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Friday, September 21, 2007

Plaque






After an unforgivable length of time, I have finally installed the plaque at Jeffrey's memorial in Greenwood Park. The tree is getting so big and the city has maintained the flowers beautifully! I installed the plaque, weeded the garden, cleaned up the very minimal garbage around it and then sat for awhile thinking about Jeffrey. I have been out of the loop for so long and feel like I have not fulfilled the promise I made to him to change some laws and shake up the Children's Aid system. I felt very sad sitting there looking at his beautiful face, but then all these kids came to play and it was very peaceful to sit there and watch them. It really is a very nice place to sit and watch and reflect. When the tree is full grown, that bench will be the nicest place to sit in the summer...

I am going to get back into my mission, but this time will ask for help... I got a little burnt out and emotionally drained two years ago because I was trying to do everything myself.


I would like to set up or join a group who's main goal is to make the C/CCAS held accountable to the public for every child. Would anyone be interested in helping me with this? I was thinking of a meeting every month or every other month in Toronto as well as a blog account to keep in touch on a daily/ weekly basis.
I thank everyone who still visits this site and I will be maintaining it more consistantly from now on.

Best regards to all
Amanda Reed






41 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you Amanda for your kindness, and love towards Jeffrey. It is a beautiful plaque, I hope many visit so that we do not forget such a precious, innocent, little boy.

Anne Patterson

Anonymous said...

It is a travesty of the entire system when a child like Jeffrey was given to 2 CONVICTED CHILD ABUSERS. When no one is responsible what so ever, and when we have a list of dead children killed in CAS care.

One would think that anyone would want the Ontario Ombudsman to have oversight of CAS - but oh, no. The Liberals REFUSE, and so do the PC's.

If you want something done about them, and for them to be accountable just for once, vote NDP.

Isn't it disgusting that over a billion dollars go out to agencies who are accountable to absolutely no one!

This should be an election issue hugely. Children are worth having responsible people to be in charge of them. One would think that Jeffrey and his pain and horror would have been enough?

Why is it not? And once again thank you Amanda, and also Christie Blatchford for reporting about this beautiful little boy.

Anne Patterson

Anonymous said...

And thank you Andrea Horwath for having the 'balls' pardon the expression with your Bill 88, and petition.

The CAS has not been accountable since it's inception. In 2007 - after all this time and they still answer to no one.

What has went on with them should warrant a full Royal Commission of Inquiry - let alone the Ontario Ombudsman to have oversight.

Anne Patterson

Anonymous said...

Yes, I am interested. I want them to be accountable.

Anne Patterson

Anonymous said...

Amanda - don't be hard on yourself, you tried, and you did a wonderful, kind token in memory of Jeffrey.

Anne Patterson

Amanda said...

Definately NDP is our only choice! October 10th... VOTE!

Amanda said...

.... and thank-you Anne!

Anonymous said...

Howard Hampton mentioned the Ontario audit and the Ombudsman in the news recently. He blamed the media for having a one horse show with election issues with the focus on faith based schools.

He is right. We are beseiged with a conservative media agenda, and media itself that have done a pathetic job of voicing and reporting real issues.

The election is around the corner, one only hopes that CAS and accountability will be brought up. If Jeffrey Baldwin and this nightmare does not wake people up, one wonders what would. It is disgraceful that this issue has been buried in this election.

Anne Patterson

Anonymous said...

Amanda - no thanks required I am just one of a huge population concerned about this. Please write to the media and MPP's and ask them to address CAS and accountability. Just for Jeffrey alone it is worth it. I know your heart is with him. Mine is too, as it breaks my heart as to what happened to him

Anne Patterson

Anonymous said...

Man, 67, faces sexual assault charges
UNNATI GANDHI
GLOBE AND MAIL NEWSPAPER TORONTO
November 3, 2007

A Toronto man has been charged after a young woman told police she
was sexually assaulted at a foster home.

Police allege the assaults took place in an apartment building on The
East Mall near Burnhamthorpe Road, which has been Toronto Catholic
Children's Aid Society foster home for more than 25 years.

Allan Lewis, 67, of Etobicoke, has been charged with sexual assault
and sexual interference.

Investigators are appealing to anyone who may have had contact with Mr. Lewis to come forward, as they believe there may be more victims.

Anonymous said...

Amanda I have been trying to get in touch with you for so long. I believe we should meet. I am in favor on making CCAS or CAS accountable, and I believe we can be successful as a team. Please email me a; lamimi_francaise@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

Anne Peterson Please email me at lamimi_francaise@hotmail.com I believe we could work together for making CCAS or CAS accountable

afterfostercare said...

Amanda Reed. What an INCREDIBLE dedication you have toward little Jeffrey. I think it is totally selfless and obviously a lot of work. Where is this park located and how did you get the memorial to become what it is?

I would like to post a link on my web site to this blog as you have done a wonderful job from start to completion?

daddy said...

God Bless you Amanda and the families who battle CAS. Are Jeffery's birth parents ok? What happened to them? the Carter family

afterfostercare said...

Good question. How are the birth parents and what has become of them in all of this?

afterfostercare said...

I wanted to say again how wonderful it is that the memorial is there for Jeffrey. Also if you don't mind, I am going to post a link that some people might like to see. It is a flyer to promote kids in care having more of a voice in the services they receive.

http://afterfostercare.ca/pdf/posters/membershipflyer_publicinvite.pdf

Anonymous said...

Hi Amanda;

I am curious if you have moved forward with creating a group to hold the CAS accountable ?

My best friend, to make a long story short, has had one of his chilren (out of two - they actually split the kids) taken away from him for allegations of abuse - She's done this out of vindictiveness *and* she's literally diagnosed as mentally unstable (I'm not naming her diagnosis for fear that he will be identified) - The CAS of Ottawa has, for nearly a year, continually ignored evidence and documentation from the hospital, doctors and police that there *never was any abuse* - Yet now they are trying to take the second child.

These people (The CAS) really and honestly do not care for things like truth, due process, innocence until proven guilt, admission of mistakes - The term "power trip" is a massive understatement when talking about the CAS.

Why is it I can sue a doctor, a policeman, a firefighter, a lawyer even a JUDGE when they mess up in the course of their job, but the CAS is literally *immune* from their own screw-ups - even when they are intentional ?

Carilynn said...

If you are still looking for people to help with Jeffrey's cause I would like to be one of them. I started thinking about his unbelievably horrible situation and now it's ALL I can think about!! I want it to never happen again. Naive, I know, but I want it just the same. I am going to visit little Jeffrey's lovely bench and think of him too.

Thank you Amanda.

Carilynn Nicholson

Anonymous said...

Happy Easter my little Angel.Hope you got alot of bunnies.Hugs and kisses.Love Anna

Anonymous said...

I've been watching this case just aired on some TV's programme , I've just learn this horrify job done by CSA..

Take Care!

Ceci Desusa

Anonymous said...

Though it seems that time would blunt the pain, it does not... because you bravely stand alone by that bench, it wakes and shoots through me once again...

but I have done nothing except to hold the thought of him in my heart and mind...

Anonymous said...

I remember reading the articles when I was in school everyday during the trial. For some reason the story popped into my head, wondering how Jeffrey's siblings were doing. As I read your blog I couldn't control the tears.

Anonymous said...

I remember reading the articles when I was in school everyday during the trial. For some reason the story popped into my head, wondering how Jeffrey's siblings were doing. As I read your blog I couldn't control the tears.

Anonymous said...

SOURCE: SUN MEDIA
MAY 23, 2008


Mom gets 20 years for keeping son in cage

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A mother was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday for keeping her 17-year-old adopted son caged in her home.

Brenda Sullivan pleaded guilty in January to three counts of aggravated child abuse. Prosecutors agreed to drop lesser child neglect charges.

The teen weighed 49 pounds when child welfare workers found him in 2005 in what appeared to be a cage. Sullivan told a judge at the time that Ohio authorities told her to keep the boy, who had severe medical and emotional problems, in a crib.

“There’s only one conclusion when you look at the medical evidence in this case, and that is that she literally starved him,” prosecutor Julie Schlax said.

Two other children, 13-year-old twins the Sullivans adopted as infants, both testified they were kept in similar cages.

Sullivan’s husband was also arrested, but died in January 2007 while awaiting trial.

Sullivan’s lawyer, Charles Fletcher, said he didn’t think prison was the right option because she does not pose a threat to society. He said they would appeal the sentence.

Anonymous said...

June 4, 2008

Levack man accused of sexually assaulting child in care of CAS
Posted By Rachel Punch/The Sudbury Star
Posted 6 hours ago


A 62-year-old Levack man has been accused of sexually assaulting a child in the care of the Children’s Aid Society.

Douglas Klasges was charged in January with sexual exploitation, sexual assault and sexual interference, but police and the Sudbury and District Children’s Aid Society just announced the arrest on Wednesday.

They waited so long to release the information to give the organization a chance to contact children they know may have come in contact with Klasges, said Colette Prevost, executive director of the Sudbury District CAS.

The announcement Wednesday was an appeal to the broader community for any other children who may have had contact with him to come forward to police or the CAS.

“Douglas Klasges is known to have had contact with other children within the community. The police and the CAS have concerns that other children may also have been victimized by Klasges,” states a press release from Greater Sudbury Police.

Prevost would not say if Klasges was a foster parent or how he was involved in the organization. All she would say is he was not a staff member.

Anonymous said...

I hope that Jeffrey is remember along with Katelynn Sampson.

Anonymous said...

I have been learning about Jeffrey and Jeffrey's case in my high school class, it shocks and disgusts me to see the way that CAS handled this situation. If this is the one resource for children who are abuse victims, what hope do they really have?

Having interest in the case, I obviously believe that not only should Elva Bottineau and Norman Kidman be convicted, but what about the other adults living in that home, are they not accessories to a murder, it's unfortunate the way that our justice system works.

Aside from that I would just like to commend you and thank you for doing what you have in the memory of this beautiful little boy, may he finally find comfort in the Lord's arms.

Anonymous said...

just to let u all know Fred Crotta is not allowed to be alone with children after phsically assulting his own the apple does not fall far from the tree. his email is crotta747@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

Hi all,
Thank you for your messages!
afterfostercare- the memorial is locatedin Greenwood Park in Toronto. Can anyone believe it's been 4 years already since it was erected?
Carter Family- very kind of you to think of his birth parents. Unfortunately, they knew what was going on the whole time and in my opinion should have been, along with the other adults in the house, convicted of second degree murder.
To Anon- I am very happy to hear that Jeffrey's case is being examined in school. I assume social studies? Very interesting!

I regret to say I have not moved forward. I am going through a very messy divorce. My son's father actually called the CAS on me and now I myself have an open case against me! (For mental illness and alchohol, both of which are ludicrous allegations!) It was a malicious report so that he could further his case. After seeing a woman for a month he moved in with her and her two children, shoved my son on them and now this woman is 4 months pregnant which, doing the math, means she concieved on their first date. Not exactly an ideal environment for my son to be in!

Please keep commenting, I and many people read them. I don't ever want this boy forgotten and I hope you will all visit Greenwood Park. It is sincerely a spiritual experience to sit on that bench...
Thanks
Amanda

Anonymous said...

In memory of Jeffrey and his sister; also Katelynn Samson and so many others regardless of province - Social service agencies across this country must be independently audited, and held accountable for actions that leave a child in misery worse than a slave and/or result in child murder. Written in memory also of Jayden Kaylee McMullin (Lady Bug), age 3, murdered Easter Sunday, April 20, 2003, in Calgary, A Case Dismissed; her 5 1/2 year old brother the only witness; whose case has been silenced and resulted in no charges whatever to protect a rotting social, judicial and legal system that places more value on adult rights than any child's health or life! Ontario is not the only province -- where children are denied freedom from assault (review Section 43 Repeal website for Canada's List of Shame which includes Jeffrey and far too many other children); denied independent legal representation; where accomplices to child murder receive no charges for their crimes; and where police have no access to a non-existent National Child Abuse Registry (see Lisa McLeod's attempt to address this critical issue). There continues to be no mention whatever of children, child poverty, etc. in Canada's budgets - no Voice; no Vote; no Value! We would be outraged in this country if adults were being treated as Jeffrey was, or if adults were murdered at the rate our smallest citizens are!! We can summon thousands of people to participate in a walk for cancer - we must ask ourselves why we cannot organize such a display of support for our smallest and most helpless citizens to effect critical changes on their behalf! Thank you Amanda for your courage and heart in offering a place to remember Jeffrey and to see his sweet little face - not just as yet another statistic but as a living human being with all the possibilities and potential that every child is born with and has a moral right to exercise.
Suzanne - G.P. (grand-parent) to Jayden.

Anonymous said...

This little guy was on my mind, something about those big brown eyes & smile I could never forget. I'm so happy to know about his memorial bench.

Heather

Vlad said...

Hello Amanda
How soon we let dust gather on the past... but soon as one sees this blog once again, the same cold shadow of pain descends, same as before... let's not let time lessen this... don't know what else to say... email me via my website if you want to...

afterfostercare said...

Could you log into the Memorial blog and in your "Layout" under the dashboard, put "follow" and "Subscribe" options in the site for others to keep it alive.

afterfostercare said...

I was thinking the annual Rally at Queens Park could include a march from Jeffrey's Park to Queens Park?

613-220-1039 feel free to call me
John Dunn

afterfostercare said...

I am trying to find the park and the bench from Google Maps using Satellite. Which corner of the park is the bench or what part of the park so I can zoom in on it from the satellite

aliciak said...

I would like to help somehow. I can't get little Jeffrey out of my mind, I never will.
Please let me know.

Anonymous said...

Dear Amanda i have been looking for the same thing and would really enjoy it if i could join u in this. On Facebook o am marbles macdonald

Anonymous said...

Sorry marlene macdonald

Tom said...

My 'little super hero'. I laminated a Toronto Star photo of Jeffrey in a superman costume. It is beyond comprehension, that this beautiful little boy's life will not be fulfilled (as have others). As an extreme adventure ultra runner, the body experiences temporary lows and pains. But, nothing to the permanency of what young Jeffrey endured (as have others). I carry him in all my training runs and races to motivate me to succeed in his memory. You will always be in my heart, my 'little super hero'.

Anonymous said...

In a result to Suzannes comments...i feel your pain daily...and what your daughter did i can never ever forgive her for...i wish i had words to say...i miss those kids and as u know my only son also...if there is anything i can do let me know.

Anonymous said...

In a result to Suzannes comments...i feel your pain daily...and what your daughter did i can never ever forgive her for...i wish i had words to say...i miss those kids and as u know my only son also...if there is anything i can do let me know.