Grievances involving Child Protection Services include both Cannabis Legalization Activists and those not involved with Cannabis Legalization
Mark Reinhardt- Boise Idaho
Starting today, Cannabis legalization Group Moms for Marijuana will hold a two day protest in in the United States and Germany against Child Protection Services agencies in those respective countries. Highlighting specific cases, the group hopes to change the practices of the agencies towards parents who use Medical Cannabis. The issue itself, is a rather personal one, as Serra Frank, founder of Moms for Marijuana is personally involved with a Child Protection case through her Boyfriend Billy Fisher, involving his daughter Lilly Fisher. Who is currently in custody of Spokane Washington Child Protection Services as of this report. Other cases cited by the group, are Daisy Bram, of freemybabies.org, and the Idaho Three Case involving Sarah Caldwell, Josh Rinehart, and Lindsey Rinehart.
There is however, more to Child Protection Services than issues relating to the War on Drugs. In 2007, Late Georgia State Senator Nancy Schaefer had issued a report titled, “The Corrupt Business of Child Protection Services.” Focusing on the State of Georgia, Senator Schaefer described an ordeal that was faced by one of her constituents in her district. In her report, she had described her introduction to Child Protection Cases, “My introduction into child protective service cases was due to a grandmother in an adjoining state who called me with her tragic story.” Further describing how Child Protection Services misinterpreted the legal standard for such cases, Senator Schaefer said in her report from that year,
“In one county a private drug testing business was operating within the DFCS
department that required many, many drug tests from parents and individuals for profit."
In another county children were not removed when they were enduring the worst possible abuse.” Her report had concluded that there was no accountability in the system, also describing her belief that the system itself was broken beyond repair nationwide. Senator Schafer speaking of the need for Child Protection Services stated, “This is not to say that there are not those children who do need to be removed from wretched situations and need protection.” The report she issued, focused on the subject of “Legal Kidnapping.”
State Senator Schaefer later died in 2008 after the issuance of that report.
The Foster Care Program within Child Protection Service agencies is financed through Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, which requires states to create a state plan for how that money is used by the agency within that state.
For example, in the act it states,
“(1) Eligibility.—Each State with a plan approved under this part shall make foster care maintenance
payments on behalf of each child who has been removed from the home of a relative specified in
section 406(a) (as in effect on July 16, 1996).“
Money is given each month for the amount of time a child spends in Foster Care. Payments cover costs associated with involvement in a child's life.
Amounts paid to Foster Parents differ from State to State, covering various cost of living levels depending on Municipality.
In Idaho, Foster Care Payments were increased on July 1st, 2013 through approval by the Idaho State Legislature, according to a letter issued by the Idaho Division of Family and Community Services. The letter itself, had listed the dollar amounts, in this fashion,
Ages 0-5 $329 per month per child from $301
Ages 6-12 $366 per month per child from $339
Ages 13 + $487 per month per child from $453
Addressing the issue of Foster Care Payments and eligibility requirements, Tom Shannan, Public Information Officer for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare said,
In April of this year, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare had faced an audit in relation to costs associated with Foster Care, and compliance with Code Federal Regulation regarding safety and licensor. Comprised of a Multi-Agency approach, the findings of the report found,
“77 of the 80 cases met eligibility requirements (i.e., were
deemed non-error cases) for the PUR. There were three (3) cases determined as in error for
either part or all of the PUR, and six (6) non-error cases where title IV-E was claimed for
unallowable costs.”
The April audit went further to highlight the dollar amounts associated with Improper Payments,
Error example #29:
Error examples #27 and #70:
Federal Participation total was listed as, “$19,968.80” according to the audit.
According to a FY 2011-2012 Financial Report, these were the dollar expenditures Family and Community Services had listed for 2012.
Addressing the subject of bonsus given for adoption, Shanahan stated,
This is done through the Fostering Connection Act of 2008, which allowed for states to receive bigger bonuses for higher adoption percentages than the 2002 percentage,
“Fostering Connections enhances incentives available under previous law to promote the
adoption of children from foster care. It renews the Adoption Incentive Grant Program for an
additional five years; resets the adoption baseline on which adoption incentives are based to
the number of adoptions in FY 2007; doubles the incentive payments for adoptions of children
with special needs and older children adoptions; and gives states 24 months, rather than the
previous 12 months, to use their adoption incentive payments.
Fostering Connections also permits states to receive an additional payment if the state’s
adoption rate exceeds its highest recorded foster child adoption rate since 2002.”
Rates of adopted children and children in Foster Care through Title IV-E is described as a “Penetration Rate.” As former director Michelle Britton described in a December 2009 Memo to FACS staff,
She went on to further describe how to improve outcomes in relation to those rates,
Social Workers familiar with Child Protection Service functions argued that this can be considered a good thing, when considering that some children live in violent homes, or unsafe conditions relating to sanitation.
An example of a child not removed from such environments was Robert Manwill, whose case had prompted an Independent Review of Child Protection Services practices within Idaho.
According to the report, Robert had been living with his mother Melissa Jenkins, and her boyfriend Daniel in the events leading up to the case issued against them. Warning signs involving the safety of Robert were ignored by the agency in the events leading up to his death.
The report itself further described the efforts to disguise the situation at the home, revealed during the Criminal Trial, “
Despite this level of frequency, testimony at Daniel Ehrlick’s criminal trial
indicated that the home situation was staged for the visits to disguise developing issues.”
he frequency of home visits that were mentioned in the report was three times a week.
Questions relating to Imminent Danger and safety of children was the subject of a widely publicized case known as, “The Idaho Three.” Boise Police had removed the children of Sarah Caldwell, Josh Rinehart, and Lindsey Rinehart after discovering the presence of Cannabis in the home. During the April 29th Idaho Three Press Conference, Lindsey Rinehart said of that situation, “It has been alleged that my children have been removed from my house due to being in imminent danger, due to Cannabis being present in our household.” As she further described the situation, she explained why she was challenging the imminent danger portion, of why her children were removed,
“We’re challenging the Imminent Danger, due to, the fact that Cannabis is a Non-Toxic Substance. Therefore, how could a child be in Imminent Danger due to its presence?”
However, Russ Belville, host of the Russ Belville Show and staff writer for High Times Magazine had written on this topic for High Times, called, “5 Pro-Pot Myths That Must Be Busted.” Addressing the claim that Marijuana is harmless, he said,
“5. Marijuana is harmless
Nothing ingested is harmless; you can die from drinking too much water or eating ten raw potatoes. Some experience a cyclical vomiting syndrome from long-term cannabis use. Pot not advised for people with some mental illnesses, and if you’re smoking it, while it’s not tobacco, you're still smoking, which is not healthy.”
Rinehart was using Cannabis to treat symptoms related to her Multiple Sclerosis, describing how it worked for her at the Idaho Three Press Conference, she said,
“You can see the difference, I had a sagging eyebrow, I had a sagging lip, I started using Cannabis to treat my condition and my eye brow doesn’t sag anymore, My lip doesn’t sag anymore. I have not been able to consume Cannabis since they took my children, and I’m already getting sick again.”
Addressing the nature of her children being near Cannabis, she said,
“Our children knew it was medicine, they knew to stay out of it, just like any other drug. Any other cough medicine, if there was. They knew not use Tobacco, they knew not to use Alcohol, they knew not to use any medication at all.”
Through a fund raiser campaign, the Rineharts were able to move to Medford Oregon, where Medical Cannabis is legal within that State.
Asking about substance abuse in Child Protection cases, IDHW spokesman Shanahan stated,
The Department went further and addressed functional abilities and natural remedies involving parents involved in Child Protection cases,
Functional Abilities:
Use of Natural Remedies:
California however, has stood in contrast to Idaho in terms of Child Protection issues. This year a child was taken from his parents for seeking a second medical opinion, prompting a member of the California State Assembly to call for a Financial Audit of Child Protection Services within that state,
The case itself had taken place in Sacramento which was further expanded by California Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, in an appearance on Fox News,
Medical Cannabis is legal under California State Law. The parents highlighted in the Sacramento story were not involved in Cannabis legalization efforts.
Documents posted on the California Department of Social Services website had listed the following as the state wide base rate for Foster Families in August 2013,
Los Angeles County Child Protection Services had spent $93,443,648 in Foster Care assistance dollars for the partial fiscal year 2011-2012, according to documents obtained through the California Public Records Act.
As parents take to the streets in protest over targeting by Child Protection Services today. the General Accounting Office of the United States Congress had already started to address Foster Care Finance reform in March of this year. According to that report, five proposals were on the table to change the structure of Foster Care Finance. Explaining the summary of results, the report stated,
“Twelve of the 14 proposals we identified would eliminate means testing altogether as a
requirement for states to receive federal funding to help pay for the costs associated with
supporting children in foster care. Two other proposals would link means testing to a
different benchmark. Half of the proposals would mitigate a potential increase in federal
costs due to the elimination of means testing by either changing the rate of federal
reimbursements, capping federal funding, or both. Additionally, half would attempt to
mitigate the potentially negative effects of lowering the reimbursement rate on states by, for
example, allowing states to access additional funding in the event of an unanticipated
increase in foster care placements.”
The protests within the continental United States will occur in the States of Washington, Texas, Oregon, California, and Colorado. Addressing detractors, Moms for Marijuana had stated that Child Protection Services grievances affects more people than those involved in Cannabis Legalization activism. It affects families uninvolved with issues surrounding the War on Drugs.
Sources:
Child Protection Services Research:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/aa2xa4vv6huy9wo/eSgnF_wLQI
Russ Belville article:
http://www.hightimes.com/read/5-pro-pot-myths-must-be-busted
Idaho Three Highlights:
https://www.facebook.com/IdahoThree
https://acousticfreeze.wordpress.com/2013/08/11/idaho-three-press-conference-4-29-13/
Moms for Marijuana International Stop CPS Protest Event Page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/206479219523728/
Fostering Connections Judicial Guide Guide (American Bar Association):
http://w2.georgiacourts.org/cj4c/files/FCSIAA%20Judicial%20Guide_Final20Feb2012.pdf
http://www.flcourts.org/gen_public/family//bin/FosteringConnections.pdf
