•         You will learn through this series that "Lady Justice" wears a price tag on her sleeve.

To you, that probably sounds very cynical, I understand. Well, I can tell you where that cynical attitude comes from. You see, as an advocate on behalf of foster parents who are dealing with an allegation, I see good people going down for the third count. Drowning in this maze that is represented by both the Foster Care System, and Administrative Law, it is a system that seems is all one sided. By the time, they finally find the answers through articles like this, or www.nfpcar.org, someone who will finally answer their questions they may have already trusted the wrong people.
          
What does an Investigation entail? They will talk to everyone, and anyone, who has any contact with your foster children. They will come to the public school to interrogate your foster children. They will speak to the principal of the school, teachers, and the school nurse, anyone they please. They will interrogate you, your neighbors, your best friend, anyone who comes to the house frequently. According your individual states statutes, like our own State of Arizona, they have a designated amount of time complete the investigation. 

               Watch for future articles in the series; Did you know called What is "in loco parentis"? This subject pertains to public schools. Subscribe to this Examiners site you will be notified when another article is posted.  See parts 1& 3-7 State Child Abuse Registry; http://www.examiner.com/x-46864-Phoenix-Foster-Families-Examiner

You need to be aware of this fact; if the allegations are of a more serious nature, involving either physical or sexual abuse charges;  Child Protective Services  has the power to remove your own biological children too.
I'd be willing to bet they didn't tell you that in your training? I did not think so.  

Marilyn Harrison your Foster Families Examiner

•         You will learn through this series that "Lady Justice"
•                         wears a price tag on her sleeve.

To you, that probably sounds very cynical, I understand. Well, I can tell you where that cynical attitude comes from. You see, as an advocate on behalf of foster parents who are dealing with an allegation, I see good people going down for the third count. Drowning in this maze that is represented by both the Foster Care System, and Administrative Law, it is a system that seems is all one sided. By the time, they finally find the answers through articles like this, or www.nfpcar.org, someone who will finally answer their questions they may have already trusted the wrong people.
  
What does an Investigation entail? They will talk to everyone, and anyone, who has any contact with your foster children. They will come to the public school to interrogate your foster children. They will speak to the principal of the school, teachers, and the school nurse, anyone they please. They will interrogate you, your neighbors, your best friend, anyone who comes to the house frequently. According your individual states statutes, like our own State of Arizona, they have a designated amount of time complete the investigation. 

               Watch for future articles in the series; Did you know called What is "in loco parentis"? This subject pertains to public schools. Subscribe to this Examiners site you will be notified when another article is posted.  See parts 1& 3-7 State Child Abuse Registry; http://www.examiner.com/x-46864-Phoenix-Foster-Families-Examiner

You need to be aware of this fact; if the allegations are of a more serious nature, involving either physical or sexual abuse charges;  Child Protective Services  has the power to remove your own biological children too.
I'd be willing to bet they didn't tell you that in your training? I did not think so.  

Marilyn Harrison your Foster Families Examiner

In one of the previous parts to this series; “Did you know” we mentioned, “Law Book”. So now you may be thinking! Hmmm, Law Book; Instruction should always contain three concepts; what, why and how?

#1 &2..What and Why; Setting up your personal “Law Book”; The title of this series of articles is; “I have an allegation; what can I expect”?

You have an allegation filed; at first, you are in shock, then you finally resign yourself that this nightmare is true and that you must defend yourself, now what?

You must hire an attorney if you can afford one. How do you relate to someone else what has taken place in your life? When you are not able to think clearly enough to comprehend this scenario yourself, how are you now going to tell someone else, an attorney?

The “Law Book” is a process of you establishing a record of your movements, reconstructing your days, your whereabouts, thereby offering proof to an “Administrative Law” court where you were at the time you were supposed to have abused this child.

This method has proven an effective and efficient method to assist, yourself and/or your attorney in preparing, your case. Most attorneys hire a Para-legal to prepare the case for them; it is intense work. This is part of what the retainer fee goes to, research that you will have already compiled within the pages of your “Law Book”.

The alternative to hiring an attorney is “pro se”, Latin for representing yourself. We do not recommend foster parents represent themselves. However; we realize that many of our foster parents simply cannot afford this option. Which is the reason for this site, where you will find support, understanding and hundreds of people who have been through this; http://www.nfpcar.org

The law is a very intricate thing and although most people can educate themselves, become knowledgeable enough to handle their own cases each state is different and your attorney has spent many years in law school in preparation, you have only weeks. This is why we recommend that you obtain an attorney if at all possible.

Watch for more in the series. Phoenix Foster Families Examiner; Did you know called; Understanding Administrative Law. Remember we are not attorneys, but YOUR advocates. www.nfpcar.org

1. Failure to Protect                                               
2. Neglect.                                                
3. Sexual Abuse.                                                
4. Physical Abuse.

Logic says that these charges are also hard to prove on the part of your agency?

                            Wrong, always remember the system does not have to prove anything.

All they have to have is a child that says you did it and you did it. It is not their job to prove you guilty. It is your job to prove yourself innocent. Whatever ammunition your lawyer does or does not have in his/her possession is your fault. He/she has a gun with no ammunition for that gun. You must supply him/her with that ammunition. You law book is that ammunition.

A competent lawyer will try to extract the ammunition from his/her client, but if you do not understand your own case how do you expect him/her too? You should be able to answer the questions without hesitation, without searching for receipts, without racking your memory for the answer to the questions.

                                           You must complete your law book for this reason.

It will help you organize your thoughts, your documentation, your memory; it will help you put your case together in a professional manner. Your attorney will be pleased that you have this work completed. If you do not get a copy of the investigative report, have your attorney file a demand with the court. This is called a “Motion Discovery” or a “Writ of Disclosure”, your attorney will know which form is to be filed in your state. 

In essence, this is a demand for all the evidence that they have found to be used against you, including witness they intend to call. Remember I said a few pages back that this Administrative Law is a kangaroo court. The evidence that they will present will be he said she said evidence.  Need help go to www.nfpcar.org

Remember we are not attorneys but YOUR advocates, but we can offer you assistance in educating yourself.

1. Failure to Protect                                               
2. Neglect.                                                
3. Sexual Abuse.                                                
4. Physical Abuse.

Logic says that these charges are also hard to prove on the part of your agency?

                            Wrong, always remember the system does not have to prove anything.

All they have to have is a child that says you did it and you did it. It is not their job to prove you guilty. It is your job to prove yourself innocent. Whatever ammunition your lawyer does or does not have in his/her possession is your fault. He/she has a gun with no ammunition for that gun. You must supply him/her with that ammunition. You law book is that ammunition.

A competent lawyer will try to extract the ammunition from his/her client, but if you do not understand your own case how do you expect him/her too? You should be able to answer the questions without hesitation, without searching for receipts, without racking your memory for the answer to the questions.

                                           You must complete your law book for this reason.

It will help you organize your thoughts, your documentation, your memory; it will help you put your case together in a professional manner. Your attorney will be pleased that you have this work completed. If you do not get a copy of the investigative report, have your attorney file a demand with the court. This is called a “Motion Discovery” or a “Writ of Disclosure”, your attorney will know which form is to be filed in your state. 

In essence, this is a demand for all the evidence that they have found to be used against you, including witness they intend to call. Remember I said a few pages back that this Administrative Law is a kangaroo court. The evidence that they will present will be he said she said evidence.  Need help go to www.nfpcar.org

Remember we are not attorneys but YOUR advocates, but we can offer you assistance in educating yourself.

Until you have experienced it for yourself, this phrase has no meaning in your life, "Guilty Until Proven Innocent", just a phrase that was used in an article you read.

Yet it has significant meaning to a foster parent who has/is facing a charge of "Child Abuse".  Foster Parents caught in the eye of a hurricane, living through the emotional trauma this nightmare has on them, their families.

Our society, counts on our justice system to uphold the beliefs, as well as the freedom that we Americans enjoy, and until the Foster Care System entered the scene, and with it CPS, justice may have existed for some people.  However, for foster parents it does not exist.

Our justice system is anything but fair when we are dealing with "Administrative Law". It actually becomes extreme injustice when a foster parent stands accused of "Child Abuse". Our justice system is supposed to operate in a fair manner, where you are in fact "innocent until proven guilty", but I submit to you that in the foster parents arena it is seriously inept.

We have to protect the children and justice must prevail for every citizen equally.  It is not equal justice when good foster parents become persecuted members of our society, by a government entity that has no accountability.

The nightmare begins when a foster parent has an allegation called in to the "hotline". You must understand that anyone can simply pick up the phone and call in to report what they believe might be child abuse, sound reasonable?  Except when it becomes a place to get even, revenge, or to wreak havoc in the lives of American families to the tune of thousands each day, across this nation.

It is no longer about the children and/or their safety.  Greed has taken over, as was predicted by Mondale himself, upon the creation of the Mondale Act.

We have taken steps in Arizona to correct some of the problems, by way of a "Board of Review" which has significantly reduced the number of pointless investigations.  There is much left to do.

• Strangers subject children to removal from their classrooms, interviews conducted within the school, removed from school bus, and sometimes placed in another home.  Parents, legal guardians, not even the families' attorneys are not aware that this is talking place.
• Coming soon....What is "In Loco Parentis"?

Remember the Miranda rights, not read to foster parents.  Social workers come to their homes demanding entry, sometimes have a police officer who accompanies the worker, and thereby giving it the appearance as being sanctioned by law enforcement officials. It is not legal and yes, they need a search warrant.  When the social workers come to the door Foster Parents being innocent and thinking to themselves, " I've nothing to hide", allow them entry, thus by passing their own Constitutional Rights.  The problem, foster parents still believe in a broken justice system.  Foster parents wrongly believe; " I'm in America where justice prevails", and that there is justice for innocent citizens, wrong!

With easy entry Social workers seldom bother to obtain a search warrant, they never need one. They are at your door to pick up the "Wards of the Court" because these children are the property of the State of Arizona, (or your State).  They have a right to the children, but not access to your home.  Ask them for a search warrant.  What foster parent do you know that would bring the children to the door to hand over to CPS?  They count on this fact to gain entry to your homes.

Foster Parents live in a glass house, lives examined under a microscope in order to become foster parents.  Then for trying to help a child in need thier lives are devastated, reputations in ruin because they now wear a label "Child Abuser".  In order to try to prove themselves innocent they must locate an Administrative Law attorney and pay for this attorney themselves. No, this is not a fair justice system, especially when you consider that everyoe esle invovld in the Foster Care System has an attorney to represent them.

Thier names can/will be placed on the State Child Abuse Registry.

• However, it is not over yet, now these foster parents in financial ruin trying to pay for an attorney in order to prove that they are innocent.  You see, as we said in part two, everyone within the Foster Care System has an attorney to represent them; Social workers have their States attorney or agency attorney.  The children are assigned to a judge immediately on entering the "Foster Care System", they become "Wards of the Court", then the same judge assigns each child an attorney.

                              The only ones who have no legal representation are the foster parents.

Many times the Foster Parents must mortgage their homes, "sell the farm" to pay for legal assistance.  They are literally "guilty until proven innocent", remember they must prove themselves innocent.

If later on the hotline caller admits they were lying, simply called out of vengeance/revenge as in the case of divorcing couples wanting to secure custody, or the foster child not liking being sent to their rooms, "to bad so sad".  There is no punishment for the crime, there is no such thing as perjury in "Administrative Law"?  Even when later on caller admits to lying, it is too late, most of the time the charges stand.

• Always remember that if the Administrative Hearing the foster parent is substantiated, (Arizona), founded, or indicated, the District Attorney can then decide to file criminal charges, this means hiring another attorney to represent them in this trial.