A "Free and Appropriate Public Education"

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the federal law that governs how the individual states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to children with disabilities as defined by 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., known as the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA. As “spending clause” legislation, the IDEA only applies to those States and their local educational agencies that accept federal funding under the IDEA. As of this writing all 50 states have accepted IDEA funding.

In enacting and implementing the IDEA Congress intended for each child with a disability: to be provided a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that prepares them for further education, employment and independent living

Children with disabilities who are found to qualify for special education are also automatically protected by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

IDEA defines a "child with a disability" as a child with mental retardation, a hearing impairments (including deafness), one or more speech or language impairments, a visual impairments (including blindness), one or more serious emotional disturbance(s), One or more orthopedic impairments, autistic spectrum disorders , traumatic brain injury(ies), other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities; AND, who because of their condition(s) need special education and related services. Altogether there are 13 specific categories of disability that entitle a child to the provision of services under the IDEA. Children with one or more disabilities under idea are covered by the act from birth until age 21.

Children with disabilities who do not qualify for special education services under the IDEA may qualify for accommodations or modifications under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and under the ADA

The ADA additionally defines a disability as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity." The life activity may include acquiring and keeping employment, walking, talking, bathing, or getting an education among other activities most if not all of us participate in.

The Idea requires that public schools create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for each student who is found to be eligible for special education under the both the federal and state eligibility and/or disability standards.

An IEP must be designed to meet the unique educational needs of the individual child in the Least Restrictive Environment that is appropriate for the needs of the individual child. This may be read as the environment most like that of the average non disabled student in the particular school district or school. When ever possible the child should be in a regular class room with non-disabled children but with a support structure in place to meet the child’s individual needs. This may be a hearing aid, a sign language interpreter, Braille or “talking: textbooks, , a TSS (Therapeutic Support Specialist ) or other service or modification.



The IEP must specify which services are to be provided and how often they are to be provided, must describes the student's present level of performance and how the student's disabilities affect his or her academic performance, and must specifies what accommodations and modifications are to be provided for the student.

In theory the IEP is team written. The IEP team must include at least one of the child’s regular education teachers, a special education teacher, someone who is qualified to interpret the educational implications of the child’s evaluation(s), such as a school psychologist, and an administrator who is familiar with the services that are aviable in the in the school district and who has the authority to commit those services on behalf of the child, as well as the child’s parents,.

Again in theory Parents are considered to be equal members of the IEP team in addition to having fundamental rights as the parent or parents of the child. Parents who feel that their childs needs are not being met are free to write and submit their own IEP. Additionally IEP’s may be appealed, as may a denial or services requested as a part of an IEP.

Under the IDEA, any discipline imposed on a child with a disability must take that disability and it’s nature and associated behavioral components or hallmarks into account.

For example, if a child with Aspergers syndrome, an autistic spectrum disorder, is sensitive to loud noises and or bright lights , and if the child runs out of a room filled with loud noises, or has a behavioral “meltdown because of the noises any discipline of that child for running out of the room must take into account the sensitivity and whether appropriate accommodations were in place….

A child with Tourrette’s Syndrome a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, stereotyped, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics. These vocal tics may or may not include outbursts of profanity could not be disciplined for causing a disruption unless the nature and symptoms of Tourette’s was considered


A word of warning is in order here.......


If you have arrived at this posting because you are the parents of a child with a disability or even if you have arrived here because you are a kind and compassionate individual who cares about children at this point you may be thinking “Sounds Great” if so remember the disclaimer above “in theory” and read the letter below from one father about his son’s experiences with two Pennsylvania school districts and the services provided …..The letter has not been edited nd the pinions expressed belong to the writer although many of you may find that you share them.


The following is a letter from Steve Chilcote of Tyrone Pennsylvania to
Pennsylvania Secretary of Education, Gerald Zahorchak. The letter has not been edited.


Stephen A. Chilcote
409 Hancock St.
Tyrone, PA 16686

Gerald Zahorchak
Secretary of Education
333 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA 17126

January 29, 2010
Dear Mr. Zahrorchak:

I am writing to inform you of the abusive and horrible treatment that my son and myself have received in the hands of your public education system. It is my sincere hope that you take the time to read my story and to offer some real help to me and my family.
My son was born in 1996. His extremely smart and advanced mentally, has a great sense of humor and is well liked by everyone who gets to know him. We started out in Penns Valley School District. We tried to get him into gifted learning due to his high I.Q. and his preference to be “self-taught.” The school district did not want to spend the extra time on him and began a campaign to get rid of him. He has behavior problems due to a neurological disorder that I am sure you know of called Asperger’s Syndrome. In my research to try and figure out what was causing his quirky habits, I learned that this was his disorder and how to deal with it – I am still learning. However, the school personnel, except for a few caring individuals, did not want to be bothered dealing with his special needs, although they were not great or really all that difficult to deal with. His response to stress or to too much noise or confusion often manifested into motion, usually spinning, and sometimes when pressured, he would drop to the ground and become catatonic. I tried to describe the triggers for these behaviors and how to avoid them, but nobody was interested. He was often placed in “choke holds” or what they would call physical restraint in order to “protect” him or to get him to fall in line and comply (although he is unable to do so due to his disorder.) I remember one teacher that told me after she had retired that she would have to literally excuse herself from class and go into the restroom and cry over what they saw them do to my son. One special education teacher quit her job over it. When Stevie defended himself while being placed in a restraint hold, they used it as an excuse to send him out of the school to a special program for out of control kids. There, he was seen by a quack psychiatrist who spent ten minutes with him and diagnosed him with schizophrenia and told me he would have to be heavily medicated and would never be able to function in society. I refused to put him on adult psychotropic meds and they used that excuse to kick him out of the program. At his IEP meetings I pointed out what folks needed to do in order to deal with his infrequent meltdowns, how to avoid meltdowns, how he needed to learn which was basically all day in gifted learning environment. If they would have just done that one thing, they never would have had the behavior issues.
I had to send him to a charter school in another county which was rough on him as he had to get on a bus and 6:20 and ride an hour and a half each way. They did not have the personnel or training to teach Stevie properly either, mostly because they were constrained by state mandated curriculum. So he did alright there but not even close to his potential. However, they never had any need to restrain him or force him to do anything.
I moved to Blair County in 2008 and started him in the Tyrone Area School District. It took me a while to finally get a meeting with the special ed. coordinator there, but I was thrilled to hear folks there say that I was in the right place and they would offer Stevie a lot of help with his needs. But, again they fell short on his IEP. They would start out following the plan, but when someone had other things to do, Stevie was left to languish there and his special programs were scrapped or not fully followed through with. Often, when I thought he was getting exercise, gifted learning and mentoring as discussed in IEP meetings, I found out much later that none of this was happening and I was never told of any changes.
In October of last year I received a phone call at work from school personnel that they “discovered” I was not a resident and that I should take Stevie out of school and back to where I came from. I assured this person that I was a resident of Tyrone and owned a house there. I purchased this house from a bank and began to rehab the place that summer, so it looked like a construction site much of time. They sent school police and others over to peer into my windows and the principal got me on a conference call and told me that if I did not take my son out of their school they would call Children and Youth Services. As you can imagine, that made me a little angry so I let them know that my son would be in school the next day.
This school year, the administration called me and said that my son absolutely had to go to a mental health facility since he was suicidal and they considered it an emergency situation. Keep in mind that Stevie, being quirky, has told people he is a robot from the future, from other planets, not human and all sorts of wild stories, all of which are Asperger’s symptoms and should be taken with a grain of salt. So, to be compliant with the wishes of the authorities, I took him to this hospital. Little did I know this was a lock-down facility full of extremely mentally ill children and that I was not allowed to see him or take him outside. Stevie spiraled into a real depression with this experience and he was put on an anti-depressant that is not FDA approved for children and in fact increases the risk of suicide.
One day when he was giving me a particularly hard time about going to school he went outside and drank some antifreeze to make himself sick. I kept him home since he was vomiting but did not know that he was poisoned until the next morning when he told me what he had done. He was flown to Pittsburg Childrens Hospital where he endured kidney failure and I almost lost him. Fortunately he received the finest care and came out of the hospital healthy with a full recovery. While I was in the hospital with my son, the school filed a false police report telling them and CYS that Stevie tried to kill himself because I did not feed him and made him sleep outdoors. I was arrested. Stevie was placed in another mental institution where he was placed on another drug that did not help him but made him gain weight so quickly that he has stretch marks all over his body. The police and CYS dropped their case against me but it has been resurrected because they claim I did not “cooperate” with them. On the contrary, I have been taking him to counseling, drugging him against my will and was even willing to go along with their program of placing him in a residential treatment facility. The RTF folks did not think that he was nearly bad enough to be placed there so they refused him. CYS feels they need to get him away from me so they can place him somewhere outside the home. I just learned today that my 15 year old daughter was taken out of class and interrogated and photographed by CYS.
So, instead of giving my child his “Free and Appropriate Education” that is prescribed by law, he, myself, and my wife and her daughter have been abused and harassed by the education system. The Tyrone school district is using CYS to bludgeon me into submission and get rid of me. They filed a false police report, a serious criminal act, and disrupted my life tremendously. I am a small contractor and my name was spread all over central Pennsylvania on radio and newspaper labeling me as a child abuser. They have frightened my stepdaughter twice with their Gestapo tactics. Why? I have never given them any grief. I told them I would free up time to come in to school and have a science club for Stevie and other interested kids, come in whenever they needed me for behavior issues, work with the teachers any way they wanted to figure out a good system for Stevie. The teachers have been great and the guidance has also, but the drones in the administration have sought to undermine my parental rights, my bond with my child, and have completely failed to educate him.

This is the state of your public education system. I would greatly appreciate your thoughtful, substantial and useful commentary and advice that you could give me on how to proceed. I am considering cyber charter school with a tutor. I would probably have to sue the school to get a tutor. I hope I do not have to get into that. I would like to live in peace, work at my business and raise my kids. Right now I feel I went to sleep a year ago and woke up in North Korea. I can’t believe that in America, the government can get away with this.

Thank you for your kind consideration in this matter.

Sincerely,

Stephen A. Chilcote

When Bad Things Happen to Good Families (or how you came to be reading my blog) Part I

First I would like to dedicate this post to Tammie who in more than 20 years of friendship and 17 of an ordeal neither of us ever dreamed would go on so long has never swerved wavered of failed in her support. She has been my friend my confidant and my staunchest supporter. Tammie I really don’t know if I would have made it with out you.


    I have been out of the business of child welfare reform now for a long time. There have been some improvements and the voices calling for change has become more numerous and more articulate. There are more professionals now with more professionals  sounding titles and well reasoned objective arguments for change. 10 years ago when I laid down my sword, er pen , the majority of resources on the web belong to wronged parents or organizations formed by the those who had been wronged by what then titled it’s self the Child Protective Services. One Author, Mary Pride labeled the then existing system “The Child Abuse Industry”(1)  .

 Many of the voices were strident, angry and filled with pain.  Many of the people or groups who posted web sites or wrote books were struggling to find a grand reason why, a greater purpose for the suffering of their families and the soul rending loss of their children. This all to often led to the promulgation   of vast conspiracy theories that  may have actually contained a tiny grain of truth but that hurt the creditability of the movement. It is to easy too dismiss what is too easy to dis-believe.

My  issues with CPS(2)  started 18 years ago and in many way have never really ended. Looking back I was heartbreakingly naive then I thought I could change  the world  or at least save my own children. In the end I barely got out alive.


And what of the children, the older two Alexis and Lydia still breath but the little girls I knew are dead. Lydia was just an infant 10 weeks old when the strangers knocked on my door, we were still only getting to know one another or bond was still forming, incomplete.  She has changed, grown up as is normal and I hope she is healthy in body and mind.

Alexis has changed her name and the little girl who occupied a piece of my soul is gone.  She was beautiful and alive. She ran at life eager for each new experience. She loved to give she was kind and even at three selfless with her love.  Pets’ stuffed animals, Flowers, she gave her heart to all. She loved to love. We were close, the center of each others world, but ready to expand and let Lydia in. She was funny and intelligent at three her vocabulary included ludicrous and hilarious. She could spell Mississippi.  She was the first person I ever loved without reservation or qualifications. 

 I came to mother hood late by the standards of the place and time.  I had grown up the adopted child of an abusive monster.  The message of my childhood was that being a parent was a horrible thing, a burden and unbearable sacrifice. I didn’t want children or to do to any child what had been done to me. 

When I was 28 I woke up one morning and realized I wanted a baby. I had a lot to give to someone and I realized I wanted to give it to  child. I had healed enough, learned enough to be a good parent, to do a better job than the woman who raised me.

The decision to have a child, to reproduce one’s self is the ultimate selfish decision. It is in a manner saying “I am so special, so unique there should be more of my genes in the pool. While we expect t love our children we also expect them to love us. No one, NO ONE, can understand how much a mother loves her child until she becomes one.

 I did not make the decision to copy 50% of my DNA lightly. I planned every detail. I planned the time of year to give birth. I considered all of the options for a father. I wanted a baby not a husband. I ultimately decided against an anonymous donor. I wanted to tell my child what her, yes I planned for a girl, looked like. I did not plan for him to be a part of her life. I did not plan to be June Cleaver but I didn’t plan to be  Peg Bundy either. 

I had been dating a fairly successful musician name Dave casually from time to time nothing serious for either one of us. That was not where our lives were. David wasn’t getting famous but he was able to make a living from music. I was the dining room manager at an upscale restaurant.   We agreed that in the summer of 1989 that the next year when I was 29 and he was 35 that if neither one of us was serious about anyone else we would have a child together.


The next summer came and timing was critical because I had arranged maternity leave and purchased all the clothing, equipment and diapers  the baby would need for the next 18 months so that I could work part time. Looking back I was either physic or psycho because I never even considered the possibility of having a boy.  Everything was pink, castles and unicorns, and dresses.

Ultimately David backed out and I was forced to select someone else to be Alexis father. While I don’t regret the choice I made I do wonder how different al of our lives would have been if I had chosen differently.


Alexis Ariell was born March 5, 1990 in Charleston West Virginia.. Her Aunt Tammie was the first person to hold her. Through a long series of events I chose to give her father a larger role in her life than I had planned. He moved to Raleigh North Carolina and later to California. He eventually returned to West Virginia and asked for a chance to be a father and a family. This wasn’t exactly what I had planned but it is hard to be a single parent and I was willing to give it a try. 


I am sure I wasn’t the perfect parent. All parents make mistakes and I made my share.  One of the biggest was the babysitter I hired, Debbie Joseph.


 I would later learn from a Case Worker at the child Advocates office, West Virginia’s Child Protective,  Services that Debbie had made 35 calls to the child abuse hotline that year alleging that the various children in her care were being physically and/or  sexually abused by their parents.



 Although the caseworker could not by law  disclose the source of the particular allegation against us he made it clear without saying so that our family was call number 36 that year.  The Caseworker apologized for the intrusion



TOMORROW PART II

1. The Child Abuse Industry: Mary Pride,Crossway Books (July 1986) I don't agree with a lot of what Mrs. Pride says she often writes from a "Born Again"viewpoint I simply can not agree with. She was one of the first authors to take on the subject of CPS Abuse . She makes some excellent observations


2. Called Children and Youth Services (CYS) in Pennsylvania. My own case arose in Centre County in 1992

For more information on how the child protective services hurt children and their families visit our website The Sunlight Initiative

Grim Justice in Luzerne County

Yesterday morning   Berks County Pennsylvania  Senior Judge Arthur Grim ordered the last group  of unsettled juvenile cases that had been  tainted by the  recent Luzerne County judicial corruption scandal “dismissed with prejudice”. Dismissal with prejudice means the cases my not ever be refilled unless the dismissal is overturned by an appellate court.

Grim emerged from a closed door conference that precede what had been scheduled as a hearing on a motion to dismiss many of the pending charges against 27 separate juveniles accompanied by  Luzerne County District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll and Juvenile Law Center Legal Director Marsha Levick. Grim  state that with the dismissal juvenile justice had been “balanced and restored,” in Luzerne County

 Stating that “In my opinion, it’s the right thing to do,”   District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll  announced she would not retry any of the juveniles.

Grim further stated that Juveniles who still owe restitution will not have to pay the remainder of what they owe. According to Judge Grim both the courts and attorneys will cooperate to work out  wother ways to make restitution to the victims .  Grim  stressed  that victims will not be expected to or required to repay restitution already  received.

On October 29  of 2009 The Pennsylvania Supreme Court that vacated the convictions of an estimated 6,500 juveniles who appeared before  former Judge Mark Ciavarella between  2003 to 2008.  Both Ciavarella and former Judge Michael Conahan were arrested last January  of 2009 on numerous charges including that the two accepting $2.6 million  in kick backs and other incentives from the developer and a former co-owner of the for profit private detention centers in exchange for rulings that committed numerous, mostly teen-aged, children  to the centers.


The Supreme Courts ruling was based on a report issued by  Judge Grim, who was specially appointed to review Ciavarella’s cases  after the arrests  The Supreme Court specifically forbid retrial for any juvenile who appeared before Ciavarella without an attorney or if the juvenile was committed to either  PA Child Care or  Western PA Child Care the two private detention and treatment centers at the center  of the judges’ scandal.
.

The Juvenile Law Center, a Philadelphia-based advocacy group which has spoken out strongly in favor of the dismissal is still involved in in   number lcivil suits against the judges.

Bearing Witness

Someone emailed me today to ask if and how they can contribute to this blog so:


If you have a good idea about Child Welfare Reform or how to improve all or part of the existing system let me know. If you would like to let me and therefor the world know about your family’s experiences with, or at the hands of The Child Protective Services send me an email. I will be happy to report on your experiences.



A few rules apply. I will post stories that may help a family separated by CPS or CYS reconnect with adult children. I will do the same for adult children trying to locate their birth family.

I restrict this service to adult children because none of us need the police knocking on the door with a complaint arising out of Custodial Interference. If there is a situation where a family member is dying or is seriously ill I may, after consulting my legal advisers, make an exception.
I will provide the same service for children in care that have been emancipated.

I may chose to post your story unedited if you follow the guidelines, below I also may edit it. I will let you read my edits before I post. I am flexible if you have a reason why I should leave something I’ll listen. After a discussion I may agree with you or I may agree to post but with a disclaimer.

1. If you ARE an actual abuser I am not interested in helping you defend or justify yourself . By abuser I don't mean that you are an abuser just because CPS or CYS says you are, or a judge has founded the CPS case, you are listened in Central registry, or even if there are or were criminal charges. If you had a drug or alcohol problem and have gotten some help and CPS isn’t giving you another chance I will help you. Every one deserves at least a second chance and CPS gives itself a second, third, fourth, and ninety-ninth chances to get it right all of the time. The same applies if you did “loose it “ and hit your kids but are working hard not to do it again and are willing to get what you need for your kids to be with you safely.


By abuser I mean if you did beat, murder ,rape your children and are unrepentant and unchanged don’t bother me or waste space that can go to a more deserving family. I am willing refer you to the resources that can get you some help some help. There are some things that are so clear cut and so bad that the is NO excuse and there can be no second chances except for the kids to get another (hopefully) abuse free life. My standards for this are pretty high but something like your initials branded on to a child or a DNA test that says, yes, you did father your ten-year-olds baby will do it every time.




2. I do not get involved in custody disputes that are strictly and solely between family members, period. And don’t even THINK about involving CPS to get a custody advantage. Not only might this backfire, it takes resources away from kids who ARE being abuses or neglected. If you bring CPS or CYS down on your own head by your own stupidity , making false accusations, you will have to live with it for the rest of your life and so will your children. I am not saying abuse never happens in the course of a custody dispute because I know it does. If it does, you need to talk to your lawyer first and they will help you report it. I am saying DON’T make crap up and don’t let any one else.



3. I reserve the right to conceal the identity of children, particular when there are allegations of sexual assault.Upon request I may conceal the identify of the entire family or a witness.



4. I may in the interest of being objective ask for permission to talk to the other side. Who knows they may say something damning or the fear of seeing their names in print might motivate them to do some good.



5. In the interests of maintaining credibility I will not use and will edit out language that compares or labels CPS workers and agencies to Nazis or Witch Hunters . For excellent reasoning on the why and wherefore of this see Richard Wexler’s post in the National Collation For Child Protection Reform Blog. Wednesday, September 17, 2008 "Leave Hitler out of it: I don’t completely agree with Mr. Wexler I feel that there are some people in the different agencies that enjoy the power to hurt children, who are power and control freaks or who are settling unfinished business with their own parents, but he is right.

AND:

Invoking some of these arguments make us look like deranged fanatics and make people wonder if maybe we aren’t quit fit to have children.


Excessive anger frightens people. I know I it is hard. THEY TOOK YOUR KIDS! They took mine too. I have been there and I still hate those people. I have stopped reading the obituary column every day hoping to see a familiar name. Find a creative way to get rid of the anger. Think about the way you will spend the 100000 million dollars you are going to sue them for. I am going to buy the Centre County Court House and turn it into a low-income housing project for falsely accused families. The free sushi bar is going in the Judges Chambers. I’ll probably store the trash in J. former ADA Karen Arnold’s old office. I used to fantasize ( note I am saying fantasize) about telling the Trial Judge when my family was awarded that 100000 million dollars that CYS could keep it money if I could have 15 minuets alone with each one of them in a locked sound proof room (with a baseball bat ) Most parents understand being angry if you keep it under control and redirect it. You can even start your families story by saying how angry you are . Just remember


Even justifiable anger gives reporters and politicians an excuse to run as fast as they can as far as they can. Think of it as doing what you have to do to get your story out and in some cases your kids back.

Save the ranting for when we are alone darling.

Great idea, now let's see if it happens

While testifying before the Inter-branch Commission on Juvenile Justice today Robert Schwartz, director of the Juvenile Law Center, stated that attorneys who regularly appeared before Judge Mark Ciavarella in juvenile court violated their professional obligations and ethics by failing to speak out and report the abuses they witnessed.

Schwartz recommended these attorneys be referred to the state disciplinary board to determine if they should be sanctioned.

"It may be hard for a defense attorney or prosecutor to spot an isolated case of judicial misconduct. Luzerne County's involved a half decade's worth of abuse, however, If there was ever a situation where lawyers fell short of their professional obligations, this was it." Stated Schwartz

Schwartz's agency ,the Juvenile Law Center , filed the petition which, in October, led the state Supreme Court to vacate the convictions of thousands of the juveniles who appeared before Ciavarella from 2003 to 2008.

In September a federal grand jury issued a 48-count indictment against former Luzerne County judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan , charging them with numerous counts of racketeering, bribery, money laundering fraud and tax violations. ( Authors note: Be afraid Judge David Grine, be very afraid*). Both of the ex jurists have plead not guilty.

During the same proceeding James Anderson, the executive director of the Juvenile Court Judges Commission, recommended that all juvenile proceedings be open to the public on the condition that persons attending the hearing be prohibited from revealing the identity of the juvenile or other parties and/or witnesses .

Anderson also recommended that the trial judge have wide latitude to close the hearing if the trial judge deemed in the child’s best interests to do so.

During his testimony Anderson additionally recommended :

• That the Determination to appoint a Public Defender for a child be made based on the child’s income rather than the income of the child’s parent(s)
• That the juvenile be required to consult an attorney before being allowed to waive the right to counsel, and tat the presiding judge be required to appoint back-up or standby counsel in cases where the child is allowed to wave the right to have an attorney
• That process for an expedited review by the appellate courts, (Pa Superior Court, PA Supreme Court ) be implemented for juvenile court proceedings. Anderson emphasized that the process should particularly apply to all rulings that remove a child from his or her home.
• To require the Judge to state on the record why he or she has made that decision that a child is to be placed in an out of home facility and to enumerate the reasons why the chose a particular facility . ( Note by the author : The Judge should have to disclose any connection to the facility weather it be financial, a friendship with a staff person or administrator or that he or she acts in an advisory capacity to the facility)
• That an assessment tool be created for use in determining when and if it is appropriate to detain a child prior to a hearing on the crime they are accused of committing. This tool would consider various risk factors, such as the severity of the charges and the child's prior record. ( Authors note: and if the offense would be a crime if committed by an adult, for example running away )

Other witnesses scheduled to testify today included Richard Gold, deputy secretary of the Office of Children, Youth and Families for the Department of Public Welfare and Dr. Gerald Zahorchak, secretary for the Department of Education.

*Judge David Grine presided over Juvenile Court Proceedings, including Children and Youth Services Hearings, in Centre County Pennsylvania from the 1980's to the present.


AUTHORS NOTES REFLECT ONLY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR ,NOT ESTABLISHED FACTS

1. Times Leader of Wilkes-Barrie, PA (timesleader.com) 01-21-2010

Why I Write

Perhaps here Dear reader is where I should warn you that 1.) I have a sick, sarcastic, sense of humor and 2.) I swear sometimes. Sometimes when I write I swear a lot.

I write because I am pissed off. The list of things that piss me off is legion: Lets all admit it sometimes getting really pissed off actually feels pretty good. Sort of clears the air



People who abuse kids and or animals piss me off. Liars piss me off. People who can’t mind their own business piss me off. People who take things that belong to other people and break them piss me off. The government piss me off. Bureaucrats piss me off.

Lying Government bureaucrats who can’t mind their own business and who abuse kids in the name of protecting them …..That REALLY pisses me off

And that boys and girls is why we are here. Almost 17 years ago the baby savers of Centre County Pennsylvania came into my house and accused me of something I did not do. They took my children, my life away.

At first I was devastated, paralyzed. It was worse than if my children had died. Like most innocent people I thought there had been a mistake. I do think they realized they had made a mistake pretty quick. We went to Court. I was waiting for someone to show some kind of sense. Their case began to fall apart. They didn’t want to admit it though so they started lying to cover up more lies. We showed them proof they were wrong, they wouldn’t see it


I tried to cooperate with what they said I had to do to get my little girls back .


They wouldn’t give me anything to cooperate with. The accusations grew more ridiculous and outrageous. I did the few concrete things they ask for it wasn’t enough. I began to realize they had no intention of letting my children go. They placed my kids with a foster family that my older child said was abuseing them.



They required I admit that I had done things that never happened. They said I had to accept “criminal” responsibility for the things they said I did. They said I had to admit to doing things I never did and apologize for them to my children . Oh and yes I had to express gratitude to the agency.
And then I got angry


To me staying angry was to stay alive. It kept me going, it kept me warm an night. Anger held my hand and whispered in my ear. It was my best friend for ten long years.

I met someone. He joined me in the fight, Eventually my parental rights were terminated. I moved on. We had another family. Last year my oldest daughter and I found each other. It was like she had returned from the dead. She seemed mostly unharmed. My family rejoiced we prepared the fatted turkey and feasted. Her Aunt Tammie saw her for the first time in at least 14 years.


It took a year but she moved back home.

It was a little rough, she stays up all night, sleeps all day and is allergic to washing dishes. She treated me like the maid and ignored her little sister that she supposedly loves. The little sister let her use her room because she needed to store all of her stuff in her own. She locked the door and wouldn’t get out of bed to let the kid get clean underwear out of her own room.



This week we had the kind of fight that teen-age daughters sometimes have with their mothers. Hateful hurtful things were said on both sides. She said things and acted in ways I could not let slide by. She left to move in with someone that I thought was a family friend, a man more than is more than twice her age. A man who owns a strip club. He had been working on her for some time apparently feeding her fears and filling her head with lies. And I realized how badly they had broken her…


So here I am pissed off all over again. I can’t say I’ve missed my friend anger but for right now I am glad it’s back….. Oh and this time I have a computer.