Foster Care and Department of Children's Services separating families

Until 5 and a half years ago, in March 2004, I knew virtually nothing about my husbands' older sisters' daughters, our nieces, as I had long ago abandoned the whole idea of continuing any sort of relationship with my sister-in-law, Ann. Ann was not a good mother, or person, for that matter, she was completely self-absorbed and uncaring and unfeeling toward her children. I wanted nothing more to do with her and her selfishness, so I simply cut her out of my life and we became estranged for 20 odd years. In that time, I did not keep up to date on her or the lives of her children and only saw her once, at her fathers' funeral in 1994. Ann had 3 young sad-faced toddlers following her around at the cemetery, I didn't know the childrens' names, but only felt sorry for their sad little lives with Ann.

My husband went to Southern California on a long business trip in March 2004. It was then that I became aware of the sad plight of Anns' current crop of children. When Bruce visited his mother, he also had the chance to interact with a couple of Anns' children who would hang out at their grandmothers' home for the love and attention that they were deprived of at their mothers' house.

These girls, Amber and Alison, were very bright, intelligent, sweet young girls who just wanted the love, attention and understanding that they weren't getting from their mother. Bruce spent some time around them over the summer of 2004 and gave me some insight to them and their sad young lives. Bruce also learned that there was another one of Anns' daughters at home who needed some TLC, that was little 18 month old Charleigh. But Bruce didn't get to see Charleigh, as she didn't get over to her grandmothers', at all.

Some problems came up for Ann, so Bruce and their brother Mark had to call CPS, along with Ambers' teacher. Cases were opened and shut that summer, but the kids were not taken from Ann. We were told by CPS that we would be the first ones called, should Ann lose the children, so they wouldn't have to go into foster care. Bruce and I discussed it and agreed we should ask Ann if we could have her kids, if not all, than one or two, before they were taken by CPS. Ann first agreed to Amber, then declined at the last minute. Unbeknownst to Bruce that summer, Ann was pregnant with her 10th child. Little Hannah Eve was born on Christmas Eve 2004.

Little 3 day old Hannah is what finally set the wheels in motion for CPS to come and permanently remove Anns' children. CPS/DCS, whatever you want to call them, came and removed the children Ann had in her house and placed them in foster care on December 27, 2004. We were never notified by DCS about the children being in the system, we found out in late January 2005, through the family grapevine and immediately tried to get DCS to place them in our care, to keep them from the clutches of the system and keep them in our family. But, as we soon found out, the system is an utterly and completely dysfunctional jumble of red tape and hoops of fire, meant to burn bridges between family members and destroy all hope for children and their futures. There is no link or tie that the system will not tear down between kids and families, and no barrier or wall that they will not put up between kids and families to separate them. Nothing is sacred to DCS.

DCSs' agenda is simply to separate real families in order to make many more dysfunctional "fingers" of groups that they call "new" families feeding off of the state, in order to provide DCS with the absorbent amount of cash-flow that they need to stay in business. DCS/CPS is not a resource to help children and families to grow and prosper and stay together, it is a complex business venture designed to generate more and more cash-flow for the departments involved and overall, for the states themselves. When you realize what DCS/CPS really is, and what it is designed to do (take as much taxpayer monies as it can get its' grips on and separate, control and destroy as many American families as it possibly can), you can plainly see that it is not something that has innocent childrens' welfare in mind, it is simply a machine put into place by our government to limit the amount of time real families are able to be together on a long-term, permanent basis, it is meant to destroy the American people as a whole and profit mercilessly in the process by making the parents pay for services to get their children back, make the everyday average Joe and Jill taxpayer fork out the money to pay the foster parents, DCS/CPS, social workers, etc.. on a monthly and permanent basis. The system is designed to keep families under government control and to assure families don't prosper too much, the system needs to keep our money flowing to them like a sewer pipe so they can continue to grow and grow like a giant leech sucking the blood out of American families. The system is communism at its' best.

If you think the system cares, even a little, for you or your innocent son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, etc.., think again. The only thing we represent to the system is another dollar sign. Unfortunately, the many, many tears I have shed for my nieces who have been unwittingly shoved into this terrible system by seen and unseen forces in this same system have, and are, falling on deaf ears, ears that refuse to hear the sobs and wailing of the hundreds of thousands of sorrowful mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grandmothers, grandfathers, brothers and sisters of the sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, granddaughters, grandsons, brothers and sisters stolen by the system, a branch of our government. There probably is some social worker somewhere who really is attentive to the needs and wants of the children and families in their care, but they are so few and rare that the average family dealing with the system does not ever see or come in contact with one.

The system and the majority of its' people are so callous and money-hungry that they view themselves as dictators and gods and make up the rules and lie as they go along to suit whatever situation or occasion presents itself to them in the families they "serve" and the children they are "protecting". Social workers themselves usually are not "in it" for the money, they don't get paid a lot to ruin lives, but their big benefit is to be big shots and play god with unsuspecting fmailies and innocent childrens' lives.

It seems to me that if a person does not have any children of their own that they are raising or have raised, they have no business being a social worker and dictating to parents how they should or should not treat their children. How can you tell someone how to be a parent if you are not one yourself? I would say that a requirement to be a social worker should be that a person must have a working knowledge of being a parent because that might help a family better to stay together, even an extended one, but the system doesn't care about that because they are only in it for the money, anyway. They are not in the business of keeping real families together and therefore the costs down, they are in the business of making more "new" families and making sure more money is spent on each child and keeping the costs up, because they need to keep generating more income for their business.

If you are reading this, you probably have been unwillingly and unwittingly thrown into the system like me and my family. What advice I have for you is to take careful notes of everything that has happened and will happen. Keep all documents sent to you by email, snail mail, fax, etc.. Keep records (dates, times, content) of all phone calls you make or receive regarding the child. Document everything. You never know what lies the system will tell you that you will need to know later. You may need to sue the system, appeal the decision or need information to have a Grand Jury investige the matter. God bless you and you keep your chin up. God is on our side, not the devil who runs the system.

Just a thought: Why does the system stress that women need to be off welfare, but they pay strangers to take and care for our children?

Amber & Allie are sisters who spent nearly 11 yrs in the same household together, playing, conversing, and fighting, as sisters do. They had a love, sometimes unspoken, as sisters do. They had their moments of fun. They had their moments of hate. They had their moments of joy. They had their moments of sadness. But they were shared moments between sisters.

Amber & Allie, though nearly 3 years apart, were sisters who shared a lot of things. They shared times of happiness. They shared times of sadness. They shared times of confusion. They shared times of compassion. They shared their food. They shared their bedroom. They shared Christmas. They shared Easter Eggs. They shared their love. They shared in times as sisters to each other.

These sisters ate together. These sisters laughed together. These sisters cried together. These sisters walked to school together. These sisters shared whispered secrets together. These sisters spent their birthdays together. These sisters were together.

But they shared no more anything together when DCS came and shattered their already stormy young lives & separated them from each other and from what family they knew, all in the name of permanence, stability, continuity of family relationships, preserving and maintaining primary connections to siblings, preserving primary connections to extended family, preserving racial heritage and diversity, and preserving ethnicity, and safety.

These sisters may have not had the most ideal living conditions and family life that DCS claimed they needed and lacked while at home, but they had each other. They had a sibling bond that wasn't broken. They had preserved family relationships with extended family. They had a sibling connection to each other. They had connections to their siblings, both younger and older. They had their racial heritage intact. They had their ethnicity intact. They had each other.

But that all changed when DCS came and stole their lives from them. When DCS separated them from each other, forever. When DCS came and "managed" and molded their lives, the way THEY saw fit, without regard to what the sisters wanted. Without regard to what the family wanted. Without regard to their safety. Without regard to their well-being. Without regard to their racial heritage. Without regard to their ethnicity. Without regard to their preservation. Without regard to anything but their own agenda.

DCSs "agenda" for the girls was to permanently separate the sisters and throw everything they knew or loved away, including family, friends, community, culture, heritage, and ethnic identities. DCSs agenda was to keep Amber from her sibling group. DCSs agenda was to keep Amber in permanent long term foster care, because she did not fit into their plans for her sister Allie and their younger sisters, Charleigh and Hannah. Amber was the "throw away" child who didn't fit the picture they had painted for the girls younger sister Hannah's permanent future.

3 day old Hannah was the "golden child" that DCS had envisioned placing with the Hispanic foster parents, Gloria and Pedro, who wanted to adopt a blonde-haired, blue-eyed white baby girl, and they lied about their violent history to get one. But in the end, the Judge said it was ok and it didn't matter because "it hasn't happened lately."

DCS had placed Hannah with these people because they were a Permanency Planning Family and not just regular foster parents who were interested in taking care of foster children and helping them with reunification with their real family. They had no intentions of helping with reunification of any kind for these children. They wanted baby Hannah all to themselves with no outside influences. That included the childrens family and other siblings, if they came in the way of their plans.

With this new Permanency Planning Family DCS placed Allie and her 2 younger siblings with, there was no room in the picture for Amber and her needs, wants or feelings. To make it work for these people, the sibling group had to change from 4 sisters down to just 3, because Amber was the "odd man" out, so to speak.

To accomplish this, DCS placed Amber in a mental health facility, against her will and gave her a few things to compliment her stay there. Things she never had before, things they thought would make her feel welcome and at home:

They gave her a straight jacket to make her feel comfortable.
They gave her a locked, padded room to make her feel secure.
They gave her Prozac and Lexapro to make her feel numb.
They gave her Seroquel and Risperdol at bedtime to make her sleep.
They gave her feelings of helplessness.
They gave her feelings of hopelessness.
They gave her feelings of hate.
They gave her despair.
They gave her anxiety.
They gave her depression.
They gave her a label.
Bipolar.

To be a welcome member of this facility, they also had to take some things from her to help her fit in:
They took her dignity.
They took her freedom.
They took her peace of mind.
They tried to take her sanity.
They took her voice.
They took her happiness.
They took her hope.
They took her family.
They took the life that she knew.
But they couldn't take her.

Then they placed Amber in different group homes and foster homes, they gave her new things to make her feel at home:
They gave her new families to deal with.
They gave her new siblings to fight with.
They gave her new fears.
They gave her new worries.
They gave her unstableness.
They gave her uncertainty.
They gave her more stress.

The group homes gave her more Prozac, but added Zoloft to the mix.

DCS tried to take her ethnicity with the different ethnic groups they placed her with.
They said they took the sibling bond she had with Allie and their 2 younger sisters.
They tried to take her love away.
They tried to take her future.
But they couldn't take her..

Amber went AWOL from the system that stole her life and fled to another state to be with her real family, the family that loves her.

From day 1, Ambers' voice was given to younger sister Allie to speak for the sibling group. With that voice, Allie was initially allowed to say where the sibling group would stay, both temporarily and permanently.
Allie was freed from the ties that bind with her real family.
Allie was encouraged to leave her former life behind.
Allie was encouraged to take a new identity.
Allie was encouraged to call Gloria "Mom", but she secretly called her bitch.
Allie was smothered with a new culture, ethnicity and racial heritage.
Allie, of Polish and German heritage became hispanic.
She became Hispanic in appearance.
She became Hispanic in speech and accent.
She became bilingual with Spanish being her first language.
Allie lost her real heritage.

Gloria and Pedro coerced Allie.
Gloria and Pedro bought Allie.
They gave her things she never had before. But they came with a price.
Allie got a cell phone of her own, but she isn't allowed to contact her real family with it until she turns 18, said her "new" and generous mom, Gloria.
Allie was allowed only to bond with the 2 biological sisters Gloria and Pedro took from their real family with Allie, only allowed to continue to see her eldest sister Sarah who was too self-absorbed in her own life to be opposed to Gloria and Pedro having custody of her younger sisters, and Allie was allowed to see her older brother James because he wasn't able to pose a threat to Gloria and Pedros' covetousness of his younger sisters.

But Allie wasn't allowed to have a sibling bond with sister Amber or older sister Tiffy, or eldest brother Adam, because to them, they were a threat to the livelihood of the little blonde-haired, blue-eyed daughter they so desperately wanted to keep as their own, at any and all costs, costs to the child herself, and to her real family.

Yes, to be with Gloria and Pedro, Allie had to pay a big price.
She lost her birth family and extended relatives.
She lost the ethnicity that was hers from birth.
She lost the culture that was hers from birth.
She lost her freedom.
She lost her grandma to blunt-force trauma in 2006, but doesn't even know it.
She lost her sister Amber.
She lost her voice in the end, the voice that was really sister Ambers.
She lost the special sibling bond she had always shared with her beloved sister Amber.

This big price was also paid, albeit unknowingly, by little sisters Charleigh and Hannah. At Charleighs young age, she may someday forget what she lost... that is her birth family and her ethnicity.

But Hannah will have paid the ultimate price, because she will have never known her real family, her ethnicity, who she is and where she came from. She will be forever lost in a sea of Hispanic ethnicity and she will not even know that she is among strangers who stole her away and kept her from her real life.

Allie was forced into submission at the directive of foster mother Gloria, for Gloria and Pedro coerced Allie to collaborate with their plans so as to prevent baby Hannah, whom they so desperately wanted to keep as their own, from being taken from their grasp by the real family who would not let the sisters go without a strong and valiant legal fight. But in the end, it didn't matter, Allie and her younger sisters were secretly adopted by the woman Allie secretly called bitch.

Yes, Amber & Allie are sisters, yet worlds apart. All because the trial court Judges are really just puppets for the social workers at DCS...

Now, all that sisters Amber & Allie are left with is different families.
They're left with different siblings.
They're left with different cultures.
They're left with different values.
They're left with different religions.
They're left with very different futures.
They're left with sadness.
They're left with silence.
They are left...alone.

August 26, 2007

Dear Gloria,

I decided to write to you and explain a little about myself and tell you why we really want our nieces to remain in our family. You and I have never had the pleasure of conversing together, although you have spoken with my husband, Bruce, on one occasion on the phone in August, 2005.

I am hoping that from this letter, you will know more about me than the social workers may have told you, and that I will be able to put a face and some humanity to my name for you so that you'll understand a little more about me and where I am coming from regarding wanting to adopt our nieces, as I am a mother, just as you are.

I am of Scottish/German heritage, am 42 years old, I was born and raised in L.A. CA., and lived in Southern CA. for 30 years, before moving to the Midwest over 11 years ago. Bruce and I have been married for many years and we have 3 biological daughters. I love our daughters immensely and am trying to raise them in a wholesome Christian home environment. I am a devout Roman Catholic and am trying to raise our children that way also. We send our girls to the local Catholic School where they are excelling both academically and spiritually in their education and Fatih. Their school earned an "Exemplary Status" in 2006 for their academic test scores and is rated the best school in our county and in several around it.

I worked for many years in a career field that I loved, but I have been a stay-at-home mom, since before my children were born, as I want to devote all of my time, strength and energy to build an environment where my children will be loved, nurtured and encouraged to grow and be the best that they can be on an emotional, spiritual, and academic level. I want to prepare them to be able to make educated life choices and decisions when they graduate from High School and either continue to further their education or live at home for a while longer. We have many quality colleges, universities and vocational schools located in or near our community.

I don't claim to be an expert mother, I am just trying to give my children the best home environment I can possibly give them, one that will promote and encourage them to make healthy, educated decisions, when they are on their own one day having to cope with the many challenges and complexities of life in a world that is ever changing.

Family means so much to me, it means a bond with the past, present, and with the future. I try to educate my children on where they have come from, ie; their ancestors, heritage, and the cultural backgrounds from which are the make up of who they are. My children are Polish/German from my husbands' side of the family. Children need to know about who they are, just as someday they will want to know why they look the way they do and why they may be different than the people around them.

One day, our nieces will want to know about themselves and why they may or may not look like and resemble the family that they are with (depending on whose family they are raised with). Life, in general, is often times a very tough place to be, but having questions about who your biological family is and why they may or may not have wanted you is an emotional dilemma that should not be saddled to children, if it doesn't have to be.

Maybe, for a moment, you can put yourself in my shoes, just think about if you had a family member that nearly destroyed the lives of her innocent children, and those children were rightfully taken from that family member, and you, as a mother, could see that the children should not be placed back in that unhealthy environment and you felt that you could love and raise the children with your own. You loved the children so much that you wanted to take them and raise them and love them to show them that they are meaningful and have a purpose in life. You love being a mother so much that you are willing to sacrifice and open your home and hearts to them and raise them as your own, because they are your family, your blood, your future and your past. You love them, not only because they are children in need, but because you have a link to them and you want to give them the rich history and family ties that they have a right to and deserve to have knowledge of.

These children are not just kids I love because they need a home and I am available and I have bonded with them, they are a part of our biological family and always will be and they need to know that they are a part of our family. Not only on emotional levels do they need us, but on physical levels, too. Only a family knows about the medical histories involoved with the childrens' relatives and ancestors.

So, what would you do if you were in my shoes and you had children in your family that you loved that were in danger of being taken away from you and their history, forever, to be raised by people who were not your family...would you sit idly by, twiddling your thumbs letting them be lost forever in the world, only to one day see them when we are all dead and buried, or would you do everything in your power to try and keep hold of them to be able to raise them as your own? I hope you can see where I am coming from, if things were changed around and YOU were the one in my shoes, losing a part of your family, your history, and your future, what would you do?

I think it is good that you want to raise other peoples' kids that are in need, it is a very commendable thing to do, but I also think it would be much better if you raised kids that truly had no family to take them in, and were desperately in need of your loving care.

I don't know if you knew that the girls' older sisters, Amber and Tiffy (and her 2 year old son Adrian) are living here in our town now. Tiffy and her baby flew back with us last August when we went to the Aug 16, 2006 court hearing and were completely shut out of the proceedings by the attorneys and judge. We put Tiffy and her son up at our extra house in town, we live outside of town. Amber ran away from California last October and came to our State to be with us, instead of staying in foster care in California till she was 18, as the social worker had recommended and the judge had ordered. She is doing very well and we love her very much. She is a Sophomore in High School and we are very proud of her. She tells us all the time how she is so glad to be here with us.

Even my sister-in-law, Ann is out here now. She also flew out here last year and lives in our extra house in town with her daughter and grandson. This really is quite something, considering her and I hadn't spoken in 20 years, as I did not like her lifestyle or the way she treated her kids. God works in mysterious ways and I truly believe everything is for a purpose and Ann and I are working on a relationship. She is doing much better than she has in the past, but will never be able to raise her children. We bring Amber over to see her mother once a week when we visit with her and they are doing pretty well on an emotional level, now. Amber and Tiffy really miss their sisters, as do we. Not only are the relatives out here that I already mentioned, but Bruces' older brother and his wife and kids are here and great aunts, and other cousins and my brother and his family. The girls' eldest brother, Adam, lives near and wants to see the girls, also.

We had to go through many hoops to be able to open our home here for our nieces, we had to go through weeks of foster care training classes, CPR and universal precautions training classes, psychological evaluations, etc.. We are Licensed Foster Parents now and are approved by our State for children, and California recognizes us as such, too, but we only want our nieces.

Please think about what I have said and all that I have tried to convey to you. We just want to raise our nieces in our family and not lose them to you forever. This letter may fall on a deaf ear, I realize that, but I am a mother and I have much love to give and I wanted to appeal to you, mother to mother, to please see our point of view and open your heart.

Most Sincerely,

Mrs. C. Nimitz
1234 Rural Road
Midwest, U.S.A.

___________________________________________________

This letter did not fall on a deaf ear. Foster mother Gloria took it as a threat and her friends at DCS moved up the final adoption of the kids from November 30, 2007 to October 30, 2007. After this letter, I did some research online about the foster mother and found that she and her husband had a prior history of violence and abuse in another county that they concealed from the DCS Foster License Department that gave them their Foster license. I sent documented proof of their shocking history, along with an email from the Director of the Licensing Division that said they were not eligible to be foster parents, but the Juvenile court judge held an "informal" hearing where he heard testimony from one of the social workers who didn't want us to have the kids that "it was a long time ago and nothing's happened lately" so he adopted the kids out to these monsters 7 days later! And he said we couldn't appeal his decision! So much for stability and safety being Priority One for the system!

I truely believe that besides the number one horrendous atrocity in our world today, ABORTION, the foster care nightmare is second on Gods' list of atrocities that He will make everyone who is complicit in have to atone for later! THEY WILL PAY DEARLY for taking our kids!

My nieces have had 4 different social workers in the last 4 years. Each worker has gotten a little more crappy than the last. The one they have now lied to the court in 2006 about my husband and I to prevent us from being further considered as responsible persons to adopt our nieces. She told the court, in writing (in a 366.26 WIC Report) that my husband and I "have been confrontational and argumentative with the undersigned and every DCS staff they have contacted. They have not only harrassed the undersigned via email and phone, but sent a mild death threat as well. The undersigned has concerns about their mental and emotional stability."

We called the social worker on this false, defaming and slanderous statement, which we believe was a big cause for why the court said we could not have the kids, and demanded to know why she said this and where exactly she got her information from because it is our right, as citizens of the United States to confront our accuser and see the facts and evidence she has to back up her mouth, and this is what we got from her:

Dear Mrs. Nimitz, September 4, 2007
This letter is in regards to your letter demanding to know answers from myself or my department. There will be no further discussion with me about the 3 children who are being adopted in November. They are no longer in my caseload: however, I have forwarded your letter to the adoption supervisor.
Further, I will also not discuss anything regarding what was put in past court reports, or offer any of the explanations you are seeking. The only topic of conversation you and I need to have is regarding Amber's placement in your home.
Sincerely,
R.C.
Social Service Practitioner
____________________________________________________

I then wrote a letter to the Director of DCS and here is what it said:

Dear DeAnna Avey-Motikeit, Director, 9/11/07
I am writing to you about my nieces in foster care in Ontario, CA. again because I went through the 800 pages of correspondence I have of this case from the last 3 years and I believe these are ones that will generally let you know how we have been treated by DCS regarding our plight to be considered as the permanent adoption option for our nieces.
Julia A., Adoption Social Worker for the kids called me on Tues Sept 4, 2007 and told my husband we were never there for our nieces and grilled him on why we never called or came out to visit them. The documents I have enclosed will let you see that we sincerely tried on all accounts to keep a relationship up with the children, but it was all in vain, because the social workers denied us contact with the children from the beginning of their incarceration.
These letters are from me to different entities in the system, but in them, I was heartfelt in my feelings and I never lied or fudged on the truth. By these letters, you can see that we made various futile attempts at communicating our feelings to the system that we only had the best interests in mind for the girls and just wanted to keep them in our family and have a chance to raise them and love them in a Christian home, along with our 3 daughters and give them a future full of possibilities and hopefullness. All of our hopes and dreams for the girls were dashed by the social workers and staff at DCS because they felt completely threatened by my candidness and can-do attitude. I just wanted my nieces not to fall through the cracks at DCS, like they invariably have, by the reckless choices and vindictive attitudes of the social workers and attorneys for the children, who by their very presence, was supposed to help the children and lessen their burdens while in the system.
But, it is getting late, I will just let you read what I have sent. I really hope that you can see the humanity in my writings and truly consider where I am coming from with all of this and that we just don't want to lose a part of the very fabric of our existence, our precious young nieces with whom we would dearly love to be able to nurture, love and raise as our own, we are a golden thread, intertwined and interlinked into and with their past, present and future, as they are invariably linked for a lifetime to us, also.
It is not too late to help all of us stay together as a real family. Please help us, please. God Bless.
Most Sincerely,
Mrs. Nimitz
PS: Amber is happily living with us now for nearly 1 year, but as we miss her sisters, she truly is missing them more than we are. Allie, Charleigh and Hannah need family. We don't want to force Allie to go where she doesn't want to go, but the younger girls need their family and they are young enough to bond to us. (FYI: This letter was written days before we found the dirt on the foster parents) DCS kept the entire family from these girls from the start, wouldn't you feel something for your family if you were in my shoes? Can you please give us a kind, compassionate social worker, if there is such a thing at your place, to replace this one who is not doing her job effectively and is woefully difficient in her duties? We have a conflict of interest, because we will be suing her for defamation of character and your Department, if your Department condones what she has done to us in a court of law. We will not be accepting anymore of the social workers phone calls and consider our niece to be without a social worker, until she is replaced with one who likes children.
____________________________________________________

I then received an undated reply postmarked Oct 1,'07, from the Director about my letter...

Dear Mrs. Nimitz,
I received your concerns and have had the issues you described reviewed. The assigned social worker is following these court orders. Department policies and procedures have also been followed closely. Therefore, no reassignment of social worker to the children's cases will occur. It is necessary, for you to communicate and cooperate with the social worker regarding the needs of the child placed in your care.
Thank you for your patience and assistance in the matter.
Your truly,
DeAnna Avey-Motikeit
Director

________________________________________________

The Directors' letter confirms that DCS fully endorses the terrible and incomprehensible behavior that the social worker(s) have done to us, the lies perpetuated by them and the defamation of character to which we have been subjected to because of it by not granting us adoption of our nieces.

It is very stupid that the Department Director would endorse, in writing, the misbehavior and misconduct of her social workers and Department. The court appointed Appeals Court attorney that has been provided to us has told us that even if we do not get the children back, we have a very good civil case against the Department. They have misued and abused their power greatly and tore our family to shreds from the inside out.

That reminds me, I also have a letter dated December 19, 2005 from the former Director of DCS, Cathy Cimbalo, apologizing to me about taking such a long time in requesting a home study of our home so it could be checked out to possibly get the girls here. It took 10 months for California DCS to finally get the paperwork going to request a home study. Ms.Cimbalo stated, "This request was our responsibility and we regret this was not completed in a more timely manner." The home study was never done. We had to become Licensed Foster Parents in our own state for one to be done, and by then DCS said it was too late, they were going to adopt the kids to the foster parents. Which they eventually did.

I, C. Nimitz, maternal aunt to Charleigh & Hannah, and Allie & Amber, have compiled a lot of information in which I believe is pertinent to the case of our nieces. But before I get started, I wanted to call your attention to a couple of excerpts from the:

Foster Care Fundamentals:
An Overview of California's Foster Care System (which is put out by the CA. Research Bureau, CA. State Library)
By Lisa K. Foster, M.S.W., M.P.A.
Prepared at the Request of Assemblymember Darrell Steinberg Chair, Assembly Judiciary Committee
December 2001

Foster Children Described (Page 17)
Characteristics
"Recent brain research has shown that the first three years of life are the most critical for a child's development. Infants and toddlers enter foster care at a particularly vulnerable time. They have highly complicated emotional, behavioral and medical needs."

Hannah was placed in foster care at the tender age of 3 days, and Charleigh at the age of 2 years. We know nothing about these foster parents and their handling of these little girls, other than the fact that they are of Hispanic decent and do not have any interest in reuniting these children with any of their biological family. (FYI: On 9-17-07 I discovered a Restraining Order placed by Gloria the foster mother against Pedro the foster father for violence, both physical and verbal against Gloria & in the presence of their own 3 biological children in L.A.County in 1993). How can they truly say they have their best interests at heart, when they obviously are only seeking adoption to satisfy their own needs and interests, and not those of little Hannah and Charleigh. And the fact that they have biological relatives of the same heritage and racial diversity as their own who are more than willing to love and adopt them and let them know exactly who they are and where their ancestors and family come from. These people cannot possibly educate Hannah or Charleigh about their ancestors and relatives. These children are being deprived of their right to information and the rich Roman Catholic German/Polish heritage and ancestry that they were born with.

Why should they be purposely denied their histories by the court, if the court chooses to give permanent custody to the foster parents, who are not their real family, when we can give them everything the foster parents can give, and so much more? we can offer them love and a sense of who they are.

And also from the Foster Care Fundamentals:
An Overview of California's Foster Care System, under the title heading:
Kinship Care (on Page 21, paragraph 3)

"The prevailing view is that it is better to place children within their wider family circle and keep families together. Even if the placements are less than ideal. In addition, relative caregivers provide a culturally sensitive environment."

We wonder why DCSS seems to be so against us being a part of the childrens' lives and future progress? Also, we certainly could provide a much more culturally sensitive environment than the foster parents, being that we are much closer - racial and heritage-wise to the children than are the foster parents, who, if it wasn't for being paid by the state of California to be involved with these children in the first place, would never have been involved in their lives, at all. When these children get older, they most certainly will have many questions about why they are different from the foster parents and who they really are, and why their "real" family did not want them, which we do. Why should these girls be saddled with more problems from the start than they need to be? A lot of heartache and sorrow can be alleviated now by keeping the children in the family, rather than adopting them to non-family members of a different race and heritage. It really doesn't matter how loving and well-meaning the foster parents may be to these children, they are not family, do not look like family, and questions will definitely surface in time, for these children about who they "really" are and where they "really came from".

San Bernardino County DCS has purposefully and consistantly went against the very precepts and principals it was founded on. Because this is what DCSS has to say about preserving the childrens' racial heritage and reflecting the ethnic and racial diversity of the children in its' care, I have taken some quotes from:
CALIFORNIA'S TITLE IV-B CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES PLAN FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR 2005-2009 from JUNE 30, 2004: This document is put out by the California Department of Social Services Children and Families Services Division in Sacramento, CA.

As evidence on Page 11 of said document, under title heading: Title IV-B Plan Goals and Objectives (paragraph 2):

"The DCSS, moreover, sets among its highest priorities that children have permanency and stability in their living situations, continuity of family relationships, and that on-going connections to siblings, family, friends and community are preserved."

And also as evidence on Page 20 of said document, under title heading: Permanency Outcomes (paragraph 1):

"Permanence for children is one of California's primary goals, especially permanence in a home where the child is safe and can grow into a healthy adult. California is committed to ensuring that chidren have permanency and stability in their living situations, continuity of family relationships, and on-going connections to family, friends and community. Further, DCSS is committed to ensuring that children's primary connections to extended family, friends, community, and racial heritage are preserved."

Further down, also on page 20, paragraph 5, DCSS states that Goal 1 is to:
"Increase the timely establishment of permanency goals for children, reduce the amount of time they are in foster care, maintain their primary connections to siblings, extended family and the community, and preserve their racial heritage."

And on a final note in this regard, on page 47, under the title heading: Foster Care/Adoption Recruitment Plan (paragraph 1):

"California counties are responsible for local foster and adoptive home recruitment. They conduct specialized recruitment for potential resource familes based on the needs of the children in care that require out of home placement. this includes targeted recruitment in the areas that children are received from, and recruitment to reclect the ethnic and racial diversity of the children in care."

Also from the CALIFORNIA DSS MANUAL CWS CHILD WELFARE AND SERVICES PROGRAM Regulations ASSESSMENTS AND CASE PLAN 31-201

ASSESSMENT AND CASE PLANNING PROCESS (Page 68, paragraph 3):

"(B) Guardianship- kinship adoption or adoption is not possible, the case shall be reviewed for guardianship. Preference shall be given to guardianship by relatives."

Bruce and I originally wanted to have guardianship of Allie and her sisters, but were told by DCSS that if Anns' parental rights were terminated, they would be seeking adoption of the children, not guardianship. So then we thought adoption would be acceptable and decided to seek that for the children. Now the social worker is seeking guardianship for Allie only by the foster parents?

ASSESSMENT AND CASE PLANNING PROCESS (Page 68.1, paragraph 1)

"(C) Long-term foster care - Only if adoption or guardianship is not possible, a recommendation for long-term foster care placement shall be made. Exercise of this option requires continued efforts to obtain adoption, guardianship or preparation for independence for the child."

I know Amber is no longer in the picture, (FYI: she was AWOL at this time) but this always concerned me. How could the social worker come to the conclusion that Amber would be better off in long-term foster care and not adopted by us? This statement by DCSS confirms that the social worker was incorrect for seeking long-term foster care for Amber, since the goal is to continue efforts to obtain adoption and we wanted her all along. What was the social workers' rationale for seeking this option when it clearly didn't apply and is a part of the problem as to why Amber ran away in the first place?

CHILD WELFARE SERVICES PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS Handbook (page 184)
"366.21 Status review hearings; scheduling; notice; reports; evidence; orders; application
(g) If a minor is not returned to the custody of a parent or guardian at the hearing held pursuant to subdivision (f), the court shall do one of the following:..."
"(2) Order that the minor remain in long-term foster care, if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence, based upon the evidence already presented to it, that the minor is not adoptable and has no one willing to accept legal guardianship."

This statement begs to address just what "clear and convincing evidence" was presented to the judge to persuade him to agree with DCSS that Amber was not adoptable and had no one willing to go to bat for her? Given that was a fabrication on DCSSs' part.

CHILD WELFARE SERVICES PROGRAM PLACEMENT
31-405 SOCIAL WORKER RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PLACEMENT (Page 98)
".1 When arranging for a child's placement the social worker shall:
(b)Give preferential consideration for placement of the child to an adult who is a grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling of the child."

Why are Bruce and I not now being given preferential consideration, they recommended us at the court on August 15, 2005? DCSS keeps coming up with different supposed reasons as to why we are not, but not one of them sticks and all are fabrications.

CHILD WELFARE SERVICES PROGRAM PERMANENT PLACEMENT Regulations 31-425 (Page 104.1)
".131 If the child is not placed with a permanency planning family or if the permanency planning alternative identified in the case plan fails, preferential consideration for placement of the child shall be given the non-custodial parent, then to an adult who is a grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling of the child, as required in Welfare and Institutions Code Section 361.3."

Are the foster parents a "permanency planning family"? If so, why were the children placed with Gloria and Pedro in the first place? Was DCSS, from the very start, wanting to adopt these kids out to people outside of the family? And if they are a permanency planning family, and being that Bruce and I identified ourselves in January 2005 as family members who wanted custody of all four of the children, why then would DCSS continue to keep these children with that family, knowing that they could not be a part of the childrens' ultimate permanent plan? (FYI: We later found out that the foster parents for the 3 youngest were a Permanency Planning Family that DCSS purposely placed the kids with and chose to keep them with, despite knowing we wanted them).

31-425 PERMANENT PLACEMENT (Page 105)
".2 When selecting a permanent placement for the child, the social worker shall adhere to the priority order specified in Sections 31-201.12 (c)(2)(A) through (C). (Page 98)"

First in the priority order is the non-custodial parent, this does not apply in this case, there is none.
Second is preferential consideration to the relatives: aunt, uncle, etc..
Third are relatives identified by the social worker as willing and appropriate to care for the child if there is no non-custodial parent or relative given preferential consideration available.
None of the 4 social workers who have had charge of these children have willingly adhered to the required priority order. We seem to be at the bottom of the list or off it, completely.

CHILD WELFARE SERVICES PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FAMILY CODE Handbook (Page 140.1)
"8714.5 Legal Permanency
(a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1) It is the intent of the Legislature to expedite legal permanency for children who cannot return to their parents and to remove barriers to adoption by relatives of children who are already in the dependency system or who are at risk of entering the dependency system."

This statement is very important, because it addresses what DCSS has been doing to us since January 2005. They have been continually putting up barriers to adoption of the kids by us, seemingly to keep the kids in the system (Ambers' case) and to let Gloria and Pedro adopt Hannah, instead of us. (FYI: Exactly what happened, but they adopted Allie & Charleigh, too).

CHILD WELFARE SERVICES PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS Handbook
"361.3 Assessment of Preferential Consideration of Relatives (Page 176.1 & 176.2 - both pages are pertinent)"

All of the preferential consdieration assessment is in our favor, by all accounts, we would be the perfect people to adopt this sibling group.

To this end, the DCSS Office has failed miserably in these respects, from the very start, ie; they have not chosen to include or continue on-going connections to the childrens' siblings, or extended family members. the girls' eldest brother, 26 yr old Adam of Illinois has been purposefully excluded from having a free and encouraged connection to the two oldest sisters in foster care, Allie and Amber. It has been said that Ambers' current foster parents were told not to allow Adam to talk to his siter, Amber, although he did talk to her on May 12, 2006, when he called her and she told him she desperately wanted to come to our house to live. Adam spoke with his sister Allie on April 1, 2006, the only occasion in 2 years. Allie told him she had heard that uncle Bruce was not recommended to the court for adoption because he had yelled at their mother at the last DCSS sponsored Family Meeting. He talked for a mere 4 minutes to her, while Gloria and Pedro talked to Allie in her other ear.

DCSS has been woefully shameful in truly promoting us as a viable, permanenct option for the children and they have denied us an on-going connection to the children. Bruce and I were able to talk to Allie just 3 times since she went into foster care: For about 10 minutes on February 24, 2005 when she called collect, for only 4 minutes on August 8, 2005 when she called direct and blurted out, "I want to come out there and live with you!", and finally for 19 minutes on August 28, 2005 when she called collect.

Bruce encouraged Amber to turn herself in to DCSS on August 9, 2005 when she was AWOL. While she was in the system, we were only able to talk to her two times. For 23 minutes on August 23, 2005 when she called us, and for 8 minutes on October 3, 2005 when she called and told me she had wanted to go to the September 18, 2005 Family Meeting, but the social worker called her from the Meeting and told her there was nobody to pick her up. We talked to her more often when she was not in the "supervision" of DCSS.

The social worker profoundly states (given the fact that Amber is currently missing because the social worker told her she would stay in long-term foster care and never see her sisters or family again) "to force children to go where they do not want to go sets everyone up for failure."

As for DCSSs' Goal 1: "preserving their racial heritage and the Foster Care/Adoption Recruitment Plan to reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the children in care." I specifically addressed this issue 2 times, once in an email to the 3rd social worker on August 24, 2005, where I told her I was concerned that Charlene was learning too much Spanish and not enough English. Also, in a May 19, 2006 email to the current social worker, I sited Goal 1 and asked her what Lori and Pete were doing to preserve the girls' racial heritage and are they committed to letting the girls know of their German/Polish ancestry and where they come from? I told her if the tables were turned and the girls were African/American or Hispanic, I am sure that they would be required to have some kind of pertinent knowledge of these races (ethnicities).

"Goal 1" does not specify what "racial heritage" means to DCSS, nor does it differentiate between any racial heritages, it specifies and excludes none. Therefore, we can safely conclude that "racial heritage" and "ethnic and racial diversity" can and should include every and all races and ethnic variances present in the children in care that are different than those of the foster parents with whom they are living with. Especially, when we consider that DCSS "conduct(s) specialized recruitment to reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the children in care."

In no way can Goal 1 be construed to exclude the racial diversities and variances present in Caucasian children of European ancestry and lineage, when the foster parents, with whom DCSS is paying to care for them, are of a completely different ethnicity and racial background, this in itself, calls attention to this mere fact and becomes suspect as to why these children were originally placed in care of this Hispanic family who are of a completely different racial background?

In this same email, I also pointed out the fact that the children were raised Roman Catholic (at least Allie was) by their maternal grandmother (FYI: Rest her soul, she died by blunt force trauma to the head on Oct 22, 2006), who took Allie to Mass on Sundays, and I wondered if she was being taken to Catholic Mass on Sundays by Gloria and Pedro?

If Allie were a devout Jew and went to Temple, this would certainly be called to DCSSs' attention and the appropriate mandate would be to place her, if at all possible, with a foster family of Jewish decent. And also, if she were a Muslim, I am certain that every consorted effort would be made to find the right foster home for her to preserve her Muslim ethnicity and racial diversity. So, why then should this not also apply to a child of German/Polish Catholic background? Since this was not carried out, or even given a second thought by DCSS, it appears as though they have unwittingly performed her a disservice and were racially biased against her. Charleigh and Hannah were completely deprived of their God-given heritage, based on DCSSs' poor choice of foster families and Allie was robbed of it. Even if Gloria and Pedro claim to be Catholic, yet fail to atttend Mass on a consistant and regular basis, this cannot be deemed an appropriate setting with which to enhance and further the girls' rich Catholic heritage.

DCSS, as a whole, has purposefully, and on a continual basis, made us to look like the bad guys from the Midwest trying to take these kids away from California, which was once, and is no longer, the Golden Dream by the Sea. I am no stranger to California and all that it has to offer, for I am a native Californian and was born in Compton during the Watts Riot of '65. I lived in Southern California for 30 years, before moving to the Midwest with my husband in 1996 for a better place to raise a family.

All we want is for these poor young children to be kept in our family and raised in a solid, loving home environment, alongside our own 3 biological daughters, a life that is as free from crime and danger as is possible, away from California. (FYI: DCSS was okay knowing that after Gloria and Pedro adopted the kids, they would then be moving to Las Vegas, but the Midwest is a bad place for the girls to go?). Even if your honor does not feel these girls should stay within the family, this long, sad ordeal has bore at least one fruit...It has strengthened the rest of the family, and brought their mother, Ann, and I together after 20 long years of estrangement. Thank you for listening.

My name is Amber and I got something in the mail from the court saying I have a court hearing on August 16, 2007.

This is what I have to say to the court. I want the court to know that I am glad that I came to live with my aunt and uncle. I wasn't happy in California. I was in so many group homes and foster homes it would make your head spin, nobody would listen to me and I didn't want to be there. I was always mad when I was out there, but I feel like I actually belong somewhere now.

I want my 3 little sisters to come here to live with their real family, instead of them being with the foster parents who aren't their family and are not even white like my sisters. I miss my sisters and don't know why we can't be together. I can't even talk to them, at all.

I want to know why nobody let me be with my sisters, why didn't anyone listen to me, everyone just acted like Allie was the oldest and like I wasn't included as being their older sister. Why wasn't I good enough to be listened to? Why did everyone just listen to Allie and where she wanted to be? Why did Allie have the last say where Charleigh and Hannah would stay? I'm way older than Allie, so why wasn't I good enough to listen to? Nobody cared where I wanted to go and where I wanted my sisters to go. I wanted all of us to stay together, but the social workers wanted us to be apart, and that's just what happened.

Why do the foster parents hate our family so much that they would steal my sisters and rip our family apart? They knew the whole time my aunt and uncle wanted all of us out here, but they don't care, they just want white kids for themselves. If the foster parents really cared about my sisters, then they'd let them come to us and be a real family.

I love being here with my aunt and uncle and I know my sisters would, too. My mom is even living near us and I see her sometimes. I'm so glad my mom is out here and not living in California anymore. She is doing 100 percent better now. She even wants my aunt and uncle to get my sisters out here, too.

The social worker wants me to sign papers to be emancipated, but I do not want to. I like it here and I don't want to be on my own. I think emancipation means I won't EVER be able to see my sisters again, and I don't want that to happen, anymore than it already is.

If I can be here and it's okay, why can't my sisters be here, too? What's so great about the foster parents? My aunt and uncle are foster parents, too. And they're family. Tell me why it's a double standard that my aunt and uncle are good enough for me, but not for my sisters?

One more thing that I have to say...Through the whole time my sisters and I were in the system, why was it that if anything bad happened at any of our visits with our mother, Allie was the only one who got questioned about it and got to tell her side of what happened, and I didn't? Allie lies to get everyone to feel sorry for her. Not once did anyone ask me about anything that happened. Everyone acted like I was not their "older" sister. Why should Allie get to make the decisions for herself and Charleigh and Hannah, she's just a little kid herself! She should of not been able to make such a big, life changing decision like the one she's made. Now it's just tore everyone apart, but she also had the help of the foster parents on that decision. Allie is very materialistic and that's the only reason why she wants to be with the foster parents, they got money. Thank you, Amber.
____________________________________________________

The "life changing decision" Amber says Allie made was when she supposedly told the social workers she wanted her and her younger sisters to be with the foster parents permanently. We later found this to be suspect in nature, when we discovered that the foster parents have a history of violence, abuse, and coercion when it comes to getting their desired end.

ATTENTION! ATTENTION! This tidbit of information may be helpful to anyone trying to get their kids from DCS and wants to try and find dirt on the foster parents they are placed with...I knew only the foster parents first and last names, but they had an unlisted phone number, so I paid about $60 and had a legal search ran on the foster parents names through www.ussearch.com . And a whole host of helpful information came up. I was able to find out where they lived, how many homes they own and in what states, who their family members are, neighbors are, past homes they lived in, divorces, criminal history, etc.... That is how I was able to link up with a copy of the past Restraining Order the foster mother had placed on the foster father in another county for domestic violence and abuse, before they became foster parents. Thanks, C. Nimitz

For Sisters Love 9-20-07

You and I used to be so close. You're the one I wanted to be around most.
I was always there for you,
but now that I need you, what are you going to do?
I love you with my whole heart,
but you look at me like you just ate a sour tart.
I don't know why you don't wanna be with me,
cuz with you is where I really wanna be.
Mom's doing alot better and she misses you so much,
we all miss you and wanna feel your touch.
We may not see each other for along time,
but I want you all to know in my heart,
you all will always own a big part.
There's nothing more that I'd wanna do,
than to tell you all I love you!
So tell them for me Allie Boo!

Not a Day 2-15-08

There isn't a day that goes past
that I don't think about you.
I think about all the time we'd spend
and the things we'd do.
Every second we were together
I will treasure for always and ever.
You mean more to me than any words could describe.
Now that your not here, I don't feel that love vibe.
I feel so lost and confused,
your gone, so now my heart's been abused.
I remember we'd walk to and from school together.
I cannot say we fought never.
We are sisters and we always got through the little fights,
But now you all are so far out of my sight.
Everyday I hope and pray,
that we'll be together, be able to laugh, fight and play.
Just like how sisters are supposed to be.
I hope this is also what the judge sees...

So Lonely 12-29-07

Now I don't know what to do,
Life is so lonely without you.
Since you left my heart in these arms of mine,
I've been crying, just wondering why you left me so far behind.
I cannot move on,
Not since you have been gone.
I lay awake so many nights,
I wonder who's holding you,
because it's not right.
I lose so much sleep at night,
trying to figure out what to do to make this right.
I have loved you for so long,
Where did I go wrong?
This world is empty without you,
you have me crying not knowing what to do.

Still Away 1-06-08

This is just another sad day,
that for me, you are still away.
If you really wanted to be with me,
than with me, you would be.
The person I am now, is new.
I have totally changed because of you.
My days and nights are so sad,
I just think about the love we once had.
My heart is now broken into two,
it hurts to even think about you.
What I feel everyday is pain,
but my love for you is still the same.
I just hope in time,
you will come back and we'll all be fine.
Ever since that day you went away,
all the words I wanted to, I never did say.
But the way you make me feel,
in my heart I know our love is real,
At least I know my love for you is.
I don't know if I'm the one you miss..

What You Mean to Me 12-28-07

Your my everything....
when I have nothing.
Your my smile....
when I'm down and blue.
Your my breath....
when I'm scared and breathless.
Your my love....
when I feel hate.
Your my strength....
when I'm down and out.
Your my brain....
when I'm feeling helpless.
Your my crutch....
when I'm falling down.
Your my heart....
when I don't want to love.
your my tears....
when I can't cry anymore.
Your the only one I need....
when I wake up in the morning.

While You Were Asleep...Charleigh

While you were sleeping,
I sat by your bed.
I watched you,
as you smiled through your dreams.
I traced your perfect shell ear,
I touched every curl,
on your little head.
I tried to go to sleep,
but the sound of your breathing,
drew me back to your room.
I couldn't resist,
the magic that tugged,
at all my heartstrings,
and brought me back to your side.
I settled on the floor,
once again.
Back against the wall,
holding your tiny hand in mine.
While you were sleeping,
I fell in love with you all over again.

I'm Crazy About You....Charleigh

Running in circles,
wasting my time.
Looking for people,
I can't even find.
Chattering lightly,
floating on air,
Seeing things that
aren't even there.
Hearing the patter,
not seeing the rain.
Crying to myself,
not feeling the pain.
My only excuse,
for the things that I do,
is simply because,
I'm so crazy abou you!
I love you more than you know,
I guess THAT I have shown.

Six Sisters (Amber is one of 6 sisters & 4 brothers)

There is a love down in my soul,
where faith and trust I do hold.
Love that will stand forever more,
That's what sisters were made for.
Together we've been through a lot,
not caring what others thought.
We stood tall and held our ground,
Until they came and took us;
another home for us they found.
Now we've had to leave the nest.
The love we share isn't the best,
but my sisters I do love you true,
My thoughts often travel back to you.

Saying a Mercury News investigation confirmed the poor treatment that foster children and their families suffer in California's courts, the chairman of a commission examining the state's dependency system is promising comprehensive reforms - and soon.

Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno, head of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Children and Foster Care, said his 42-member panel has heard similar stories to those detailed by the newspaper earlier this week: overloaded judges and lawyers spending too little time on cases that have lifelong impacts for the most vulnerable California families, those whose children have been removed following allegations of abuse or neglect.

In March, Moreno said, the commission will wrap up two years of work with recommendations for reforms. The proposals will focus on reducing caseloads for judges and attorneys, and providing more meaningful court hearings that can devise good outcomes for parents and children, with their full participation.

"I'm hoping that articles such as these enlighten the public to direct more efforts to treating these families in a more equitable and humane way." Moreno said in an interview.

The subects of the stories "resonate with the commissioners." he said. "They are emblematic of a system that needs improvement - and needs significant improvement soon."

Deep flaws exposed

In the three-day series "Broken Families, Broken Courts," the Mercury News documented deep flaws in a court system overseeing the lives of 75,000 children in foster care, where parents often meet their court-appointed attorneys just minutes before critical hearings, and children are discouraged from attending proceedings that, in their absence, take just minutes to seal their fates.

Moreno, who learned of the system's hazards first-hand while caring for a foster child, said the legal rights of children and parents are threatened in the current system, due to "the haste I have learned about in which these cases are decided," he said.

In Santa Clara County's dependency court - despite its reputation as a national model - court appointed lawyers for parents are discouraged from fighting for their clients, and children are represented by prosecutors often considered hostile toward the dependency court's mission of reuniting families whenever possible.

In the wake of the series, which highlighted problems statewide, dozens of desparate parents have contacted the newspaper, saying they had little voice in the dependency system.

Dependency hearings are normally held under strict confidentiality. The Mrecury News was able to observe the proceedings in four counties under special arrangements with Northern California judges, and found the same problems of perfunctory hearings and crushing caseloads in every court.

"The lawyers who are in this field of practice have the best of intentions," Moreno said. "But I think given the high caseloads and lack of training and basically being thrust into a courtroom, they can't have positive results."

Moreno said the commission's recommendations also will address the over-representation of Latinos and African-Americans in the dependency system, and the importance of children taking a more active role in their court hearings. Outside of Los Angeles County, children do not routinely participate in court hearings and often do not even know they have lawyers.

"The practices vary tremendously from county to county as to whether children show up in court," said Larry Bolton, chief counsel to the state's Department of Social Services, and member of the blue ribbon commission. "Some counties strongly advocate for children being in the court and some strongly advocate against it."

Bolton said although the argument against kids in court is that they will hear hurtful issues discussed, "in reality most of the youth I've spoken to are already aware of these things, they've experienced them, so the trauma of hearing about it is not always that great. Many foster youth find it very empowering to be able to speak to the court."

The foster care commission's report will be made available for public comment before final recommendatiions go to the state's Judicial Council later this year. A pilot program run by the state Administrative Office of the Courts has added momentum. In 10 California counties including Santa Cruz County, the program known as DRAFT has lowered court-appointed lawyer caseloads and improved pay and training. Participating lawyers have access to experts and investigators to aid their defense of clients, even in counties where those resources had not previously been available.

In its first three-year phase, the DRAFT program has shown early results, reunifying families separated by social work intervention more quickly and with more lasting results.

Challenges ahead

Yet hope for expanding the program, as with many of the anticipated reform proposals, faces political and economic challenges that may supersede reformers' best intentions. Systemic changes will cost millions of dollars at a time when the state Legislature is grappling with a more than $14 billion budget deficit.

Eighteen-year-old Anthony Pico, the only member of the blue ribbon commission now in foster care, has sat through meetings, speeches, conferences, round tables and panel discussions studying fixes for the dependency system. As someone who has experienced a shuffle of attorneys and social workers managing his life, he wants to make sure that the next round of recommendations aren't "just words on a piece of paper."

"It's about time people say what they're going to do and follow through with it," Pico said. "We're put in these positions to make a change, not to talk about it."
____________________________________________________

Contact Karen de Sa at kdesa@mercurynews.com or (408)920-5781

Since the 3 youngest children were adopted out to the foster parents in October, 2007, we have still been fighting to get the children from those monsters' clutches. As you may know, we appealed the judges' erroneous decision to adopt the children out, even after he had full knowledge of just how bad the prior history was that these foster parents concealed from DCS and the court system, and he knew there was a question of their safety, if they were to remain with these people.

We were appointed a free public defender-type attorney to represent our interests in the matter against the Department of Children's Services and the San Bernardino County Juvenile Court. At first, we thought that our new attorney was like any other public attorney that is assigned to you by the state, that he would be slack in his job and not all that interests in justice in our situation, but 7 months into our appeal, we have been very pleasantly surprised to find that he is an exceptional individual and attorney and is very thorough in that of his and his staffs' very exhaustive efforts to execute a detailed and complete case for us to have custody of the children, and the foster/adoptive parents to, rightfully, be relieved of all of their duties and ties to these children, once and for all.

Right now, we are in the early stages of the many briefs which are written and sent back and forth from one side to the other. Our attorney has put his whole heart and soul into this and it really shows in his extremely well-thought out and detailed 64 page brief outlining our case, the efforts to get the children back in our family, and the mistakes and savagery imparted on us and the children by the DCS staff and the juvenile judicial system there in San Bernardino County. He has incorporated not only excerpts from my 800+ documents collected on this case by me, but the Social Workers' actual case notes and case plans.

He even had quotes from the juvenile court judge who issued the adoption decree to these people, direct from the court transcripts, which says about my husband, niece Amber, and I involving the "388 petitions" which we filed to change and stop the adoption of our nieces to these people by siting new evidence that they were unfit to have the children, including the prior evidence of physical and emotional abuse in the form of the Temporary Restraining Order filed by Gloria against Pedro: "This is one of a series of 388 petitions that the relatives have filed, on this matter. I'm confident, if I deny the 388s today, that we'll have another one before the hearing. I kind of thought that when people are informed of the first one that I denied, that someone would think, well, maybe we should have an adoption now. (to the unfit foster parents) But nevertheless, they haven't." A week later, this same judge moved up the final adoption decree by 30 days, without giving us notice that the 388 petitions had even been denied, thereby denying us justice and our day in court!

It was revealed in the Social Workers' notes for the then, upcoming July 2005 6 month Review that "There were issues in the foster home between Charleigh and Allie and, until the social worker intervened, Gloria kept Allie from holding Hannah." Boy, Gloria really tried to make Allie look like a bad guy to the Social Workers, because at that time, she only wanted Hannah, she didn't want Allie or Charleigh, they were not what she wanted. But she later said she wanted to adopt them also, when she was told without them, she could not have Hannah for herself.

Oh, another big thing that we found out by reading our attorneys' brief was that in the Social Workers' case plan notes, it was revealed that all three of the children were having troubles coping with the then, upcoming adoption of themselves to Gloria and Pedro and they were now undergoing counseling. In the case plan notes for June 21, 2006, it was noted that "Allie struggled with anger and sadness about not reunifying with her mother and exhibited jealousy and aggression toward Charleigh and Hannah." (this is what Gloria told the Social Worker). The notes futher went on to say that Allie "attended counseling and received treatment for depression. Charleigh and Hannah threw temper tantrums." Allie was even put on Prozac in November, 2006, upon learning that her biological mother was going to move to the midwest to rent our extra home from us and that she would not see her again, but would be adopted by Gloria and Pedro. Allie went into "depression, characterized by irritable moods, withdrawal, acting out and anger." And by February 2007, Allie began "stealing from the biological daughter of Pedro and Gloria". (per Social Workers' notes). Also, in February 2007, the three girls were displaying "some challenges in managing their emotions and feelings regarding grief/loss and separation from birth parents, guilt regarding adoption issues, changes in sibling role relationships and abiding by household rules." (per Social Worker notes). "Charleigh had difficulty sleeping, smeared her feces, and picked and scratched her face and hands." (per Social Workers' notes). "They were being effectively counseled and, for Alison, medicated." Wow, just think, all of this could have been alleviated from the get-go had they just kept the kids with our family and adopted them out to us. Hmm...and it seemed like such a simple solution to us. It just proves DCS and the court system doesn't care about these children, or any others in their custody.

I am sure that this sort of thing happens all the time to innocent children and families seeking the reunification of family members, because the system just doesn't care, and is, by its' very nature, designed to be hostile to keeping families together and encourages children to be swept away to "new" and different families, and they don't necessarily have to be good, loving and decent families, just different ones. Let's face it, (but not give in or give up) the system is screwed up and is hostile to keeping "real" families together, they just like to play God, just because they can, and they don't care if the outcome is a physical and mental detriment to the children they place.

I'll keep you posted...

I remember when you said, "I love you!"
I remember when I said, "I love you, too!"
I remember when we'd go for a long walk.
I remember when we wrote our names in chalk.
I remember when we said 'together 4-ever & always'.
I remember when you'd do tricks & I'd be amazed!
I remember the bright sparkles in your eyes and
I remember the tears; together we'd cry.
I remember when I thought I could never live without you, and
I remember just yesterday crying, not knowing what to do.
I remember when I last looked into your eyes and
I remember when we last said goodbye.
I remember and I will never forget,
I remember thinking, "Is walking away your biggest regret?"
I remember every last second we ever had,
I remember crying and wondering...will I ever hear your laugh, again?

Our attorney said, back in November 2008, that it would take a maximum of 2 months for the 3 judge Appeal Court panel to decide whether to re-open the case and send it back to San Bernardino Juvenile Court to be reheard, (thereby giving us a chance to maybe have the girls come out here to live with us) or whether to rule against us and keep the kids with the bad foster/adoptive non-relative parents. Our attorney also told us that the 3 judges don't have to rule unanimously one way, it only takes 2 ruling one way to make a decision.

Well, on May 18, 2009, the panel made its' "tentative" opinion on the matter. They ruled that the girls should stay with the bad foster/adoptive people. They included the reasoning for their opinion in the papers that were sent to my attorney. I read in disbelief, 11 pages of pure garbage that was based COMPLETELY off of the County DCS attorneys' lies he wrote in his brief for the court that my attorney had already addressed with facts and the truth. In my attorneys' brief, he had completely blown DCSs' case out of the water and proved, with documents, that everything their attorney had sent to the court was a lie or half truth. But that wasn't good enough, in the end, the Appeal Court judges chose to completely disregard everything that was brought to their attention by my attorney, because it was the only way for them to rule in DCSs' favor to keep the girls with the bad people, instead of us, their real biological family.

I was flabbergasted by the utter incompetence and blatant disregard for truth and facts by the Appeal Justices! They truly DO NOT CARE about the childrens' well-being. It seems nobody in charge over there cares a rats' a-- about anything but keeping the lies and deceptions under wraps that have been perpetuated over the last 5 years by DCS and the lower court system! This truly is a travesty of justice and I am just so tired, exhausted, and feel just about beaten by it all. It appears that they were dead-set from the very beginning to stop the kids from coming out here, at least 2 of them were, but in order to do it, they had to come up with a plan in their official opinion as to why they shouldn't come here, it took those idiots over 6 months to come to the conclusion that the only way to do it was to ignore the truth and publish the lies.

The court papers also state on the very top of the first page that they are "NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS"! So, after 2 years of dealing with the Appeal of the adoption, they are going to throw the records of it out so nobody will ever know about our fight for the kids! Our attorney even told us that he and his entire legal team of other attorneys were shocked that it went this way, he said they all thought that it was a "slam dunk" to win and that the kids would be coming here. They believed it was about the best case they had seen for an adoption to be reversed! The devil is on DCS and the foster/adoptive peoples' side.

But, our attorney said the Appeal Court's decision was just a "tentative" one because he had yet one last time to talk to them in person about it, but all he had was 15 minutes to change their minds. That "15 minutes of fame" happened yesterday, June 30, 2009. Today, our attorney called my husband and told him the court had not officially published their decision, but he feels that it did not go our way because after making his case that the court had based their decision on lies from DCS, they really didn't have any questions for him about anything. He said they will send their final decision sometime later.

Our attorney told us it is not over yet, because there is one other thing that he can file so that he can appeal the Appeal Court's decision in the California Supreme Court. My husband told him to go ahead and file the papers because we would like to play it out as far as it will go because it is not a fair decision and the girls should be with us, their real family.

Oh, not to end on a sad note, but I do have to tell you that Amber left for good on her 18th birthday, Easter Sunday 2009. She left before we woke up and took everything with her, she didn't even say good bye. We heard that she moved in with a friends' family from school who doesn't have any "rules". Her grades plummeted after she left our house and she quit going to school. She's now following in her mothers' footsteps and is even pregnant. I guess we really were too late to help her. But I hope and pray that we get her sisters and that it is not too late for them. God only knows how this sad unjust saga will play out in the end for everybody. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for listening everybody. God Bless.

After the Appeal Court denied the case, twice, our attorney filed with the California Supreme Court on August 22, 2009, to try and reverse the lower courts' decision because he felt it was an excellant case. But, last month, my attorney contacted me with the bad news. After 5 years and 7 months, it is over, the California Supreme Court denied my case, they didn't give a reason, but my attorney said they just have a high case load, so most likely they just were just too busy to hear it!!!!!!!! I did find out something interesting, sad, disheartening, and shocking all at the same time....The foster/adoptive parents in Ontario, California are ILLEGAL ALIENS FROM MEXICO!!! My attorney said no one is required to ask if they are legal or not, that's why it happened. My attorney said there is nothing else we can do now, since the supreme court turned it down, the kids will be with those monsters until they are each 18 years old. I am on chapter 10 of the book I am writing about this injustice. I know from everyone writing to me on this site about this that it is not an isolated event, families are getting there kids/relatives kidnapped by the system all over the country! My book will blow this travesty wide open for all the world to see, I am dead serious. I truly believe that the reason God didn't allow me to get the kids is because He would rather me expose this travesty of justice. My nieces have been sacrificed for the sake of the rest of the children and families across the country who do not have a proper voice to expose this widespread problem, if I do not hang on to this belief of a bigger cause, I will litterally go insane. This has tore through my heart and soul like a 2 edged sword. I'm so saddened and disheartened by this, I feel like I've been raped and left for dead by the roadside. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, justice for me will be in publishing my book, I will be the voice for the 1000s of families across the country who feel they don't have one at this time. This system needs to be revamped and redesigned to be more family friendly. Why do foster families get paid lots of money to take care of OUR kids and keep them away from us real families? When I finish the book, I will let you all know when and where you can buy it. God Bless all of you who read this, who have been keeping updated on this, or who are in my shoes. God knows right from wrong, and no matter what, His will will be the last word and the end all to everything. Keep fighting the good fight!