The State is the child abuser - Victimized families testify at Oregon DHS budget hearing
THE STATE IS THE CHILD ABUSER - VICTIMIZED FAMILIES TESTIFY AT OREGON DHS BUDGET HEARING
By Susan Detlefsen
Susan Detlefsen
is the Director of Oregon Family Rights and a candidate for State
Representative, District 42
This article is published with the kind consent of
the author. |
Tuesday May 25, 2004
Marriott City Center Portland
On Tuesday May 25, Gary Weeks, DHS Executive Director, facilitated a question
and answer session around budget issues in the MarriottCityCenter
in downtown Portland. Other DHS
administrators in attendance included Lynn Reed, Ramona Foley, head or former head
of foster care services, and Jerry Burns, a recent hire in "Children's
Protective Services".
Several family rights advocates, some of whom are victims of Oregon's
"children's services" programs, were also present, including Dean Glycenfer, Tom Uryga, candidate
for State Representative, District 26, and myself, Susan Detlefsen,
candidate for State Representative, District 42.
Tom Uryga pointed out how the state could reduce
their DHS hosted "daycare" budget by 15%-20% by reducing the age at
which children began school and by insuring statewide full-day kindergarten. Uryga discussed particular issues of DHS waste in group
homes for MR-DD adults.
Uryga asked, since fewer Oregonians are receiving
assistance from DHS, noting "termination" letters sent out before
Measure 28, Measure 30 and other recent instances, whether DHS has or would
reduce total headcount proportionally. Weeks played the
"FTE-shuffle", and could not show DHS reduced staff, only that people
outside DHS providing care to Oregonians did get fired.
Uryga asked why DHS was not fighting the attorney
general's office to stop the closure of pharmacies importing and reselling
Canadian prescriptions, especially since the loss of Medically Needy funds, OHP
cutbacks on prescription care etc. The response was that they would pursue a
plan to get more money from taxpayers to provide prescription coverage, not
reduce the cost of prescriptions.
DHS documents are a curious mix of data aimed at obscuring the fact that DHS
has had an uninterrupted course of growth in staff and funding over the last
10+ years. They disregarded entirely the concept of an "All Funds"
budget, instead playing the General Fund-Only game, which translates into a
significant misrepresentation of what is really happening in Salem
to liberate ever more money from citizens' pockets.
I had come to speak out specifically on behalf of victims of child welfare
fraud I have heard from across the state for over a year and half, since I
became a victim myself in 2002, the year when nearly 6,00A0 children were
removed from their homes, and the same year, with a 269 million dollar budget,
DHS could not manage to help protect two kids who genuinely needed protection,
Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis.
Several victims of child welfare fraud gave examples of abuse and corruption in
juvenile court and children's services. One woman explained that she discovered
in her file that the foster parents had over 20 child abuse or neglect
referrals which went unreported. "Why does foster care abuse go unchecked,
but when a noisy neighbor calls CPS on a bio parent, the State swoops in
immediately to "protect" the child?"
Another woman exposed the problem of child molesters working for Children's
Services, and cited a recent example, to which Gary Weeks had little to say. I
asked if DHS requires psychological evaluations for employees of Children's
Services, and pointed out that innocent parents who have their children stolen
by the state are compelled to have these "psych evals".
Of course, Weeks had to admit, the very workers that are supposed to be
protecting our children, many of them have no parenting experience of their
own, are not required to submit to any mental health evaluation.
About a half hour into the conference, I saw Ramona Foley walk in. I had never
met here or even seen a photo of her, but I instinctively recognized her. She
had the bored to death look of a soulless bureaucrat, just waiting for the next
paycheck to arrive.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man stood and asked permission to speak. Using a
recent lawsuit a family won against DHS, he explained how DHS does everything
in its power-and DHS has a lot of power, receiving 22% of our total tax
dollars-to protect itself and punish anyone, even
children, who speak out against them. DHS punished the family who won the
lawsuit against them by withholding virtually all their services and leaving
them basically as broke as they would have been had they not won their case
against the state. With eloquence, this gentleman pointed out that the state
itself is the greatest abuser in Oregon.
"Are DHS employees not 'mandatory reporters?" the man asked. Why does
DHS fail to report abuse among their own? This same man weaved into his story
comments about the DHS moguls being too busy planning their next career move to
worry about victims of their derelict methodologies.
When this guy stopped talking, I could not contain myself and broke out
applauding. There was nothing Gary Weeks could say to this man, who very
eloquently echoed what we were all saying: DHS is corrupt to the core and a
nothing but a tax vacuum.
Innocent families are abused, while the very people
who are paid to help families, are allowed to continue to draw paychecks for
their abusive and dishonest behavior. Parents who expose abusive, dishonest
caseworkers are retaliated against by having their "visits" cut off. Oregon
is the prototype for government that doesn't work. By the way, Weeks also
pointed out that the state itself is Oregon's
biggest employer, with, I believe he said, around 40 thousand employees.
Several other DHS employees talked about needing funding. Some of these
programs actually sounded half way credible to me.
Then, towards the end a Hispanic man stood and asked how DHS could justify
holding their meeting in such a swank hotel, when so many have no food or
lodging, "humans" who need the "services", the
"Department of Human Services" is charged with helping. His family is
homeless, and he had come to tell his story to the public.
After the homeless Hispanic man spoke, I couldn't stand it anymore, sitting
there, holding my tongue. Since I hadn't spoken yet, Gary Weeks called on me:
"DHS spent over 282 million on "children's services"-taking good
kids out of good homes and putting them in abusive foster care. What about
taking some of this money and use it to help people like the gentleman who just
spoke about his family, and the people over here who seem to be involved with a
program that might actually do some good? Weeks, "well if we are taking
good kids out of good homes, we need to look into this" -"Yes, you
are. I see at least 4 other families here who have had their kids snatched.
This is not going to go unexposed. I believe another gentleman earlier already
spoke to this. WE ARE NOT GOING TO TOLERATE THIS."
After I spoke, Gary Weeks said we needed to talk to Ramona Foley and her crew.
The meeting ended shortly after that, and Tom, Dean and I, along with several
other DHS victims, corralled the CPS people. I set aside my disdain, and
introduced myself to Ramona Foley and shook her hand. She said with a smile!
"I know who you are. I get your e-mails". She told me it is a gross
misunderstanding that there is a bounty on our kids' heads. Well, I had my
financial facts handy, so I threw a few at her to let her know I am not going
to fall for that so easily. She explained that she is "no longer in charge
of children's services". I asked her what her new job is and she explained
a bunch of administrative duties that sounded like a whole lot of basically
nothing, for which she gets paid over 112K a year.
I asked her who then is in charge of CPS. She said "Jerry". I quickly
ended my conversation with her and turned to the gentlemen behind her.
"Who is Jerry"? Silence. "There is a
Jerry here?". This pale-looking guy stepped
forward and identified himself. I really felt sorry for him.
One after another, CPS victims hit him with stories of unwanted sexual
adventures in foster care, judges announcing in front of the mother that her
kids are "adoptable", internet ads for children whose parents have
not even been through TPR, etc "What am supposed to tell my children when
they ask 'mommy when can I go home"? one woman
asked in exasperation. Jerry looked overwhelmed, but not at all defensive. He
listened with a concerned look and said he will try to help.
I asked for his business card, but he said he is too new to have cards, (I
guess he is the new fall guy) so he gave me his number and I wrote it down. He
said, let's set up a tri-county meeting: Washington, Clackamas and Multnomah,
to sit down and talk about how things might be improved. I think he was
genuine. It was refreshing.
I had been waiting a long time to confront DHS officials, after being ignored
for over a year by Jean Thorne, who suddenly disappeared last year, leaving
things in a mess at DHS, apparently escaping to her new position as the head of
some other tax-funded agency.
After walking out of the Marriott, Jerry, the new CPS guy, came up to me on the
street and starting chatting, which really surprised me.
He seemed human, and likeable, not like the thousands of other heartless,
immoral clones who work for DHS. I told him I enjoyed meeting him and I meant
it.
I felt the May 25 DHS meeting signaled a positive change in the role family
rights activists might begin to play in government.
How much are your children worth to Oregon's "child welfare" industry?
Oregon Family Rights 2003 Child Welfare Report