nearly 1,000 reports of psychosis or mania possibly linked to the drugs, including Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta, and Strattera.

Most of people who have investigated the matter seem to agree that heavy metal poisoning is by far the most likely cause of the epidemic in autism spectrum disorders that erupted in the 1990s. Studies show that the mercury-based preservative, thimerosal, that was used in all childhood vaccines until recently, is the likely culprit.

Beginning in the late 1980s, the CDC began adding more and more vaccines to the immunization schedule but failed to keep track of the toxic levels of mercury that children would receive as each new shot was added to the list or the amount of mercury that infants would receive when 3-in-one shots were injected.

Nancy and Tim Hokkanen are the parents of Andy, a 6 year-old boy who was diagnosed with autism but who is now recovering from mercury poisoning. In June 2002 a neurologist prescribed Adderal for Andy.

"My son became psychotic," Nancy said, "for four days by mid-afternoon he had to be held down in a dark quiet room while he screamed himself limp."

Next the neurologist prescribed Ritalin, saying, "Usually if one drug doesn't work, the other one does," Nancy continued.

"My instincts told me that this was another disaster in the making," she said, "so I quit seeing that neurologist and began reading studies."

Nancy discovered the theory of mercury poisoning published by chemistry experts, Boyd Haley, PhD and Andrew Hall Cutler, PhD, in the study, "Autism: a novel form of mercury poisoning," which documents about 100 matching symptoms.

In November 2002, when Andy was 4 and-a-half, tests were done on Andy's hair, blood, urine and stool samples, and the test results showed mercury toxicity as well as high levels of copper and other metals, and various nutritional insufficiencies.

Within 2 weeks of giving Andy supplement including Vitamin B-6, zinc, manganese and magnesium, he showed drastic improvements in mood, behavior and abilities, Nancy says.

"We had an almost-normal Christmas," she reported, "without tantrums and bizarre behavior."

The Hokkenans estimate that their insurance company was billed about $100,000 for therapy to treat autism. "However, we never noticed any drastic improvement until we began biomedical treatment, which has cost about $2,000," Nancy says.

"Strangely," she notes, "our insurance company wouldn't cover the costs of those medical tests."

Nancy says that since public health officials realized their error of failing to keep track of the toxic mercury levels in vaccines in 1999, she views the failure to restrict the use of mercury in vaccines as a form of fatal entrenchment -- "when an unhealthy practice or norm is allowed to continue, she explained, "simply because it has been done that way for so long."

In addition to all the other side effects associated with ADHD drugs, Dr David Stein, author of "Unraveling the ADD/ADHD Fiasco," says stimulant drugs are "near the top of the heap of potentially addictive drugs."

He says, "we have no way of knowing which child has a potential risk for becoming addicted to drugs."

Recent studies have shown that more and more students are using the drugs illegally. In 2004, a nationwide University of Michigan study on non-medical use of amphetamines, found 4.9% of 8th graders had used stimulants in the previous year, 8.5% of 10th graders had used the drugs, and one in 10 seniors admitted to non-medical use of amphetamines.

The Partnership for a Drug Free America, released the results of a survey in 2005, that polled more than 7,300 teenagers, and found one in 10 teenagers, or 2.3 million young people, had tried ADHD drugs without a doctor’s prescription, and that 29% of those surveyed said they had close friends who had abused the drugs.

Experts agree that the wide-spread prescribing of stimulants will lead many children down the path to addiction and they warn of the perils that will follow.

"Psychology and psychiatry have extremely poor track records for treating abuse and addiction problems," Dr Stein notes, "and therefore the very drugs they are recommending can trigger a problem from which there may be no return."

If medical professionals begin telling children at a very young age that they can change the way they think, feel, and behave by simply taking a pill, they will logically continue to take drugs in attempt to mood-alter whenever they have problems in life.

Evelyn Pringle
evelyn.pringle@sbcglobal.net

(Evelyn Pringle is a columnist for Independent Media TV and an investigative journalist focused on exposing corruption in government)



none

Evelyn Pringle is a columnist for Independent Media TV and a freelance investigative journalist focused on exposing corruption in government
Bush Uses FDA To Shield Big Pharma From Lawsuits The ploy was also readily recognized by state lawmakers and trial lawyers as another ploy to reduce the public's ability to hold Big Pharma accountable. "Eliminating the rights of individuals to hold negligent drug companies accountable puts patients in even more danger than they already are in from drug company executives that put profits before safety," said Ken Suggs, president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

The CAS better not dream of coming after family's for making informed choices, and not putting children on dangerous drugs,or vaccinations, they have done so, taken children and called it medical neglect, given the
risk, parents need to make informed choices, doctors are unaware of effects from medicine, and treatment, read the news again Sick Kids head of Mother Risk thinks he has found a new discovery, the dangers of codeine to infants with a genetic defect, ITS OLD News, the baby died, the mother of course went though hell like ever mother is assumed guilty when a child under the age of two dies, Did the Ontario government know the harm of such a ludicrous law. How many parents will suffer, how many child go into care right away as the clock ticks away and the coroners office in no hurry to get the post done. And the utter mess of that office and past history of it. They know, they don't care.
If CAS comes calling see a criminal lawyer, child abuse is criminal, they have made a criminal allegation and it should be heard in the criminal courts period, see how fast they stop this crap. The family lawyers all know CAS is corrupt, they
either join them or let you know you need deep pockets to win, even if its a bogus allegation.
How can we say every family that loses a child under two, must be presumed guilty until proven other wise, and children and future children to be removed,HOW? and who on earth does this law protect. Go take a look at the family's that have going though the grieving, the terrible loss, the children in care, what for SIDs, a known but missed doctors error, such as the codeine metabolizing problem of a mother and her now perished child. That the tox and cornier think are a new finding??? who are they protecting. The so called poisonings of infants, lol IBEM. ever heard of it. And vaccine injury's. I want the politicians that passed this Bill to take a look at the damage. Children die and are abused in care at far higher numbers then in the general population. The governments children are forced dangerous drugs, used for medical research, no one cares about them, and adoption?

Anonymous said...

Very good spot on CBC 6:00 pm news this evening regarding CAS abuse of a young boy. Seems he was on a diet of toxic soup including one drug used to treat schizophrenia in adults - administered at 20 times the dose it would take to put many adults to sleep. That was only one of 6 phoney disorders he was diagnosed as suffering from.

CAS and their medical chronies are far more dangerous than sadists or child molesters. Parents that did this to a child would be labelled as monsters and jailed.

Anonymous said...

I'm confused...is the ccas a privately owned agency that is publicly funded or a public agency. I thought they were a private agency but thats not what mary mcconville said on the fifth estate'failing jeffrey' show.Does any one know?
Also I called the coroners office to find where Jeffrey is buried and they wouldnt tell me ....why the secrecy?? I just want to pay my respects.

Anonymous said...

The CCAS is publically funded - it is by Ontario tax dollars - it is operated privately though as a charitable organization. It is exempt from the privacy laws in Ontario. All 53 CAS agencies operate the same.

Anonymous said...

zero tolerance for parents. endless tolerence for CAS child abusers

Anonymous said...

Finding Normal, the young boy on the CBC National, tonight, was so abused, what are the long term effects of the drugs they had him on NO ON KNOWS, he was sexually abused repeatedly this is a young boy, CAS notes confirm his worker knew something, why was he left to be abused wounded for life, they are not held accountable, the worker KNEW?? he was so drug he could not work in school, what about education neglect, medical malpractice, all the drugs, a child's life?? While the fight not to let him live a normal life with grandparents that love him and can ensure CAS and doctors and group homes don't abuse him. MONEY.
His sister is now going though the same drug withdrawal problem, and rescued from so called CAS care by the grandparents. is this a one or two time situation, NOT AT ALL according to the doctors, CAS does more damage, interesting did they hear it. Both the paediatrician and psychologist said it. In most cases they do MORE HARM.
There is a class filed in Canada, a school using its abuse of power to have a child put on Ritalin, ( a dangerous drug) the mom said no, they called CAS, 11 million class action has been filed, do parents have the right to make informed choices on the medications and medical treatments for OUR children. We do, and make wiser ones at that, I hope this class action puts the issue to rest. More children are harmed in hospitals and by medicine every single day,the numbers are appalling, a social worker turning her back on a young boy, allowing him to be drug ( this child could have died) diagnosed with how many psycho babble disorders, and turning their backs on the sexual abuse as well. Why does the Minister not help fund the grandparents that will now raise the two children, after all the saved them and had to pay dearly to do so, from the so called child protectors, why can we not fund them, instead of group and foster homes???? How often does this happen, is this an isolated case , hell NO.
Good reporting, will it change anything, I doubt it.

Anonymous said...

A new war over Ritalin



DANYLO HAWALESHKA

At first glance, it seemed like a classic David-and-Goliath punch-up: Danielle Lavigueur, a separated mother of two living in Longueuil, on Montreal's South Shore, claims the high school her 12-year-old son Gabriel attends is pressuring her to medicate him with Ritalin for hyperactivity. She refuses to yield to the alleged demand, and eventually someone calls in the Children's Aid Society.

Feeling besieged, Lavigueur confides in a friend, who introduces her to Raphaël Huppé, head of research for the Montreal-based National Parents Association (NPA). With the group's help, she finds herself a lawyer, and soon she's heading up a class-action suit for $11 million, claiming parents have the final say when it comes to whether a child should be given drugs. But what appears to be a story of a woman of modest means standing up to a school board is actually much more.

At the end of March, the school cited Gabriel's "behaviour" and suspended him indefinitely (with the courts now involved, the school won't discuss his behaviour in detail). With the help of the NPA, Lavigueur found lawyer Alan Stein. "The parent has the final say, and if the parent wants to take this child off these drugs, it's not for the school to say, 'Well, if you don't continue with the drugs, we're suspending the child,' " Stein says. "The school is violating the Quebec and Canadian charters of rights."

The backdrop to all of this is the staggering rise in the use of medication like Ritalin to control ADHD, not only in Quebec, but across Canada. Last year, Quebec pharmacies dispensed more than 500,000 prescriptions of Ritalin, or its generic equivalent -- more than double what it was in 1999, says IMS Health Canada, a market-trend watcher.

During the course of a 90-minute talk with Lavigueur, her son sits quietly in the living room. Like his mother, Gabriel is soft-spoken and comes across, in a brief meeting at least, as calm, sensitive and thoughtful. "I was mean to my mother a lot of the time, even though I didn't want to be," Gabriel recalls. He feels better now and says he doesn't want to take drugs anymore. He misses school. "I want to go back, but they won't let me. I'm losing all the friends I made." Throughout the ups and downs, Lavigueur has not seen fit to seek a second opinion from a pediatrician on what, if anything, ails Gabriel. "I regret giving him the drugs," she says. "It was hell, and now I see he's fine -- he's like any other kid. The more I think about it, the more I think it was all the change and new school and friends.

AGAIN, the schools USE the CAS to make parents comply, or threaten them, illegally denied access to students, for medical conditions, allergy's, special needs, and to have NORMAL children put on dangerous drugs.
The medical system also uses the CAS to protect them self's from malpractice, get rid of an advocating parent, and call it something else,
If you make a complaint to the patient advocate, ( they work for the hospital not the patients) and its about a child, you may soon hear from CAS. and if you dare ask for medical charts , you can be assured a call by CAS, write in a complaint to the College , you will be labelled and CAS will make come as well. What's going on.

Parents have no rights, and in situations we know we need to be vigilant, drugs and OUR own children, educational needs, and OUR own children, medical test and OUR own children, the government has given the children aid agencies the power to make them theirs, to shut up advocating parents, and grandparents.
But its so clearly abuse of power, the public is catching on.
A child in a group home is sexually abused, and drug further, because he is acting out, who is accountable?
A child is murdered in a foster home , who is accountable? The files are all secret for a reason and its not to protect children. CAS should be under the freedom of information, but NO why? no over sight. When will the government have the balls to stop the abuse of children by the child protectors?

Anonymous said...

I was saddened to see the story of the young lad who was abused in a group home, and then drugged. It does not surprise me though. It is certainly not in the "best interest of the child", to be molested and drugged??? This system is insain. His grandparents obviously love this child very much, and his sister as well. Good for them in advocating for them - but the fact that they lost their savings is a travesty. I think the Ministry should re-compensate them as well as the CAS.

This is just another example and another horror story of why the Ombudsman needs oversight - the sooner the better!!!

I hope the young fellow recovers from this nightmare - he seems to be thriving in his grandparents care and after such a horrific case as Jeffrey's it is good to see a loving set of grandparents advocating. It angers me to think of all that they have been through to help this boy.

And the CAS drugging him as he was abused is simply criminal - one shudders to think of what else is going on as well.

Anonymous said...

Ritalin was originally banned in the United States - it was said that it was responsible for a host of side effects including - stunted growth, headaches etc.. I have no idea of how it was re-born onto the market but it has been a contraversy for quite some time. The bloody CAS should know that - but it appears they do not care and promote the drug to keep their wards in a silent stupor.

Anonymous said...

I hope that a lot of people come together to stand up for Jeffrey Baldwin - a beautiful, precious angel who is gone but not forgotten. He deserves our attention, he deserves to be noticed, after being ignored for so long. I hope his spirit knows how many people do care about him. A little sweetheart - a lamb sent to a slaughter.

Anonymous said...

I commend the CBC for "Failing Jeffrey", and for "Finding Normal". Well done, and both boys deserve their sad stories to be told to the public. Children matter - and their voices must be heard in this mess.

As well to all media that have covered the stories of crown wards, those adopted and those affected by the CAS - bravo! It is long overdue that the victims had a say over the so called "experts"!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

The media could cover horror stories of the CAS and print them for the next 30 decades just to start with - if politicians are reading this isn't it time to end the tyranny, oppression, and lies. Isn't it finally time for a real change with the CAS?

Anonymous said...

It is long overdue that the victims had a say over the so called "experts"!!!!!!

Very well said - you've captured the essence in a few words. Again, the "experts" are revealled to be monsters motivated by their own interests. Could these people care any less about children?

Anonymous said...

An inner-city school in one of the country's poorest neighbourhoods is the surprising big winner in the newly released Fraser Institute report card on B.C. elementary schools.

Admiral Seymour elementary, just steps away from the Downtown Eastside, scored a perfect 10, tying for first place with 18 other schools. It ranked alongside elite private schools such as Crofton House and West Point Grey, and beat Trafalgar elementary on Vancouver's west side, which was last year's top-scoring public school.

Although a mark of 10 isn't significantly different from Trafalgar's 9.8 this year, the fact that an inner-city public school performed so well in the controversial report card is unprecedented in B.C.

Even principal Margaret Jorgensen was surprised. When told that Seymour was one of 19 elementary schools with a perfect score, she laughed and said: "Are you sure it's not Seymour school in North Van?" In fact, Seymour Heights placed 279 out of the 1,007 schools rated in the 2006 report card.

only the rich do well?????

Anonymous said...

The PC's today actually asked the Minister what she was doing about this mess - the SHEER AND UTTER NERVE. This coming from a party that voted against the ultimate victims of the CAS in Ontario - those who lost their children, and those brokered by the government and the CAS in the infamous, hellish, corrupt closed adoption system. At least the Liberals and the NDP passed Bill 183 to allow more access to find families where they have been severed due to closed adoption and the CAS.

The PC's DO NOT CARE about the CAS, nor do they care period about the former or current victims. This is a game to them - it is a game of power, money and control. The day they stand up for the victims of the past will be the day they ever get any credit. Until then they can parade around in a farce.

Anonymous said...

WELL the Minister Chambers was once agin giving her spin, and NO oversight on CAS, over last nights media coverage, of J. did they forget BOTH docotrs said children have worst outcomes in care, did they miss that!!!!
The CAS NEEDS a total injury, time to shut them all down. even the Libs sittin behind Chambers hung there heads in shame. oh yes Chambers you will ensure grandparents, have a hard time getting their kin out of the hands of the monster, Jefferys case was used for that purpose, they let it happen, so how many will you fail now. Stop the abuse of children and familys by childrens aid societys, NOW. let the governemnt know we are fed up, The Crown Wards. Jeffery Baldwin, M Reid,a 3 year old, drugged children, sexually abused children. The abuse of power must stop. it must be high scale criminal activity to go on.

Anonymous said...

The NDP stood up for the victims/survivors as well. They are to be credited.

Here is some advice if you want anything to stop with the CAS the PC's are not the one's to do it - they don't care. They never have, and they have done nothing to support those in the system period.

Provincial was bad enough - now we have the Fed's giving tax credits to buy babies for $10,000 a head?

Couldn't normal families that are struggling use the tax break? We just saw a good example last night. Give the grandparents of "J" a tax break to help raise their grandchildren. They deserve one don't you think?

Anonymous said...

The NDP in fact are doing the MOST about getting the Ombudsman in there. This is an election issue and people are watching - CAS abuse WILL NOT BE TOLERATED ANY FURTHER. Isn't it obvious with the rash of lawsuits, the 500 million dollar one with the autistic children and all the other hells and horrors going on.

The time is now - the CAS and there days of tyranny, oppression and lies must stop.

Thank you CBC for covering the stories - it is a good beginning.

Anonymous said...

I still literally wonder if the Toronto CCAS wanted to make a case so against family preservation that they willingly allowed Jeffrey to happen - and I wouldn't put it past them either!

Anonymous said...

This transcends petty politics, the Children's Aid Societies are so corrupt, no party wants it falling down on there time. Yet someone needs to find the will, that is us, we need to remind the politicians all of them that they represent us. And CAS runs that Ministers office, and always has.
There so called experts go in , ( like any other major industry) and lobby for what they want, and get it.

Nothing will change until many of us are sitting in Queens part demanding it, and the press continues to report, the lawsuits they seem to forget are part of the system.
The excuses they use for the abuse of so many does not wash, blame blame. or secret files to protect the children LOL. The children that suffer unbelievable abuse in there hands,
YES J grandparents should revive money to help them raise both grandchildren, they spent there life savings fighting the CAS for him, is that right? no , if they had not he would have died from the drugs, or gotten hit by a care, or murdered in care, what are the long term effects to this child and his sister, his grandparents, that understand this system is not to be trusted, as Minister Chambers brags today how SHE made sure there are checks now for kin ship care, Jeffery case was not anything near normal, but his death was a win win for the CCAS and CAS, they will make more money, and not hand over children to family because of it. Do people not understand?
The public asked how CCAS failed, instead CCAS won out, they get more money, and will not place children with GOOD family as a result. They blamed it on familys, and the children will pay,

As one social worker told me, the public will hate us more because of the demands they made over Jeffery Baldwins case, there will be far fewer kinship placements, and adoption takes less time and makes money for the agencys. Also no one wants to give a damaged child back to the family , as they may tell media or sue, look at J, one month in care and he has been sexually abused, for acting out , the idots put him on more drugs, some experts.

Anonymous said...

I do hope people are still coming out on May 17th in spite of all the other rallies. This one is for Jeffrey.

Anonymous said...

I think the only answer is a massive class action lawsuit.

Anonymous said...

I hope that people come out tomorrow as well this blog is for Jeffrey.

Anonymous said...

Jeffrey Baldwin you little angel I will be there for you tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

You have to wonder if Mary Anne Chambers is incredibly stupid or evil. To find out what's wrong with CAS she states she will ask it - no need to trouble anyone else - least of all its thousands of victims. Whenever she is asked a CAS question she refuses to answer on the bogus grounds of confidentiality. If anyone presses she plays the politics card, warning our elected representatives not turn CAS abuse to their political benefit. Incredibly, this seems to muzzle any further debate. Perhaps it is she that is evil and the other politicians that are stupid. Any dolt can figure out if you want to know what's happening talk to the victims. To profess to care about children and not make that your priority boggles the mind.

Anonymous said...

Maryann Chambers press release right before they passed Bill C210 ( with out a recorded vote by the way), was to blame the Tory's for abusing Ontario's as she said OUR most vulnerable children, no they are valuable to CAS not vulnerable.
When ever ant politician ask a question of the Minister, she is out to lunch and should be replaced. Matthew Reid was murder on her watch, this child that was drugged and sexually assaulted ( and the CAS knew) and did nothing, is not unusual, as the grandparents used their savings to truly protect the child, why should they of had too. We pay foster parents group homes help the grand parents better yet they should sue.

Too many children have died in care, and she speaks about kinship checks, hello, the CCAS knew Jeffery was the house of horrors, this has just made it more difficult for normal relative to gain custody with out deep pockets to save them and raise them in loving homes.

What's more the CAS should be monitoring Queens park, the bad language screaming and total disrespect, poor English : ya that's right ya di notin on your watch ya"
in harmony people this was the Liberals ranting back to the NDP today. There are young pages in the building, what they are witnessing is what I would consider mass domestic violence, if parents spoke to one another like they do, and screamed in that tone, all of them, the police would come and children taken. STOP and LOOK at the children this government is modeling behaviour for, its become a joke and needs a PG rating in the least.

Nothing is getting done, blame , shame. it does not matter how long ago a department could have been set up, shut up and do it.
Grow up Minister Chambers. Bill 210 if taken to a higher court would NOT pass go. Its not been implemented yet?? gee thought the Tory's were holding it up???? The ombudsman have no direct oversight, this spin is not working, what are you afraid of, pissing off the CAS, do it you represent the people, not the NGO.
3,000 signatures from Windsor, most medical personal and many social workers asked for much more in the petition handed in, How many from Hamilton. How many drugged children are in care, how many 8 year olds are sexually abused in care, who will pay for the counselling this boy will need later in life.

Why is every child's death under the age of 2 considered a homicide, till proven other wise, so CAS can take the children, and any unborn. I am sorry but with Ontario's coroners office and toxicologist can we trust it will find the truth, hell no Dr Charles Smith, and Dr Giddy Koren
have been reprimanded by the collage, and SURLY Dr Koren stating he has found a new discovery, that made headlines, he and the Coroner want to write about in the new England journal of medicine is CONCERNING, a child died from his mothers breast milk, ( what would have happened if she did not have any saved??? scary thought)

and the peds did not know, lol not surprising, BUT genetic problems with metabolizing medications is NOTHING NEW, and the percentage of people with the problem is much higher then Koren reported, and he heads Mother Risk. A simple pub med search would have told them where the baby's morphine came from, I feel like I am living in the movie Deliverance right here in Ontario, we really did get brain drained.

How many more mommy's will they accuse, and CAS comes in to take down the family. Medicine, can give opinions, nothing more. Its not science. Psychology even less so, how dare they drug this child, lands face down in his food, and its FUNNY!! hell no, what if that was bath water. I am fuming over this last blunder but its not the first case I have heard about. If the doctors don't understand the side effects don't prescribe. Dr. Wendy Roberts stated, many children have a worsening of problems in care, yes of course they do, and Dr. Mc Kay had the brains and compassion not to let them walk away with it. Dr Scheri, has been telling the Ministry for years the problems are huge with children's aid agencies, does she have a vested interested NO, she is an oncologist. How can this government allow it to go on. Who is truly willing to stand up for children, and families, and protect them.

Royal commission of inquiry, will we see the day, the public is learning the deep dark secrets, Mary Mc Conville lied on the Firth, about her agency being a public agency, NOT true, or is it? as she ran and hide, The Crown Wards, this is the CAS and CCAS past abuse of children in care and only a small example of it, many no longer have voices, many are gagged and if go to media are threatened with being formed, or taken children, how sick is this!!!
The lies in affidavits by workers by the psychologist that work for them, take it out of the very corrupt family court system. And write Upper Canada.
Children for sale, sick as can be, the NDP is right Bill 210 is not the answer, taking this agency down and not funding them is. Let the police charge parents with child abuse. real abuse not the micro managing of society, and CAS worker that KNEW J had experienced in appropriate sexual behaviour!!!! and did not move that child??? SHE should be charged, is it not LAW to report child abuse???? are the workers exempt, explain this please. And what on earth would be appropriate on going sexual abuse of anyone much less a young boy, or girl, he's lashing out and they drug him. He is not alone, there are so many it makes me sick. But is the social worker is not charged for not doing something and ensuring the sexual abuse of the child stopped as soon as she knew and the on going medications,???? what else don't they tell us, social workers don't do anything but remove children from parents for so much less, and then turn there backs on the child in care. This is the truth.
and I am so angry, this is enough

Anonymous said...

There have been a few Ontario stories out in the last year, one in Chatelaine, the mom was candid about the hell. One story on the current. and another case from Ottawa, that made the New Yorker, and Globe, the parents took the child to a better hospital, it cost them plenty, for care in the States, but took the child to the best. The child improves, but that did not stop the CAS from going after this parent.

The damage done to the mother is not acceptable, most will never trust the medical system , schools or governments and live in fear of CAS. Many wont go to doctors even when very sick, or they don't get care when they do, because once labelled with MSP it sticks, and doctors don't listen. Women have died. This needs to stop.
A false allegation and all are about the so called MSBP as it is made up to get advocating , note tooting, question asking, concerned moms to go away. And a great out for doctors errors.
But how does someone recover form the worst thing you can say about a mother, you could or would make your child sick, or lie about symptoms, the question that should be asked is why would any parent do this? And what sick mind came up with this bogus crap. Meadows and his paper is writing about to a t, a know condition today. Medicine does not have all the answers, have they forgotten that.
I can say, that women I have spoken to one that is and has been an investigative reporter for over 30 years, is still not over the false allegation they made on her, the MSBP , and she has become a major advocate for mothers. Others a doctor that post here, also will never truly recover from the false allegation.
Do they not understand the harm. The life long harm.
People need to understand a false allegation of child abuse, the ones they only admit to being unsubstantiated, forever harm the family. To save one child they destroy a thousand. And harm the children for life as well. To make a false allegation of MUNCH, the mother will never recover either, nor will they trust again.
Today the collage, and Canadian institute of health, advice people to make sure they have copies of their medical files and their children's, to ask questions, and take notes if a loved one is in hospital, what drug what time, and so on. They have not told the doctors I guess, because they label people that do this as problems. Its a matter of safety. Ask the good doctor how often medication errors happen in hospitals how test results come back wrong. its common, their human. Yet when we take responsibility for our children its MSBP.

There is an expert Eric Mart, we spoke with him, and this is not unusual, they tend to go after moms that are bright, and request charts, and don't know what it is and what it is not. He told us NO you don't have MSBP. And too many doctors and social workers are abusing their power, the infamous cases they still talk about in the US there have been 3, have all been turned over, after they found the child or children in deed had the problems mom said. I believe one died. Yet the people making money of this psycho babble still use the three cases its silly.

And if anyone can answer the questions above it would be appreciated, thank you.





















Does anyone know how much money the agency bills for each file opened, and how long they have to investigate a complaint?

Does anyone know, how a doctor can get away with calling CAS to make up concerns because a parent asked to review a chart, and asked for a test on their child, that came back positive, even though this doctor wrote, every doctor that missed it (in two children's hospitals,) and left the child ill, for two years? She wrote the child most likely did not have the disorder, its mom in so many words, and sent it to everyone, also against the rules of privacy, but they do nothing as well, so we sue.

What happens when the parent keeps telling the doctors, she may know what's wrong, but none listen, finally they do the blood test and shit the parent was right, and tells the patent advocate, even sends an e-mail saying, the doctor will probably call child protection in retaliation, but is joking, yet as soon as they hear its going to the collage, and a lawyer, the doctor does indeed call CAS? Experts that have looked at all the child's medical files, have said the doctor was clearly embarrassed, and also understood she and the others that saw the child and missed the diagnoses even though the child had every symptom, and a back ground that would predispose her to the condition, did not get it could also be sued.
A clear case of a doctor and hospital using CAS to cover their ass. How many more are there?

We know the schools are doing it, a lawsuit has just been filed, 11 million , a mom wanted her child off Ritalin, the schools suspended him. and called CAS.
Doctors use MSBP all to often.
MSBP is based on an article published in Lancet years ago, by Roy Meadow, he also said he found a new an amazing discovery, like the toxicologist in Toronto, and that is funny, I did look it up, its not new at all.
How and why did the Globe, publish it with out looking into it as well?

Meadows case was either an inborn error of metabolism and he killed the child and covered it up with his NEW family forever harming MSBP. the mom made the child sick for attention, attention by whom, doctors?? moms like being in the children's wards??? really?? they stink, have the doctors become immune to the smell of those wards. And the fact that parents do and should pay very close attention when your child is in a hospital after all 1 in 13 will suffer an adverse effect.
Why has the MSBp labelled been allowed to continue? Like repressed memory's its not real. And how handy but all the doctors evidence that he based the paper on is shredded and no one witness, take a look at MAMA, amazing, how many moms have went to jail to be cleared later, how many have died because they got no medical care, and way to many children have died because doctors stopped listening and CAS agencies remove the child and all children and any new born, and they are not sent to family, what if the child gets worse, they family will tell, so there have been approximately 600 children that have went on to die in care, because of this label.
When will we stop abusing mothers, for advocating for children.

Has anyone else anything like this? I have meet many other moms that have, and the usual trigger is asking for a chart, or disagreeing, second opinions,they say are doctor shopping,and the signs of MSBP they are everything normal parents do. They now say moms who advocate for special ed. in schools or IEP have MSBP as well.
Please let me know. if you or someone you know, has been though this and post it.


A reporter would like to do the story, you do not need to be named if your uncomfortable, or still living in the fear of the CAS. But coming forward is the only way they will be stopped.

There have been a few Ontario stories out in the last year, one in Chatelaine, the mom was candid about the hell. One story on the current. and another case from Ottawa, that made the New Yorker, and Globe, the parents took the child to a better hospital, it cost them plenty, for care in the States, but took the child to the best. The child improves, but that did not stop the CAS from going after this parent.

The damage done to the mother is not acceptable, most will never trust the medical system , schools or governments and live in fear of CAS. Many wont go to doctors even when very sick, or they don't get care when they do, because once labelled with MSP it sticks, and doctors don't listen. Women have died. This needs to stop.
A false allegation and all are about the so called MSBP as it is made up to get advocating , note taking, question asking, concerned moms, to go away. And a great out for doctors errors.
But how does someone recover form the worst thing you can say about a mother, you could or would make your child sick, or lie about symptoms, the question that should be asked is why would any parent do this? And what sick mind came up with this bogus crap. Meadows and his paper is writing about to a t, a know condition today. Medicine does not have all the answers, have they forgotten that.
I can say, that women I have spoken to one that is and has been an investigative reporter for over 30 years, is still not over the false allegation they made on her, the MSBP , and she has become a major advocate for mothers. Others a doctor that post here, also will never truly recover from the false allegation.
Do they not understand the harm. The life long harm.
People need to understand a false allegation of child abuse, the ones they only admit to being unsubstantiated, forever harm the family. To save one child they destroy a thousand. And harm the children for life as well. To make a false allegation of MUNCH, the mother will never recover either, nor will they trust again.
Today the collage, and Canadian institute of health, advice people to make sure they have copies of their medical files and their children's, to ask questions, and take notes if a loved one is in hospital, what drug what time, and so on. They have not told the doctors I guess, because they label people that do this as problems. Its a matter of safety. Ask the good doctor how often medication errors happen in hospitals how test results come back wrong. its common, their human. Yet when we take responsibility for our children its MSBP.

There is an expert Eric Mart, we spoke with him, and this is not unusual, they tend to go after moms that are bright, and request charts, and don't know what it is and what it is not. He told us NO you don't have MSBP. And too many doctors and social workers are abusing their power, the infamous cases they still talk about in the US there have been 3, have all been turned over, after they found the child or children in deed had the problems mom said. I believe one died. Yet the people making money of this psycho babble still use the three cases its silly.

And if anyone can answer the questions above it would be appreciated, thank you.

Anonymous said...

Mary Ann Chambers ducking the issue again:
MEMBERS' STATEMENTS
CHILD PROTECTION
Mr. John O'Toole (Durham): I rise in the House in response to a report on the CBC national news last night regarding medications given to a child identified only as J. J. was under the care of the Durham Children's Aid Society. I must comment that we respect the sensitivity of this issue. I am confident the Minister of Children and Youth Services will be following up on the many issues raised over the prescription of psychotropic medications to children in the care of the children's aid society.

Recently, I met with James Dubray, executive director of Durham Children's Aid, and Dennis Norton, president of the board. We discussed various oversight issues at the time, which was Bill 83 and Bill 210, including the suggestion that the Ontario Ombudsman have the power to review CAS complaints and services issues.

Last night's CBC report said the provincial government has the authority to establish an independent board to investigate and review cases like J.'s. It is my understanding that under the Child and Family Services Act the Professional Advisory Board can recommend that medications be adjusted, reduced or even stopped. However, the decision to establish the board rests with the Minister of Children and Youth Services.

I urge the minister to take a look and take action to establish a board that can provide advice on prescribing procedures, review practices and procedures of services provided, and respond to requests from the public for further investigation. I intend to work with you respectfully, but we must do everything to protect children in our care.

ORAL QUESTIONS
CHILD PROTECTION
Mr. Howard Hampton (Kenora-Rainy River): My question is for the Premier. Last night, CBC television aired a riveting story about an eight-year-old boy and his 15-month ordeal as a ward of the children's aid society in Durham.

The children's aid society in Durham had placed this eight-year-old boy in a group home, where he was wrongly diagnosed and then overmedicated with a toxic combination of drugs.

In trying to gain custody of him, his grandparents faced challenge after challenge and hurdle after hurdle. Finally they got custody and they got him out of the group home. They got him off the long list of medications and into a much better, healthier environment.

My question to you is this: Why is the McGuinty government so opposed to the Ombudsman of Ontario having an independent review capacity of children's aid societies in Ontario?

1450
Hon. Dalton McGuinty (Premier, Minister of Research and Innovation): To the Minister of Children and Youth Services.
Hon. Mary Anne V. Chambers (Minister of Children and Youth Services): First, I must say that I have also received a report on last night's coverage of this situation. And whereas this is not something that we can discuss, due to the privacy issues involved for this young fellow, which everyone should respect, let me simply say to start with that this is tragic, absolutely tragic. I sincerely hope that there is no one in this Legislature who would try to make political gain of a tragedy. I will look forward to supplementary questions; I'm sure there will be one or two other questions on this.

Mr. Hampton: I'm not asking the Premier or the minister to discuss this case. My question was, why under the McGuinty government doesn't the Ombudsman of Ontario have independent investigative capacity over children's aid societies? There are hundreds of other cases like the case of that eight-year-old boy in Durham, where children's aid societies haven't done a good enough job. The Ombudsmen in other provinces across this country have asked for and have gotten the capacity to look at what children's aid societies are doing, to investigate them and provide independent oversight. My question to you is this: New Democrats have proposed a private member's bill, Bill 88, to give the Ombudsman this investigative oversight authority over children's aid societies. Why is the McGuinty government so opposed to the Ombudsman having that authority?

Hon. Mrs. Chambers: I'm very pleased to be able to share with this Legislature that it is this government that introduced Bill 210 for the better protection of kids in the child well-being and protection system. It is this government that has created kinship regulations. It is this government that has created greater emphasis and requirements as far as background checks are concerned. It is this government that is strengthening the Child and Family Services Review Board -- and giving the Ombudsman jurisdiction over that board. That board is an independent, arm's-length body which will not be subject to interference by my ministry or any other ministry of this government. And appeals can be taken even beyond that body, to the Ombudsman's office.

Mr. Hampton: Well, Minister, if it's the McGuinty government's response that your Bill 210 is the answer, maybe you can tell us why Bill 210 hasn't been proclaimed in force by the McGuinty government even though it was passed on third reading over a month and a half ago. If your answer is the review committees, maybe you can tell people like the grandparents of that eight-year-old boy why the so-called review committee isn't even up and running. The reality under the McGuinty government in Ontario is this: With that eight-year-old boy, if parents want to have the children's aid society decisions reviewed, whom do they have to go to? They go to the same children's aid society. It's like the fox looking after the fox.

I ask the question again: When other provinces have accepted the fact that children's aid societies cannot and should not be a power unto themselves, when other provinces have accepted that the Ombudsmen should have the authority to review children's aid societies, why --

The Speaker (Hon. Michael A. Brown): The question's been asked. Minister.
Hon. Mrs. Chambers: I've already addressed the matter of the Ombudsman in my previous response. But what the leader of the third party has clearly not grasped is that the Child and Family Services Review Board is in effect. The board that he is referring to, I think, is the provincial advisory board which was mandated during his term in government but was never established. I am actually going to take on the responsibility of looking into why that board was never established by his government or subsequent governments. It is quite possible that that board could be helpful, because that board is intended to have as its duties advice to the minister on prescribing procedures, making and amending, suspending and revoking psychotic drug type prescriptions, just exactly the kind --

The Speaker: Thank you.
CHILD PROTECTION
Mrs. Julia Munro (York North): My question is for the Minister of Children and Youth Services. Last night the CBC's The National told us the sad story of a young boy who was being overmedicated by the Durham Children's Aid Society. We all know that overmedication can be a threat to health and a threat to life. Minister, what specific actions have you taken to protect this child?

Hon. Mary Anne V. Chambers (Minister of Children and Youth Services): First of all, as I said before, this is a very tragic case and I will not discuss the details of the situation. But let me say that our government is committed to ensuring that children who are in the protection of our child well-being and protection system will be better off as a result of our involvement in their lives than they would have been were we not involved in their lives. I am actually doing an internal investigation as to what we can do to ensure that no more such tragedies occur.

Mrs. Munro: During the debate on Bill 210, Ontario's Ombudsman told you he needed the power to intervene in cases before the children's aid societies to protect children and families. Your government rejected his proposal. You refused to listen to the Ombudsman's advice to provide an independent appeal of CAS decisions. Why will you not now listen to what the Ombudsman told you and give him the power to help protect children and families?

Hon. Mrs. Chambers: The Ombudsman does have a role, thanks to Bill 210 and our strengthening of the complaints process to protect children in the care of children's aid societies here in Ontario. The Ombudsman will have the final say on appeals that would have previously gone to the Child and Family Services Review Board. His office -- or her office; whoever it may be -- will have jurisdiction over the child and family services board's decisions, and those will be respected without any intervention from any minister of government.

But what I am also committed to pursuing is the professional advisory board, which that party, when they were in government, failed to establish. You see, the professional advisory board, amongst its duties, can investigate and review the use of intrusive procedures and psychotropic drugs and make recommendations to the minister. That board was never established.

Anonymous said...

Please-tell me what the sentence is and how the rally went...I've been watching news here on the west coast-nothing yet...

Anonymous said...

Come on everyone. Now's our chance to make some difference. Get out there on May 19th. It's only 1 hour as John suggested. If we sit back and let others continue to 'talk' about little Jeffrey's horrors, who will be there should you need the support? He was just a little one. Let's not let him down again...Let's show Jeffrey how many people love him.

Anonymous said...

As the other person apparently there for the rally, I want to thank John profusely for his dedication and effort in making the wonderful signs. I hope that others out there can come out and show respect not only for Jeffrey but also for John's tremendous effort to help draw attention to this issue which none of us can afford to sit back about anymore.

I just want to clarify that the sentencing hearing itself did not proceed today. There were defence objections to the Crown's attempt to introduce new evidence for the sentencing hearing. The judge ruled on this matter and adjourned the actual sentencing hearing to being on Friday morning May 19 at 9:30 a.m.

A decision on sentencing may thereafter be reserved follwing the conclusion of submissions by counsel.

I HOPE THAT AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE can think Jeffrey and all children valuable enough to hold a sign and rally against the system that fails them.

I will be there on Friday a.m. again to hold a sign.

Please give a little of your time for this very critical matter. (I am actually surprised it takes this much prodding to get people out for this).

I also agree with John's suggestion re rally in the a.m., lunch and after court day is done at these intervals, so if you cannot come for all of these, come out for at least one!

WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR SUPPORT

THANKS

Anonymous said...

John - I am sorry that I missed you. I drove for 4 hours in between the traffic jam, was late, and saw no one protesting - no signs etc.. but maybe people were in the courthouse. I went for awhile and had to leave.

I wish I could go on Friday but I can't - I don't live in the GTA. I still applaud you for doing this. I was really depressed not seeing others, but in all fairness they may have been in the court room and maybe I did not recognize them as in you and anyone else there. I want to thank you again for your efforts. I looked for signs etc.. but saw no one with a sign for him. But I don’t think they let you in the courthouse with a sign either.

I hope that people in the GTA that can actually get there easier can protest with you. I will be there in spirit on Friday only. I was there in person today and despite not a lot of activity do not regret it.

I have a feeling that a lot of people do care but that they as well do not live near the GTA - it is not the easy to get there.

Please people in the GTA support Jeffrey like John said.
I was there for awhile….

Anonymous said...

ALL TALK NO ACTION LIKE USUAL

Anonymous said...

Jeffrey's family who are not responsible for this nightmare were in court today - I think they do care without question.

Anonymous said...

I agree with poster about all talk no action....the same thing happened at the last proposed rally. They went as far as to have Amanda inform the press only to look foolish.

They spend far too much time spewing off on this blog but when it comes down to the nitty gritty they cower in the corner.

To John --thank you for trying. To the one person besides John who showed up thank you also.

I did not attend but attended court every single day of the trial. I know the paternal family did also.

Once again ALL TALK NO ACTION. Anyone can shoot their mouth off.

Anonymous said...

Talk talk talk but no action......

Talk is cheap.

Anonymous said...

On Friday the judge is expected to reserve his decision regarding sentencing. This could go on for still more months.

Anonymous said...

On Friday the judge is expected to reserve his decision regarding sentencing. This could go on for still more months.

Anonymous said...

Jail killers 25 years, Jeffrey's grandmother says
May 17, 2006. 05:05 PM
CANADIAN PRESS


A grandmother of a five-year-old boy who was allowed to starve to death by his maternal grandparents said Wednesday the pair are beasts and have no natural affection.

Susan Dimitriadis, Jeffrey Baldwin's paternal grandmother, SAID SHE WISHES NOW SHE HAD STEPPED IN TO SAVE THE BOY, who was so malnourished he weighed just 21 pounds when he died in 2002.

"Can you imagine what Jeffrey must have been suffering when he was alone, feeling unloved?" Dimitriadis said outside the Toronto courtroom where a sentencing hearing for Elva Bottineau, 54, and Norman Kidman, 53, began Wednesday.

"When I think about that, it tears at me. I wish I could've just grabbed them up and took (Jeffrey and his siblings) away from them."

Bottineau and Kidman were convicted last month of second-degree murder in Jeffrey's death.

They were in court Wednesday, when Crown lawyers argued for testimony from two more witnesses. Justice David Watt refused and ordered that the hearing resume Friday.

Bottineau and Kidman were supposed to save Jeffrey Baldwin and his three siblings from suspected abuse at the hands of their birth parents.

Instead, the children were used as a source of income as the couple collected government support cheques in their names.

Jeffrey and one of his sisters were confined to what police have described as "a horrible room" that was "harsh, dark, cold and damp."

The boy was forced to eat out of a bowl with his fingers and drink from a toilet when he was thirsty.

Dimitriadis said she can't comprehend how it happened.

"They're obviously very nasty, wicked people, and I have to think about it every day," she said.

"How could they deprive them of all this, like food and sunshine?"

Asked by reporters what she thinks of the pair, Dimitriadis said they are, "Very wicked. Real beasts, no natural affection."

Though learning all the details of Jeffrey's short, unfortunate life has been hard on her, Dimitriadis said Jeffrey's suffering was far worse.

"The Lord knows my prayers and he's heard my prayers and he's seen my tears," she said. "He knows what I've gone through and the agony and the suffering and that's nothing compared to what Jeffrey went through."

Dimitriadis said that nothing will bring Jeffrey back, but that she hopes Bottineau and Kidman will be punished to the fullest.

"I would like to see (them sentenced to) 25 years," she said. ``They're in their fifties now. If they died in jail, I'm sorry, but I wouldn't care."

Dimitriadis said she spoils her other grandchildren "a little too much," and wishes she could have given Jeffrey the love he deserved.

"That's why I've been coming," she said. "I have to deal with it and stand up, and I'm here for Jeffrey now, even though I wasn't able to before. And to see some justice."



IT IS TOO LATE NOW, MS.DIMISTRIADIS - YOU SHOULD HAVE STEPPED IN BEFORE, AT LEAST NOW YOU ADMIT THIS, NOW YOU NEED TO ADMIT THAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING THEN BUT CHOSE NOT TO.

Anonymous said...

FROM CITY TV:

It was the worst case of child abuse many authorities in Ontario had ever seen.

But the couple behind that terrible outrage will have to wait a few days longer to find how long they’ll pay for their treatment of little Jeffrey Baldwin.

Norman Kidman and Elva Bottineau were convicted of second-degree murder in the death of the five-year-old.

The tiny child was made to stay in one room for hours and days on end, using it as both his sleeping quarters and a toilet.

He was forced to eat what little food he received out of a dog dish and weighed only about 20 pounds when he finally died in agony in 2002.

Bottineau's lawyer tried to argue his client suffered from a mental defect and wasn't responsible for her actions, but the idea was rejected.

Kidman claimed he was unaware of what was going on, another story that wasn't found credible.

Both the Crown and the defence made pleas about what they want the pair to receive, as the judge ponders their final sentence for the horrific crime. But after the Crown tried to introduce new witnesses and the judge dismissed them, the case was put over until Friday, leaving the convicted killers in suspense.

Second-degree murder carries an automatic life term of 25 years.

But like in the Min Chen/Cecilia Zhang case earlier this month, the jurist must determine how long they’ll have to serve before they’re eligible for a chance at parole.

Relatives of the deadly duo aren’t impressed with this slow march to justice.

“There's no way in the world that they should walk the earth anymore,” rails a bitter Charles Baldwin, Jeffrey’s other grandfather. “Parole? What parole should they get?”

The victim’s grandmother has nothing but contempt for her counterparts on the other side of the family.

“If they died in jail, I’m sorry, I wouldn't care about that,” condemns Susan Dimitriadis. “Can you imagine what Jeffrey must have been suffering and he was alone, feeling unloved?”

Baldwin is furious that he’ll have to waste more time waiting for this terrible case to finally come to an end.

“I have to come back Friday ,” he complains. “This should've finished today.”

The trial has been especially difficult for Terry Crotta. He’s Kidman’s son and alleges his father abused him when he was a child.

I don't like to admit that they're my parents but you know what? I have to,” he concedes. “They're my biological parents.”

If the judge gives the couple the lightest sentence possible, they could apply for early release in just ten years.


May 17, 2006

Anonymous said...

Family wants maximum sentence in Baldwin case
CTV.ca News Staff

Two Toronto grandparents found guilty of second-degree murder in the starving death of their grandson were in court Wednesday for a sentencing hearing and they are not receiving sympathy from their son.

Last month, a judge found Elva Bottineau, 54, and her common-law husband Norman Kidman, 53, guilty of second-degree murder for Jeffrey Baldwin's death.

"(They should) have life...never a chance to get out," Bottineau's son Fred Crotta said Wednesday.

Crotta recalled beating and bruises he allegedly received from his mother and step-father as a young boy. Attending the sentencing on Wednesday, Crotta told reporters that Baldwin's short life was a repeat of his.

"All the same stuff that happened to Jeffrey happened to me and my sister," Crotta said. "Everything, torture, being beaten, thrown in dog cages, thrown in garbage cans, you name it," he continued.

Worst abuse in history

The horrid living conditions that led to five-year-old Jeffrey Baldwin's death in November 2002 were described as one of the worst cases of child abuse in the country's history.

At trial, court heard the couple used Jeffrey and his sister to draw income through government support cheques.

Jeffrey and his sister were locked in a cold, fetid room each night, which doubled as their bathroom, while in the care of their grandparents. Jeffrey was called a "pig" by the couple, who forced him to dig through garbage to find food and use the toilet for drinking water.

A former boarder in the home testified witnessing a similar scene.

The boy weighed an emaciated 21 pounds when he died just short of his sixth birthday, weighing less than he did when he turned one. Officially, he died of starvation and septic shock.

When authorities rescued Jeffrey's sister from the squalor, she too was showing signs of starvation with a distended belly and open sores.

Sentencing for grandparents

Second-degree murder carries an automatic life term, but the judge can set parole eligibility after as little as 10 years. The sentencing hearing is set to resume on Friday, but the judge is expected to give his decision at a later date.

Bottineau and Kidman were also found guilty of forcible confinement for the sister's care.

The boy's other grandfather believes no punishment would be enough for the convicted couple.

"I want them to get the max," Charles Baldwin said. "Unfortunately we don't have the death penalty in this country, and they should have that."

Coroner's inquest coming

After last month's verdict, Ontario's chief coroner announced an inquest will be held, which will look into how the system failed to protect Jeffrey and the involvement of the Catholic Children's Aid Society.

The CCAS placed Jeffrey and his sister in the care of their grandparents in 1998 while the agency probed allegations of abuse by his parents.

It is alleged the CCAS did not do a background check on the grandparents prior to the placement. Each of them has previous child abuse convictions.

No date has been set for the start of the inquest.

With files from CTV's Austin Delaney

Anonymous said...

And above all people need to look for abuse where these agencies claim there is none. The CAS screening a person does not mean that they will be forever safe. The sooner that society understands that the better to protect children. Look at Fred for instance the brother of Jeffrey, it is obvious that he was re-abused. Now how horrible is that? A double edged sword of abuse.

For years it has only been one group of people that are abusive in our society - the natural family, both paving the way for foster and adoptive families to abuse, and in teaching people that those who adopt and foster are safe simply for that reason alone. While not all abuse in either situation the numbers are abnormally high overall.

Check out foster and adoption groups of survivors of the system and ask them how many they know who were abused. The numbers are staggering. This is something that the CAS does not want to explore. They don't want to as the truth will as well hamper their industry.

We worship those that take others children and put them on a pedastal while degrading the natural family. We trap kids in between a system that has nothing to do with them. And when it fails the CAS fails as well - they fail by running, denying and not answering.

Jeffrey Baldwin "the case of one too many" will change the system if we are to have any hope left for families and children. This case has touched the hearts and minds of thousands of people. He was one too many, and his death must be examined in great depth, along with a system that has not changed in decades. All the system has done is get more powerful over the years with no oversight.

And of course once again, it is only the CAS that does not want the Ombudsman to have oversight which is telling and transparent in and of itself.

Sunday, April 30, 2006 10:56:22 AM


Anonymous said...
And in the past the CAS told people that their mothers and fathers were unfit, that they did not want them, that they chose adoption, that they were hiding, that they signed contracts to never be found or seen again, that they do not care, and that they moved on with their lives - happily ever after leaving their babies and children behind.

And it worked and for years people believed them. Until a wonderful thing happened - the mothers and fathers came out of the closet and started speaking changing the lies to truth, changing the pain to some type of healing in a system that was never about children to start with.

Many groups have come together to change the past, and to make the future a better place. It is no secret that the majority of those who were in the system do not support it in the future. The story of John Dunn, and others in the system is the very beginning and the tip of the iceberg in what has went on with the CAS.

Absolute power always becomes corrupt, perhaps it is just human nature, but it is inevitable that such power must be brought down to earth.

Anonymous said...

The pro-CAS poster is at it again bashing the paternal grandmother of Jeffrey? Try going after the CAS that has no responsibility at all?

Is it her fault that Jeffrey was tortured behind closed doors? Who gave Elva the absolute power over Jeffrey - and the survey says..... the CCAS of course. Does it renige her role in this - NO AND I HOPE SHE IS JAILED FOR LIFE ALONG WITH THE MONSTER THAT BEDDED DOWN WITH HER. The two of them should be put to death.

Anonymous said...

CFTO TV at 6 reported the judge would reserve his decision on sentencing this Friday.

I dont know if this is correct but taking into consideration how long everything else has taken I would not be surprised. He will have heard the prosecutors and defense lawyers summations on how long the bottinau/kidmans should be put away and certainly will not make a decision immediately after..the judge would have to ponder their arguements and decide at a later date.

Anonymous said...

FRED CROTTA'S FATHER IS NOT KIDMAN. CROTTA WAS FATHERED BY ELVA"S COUSIN AS WAS HIS SISTER.

I saw him on the news referring to the accused as his "biological parents". Not so...anyone sitting in that trial knows differently.

I feel sorry for him--he presents well but is messed up not knowing where he stands at any given time.

Anonymous said...

Does listening to so-called rumors regarding child abuse of one or more related children and doing NOTHING at all hold you at least partially responsible?

Anonymous said...

It's very sad to know that no one showed up yesterday. It will be too late when CAS or CCAS messes up our life or our child's life.

Anonymous said...

I can understand the disappointment some readers have expressed about the lack of rally response. Those who hold this view are right to believe that an important opportunity to increase public awareness and force the government to act is being lost.

That said, its important to remember it wasn't that long ago that CAS had little trouble forcing people into silence. In the last few years, many have written letters, circulated petitions, created website, etc - this in turn has educated more people and encouraged the Ombudsman, some politicians and the media to place CAS under increasing scrutiny. Although large rallies have yet to materialize, these are significant accomplishments.

My own feeling is that conducting a successful rally requires a greater level of organization than currently exists. To me, that means establishing a real coalition of groups and individuals that oppose CAS under a central umbrella. A membership list should be built with a view to enlisting each person to participate in such am event, with consideration given to planning details such as convenient dates and times, transportation and other relevent matters.

It is very difficult to bring people out on an anonymous basis - people tend to respond more positively to known leadership and personal communication building up to an event.

A few years ago, before CAS issues were even on the public radar, about 60 people from around Ontario turned out for a Queen's Park rally that included an agenda and knowledgeable speakers. Although it was ignored by the government, iit was a positive step nonetheless.

If there is one reader with the technical ability to establish an organization of this type online, I'd be happy to contribute to it, in the hope of creating a positive rally response. Other readers may also be willing to enlist members of their communities in the effort.

If you can set up this type of website and believe it is the logical next step, please post your intent so that I (and others) can contact you through Amanda.

Anonymous said...

Amanda Reed, I do not want to see any more bashing of the paternial family on your sight anymore! You are responsible for what is on here and you will be the one sued.So please take this crap off when these heartless people put this crap on.If you don't think your responsible ask a lawyer.YOU ARE!

Anonymous said...

To previous poster:

Do you have nothing better to do than hassle people speaking of their own free will on such a horrific topic? We all have our own views and judgement of how should have been protecting little Jeffrey. By you telling Amanda to butt out, you better be ready to take a whole hell of a lot more on. Are you ready?...

Anonymous said...

Ya I am Amanda

Anonymous said...

ARE YOU READY?

Anonymous said...

You can't read good can you I didn't ask amanda to butt out I asked her not to put crap on here who ARE INNOCENT and they have lost a beautiful little boy they loved dearly.

Anonymous said...

With respect to the bashing of Susan and the paternal family that are innocent as they were never allowed to see Jeffrey I agree it is unfair. I blame the pro-CAS poster whoever that is for this hatred. It if anything shows you what type of people support the CAS. Yes, it must be angering and hurtful to hear these comments - but it also exposes the type of mind that supports such an agency. Though it may not be easy to be the target, I hear you.

Amanda to the best of my knowledge is away at school - she created this site out of care for Jeffrey. I commend her for that. Honestly I know that you are angry and hurt over the comments and they are not fair - the murderers are responsible for this and the CCAS.

I really hope no one would entertain coming after Amanda legally - I don't think she is encouraging this or the comments at all. I do encourage you to come after the Toronto CCAS though - for one to demand access to your neice and nephews, and to legally address this nightmare.

If you want to sue - sue the culprits responsible. If it was not for the CCAS giving Jeffrey to the monsters this would not have happened, nor would it have happened if they had a clue at all, if they actually checked this etc..

Please don't come after Amanda - instead the pro-CAS poster needs to screw off. Amanda tried with this blog to address the CAS agencies in what happened to Jeffrey. I don't think she is the enemy.

Really my heart does go out to the family of Jeffrey who are not responsible. And to the idiots that think they are they tried, they complained. They had the door shut in their face from that bitch and her partner in crime. And for the smart-ass saying why did they not come after the CCAS and for berating them for not, have you ever went against the devil? Have you tried to fight those bastards? NO because you are in bed with them quite obviously. By deflecting attention on who is responsible for this it is a feeble attempt at getting the CCAS off the hook. Too bad - they are on the hook, and then some............

To the family of Jeffrey please choose the right target and go after them. Don't let the pro-CAS poster get you down - people are more intelligent and anyone who knows about the CAS knows that not only are they hellish to deal with in general they are also hellish to go against. After all they have no accountability period.

They operate in a secret system where people cannot see their own files, they are exempt from Freedom of Information laws, and they in general have board members who are part in parcel of the industry at large. It is a huge recipe for abuse of power - which lead to the abuse of Jeffrey.

I hope that you hear what I am saying - Amanda is not the enemy. The family who did not see this little boy, and who had no access to him are not the enemy either. I hope people truly realize that.

How can one protect someone that they are not even allowed to see period? And who was responsible for protecting Jeffrey and his siblings? Who placed them into the chamber of horrors pro-CAS?

Jeffrey's family please don't let the pro-CAS poster manipulate you -they are doing this to protect the "protectors" from their failure to protect Jeffrey. And the only type of person who would do so at this point is one with a vested interest in the industry.

Don't fall for it - take care of yourselves.......... I am sorry for your loss.

Anonymous said...

I watched CBC Toronto news at six tonight. They had Minister Chambers on it discussing Bill 210. The only reason why they do not want Andre Marin to investigate the 53 CAS agencies of Ontario is because he is - HONEST, INTELLIGENT, PASSIONATE, AND A BRILLIANT INVESTIGATOR.

If the system is not corrupt why the fear???

Andre Marin calls a spade a spade, he is fair though. And in cases of real child abuse we must protect children, everyone agrees - but that is a vast difference with social cleansing isn't it?

Anonymous said...

To John: Yes this site is loaded with anger and not much else. This anger is coming from all different directions but for the most part people who share the same issues.

I am unsure how long you have been following this blog but it has been full of anger right from the start. People with opposing opinions are struck down and condemned for disagreeing.Still others on this blog are stupid enough to believe there is only one person opposing their "opinions". This blog is run like a communist country. Some even have enough guts to PRETEND they are a doctor writing but then refuse to disclose their name. As if any doctor would spend one minute on this waste of a time site.

Yet these hot-headed opinionated people fail to show for either of two rallies.

It is probably because they fear being recognized by CAS....another problem they have is paranoia. They see the CAS as the gestapo.

What started out as a good idea by Amanda has now gone to the "dogs"--paranoid ons at that!

Anonymous said...

To John: Yes this site is loaded with anger and not much else. This anger is coming from all different directions but for the most part people who share the same issues.

I am unsure how long you have been following this blog but it has been full of anger right from the start. People with opposing opinions are struck down and condemned for disagreeing.Still others on this blog are stupid enough to believe there is only one person opposing their "opinions". This blog is run like a communist country. Some even have enough guts to PRETEND they are a doctor writing but then refuse to disclose their name. As if any doctor would spend one minute on this waste of a time site.

Yet these hot-headed opinionated people fail to show for either of two rallies.

It is probably because they fear being recognized by CAS....another problem they have is paranoia. They see the CAS as the gestapo.

What started out as a good idea by Amanda has now gone to the "dogs"--paranoid ons at that!

Anonymous said...

Is it her fault that Jeffrey was tortured behind closed doors? Who gave Elva the absolute power over Jeffrey - and the survey says..... the CCAS of course. Does it renige her role in this - NO AND I HOPE SHE IS JAILED FOR LIFE ALONG WITH THE MONSTER THAT BEDDED DOWN WITH HER. The two of them should be put to death.

To clarify it is the MURDERERS OF JFFFREY that should be put to death not Susan or others that had no access to this little boy.

Anonymous said...

I agree the murderers of Jeffrey are currently sitting behind bars.

Anonymous said...

Gee - I guess we should not be angry that a beautiful child was tortured and starved to death. We should not be angry that the CAS has produced a holocaust of child abuse survivors where we need to look no further for abuse then the people who raised, abused etc.. most of us be it in foster care or adoption. We should not be angry that an agency has in fact been precisely like the Gestapo, and the Nazi’s and we should not be angry at all? Maybe we should just drug ourselves to death don’t you think baby broker from hell?

Maybe we should be just like “J”, where strangers laugh at a child who was sexually abused and where he is so drugged it was enough to kill a small horse.

But you don’t want us to speak do you? You don’t want us to exist. Now that baby broker from hell is Nazi Germany isn’t it? Just exterminate the victims and deny them the right to even speak?

Induce fear, destroy the enemy of your industry in any way possible. I don’t think the CBC is paranoid baby broker from hell, and I don’t think that the victims are either.

Wounded beyond words is the description of most taken from their families. And we are smarter then you and all of you put together.

All is fair in love and war baby broker from hell.

And John why would this horrifying story attract the victims of foster care and adoption with such rage and sorrow to start with?

Do some research really, and please don’t listen to the profiteers of a business that has nothing to do with children, and a business where when the victims speak out all attempts are made to crush us into the ground. We were already crushed though and we will prevail despite all odds against us.

Anonymous said...

QUEENS PARK RALLY
TUESDAY JUNE 20 2006
11:00 TO 12:30

Dear Fellow Canadian Citizens

On Tuesday June 20 2006 at Queens Park in Toronto the families of Ontario will once again march on the provincial government’s front lawn in a rally. The rally is to ask for accountability and responsibility with respects to Children’s Aid Societies in Ontario. We the families involved and/or concerned with the CFSA and Children’s Aid Societies and their strong armed polices ask the government of Ontario for relief.

Last March 16 2005 we rallied to ask for a Royal Commission of Inquiry. This time its to show frustration with the CFSA. With the 2007 election around the corner this could certainly be a topic to win the election for any party. Some of the areas, just to mention a few are;

1. According to the Charter of Rights and Freedom Equality Rights 15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability. Which act has more power the charter of rights and freedoms or the family services act? There are confirmed cases of Children's Aid violating the above by not allowing a grandparent to care for their grandchild because of their age. Addiction is considered under federal and international law as a disability and depression is clearly a mental disability. So addiction and mental health are disabilities and should not be used against someone but yet the family services act continues to use it against parents. Canada jumped at the human rights thing and now its time to show that we still believe in them.
2. There are many drug testing agencies around Ontario, some very good. However I have recently discovered that several of these agencies favor CAS. In a phone interview with one director I asked 3 key questions. One what is the percent of your caseload that CAS is paying for and he answered 95 percent. Second question was how much does this testing cost?. He answered about 1000.00 per collection. Then I asked how much do you get paid for these test? He refused to answer and hung up. It does leave me with a sick feeling in my stomach that these tests are supposed to detect drugs and/or alcohol in a person to help them overcome the burdens of the addiction, however with CAS overpaying some labs that do these test. A test could be altered to favor CAS.
3. A Brantford father questions parenting assessments done for CAS? The father told me today in a phone conversation that a lot but not all doctors who perform these assessments receive up to 300 percent over the criminal interest rate of Canada for performing them. The father went on to say that the average assessment cost about 200.00 per hour and the average assessment last 5 hours. That would suggest the cost of the assessments should be 1000.00 per person. With the average family having two parents the cost should be 2000.00. A great number of doctors who perform these assessments are paid 5000.00 per person. That’s 200 percent in most cases. The criminal interest’s rate of Canada is no more then 60 percent on an annual basis. The father concluded by saying "just a thought if the average parent overpaid 200 to 300 percent on a parenting assessment would the doctor not pass or favor you too"

These are just three of the areas that will be talked about at the rally. I encourage you all to join us June 20 2006 at Queens Park in Toronto as we rally for family rights.

“ We can find a missing automobile anywhere in Ontario in 48 hours but a missing child maybe never found, I’m not sure we have our priorities straight” A former Ontario police chief 2000

**THIS WILL BE A PEACEFUL RALLY**

Sincerely

Rob Ferguson
Brantford

519-754-0927

POSTED from the Dufferin Voca web site.

John please contact me, I am willing to help. Also from Windsor, a petition with over 3,000 signatures has been handed in.( most signatures are from the medical community and professionals) in Hamilton I have gathered over 2,OOO signatures thus far. Contact info can be reached though Dr Dolores Sicheri, citizens for morality, yes believe it or not doctors are posting on this site. Her info is on line, thank you.

I would also like an answer on why the social worker was not fired knowing J. ( finding normal CBC) was sexually abused in care. The child so over medicated, how many years did he loss, what are the long term effects, no one knows or the synergistic effects of all the medications.
While the grand parents tried to get custody of the child, lost life savings fighting the CAS for the RIGHT to PROTECT and look out for J. WELL BEING. no one listened. Is this an isolated case . NO.



Read Finding Normal and tell me, what are the two doctors saying to the press, the CAS does more harm to children in most cases then helps.


To the poster that believes no doctors are advocating for changes and inquiry into CAS, go and sit beside Minister Chambers, she believes her own shit the more she times she spews it out, as well.

No one has oversight, her spin on this is not fooling anyone.

Anonymous said...

John,

For the moment, I'll respond to your questions here so that other readers may be kept in the loop.

Your question about mission and structure goes right to the point.

Every action an organization takes should emanate from its mission.

In order to get anywhere, a plan outlining specific targets and strategies to achieve them is required. This is the downfall of many organizations - no real plan for achieving the results they want. Good planning means being realistic. What are the organization's capabilities at this time and what does it need to go further.

Depending on mission, some organizations may wish to register as non-profit charities. I don't see that being a requirement at this point - for several reasons,it's likely a grassroots approach is a better way to go. If the need presents itself, you can still establish a conventional governance structure and become a legal entity at a later date.

The mission we are talking about will likely express at least two or three objectives - but because it's not a legal entity there are no future restrictions. Most likely, rallies would not be a stand-alone objective but reflect a broader committment to advocacy or a similar area.

Reading so many posts on the Internet from people that have been abused by CAS, my fear is that people are being lost - or at least not united in a way that will result in fundamental changes that are needed. There are two specific mission items I'd like to see considered. First, uniting people in membership towards action such as rallies and advocacy activities. Members do not necessarily have to be publicly identified, but there should be a central site for building a list of people who can be communicated with. Second, identifying and promoting the fundamental changes I spoke of. Others may have ideas to contribute as well - if you read this blog there are very insightful comments spread over it.

As far as governance, my own preference would be to establish a small Board to oversee the mission and involve members in specific projects such as organizing a rally. Initially that type of work might start in Toronto and a few other cities but the idea would be to build a network of support through Ontario.

Although there are very good sites that expose CAS, I think there should be provision for people to tell their stories because that's what this is all about. Working from the other end, another suggestion would be posting background information to familiarize people that have no CAS experience with the facts.

My personal preference is to " meet" online - I live outside Toronto and it is beyond my capabilities to get there - still, I would be pleased to contribute where possible.

Anonymous said...

To the Pro CAS poster:

Ony you could possibly state: Some even have enough guts to PRETEND they are a doctor writing but then refuse to disclose their name. As if any doctor would spend one minute on this waste of a time site.

Doesn't do much to much to support your claim that:

Still others on this blog are stupid enough to believe there is only one person opposing their "opinions".

Don't you ever get tired of being exposed for the lying and manipulative sleazebag you are?

Anonymous said...

Actually the murderers are behind bars, but those who facilitated this horror are free at large?

Anonymous said...

Pro CAS blogger I read you left, the doctors did post their names can you
go back and read.
I hope we can keep focused, and try and bring about changes that are needed. The facts speak for themselves. Please educate on Child protection. There are inquiry's and lawsuits going on all over the place.
As a children's environmental health advocate, I could not turn my back on the many cries for help from parents and children,with regards to CAS.
My own experience has left me with concerns about the agencies. I did not have reason to be concerned, I went and spoke out to the media, along with John Dunn, let the local station know about the publics demands for ombudsman's oversight, and ask his office and Ms Horwath's to do CHTV show. They did, and many of us are thankful. It is not easy going public, many fear retaliation, with reason, however if you know you have not abused your children, or neglected them, and the concerns are unfounded, then you must in my opinion do all you can, to help others in similar situations.
This is good citizen ship, as is truly protecting children, when there is real concerns of abuse.
We all understand there are problems,and NOT all parents, can parent, which makes it all the more necessary that the public has faith that a child, in need a family, in need, will be helped, not harmed more so.



The Crown Wards was eye opening. The story of J. came as no shocking surprise unfortunately. Nor have many others.
Its is are collective responsibility to ensure are governments understand they represent the people of this province and not large NGOs, its also time The Ministry, listened to the parents, and children, and many of Ontario's doctors and teachers that have concerns about Childs Aid Society's. For us all to understand poverty is not neglect.
Parents that have been investigated and never get over the intrusiveness, the allegations, and many mothers, I have spoken to and still traumatized. A false allegation is damaging, to the entire family. And most of all to the child.
Children have died in care. Matthew Reid, was only three years old. J. sexually abused and over medicated, Jeffrey Baldwin, and his siblings, although the rightful people are behind bars, I personally believe the CCAS could have done more, I also believe that no one in that office feels good about what happened to him.

How sitting in a case confrences with the people, did not raise flags in concerning.
And everyone who is involved with children should be accountable.

If ombudsman's oversight is what the pubic is demanding, it should be done, what's the problem. thou protest to much!!! Minister Chambers
Michele Lafantaisie

Anonymous said...

I'm leaving from St. Catharines right now. I'm am truly sorry I wasn't there on Wednesday. I hope to see many there today......

Anonymous said...

To John: I will not be at your rally. I applaud your efforts and determination to make changes. I too felt that way at one time.

I sat in court for the entire trial within a mostly empty courtroom (exception paternal family and a few others). I was shocked this case did not attract more public interest. I spoke to a well known reporter who was as shocked as me at the turnout.I know many who could have made it but chose not to due to the expense etc. I paid $20 for parking most days. These same people could have made it as employment was not the issue.

The bureacracies and political manoevering by CCAS had me in bewilderment.I was shocked above everything else that the judge allowed it. Many times this judge made me angry also--I couldnt believe what else he often allowed. However that is our justice system.

I attended the tree planting and one other memorial for Jeffrey.

I (like you) was appalled and wanted to do whatever I could to change the entire system--in fact turn CCAS on its head. I met some wonderful people at the tree planting and memorial--people with no vested interest in CCAS, like me. Educated people who could be of great assistance in fighting for changes within CAS. These people (for the most part)are no longer posting on this blog.

And then I approached this blog!! Everything changed from that point forward....suddenly I questioned what I had been spending my time on? Months in court--for what? Amanda was no longer immersed in it either. The "heart and sole" of Jeffrey's cause was now gone. Yes Amanda is away at school but prior to that she had made the decision to focus more on her family and less on this cause--understandably.

When I chose to disagree with some posters I have been called everything from a CAS supporter, baby broker from hell and the latest one is sleezebag. I have been sworn at via this blog. I have absolutely no connections whatsoever with any Children's Aid Society.Amanda has been sworn at and told to mind her own business etc via this blog. A cause she took up on her own time with no self-absorbed interest whatsoever. She proved to be a smart young woman and the press listened when she spoke.

Yes I also lost interest although my heart was still aching for Jeffrey and I felt what happenned to him must never happen again.

You might wonder what this blog did to cause this. It is simple. There are many (not all) on this blog who have sabbotaged the blog for their own self interest. They lost site of the ball. These same people who have their own cross to bare do not show at the rallies for a reason--it does not benefit them personally. In their own self-absorbed mind they make like Jeffrey's cause is their cause but it is merely a smokescreen. They go as far as to have Amanda notify the press of a rally with promises of attending, then don't show up!

I have chosen to remain anonymous for a reason. There are people on this blog I do not trust. Amanda knows who I am and has met me personally and also knows I wish to remain anonymous and why.

Unfortunately John I cannot even speak freely to you on this blog as others feel they must comment though I am addressing you.

Unfortunately, I lost interest in Jeffrey's cause quickly after too many confrontations on this blog. I do however agree with one poster who speaks of organizing in a manner that makes sense. I do not know how or if this can be done. I might regain my interest if this could happen.

Many, like me, who became consumed by Jeffrey's death have now backed off.

You may also lose interest, with time.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Tina for your posting. I know there are many more out there that feel the same disillusionment.They have chosen to ignore this blog.

I will return to ignoring it also. I have better things to do.

I am, however, open to the idea of an organized focused group with some direction.

Anonymous said...

Crown wants 25 years
May 19, 2006. 01:06 PM
CANADIAN PRESS

Crown lawyers want the two grandparents convicted of starving five-year-old Jeffrey Baldwin to death to spend 25 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.
Prosecutors wrapped up their arguments at the sentencing hearing for Elva Bottineau and Norman Kidman in a Toronto court today.
The pair were convicted of second-degree murder last month.
Jeffrey died in 2002 of septic shock as a result of malnutrition and bacterial pneumonia — a symptom of sleeping in his own waste.
Crown lawyers say they want Bottineau and Kidman to serve the maximum allowable sentence for a second-degree murder conviction.
Defence lawyers are expected to begin their sentencing recommendation later today

Anonymous said...

You know from what i read the only person that has angered people on this blog is the poster that constantly defends the CAS, constantly attacks jeffrey's family and constantly attacks others that talk about CAS. I don't think people have lost interest in this site, and I don't think it was taken over by people with a personal agenda either.

the pro-CAS poster is trying to defend the undefendable here and that is angering people not john or others that care and why are they here to defend the agency that caused this?

from the articles posted on this site i think people are educated. the proCAS poster is even attacking a doctor that is known here.... no one wants to fight with john and others if the poster that keeps defending cas would stop the fighting would stop they are the cause of this not others

couldnt go to rally.

Anonymous said...

Dearest Little Jeffrey,
Even though it's been awhile since you became an angel, you are still in our hearts never to be forgotten. So many people love and care about you, I wish you had known that while you were here on this earth. A great big hug and kiss to you, with love...

Anonymous said...

If ombudsman's oversight is what the pubic is demanding, it should be done, what's the problem. thou protest to much!!! Minister Chambers
Michele Lafantaisie

i agree Ombudsman needs oversight.

Anonymous said...

John other then the rally the best thing you can do is to get your nephews out of foster care and have them live with you, God only knows who they are with and what is happening to them, care is dangerouos look at Jeffrey's murderer who was a foster mother herself.

Anonymous said...

Woman who starved grandson swears at boy's grandmother in court

19 May, 2:41 PM

TORONTO (CP) - Tempers flared in a Toronto courtroom today at the sentencing for the woman convicted of starving five-year-old Jeffrey Baldwin to death in 2002.
Elva Bottineau cursed audibly at Baldwin's paternal grandmother, Susan Dimitriadis, after the latter read an emotional victim impact statement at Bottineau's sentencing hearing.
An angry Superior Court Justice David Watt told Bottineau to "keep your mouth shut."
Bottineau and husband Norman Kidman were convicted last month of second-degree murder in the death of the little boy, who spent much of his short life locked in a cold, fetid room.
Crown lawyers told Watt that both Bottineau and Kidman should serve 25 years before becoming eligible for parole - the maximum sentence available.
The judge will decide their sentence on May 30.

Anonymous said...

The three of us who were at the courthouse today ask you all to come down again for the sentencing pronouncement on May 30 when we will have a further rally at about 8:30 a.m. before the sentencing hearing commencing at 9:30 a.m., and after that ends too.

You have another chance to take some action regarding our child protection system. Complaining about this blog or the weather or any other number of other things is irrelevant to the actual issue.

Rather than complain, take a positive step and come out instead to show your support for positive change to the system and to make it known that the public cares about this issue.

I know I still care about jeffrey and the issue of child protection no matter what, I cannot be dissuaded from speaking out. I hope others can choose to do something over apathy.

EVER HOPEFUL, THANKS

Anonymous said...

That is a pile of bs--NOT ONCE did I criticize the paternal family on this blog or anywhere else.

Once again you need to face the reality that there is other persons posting who do not agree with you. There is someone or more criticizing the paternal family but it isnt me. I wholeheartedly sympathize with their plight. Anyone attending any of the memorials for Jeffrey knows their pain....I was there were you? I do not know the paternal family whereas the person posting derogatory remarks appears to.

Secondly I never defended CAS--only you in your dillusions believe I did. What I have said time and time again is that they underreact not overreact. This is why children are dying in their care. If they overreacted (Jeffrey's siblings being the exception) children would not be drugged in foster care nor would they die--they would be there visiting these homes. I do not agree with you that all foster homes are bad either--obviously children are best with their natural family but this arrangement does not always work for various reasons.

Anyone can post on a blog....I doubt if you sat for months in the courtroom or even attended the memorials.

I have better things to do than argue with the academically challenged.

Anonymous said...

When most are signing anonymous how is that you are able to determine how many disagree with your views?

You must have ESP. You are so smart it blows me over. Your intelligence consumes me.

You are so blatently ignorant it is pathetic.

Anonymous said...

Dearest Little Jeffrey,
Even though it's been awhile since you became an angel, you are still in our hearts never to be forgotten. So many people love and care about you, I wish you had known that while you were here on this earth. A great big hug and kiss to you, with love...

Thanks for posting this - it is how I feel as well. I hope a thousand other angels have their arms around that beautiful, little sweetheart.

Anonymous said...

You're a real work of art pro-CAS, and about as uneducated as they come. Your so called support for John is a lie. If you supported him then why are you so angry at the mere suggestion that this caring man take his nephews in rather then having them live with total strangers.

And no I don't believe a word you say you are obviously invested in destroying families, and if you are not a baby broker then why do you sound just like them?

Ignore the pro-CAS please to the family of Jeffrey, and to Susan and her family - and please John get them out of care, don't just stand up for Jeffrey (which I credit you greatly for) please stand up for your nephews and show and give them the love that is in your heart for Jeffrey to them.

Anonymous said...

Please John - get them out of care, children don't want to be with strangers, and if they have a loving uncle like you then trust that they will be happy to be with you their natural, loving uncle then strangers.

Please listen to the victims of the CAS, foster care is dangerous and so is adoption. Honestly and truly be there for your nephews, get them out of so called "care" ....... please listen and stop the abuse of children.

Anonymous said...

And the other thing is pro-CAS screw off people know who you are.

John GET YOUR NEPHEWS OUT OF FOSTER CARE PLEASE!!!! They have a 1000 times more of a chance of being abused with total strangers then you.

Put your heart and time into your own family as well, and once again I give you huge credit for the signs and your efforts.

I also cry for Jeffrey constantly it breaks my heart, so does the thousands of other child abuse victims sent to "care" by the 53 CAS agencies of Ontario.

Get them out PLEASE JOHN, GET THEM OUT!!!

Anonymous said...

John you are obviously a loving, caring man - why is the Ontario government paying strangers to care for your nephews. If you and you wife and children need a bit of money to help raise your nephews then why not you? Why the stranger, do children want to be raised with strangers?

Please John research this and contact those who were in the care of the CAS, we need to look no further for child abuse then the homes they sent, and send children to.

No not all are bad, or unsafe but overall most of them were and are.

Anonymous said...

And it is not you John that I despise it is the baby broker from hell.

Anonymous said...

Anyone reading this blog - PLEASE GET YOUR FAMILY OUT OF FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION. It is child abuse like you have never seen before.

Strangers are 1000 times more dangerous, listen to the victims - I think we are educated, we live it every single day.

The so called "experts" that the Minister is working with had a motto "adoption is the price of a car, it could be a luxury sedan, or a compact model".

No I am not angry that the government is working with that type of callous disregard with children I am ENRAGED. If anyone actually loves children then I think the first point of order would be that they NOT BE BOUGHT AND SOLD.

Anonymous said...

How much are you for sale? How much is someone that you love for sale?

Price figures on wee babies - innocent, precious, beautiful. Do they deserve to be bought and sold? I don't think so!!!

Anonymous said...

The Toronto CCAS should have been on trial, along with the murderers, they are just as responsible.

What will happen to the Toronto CCAS? Nothing - an inquiry that will bury their responsibility in this horror.

Minister Chambers pretended that the victims of child welfare is all in the past? Just a nightmare that was 30, 40, or 50 years ago?

I don't think so - as long as we have children destroyed like Jeffrey was, children so drugged that it is enough to kill a small horse, and loving mothers like Erika that had her baby stolen for an infertile couple,
along with the 300 complaints made to Andre Marin a caring, intillegent man - has it changed NO IT HAS NOT. And the complaints about the CAS are only those that he has heard.

How can such a dysfunctional system ever repair itself if they refuse to even look at the past? But in truth it is not just the past is it really - yes Minister Chambers try and lie and say it was 30, 40, 50 years ago. No I think it is every bit as evil as it was back then.

And I think that the government has to rein them in one way or another.

If Jeffrey Baldwin cannot change a system that is corrupt, unaccountable and evil then what will - the only thing left is class action, and it will happen if you do not put them in line.

Anonymous said...

And the only reason why this pro-CAS nutjob does not like this blog is because in reading the various articles about foster care and adoption it is quite obvious that strangers are indeed abusive.

And all those dead and tortured children along with Jeffrey count baby broker from hell.

Anonymous said...

Crown wants 25 years in Baldwin case
May 19, 2006. 06:31 PM
CANADIAN PRESS

The two grandmothers of Jeffrey Baldwin exchanged withering looks and harsh words today as prosecutors urged a judge to throw the book at the two people convicted of starving the five-year-old boy to death in 2002.
Paternal grandmother Susan Dimitriadis delivered an emotional victim impact statement about the “agonizing pain” caused by Elva Bottineau and Norman Kidman, both of whom were convicted last month of second-degree murder.

“I will never understand all that Jeffrey suffered, but I know it was horrendous,” Dimitriadis told Superior Court Justice David Watt.

“Elva Bottineau and Norman Kidman must be held accountable for their abusive actions ...I hope and pray that they are punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

When she was finished, Dimitriadis stepped down from the witness stand and looked hard at Bottineau, who muttered a profanity as Dimitriadis walked by.

The comment was pointed out by one of the prosecutors to Superior Court Justice David Watt, who urged Bottineau to “keep your mouth shut.”

Weeks shy of his sixth birthday at the time of his death, Jeffrey’s emaciated body weighed the same as he did on his first birthday: a mere 21 pounds.

Kidman and Bottineau, both 54, were supposed to save Jeffrey and his three siblings from suspected abuse at the hands of their birth parents. Instead, the children were used as a source of income as the couple collected government support cheques in their names.

Jeffrey and one of his sisters were confined to a dank, fetid room, where the boy was forced to eat out of a bowl with his fingers and drink from a toilet when he was thirsty.

A second-degree murder conviction comes with an automatic life sentence. Today, prosecutor Bev Richards described the pair as “completely bankrupt of morality” and urged Watt to ensure they both spend 25 years behind bars before becoming eligible for parole.

“They effectively tortured a five year old until his death,” Richards said in her arguments. “They showed a callous indifference to Jeffrey’s suffering.”

Nothing less than the maximum sentence would sufficiently represent society’s abhorrence of “a cruel, sadistic crime, undefinably brutal and inhuman,” she added.

Bottineau’s lawyer, Nick Xynnis, asked Watt to set parole eligibility at 12 to 14 years for his client on the grounds that her impoverished background, diminished intelligence and emotional immaturity were a “recipe for tragedy.”

Bottineau has a Grade 8 education, an IQ of 69, was “wholly unqualified to raise children” and should not have been taking care of Jeffrey and his siblings in the first place, Xynnis said.

Kidman’s lawyers did not seek a specific sentence, but said their client deserves consideration since he has some prospects of rehabilitation, has accepted some responsibility for his actions and had a lesser role in Jeffrey’s death.

Lawyer Bob Richardson painted a picture of Kidman as a man who stood idly by and let Bottineau slowly kill Jeffrey, but who was not the main perpetrator.

Dimitriadis, however, disagreed.

“I wanted to be there for him,” she said, choking back tears. “I wanted to hug him and kiss him...and give him my homemade cookies to enjoy.”

“I will especially remember his great, big, beautiful smile. Elva Bottineau and Norman Kidman have taken all that away from us.”

Anonymous said...

Maverick Ruffo resigns from bench
View Larger Image
When judges are silent, Quebec Youth Court Judge Andree Ruffo said yesterday, they are "always on the side of the power."
Photograph by : RYAN REMIORZ, CP
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Font: * * * * KAZI STASTNA; KEVIN DOUGHERTY of The Gazette Quebec Bureau contributed to this report, The Gazette
Published: Friday, May 19, 2006
Almost 20 years after she took her first shot from the bench at what she sees as Quebec's grossly inadequate child welfare system, Judge Andree Ruffo's prolonged and very public battle with the province's youth protection services ended yesterday where it began: in the courts.

After Canada's top court decided not to hear her appeal of a Quebec Court of Appeal ruling recommending she be removed from the bench, she will lead her crusade for children's rights from outside the justice system.

Rather than wait to be dismissed from Youth Court by Quebec's justice minister, the only one with authority to remove a judge, Ruffo, 63, resigned yesterday morning.

"It's finished for me in the sense that I am no longer a judge," she said. "But what I want to make sure everybody understands is that I am going to continue - with more energy and certainly more freedom."

Ruffo has long been known for her strident public criticisms, uncompromising judgments and unorthodox courtroom manner.

The Supreme Court decision reflects a reluctance to challenge child protection authorities, Ruffo said. "They obviously want to protect the institution. There is nothing I can do about that," she said.

Even if the high court had agreed to hear her case and ruled in her favour, she would not have returned to the bench, Ruffo said from her home yesterday.

"I don't believe that at Youth Court judges can any longer be independent and render judgments according to children's rights and interests," she said. "I think the department of youth protection is so powerful, it has come to almost dictate the judgments."

Ruffo, who worked in youth courts in St. Jerome and Longueuil, has spent more than

$1 million in taxpayers' funds fighting the sanctions brought against her over the years.

These include a forced transfer from her jurisdiction and more than 100 complaints from youth protection workers and judges lodged with the Quebec Judicial Council, which reprimanded Ruffo 12 times.

Only seven charges of breach of judicial ethics made it before the five-judge panel, which in 2005 found Ruffo's laudable commitment to child advocacy did not justify her behaviour in court.

That panel criticized Ruffo for overstepping her bounds by aggressively pursuing certain youth centres and employees, publicly commenting on cases, accepting paid speaking engagements, appearing in a Via Rail commercial, and calling into question her impartiality by meeting and not disclosing a personal relationship with a witness.

In one high-profile incident in 1988, Ruffo ordered two teenagers for whom there was no place in foster care to be brought to the office of the health and social services minister.

Ruffo said yesterday she did not regret any of her tactics. She said many of the alleged incidents of improper behaviour were misportrayed by youth protection workers angry over her exposure of their mistakes.

The majority of Youth Court judges have got used to blindly following the recommendations of the youth protection department and making judgments based on what resources exist in the system rather than children's well-being, Ruffo said.

The Association des centres

jeunesse du Quebec, which represents the province's youth protection services, refused to comment yesterday.

Ruffo remained adamant that the vocal defence of children in and outside the courtroom was part of her professional duty.

"Judges are not to be silent - for me, that's very clear."

It's not about judges being mute, she added. "It's about speaking about the rights of the children who are in front of them. When you're silent, you're always on the side of the power."

Her approach might have polarized her colleagues and made her an enemy of youth protection officials, but Ruffo said she's confident the public and parents - and the lawyers, psychologists, social workers and others working with children - are on her side.

The former judge said she is convinced her 20 years on the bench have raised public awareness and indignation about the failings of the child protection system that will soon force much-needed institutional reform.

Ruffo said she is not sure what form her activism will take now, but she will continue working with Magicians Without Borders, a Vermont-based organization that performs magic shows for kids in troubled parts of the world, and work on her ninth book. She has also given the nod to a Quebec production company that wants to make a film about her career.

One thing she will not do is enter politics - even though she has been solicited to run for office at various levels of government, she said. She noted she's been urged to campaign for office by her critics, who see it as a vocation more suited to her activism.

"It's another way (to effect change), but it's not my place. It's not home," she said.

In Quebec City, Justice Minister Yvon Marcoux declined to comment on Ruffo's decision.

But Mario Dumont, leader of Action democratique du Quebec, said he learned of her resignation "with great sadness."

Dumont said he spoke to Ruffo by telephone yesterday, calling her a symbol in the battle to correct the flaws in Quebec's youth protection system. "I think kids lost an important ally," he added.

He suggested someone had amassed a file on her because of her outspoken views.

Anonymous said...

I would be interested in creating an informal group to discuss ways to proceed like other on this site.

Anonymous said...

Well,
I think the bottom line is this.
The cas and the ccas only goes after single women that are uneducated.For reasons we all know.
They tend to all be on welfare.If these women are being abused that is another bonus for the cas.Most of these women are single mothers.Can you guess why the cas goes after these women?
Uneducated-Does not understand her rights as a parent or as a person.Also does not understand the family law act.
welfare-cannot afford to hire lawyer therefore has to apply for one,which takes time.So the womans children remain in care for that period of time.Most of the lawyers are on the side of the cas.
As for the abused woman,well hey! she has already been beaten down physically and emotionally in front of her children.She already feels like an unfit parent.
The single mother,you know the saying there is strength in numbers?That is so so very true.What could be better to the cas then a single mother on welfare? She has no family members to help her,no father for her children,she is like a walking target for the cas.The topping on the cake for the cas is when they take her children almost 100% of the time the children are delayed in some aspect.So the cas next step is their all time favorite assesment of the child!! Oh yes what could be better then that?Do you want to know why all of these kids have either learning disabilities or other emotional problems? Can you guess? Well first of all,what child would not have some emotional trauma considering the fact they were ripped away for their mother? Hmm.lets ponder that thought.Okay,the main reason why the assesment is done,and keep in mind that the doctor is the cas doctor.The cas gets more money on the Child tax credit.There is a special little claus at revenue canada.That states if a child is in care and also has a developmental problem they are intitled to an extra thousand dollars.The ccas and the cas does not want to be overseen by any goverment official for more reasons then that.We will never know the full extent of what is really going on.The public has never went against them. Well not the important ones anyway.It`s usally the people that are already dealing with them.What chance do they have?They have already been proven unfit to take care of their own children.

Anonymous said...

To the abusive poster that has said that this blog has went to the "dogs" - it is no wonder that the victims of the CAS have such difficulty speaking, and many have posted on this blog who were in the "care" of the 53 CAS agencies of Ontario.

But you have a problem with that don't you, you cannot stand that people with actual experience with the CAS are talking can you, you cannot stand the mere idea that the very people who were in care of the CAS might be smarter then you, you cannot handle the truth.

What is your solution to this nightmare, let me guess take more children for others under the guise of child protection to provide products for infertile couples? Haven't we already done that though?

If the CAS is such a wonderful organization then why is it cloaked in protection by everything from the Freedom of Information and Privacy laws, to the government and well maybe the Queen herself that keep it that way?

The 53 CAS agencies have done an outstanding job in such propoganda and lies that it is mind blowing overall, and once again no one that was in the care of such an agency and most who have had any connection with them at all support them in the the future, but yes no one supports child abuse either again we need to look no further for child abuse then the people that the CAS gives children to not just in the past but today as well. Elva was a foster mother wasn't she???

And at every corner we are attacked be it on this blog or elsewhere. The CAS loves keeping the victims silent though as the silence simply gives them more power. Many people could not go to the rally as they literally could not sit and listen to another horror story involving CCAS, and they could not sit through a trial discussing a little boy who was so abused.

Can rape victims sit at rape trials easily - no - nor can the victims of the CAS sit and listen to the greatest failure of all time with that agency after they were also failed.

No this is not about "me" this is about a little boy that was failed so hugely there are barely words to describe his pain and no people posting are not here for themselves. Like one of the articles that Christie Blatchford posted if anything it indeed is about the CCAS.

And be careful here stop abusing people who already were abused we don't deserve it. Jeffrey didn't deserve any of this and the CCAS is responsible for this so don't be surprised, angry, hostile or shocked that the primary victims of that agency have shared their experiences the best way they can. Why would we not want to be anonymous, after all the system made us anonymous, numbers and bodies, head counts for funding, our heads sold by agencies that never gave a damn and that still do not.

I have a neighbor who is a single mother and a good one at that, a wonderful person and she could not go to the trial as she could not stomach it, why because her mother was in the care of the CAS and abused so horribly by the so called "safe" and "loving" system that she literally could not sit through it.

If you want information about CAS start listening to the victims and yes we do count more then you think we do for the most part as we do not want what happened to us to happen to other children ever.

But the CAS is NOT GOING TO LISTEN TO US, AND IS NOT GOING TO WANT ANYONE TO LISTEN TO US FOR ONE REASON - LITIGATION.

And to the media thank you for listening to the victims of the CAS for the story of "J", the story of John Dunn, the crown wards, and the most heartbreaking, searing painful documentary ever made "Failing Jeffrey".

Anonymous said...

Christie Blatchford's article was not posted but cut and pasted from the Globe and Mail newspaper by an outside source (maybe Amanda?)

Anonymous said...

Its not to hard to be smarter then the social workers, they are on par with the evil grandparents, how can we trust them, they take children when they don't need to and let others die, with all the so called training they still act like morons.

How else can you explain them giving children to this family!!!!!!
The Minister lies, about the ombudsman, accuses leader of the NDP of not having a letter from the ombudsman, and he did, they at least respond to the public, unlike the liberals, and sent the letter, Minister Cambers needs to step down or make and official apology to Howard Hampton and the ombudsman. And to the public that understand he have no over sight of the CAS , only the review boards policies. Give us a break, Minister Chambers we are not all as stupid as the social workers.
Not as corrupt as the liberals, they ousted them federally, do you think for one second, they can win again in Ontario, and NO we wont forget Mike Harris, but the NDP have some refreshing ideas, and are not afraid to represent the people that put them in office, even if its not the most politically correct thing to do, say anything negative about your child head hunters. Why is the public not told they are in fact part of the police forces now? The abuse of children is not all in the past, its much worse today, go speak with the children in care, go speak with the parents, go speak to the foster families that have had it with the workers. That threaten their to remove their children, if they so much as say boo to a 22 year old worker. The foster parents are collecting welfare in a way, for every child, for special needs, and they almost all are to collect even more money. I am so angry, I have put the picture of Jeffery right above this screen, to remind me, not that I can ever forget, that the agency once again got away with murder.
The CCAS and CAS is so incredibly corrupt, those refusing to see it, are dim wits or to just don't care.
I cannot CANNOT believe any one with an IQ over 80 does not get that.

Jeffery, like all other inquiry's only gives them more power and more money to keep on making tragic mistakes. But are they errors? This is a very large organization, and the government has no right to keep turning them lose on parents and children, given there past HISTORY of abuse, you know what they say. History repeats itself. I read on Dufferin Voca, that at one time the Gestapo threatened people with fines and jail for not turning in the Jews. they threaten the schools and doctors, and every one else. for MAY BE neglect may be abuse in the future, crystal ball seers, all knowing insane, how can anyone know who might be at risk, for god sakes that is every child. Parents should sue for the false allegations, and abuse. Its hate crimes against families.

Have we changed the name yet, like they did the Red Cross, after hep C, that the government waited till most had died to settle with, like the aboriginals, are they to be called child well-being and protection agencies, because to say the word aid means nothing to anyone any more, and the publics lack of trust. Well you need to change the players as well. And like Dalton will not pay for autism funding for children over six, as they are looking into gong after the vaccine manufactures, for personal injury, OH Hello!!! how did I find that one out, lawyers in Health Canada telling secrets?? well tell the public, they have a right to know. For those that believe anything this government tell you, get over it. They legislate so poorly they don't even understand most of what they legislate is not legal.
I hope Dalton did not give up his little law office, he will have to go back to it soon.
And Chambers needs to answer, for her lies.
tell Jimmy Watson its time to ban smoking, its ok to take wine to a bar, what a waste of time, you people have to spend, but smoking in a house, ( although I do agree ) if children are in it, will be new reason to remove them, and smoking in cars too, well clean up the bloody air pollution, its killing us all, and child abuse, and one large polluter just gave Hamilton CAS a few bucks, it should of went to cutting the emissions, and really protecting children, duh. I hear people who become advocates for CAS change also are at risk of CAS and police harassment, what's that all about? We are the nanny state, but few of us, have out grown the need.
Mom and dad are the experts minister Chambers, perhaps you can chum around Harper.

Anonymous said...

Hi

I posted Christie's story. When Amanda went back to school I agreed to help keep the blog going so she wouldn't have to shut it down.

Anonymous said...

That is a pile of bs--NOT ONCE did I criticize the paternal family on this blog or anywhere else.

Once again you need to face the reality that there is other persons posting who do not agree with you. There is someone or more criticizing the paternal family but it isnt me. I wholeheartedly sympathize with their plight. Anyone attending any of the memorials for Jeffrey knows their pain....I was there were you? I do not know the paternal family whereas the person posting derogatory remarks appears to.

Secondly I never defended CAS--only you in your dillusions believe I did. What I have said time and time again is that they underreact not overreact. This is why children are dying in their care. If they overreacted (Jeffrey's siblings being the exception) children would not be drugged in foster care nor would they die--they would be there visiting these homes. I do not agree with you that all foster homes are bad either--obviously children are best with their natural family but this arrangement does not always work for various reasons.

Anyone can post on a blog....I doubt if you sat for months in the courtroom or even attended the memorials.

I have better things to do than argue with the academically challenged.

Friday, May 19, 2006 2:46:59 PM

Reply - I think that this poster is right and not connected with CCAS -- maybe people thought that they were and attacked them they thought that they were a social worker or someone in the business.

I also agree it is not always possible to keep families together but it is something that we should strive for. And agree that the attack on you is not warranted and that it is wrong.

And people have dillusions as well about other people when they think they might be defending something that they clearly are not. Some foster homes are very good yes.

You are right anyone can post on a blog and we don't always know who the people are writing. The attacks for questions are wrong, someone asking a question should not be attacked.

Anonymous said...

I personally believe this blog should be shut down and reopened under a different title.

That might get rid of those who have chose to sabotage this blog and use it for personal attacks on persons they know nothing about.

In its current format it is a waste of time.

Anonymous said...

John, I apologize to you and others of which I have also lost my temper. I think it is wonderful that you are helping out here, and I do hope that you can get your nephews out of care.

The magnitude of suffering that Jeffrey endured along with the response of the CCAS has really just been too much. They have been nothing but deceitful, arrogant and totally callous with this whole thing. But then again they have always been like this.

Secret organizations is absolutely correct by what Christie Blatchford said - and it is always nine times out of ten their secrets not anyone else's.

I sincerely hope that the CCAS will be held to account finally in this horrifying case.

Good luck on Tuesday and thanks for your good thoughts. I will be there in spirit for that beautiful little boy. And I also anticipate the inquiry with eagerness as they need to explain precisely how this nightmare was allowed to happen. And if this was a stunt for funding or done on purpose I want them in jail along with the murderers.

Anonymous said...

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