DCS says foster case is 'shocking'
Monday, June 16, 2008
By Brian Mosely
http://www.t-g.com/story/1437296.html
A foster mother charged with having *** with a teenager in her care is
scheduled to appear in court late next month.
Meanwhile, the Tennessee Department of Children's Services is continuing
to look into the case, which a spokesman termed "shocking to us all."
Jennifer McWhirter of Bell Buckle will appear in Bedford County General
Sessions Court July 30. She is represented by attorney Jeff Seckler.
She has been charged with three counts of statutory rape by an authority
figure and one count of criminal responsibility for facilitation of a
felony. She is currently free on $11,000 bond.
McWhirter, who is the foster care coordinator for the Center for Family
Development, is currently on administrative leave from her position.
The count of criminal responsibility for facilitation of a felony stems
from the allegation that McWhirter was aware of a relation****p between
foster mother Alea Rhea Rippy and the juvenile.
Rippy pleaded guilty last week to three counts of statutory rape and
agreed to serve 6 months in jail, followed by three years of community
corrections.
DCS Communications Director Rob Johnson told the Times-Gazette that when
the Rippy case came to light, the department's Special Investigation
Unit (SIU) began to look into the allegations.
The SIU investigates allegations involving foster homes, group homes,
day care centers, Sunday schools and public schools.
At the time, the investigators found "no indication" that McWhirter had
been involved in any of the crimes that Rippy pled guilty to last week,
Johnson said.
But as soon as DCS learned of the arrest of McWhirter, "people reacted,
including the SIU," he said. "As soon as we knew, we acted very quickly."
All foster parents go through extensive background checks, Johnson said,
including fingerprint checks, criminal searches by the Tennessee Bureau
of Investigations, and checks of the National Crime Information Center,
which is a computerized index of criminal justice information.
Foster parents are also required to undergo 30 hours of training.
McWhirter was thought of highly by members of the Center for Family
Development and people at DCS as well, Johnson said, which made the case
"such a shock."
"These are very unusual cir***stances," he said. "(She) was clearly
trained and passed the background check."
Last week, Detective Lt. Becky Hord of the Bedford County Sheriff's
Department said law enforcement had asked DCS to remove the 17-year-old
alleged victim from McWhirter's care some months ago and claimed that
nothing was done in response to the allegations.
Johnson said that to take a child from a foster home would be very
disruptive, and that there has to be credible evidence of wrongdoing
before such an action is taken.
"As soon as we had something credible," Johnson said, referring to the
charges brought against McWhirter, "we moved." The teenage boy in
question has since been removed from the home.
Johnson added that the investigation into both cases involving the two
foster mothers is continuing.
An Inconvenient Truth about Child Protective Services, Foster care, and
the Child Protection "INDUSTRY"
Child Protective Services Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of CPS.
every parent should read the free handbook from
connecticut dcf watch...
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com
Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Wa****ngton. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS
Perpetrators of Maltreatment
Physical Abuse CPS/Foster care 160, biological Parents 59
***ual Abuse CPS/Foster care 112, biological Parents 13
Neglect CPS/Foster care 410, biological Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS/Foster care 14 biological Parents 12
Fatalities CPS/Foster care 6.4, biological Parents 1.5
Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and ***ual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.
THIS IS AMERICA'S HIDDEN HOLOCAUST
Currently Child Protective Services violates more constitutionally
guaranteed liberties & civil rights on a daily basis then all other
agencies combined, Including the National Security agency/Central
intelligence agency wiretaping programs…
THE CORRUPT BUSINESS OF CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES
BY: Nancy Schaefer Senator, 50th District of Georgia
http://www.senatornancyschaefer.com/articles.php?filter=6
This is Child Protection?
By Gregory A. Hession, J.D.
http://www.jbs.org/node/4632
Mercenary Motherhood: "Memoirs of a Babystealer."
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-callahan16oct16,0,5019944.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
FOSTER CARE IS A 80 PERCENT FAILURE:. A Brief Analysis of the Casey
Family Programs. Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study. By Richard Wexler
http://www.nccpr.org/re****ts/cfpanalysis.doc
HOW THE WAR AGAINST CHILD ABUSE BECAME A WAR AGAINST CHILDREN
http://www.nccpr.org/issues/1.html
Adoption Bonuses: The Money Behind the Madness
DSS and affiliates rewarded for breaking up families
By Nev Moore Massachusetts News
http://www.massnews.com/past_issues/2000/5_May/mayds4.htm
A recent study has found that 12-18 months after leaving foster care:
30% of the nation’s homeless are former foster children.
27% of the males and 10% of the females had been incarcerated
33% were receiving public assistance
37% had not finished high school
2% receive a college degree
50% were unemployed
Children in foster care are three to six times more likely than children
not in care to have emotional, behavioral and developmental problems,
including conduct disorders, depression, difficulties in school and
impaired social relation****ps. Some experts estimate that about 30% of
the children in care have marked or severe emotional problems. Various
studies have indicated that children and young people in foster care
tend to have limited education and job skills, perform poorly in school
compared to children who are not in foster care, lag behind in their
education by at least one year, and have lower educational attainment
than the general population.
*Casey Family Programs National Center for Resource Family Sup****t
80 percent of prison inmates have been through the foster care system.
The highest ranking federal official in charge of foster care, Wade Horn
of the Department of Health and Human Services, is a former child
psychologist who says the foster care system is a giant mess and should
just be blown up.
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=2017991
Four rigorous studies have found that at least 30 percent of America’s
foster children could be home right now if their parents had decent
housing.
These studies found thousands of children already in foster care who
would have done better had child protection agencies not taken them away
in the first place.
Front-page story in USA Today.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-07-02-foster-study_N.htm?csp=34#Close
Read the studies online.
Casey "alumni" study: "Improving Family Foster Care: Findings from the
Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study,"
www.casey.org/Resources/Publications/NorthwestAlumniStudy.htm
MIT study: "Child Protection and Child Outcomes: Measuring the Effects
of Foster Care,"
www.mit.edu/~jjdoyle/doyle_fosterlt_march07_aer.pdf
http://www.cftl.org/do***ents/2008/FCfullre****t.pdf
Texas comptroller's "Forgotten Children" re****ts:
http://www.window.state.tx.us/news/60623statement.html
www.window.state.tx.us/forgottenchildren
The bottom line? - Child Protective Services and the Foster Care system
for the most part turns out young adults that are nothing more than
Walking Wreckage...
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CONSTITUTIONALLY
GUARANTEED LIBERTIES & CIVIL RIGHTS ON A DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER
AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL
INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAMS....
CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...
BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLI****NG CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...
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