Follow The Rules And Lose Your Child Anyway? The WA State Supreme Court Weighs Arguments

THIS INFORMATION IS REFERENCED AT: WA TVW Then go to the page on the STATE SUPREME COURT where arguments are archived for later public broadcast.

On June 24, 2008 the Washington State Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of an Hispanic man who's child DSHS wanted. The man followed all the rules. He made his visits to his child. He went to all the meetings he was required to attend.

This is a very important case. Please take the time to view it. The ruling is expected this fall or early winter.

http://www.tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?EvId=2008060032D

Viewing time: 45 minutes

Kitsap County, WA...Children Die In Fire...State Knew of Dangers

Kitsap County is part of DSHS Region 5. If you are a reader of this blog you will know that Region 5 is Kitsap (Bremerton area) and Pierce (Tacoma) Counties. There have been 8 children under state "care" that have died in this region since the first of the year. Six were murdered.

Should we add two more to the death toll?

Late last Friday night there was a fire that tragically took the life of a 16-year -year-old girl who ran back into the house to try and save her 4-year-old brother. They were two of the five foster adopt children living at the home.

Like everyone, I was saddened to hear this terrible, terrible thing. We had just learned of three girls losing their lives in a house fire the previous week. I do not want to exploit this tragedy for the sake of this blog.

But questions came to mind when I heard the foster mother say to the TV cameraman that she didn't think her daughter set the fire. That was a pretty weird thing to say.

According to the paper, "Neighbors say one year ago to the day there was another fire in the family home. Neighbors say both fires started in a couch and that the previous one may have been set by one of the children."

It was confirmed to me that one of the teenage girls in the home had set the last fire. I was told it was caused by one of the foster girls who had been starting "little" fires around the house that day. (This is Halloween FREAKY! I just got up and closed the blinds!)

She was put into counseling. Did CPS respond to this situation by moving to protect the other children? Did any of the adoptions occur after the incident? What determines whether or not a home is safe?

The four-year-old was adopted just about the time of the previous fire. Did CPS rush in to make the adoption or did they proceed with caution knowing there was a child with mental "issues" living in the home before the placement. (Would you want to be in a house where a teenager was "setting little fires" in the house??)

I am betting there have been several mental evaluations on this "troubled" girl and that the department moved ahead anyway. At least, that would be their track record.

Joint Select Committee On Military and Veterans Affairs Hearing

Several of you have asked about the Senate hearing. This will be a "hard core" meeting on communications preparedness. The public is always invited and I do take public testimony. Thanks for asking! (Note: I will not be available to privately discuss issues as there will be a committee tour of the medical facility following the hearing.)

November 5, at 10:00 am. American Lakes Medical Facility auditorium, Building #9.

Directions:
From I-5 South:
Continue south through Tacoma on I-5, then take exit 124.
Once you exit, get into the right hand land and proceed onto Gravelly Lake Drive.

Veer left at the 2nd stoplight, go to the 3rd stoplight (approx. ½ mile), which will place you at the intersection of Gravelly Lake Drive and Veterans Drive.

Turn left at this light, (Veterans Drive SW) and follow Veterans Drive for approx. 1 mile. This will take you directly to the medical center grounds.

From I-5 North:
Proceed north on I-5 and take exit 124.

At the end of the ramp, turn left and go over the freeway onto Gravelly Lake Drive.

Follow Gravelly Lake Drive in the left land (veering left at the third light) to the fourth light that will place you at the intersection of Gravelly Lake Drive and Veterans Drive (approx. ½ mile).

Turn left at the light onto Veterans Drive and proceed for approx. 1 mile. This will take you directly into the medical center grounds.

We Both Studied For the Ham Radio Test...And

We Both Passed The Test!

Someone leaked the actual results and we were told that both Jim and I got the same passing score. Since we were given different tests...I am going with "mine was the toughest!" :o)

We will be assigned our call signs as soon as our results are published on line in another week.(I will try to get my dad's.) Radio Shack no longer carries ham sets so we will order our radios on-line. For a hand held unit you have to put down about $150. I will probably get something in the mid range.

YOU ARE INVITED
November 5th at American Lake Veteran's Golf Course for disabled vets, I am chairing a hearing of the Joint Select Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs. The agenda will include a rundown on the status of disaster related communications preparation. Ham radio will be a part of the report.
Ordinary citizens, volunteers, are the backbone of emergency efforts on the ground. We have to have you helping. 10 AM sharp.

I Almost Forgot

I just remembered! Tomorrow morning is the HAM radio test!!!

I do not know what a MHz is. "Sounds like Megahertz." Got to get the formulas down...practice the math...memorize band widths....

Battle Plan: I will cram for this.

The pressure is on. My husband announced he does not need to study. What's up with that?

Inside: The Bowels Of The Bureaucracy

Today, I thought I would call into the bowels of bureaucracy. (I think some call it the belly of the beast.) In any event, my goal, as always, is to get DSHS to obey the law. In this instance, Judge Shaffer, last June, had ordered that the department establish a visitation schedule for the grandparents. That was promised but has not happened.

I also wanted to point out that their "court reporter" social worker was intimidating and provoking the family with her dossiers. And, that instead of following Judge Kessler's orders, they are ramping up efforts to take the child. AGAIN!

"Hi, David," I said. "I haven't heard from you for about four months."

"That's true" David answered. "But, I have been working very hard on your case."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. You are right about so much and we are trying to fix things. You just have to trust that we are."

David is a nice enough guy. He tells me what he knows I want to hear...agrees with me often...and then disappears. WHOOSH......WHOosh....whoosh...and he's gone. No emails, no calls, no messages...no David. "Oh, yes, he says after four months of silence, I am helping," he assured me.

THE BEST HELP DAVID...WOULD BE TO OPEN THE DOORS ON DSHS. THERE HASN'T BEEN A PEEK.

He said he would call off the rude and purposely provoking social worker.

"What about the foster mother, David? Remember, the one with the unsafe house?"

"Oh, you shouldn't judge her. She is actually very nice." (Is that to say you don't like the grandparents? Or, you just don't have a desire to know them?)

I asked, "Well, David, she says at 43 she has never been married. Yet her name in high school is different than the one she has now. Was she adopted late in life? Did she take on a different family name? And, who then is the man? if you go to the white pages you see a man listed at her address and she shares his last name." (He also answered her door claiming she no longer lived at the house and showed up in court with her to get the restraining order.)

"I don't know anything about that." I believed him. They never went past her application in checking her out. NAME________and
ANY FELONY CONVICTIONS?_______. That's it folks.

Whoever the guy is (and he is a different race so probably not a brother)...it is evident that the foster person has not established any bonded relationship throughout her post high school life. She seems to have difficulty forming normal lasting relationships (so how long will she want a child?). She is in and out of jobs and men. Who is this man listed at her address? Why didn't you know this David? Do you just give kids to whomever?

"Well, David. You are missing the point. This should not even be a matter under consideration. The little girl is suppose to be with her family. Both the grandparents and the aunt and uncle passed in home studies with flying colors. You need to follow the law!"

CONCLUSION: David says he "gets it" and is helping. What do you all think?

CPS Seeking Revenge....And Moving Quickly...

So today, after the court decision...the family met. This was the first time the grandparents, the mother, and the little girl have been together as a family in 10 months!

An unknown social worker "supervised" the visit. Never before has this happened...the social worker whipped out a computer and typed as fast as she could to write down every bit of the conversation going on within the family unit! This is absolutely outrageous! It is so hurtful! This invasion of privacy is absolutely an outrage.

CPS is baiting the family. They want one of them to get mad so they can report them as being bad relatives. I would have been plenty mad! CPS is incompetent (ie: the 14 year old weighting 47 lbs who asked to be taken from her home and was told to stay in the family, etc) and vindictive as hell.

Question: Who ordered this surveillance? Why is this little girl still in the foster home? Why is she not with relatives? I know why CPS does not follow the law. They want the child. Still....even after the judge flat out said this child is to be reunified with the family....they work against it. They are evil to the marrow of their bones.

For six hours I was at rest from this evil wrongdoing. Six whole hours. They remind me of the silver terminator...you know.... In the movie Terminator he was the silver cyborg dressed as a policeman. You thought you melted the bastard down and then he rose again to do evil. Yep. That is what they are like. Not all...but certainly the ones I have seen in action.

One former CPS worker called them "fascist." However you see it. It is not good.

Judge Kessler Follows The Law...

King County, WA

Judge Ronald Kessler, today ruled that little Lisa would not be legally separated from her mother! Termination will not take place!

Judge Kessler ruled that the state's job is to work toward reunification. Thank God that there is a judge that can get through all this and come to the right decision. (More on this later.)

After the hearing the social worker said to the grandparents, "Your visitation is today at 2 PM. If you can't make it we can reschedule." She didn't like losing and the tone here was that of a loser.

Judge Catherine Schaffer had ruled that there be a visitation schedule put in place. There wasn't. The director of DSHS emailed me to say there would be monthly visits. After one visit...the visits..instead...stopped. The grandparents were told that since there were termination proceedings there would be no visits! (That is in keeping with their goal of moving the child to the foster adopt rather than permanently place with any biological placement.)

So...not able to keep her disdain out of her voice the social worker tells the grandparents of a previously unknown 2 PM visit. The grandparents are delighted with the upcoming visit and with the proceedings today. So am I. Hopefully, DSHS will no longer stand in the way. What an eye opener this case has been. It is worse than the public can imagine.

Congratulation to the mother's attorney, to the private investigator, to the grandparents and to the mother. Thank you Judge Kessler for following the law. We still have a few months to go. Lisa should have over-nights with the grandparents, with her mother...etc. This family should not have to have "supervised visits." (What a slam that is to good people.) The child should actually be placed with the grandparents. She should be out of the foster home where there is a vindictive woman with a restraining order who pawns a child off to days of daycare.

A Call From The Associated Press

It is election time and the State of Washington is one of only two states that allow absentee ballots to be mailed as late as election day.

Translated...that means that we don't know the outcome of our close elections until days after the elections are over. That is a total drag for candidates that lose sleep wondering if they have won or not....I mean...what do you tell the kids???

Most states only count ballots that arrive by election day. The exceptions are ballots mailed from out of state or from the military.

In 2004 I introduced legislation that would require ballots to be in by election day. The bill was signed by conservatives and liberals and actually got a positive editorial from the usually "We don't like Pam Roach" Seattle PI editorial board. The bill unanimously passed out of my committee, but failed to become law.

The national AP is interested in the odd way we do this and so today I was called on to comment.

Last week the TV cameras came out to the house on yet a different issue. (The story hasn't broken so I won't mention the subject yet. But, yes, it does involve DSHS.)

The Social Worker...Honest Worker???

Someone asked about the social worker in this case.

This was her first case and so was very easily influenced by the very experienced CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate). Remember, this CASA is an attorney from the state of CA who is now in Washington. Does anyone really believe that he came all the way up here to "volunteer" his services? I don't buy it!

The word is that the California CASA, Terry Colyer, worked with other attorneys and a judge to "move children" in that state. At least there are blogs and an ex-wife that report that. In CA he worked with an attorney who is now an attorney in a WA law firm and is now working with Colyer in this court case. Same gig, different state??

The CASA testified last June that he had spent 600 hours on this case. I believe him because I have certainly done that.

The social workers are working within a system of no accountability. That's why so many mistakes are made.

Get your arms around this one:

A private investigator was parked in his car outside Lisa's daycare. He was there to see if the CASA was going to show up at the visit to take place between Lisa and her grandparents. (The CASA likes to intimidate so it was likely he would be there just to make the supervised visit miserable.)

The social worker was 20 minutes late for the visit that was to last one hour.

Instead of staying another 20 minutes to make up for the lost time...the social worker just let the visit last 40 minutes.

I found out about this and called the "high up" to see what the deal was! The "high one" called the social worker and was told: "I was only 5 minutes late." I then conferenced-called the private-eye.(please see earlier report)

The grandparents were allowed the 20 missed minutes at one of their subsequent visits (and there haven't been many.) What discipline was given when an employee lied to a supervisor????? I'm guessing...none.

Social workers learn from the top. Robin Arnold Williams, DSHS director...personally notified me that the grandparents would hence forth have monthly visits. The visits have stopped

.

The trial resumes on Wednesday, Oct 22nd.

Captain Roach Is NOT Going to Iraq or Afganistan After All. He Is Going To.....

QATAR! The air base there is a command center for Asia. Qatar (Kut-tar) has the highest per capita income of any country in the world. It has a whole lot of sand, hardly any rain, and reaches temperatures of 120 degrees. There will be a greater variety of legal work to do there. More on this later.

While he is gone, like with #2, his third child will be born while he is away. And for me? This one will be number 11... And the oldest will be only 10. I am so blessed.

Today The Trial Resumes

(I edited this slightly to "get it right." The mother had never before tested positive for alcohol. Sorry for that error!)

After a ten day wait...the termination trial resumes today.
The state spent three days bashing the mother mostly with stuff that was heard last June. This time the issue is that the mother tested positive for alcohol. It was the first positive test for alcohol...ever! The mother weighs about 105 lbs. The test that was given was not for alcohol but for drugs (she tested positive one in 18 months for marijuana). The expert witness said the test was not reliable.

(Interesting note: while the mother has never had an alcohol problem the state has put her in alcohol counseling...for the money they get...and to better position themselves to take the child.)

The grandparents who raised the child for 9 months wait in the hall. The aunt and uncle who passed the in-home care study (that the state hid from the judge and allowed to expire) wait to hear the daily progress. The evil CASA has now spent 1,000 hours trying to take this child from her family. He has had a lot of practice. This was how he made all his attorney money in CA. (When he doesn't get his way he gets livid angry...he is a scary man!)

Status:

The Three-Year-Old remains with the single foster adopt who has also been given an infant boy by the state. Little Lisa goes to taxpayer funded daycare 50 hours a week. She stays in a home with an active restraining order out on a former boy lover of the foster parent. God only knows how many men go in and out the door. CPS sure doesn't know.

Lisa showed up at daycare with a black eye and CPS has expunged information from an email about the black eye. The day care worker point blank asked the child: "What happened to your eye?" The answer was expunged with a black felt-tip. (I saw this email.) The next time the department sent out the email the direct question was taken out of the email. They would have you believe that the question was never asked. CPS should come forward with the email. Let's just say that the cover-up tells me they don't like the answer the girl gave.

I have tried numerous time to get that email made public. DSHS/CPS is covering up and lying about the content of the email. They want that child!

The foster adopt says she has never been married. Yet her name is different than her maiden name. And, when you look her up in the white pages on line...you see there is a man with the same last name listed at that residence. A man answered the door when process server went to the house. The man at the door said, "She doesn't live here." Who was the man? The foster adopt said there was no man at the house. Clearly...that is not the case.

The Foster Parent This is the woman who filed a complaint against me because she doesn't like this blog. (Really, it is just so much easier to take a child if no one knows anything about it...Right?) I believe in open government. We should know WHO would adopt our kids over the rights of GRANDPARENTS and OTHER RELATIVES. We are allowed to know nothing. And there is very little standard for who gets children.

This child belongs with her mother and with her family.

Ham Radio...Here I Come!

Elected Officials Are Criticized By Just Slightly Less Than Half Of the Electorate. In this case I published a comment that lists items some might consider as part of their self-reliance preparations. I can only "reject" or "publish" so I published. Now some Spokane news person criticizes the list. I have not printed any comment that uses out of line name calling. If your comment was not published please edit and send again. Thanks, Pam

You will notice by the sidebar poll that I am interested in urban survival. In government circles it is called emergency management. During the 40's it was under the heading of civil defense and was coupled with things like victory gardens.

Before the sophistication of the 20th century we just called it: Self Reliance.

Next month I will be chairing a meeting of the Joint Select Committee On Military and Veterans Affairs. The National Guard is under the purview of the committee and the guard coordinates emergency management. To be successful in emergencies some of us will need to know ham radio.

So...Jim and I are taking a ham radio class. For an electrician's daughter I can only hope some genetics help me through this! I am memorizing formulas for frequencies, and learning about ohms, and metrics, and AC, and DC, and antennas, etc.

There are ten in the class that meets in Enumclaw. A volunteer teaches the class.

More on this later. But, the test is next week. I want to pass it. And then, apply for my dad's call numbers. He passed away last year...but his numbers are still assigned to him. It would be a great honor for me to have my dad's call sign.


Note: I have posted an extra long comment. It is a list that I think gets us thinking. I have not published other long items.

One Great Way Cut Government Spending

The Office of Risk Management is the government agency that gives out money after the state loses lawsuits. Sometimes accidents happen.

As a member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee I have read these reports. They are actually kind of interesting. One claimant was a man at Western State Hospital who fell, or was allowed to roll, off a gurney. He was injured. We paid.

Another case was an employee with Fish and Wildlife who stepped out of his truck and got hurt. We paid.

OK....But the big ones are the ones that deal with children, abuse, sex, and government failure.

The 14 year old girl who weighed 47 pounds and was held against her will... and tortured for years at the hands of her parents...had asked to be placed in foster care. She told authorities she was being starved. She told them she was being held captive. She wanted out of her house.

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee I am guessing that the attorneys (go get 'em...!) will say the state was grossly negligent.

There is a civil standard for this crime which means there is a "preponderance of evidence" standard rather than a standard of "beyond reasonable doubt." (OJ was not found guilty on the former but was accountable on the later.) EMOTIONAL DISTRESS AND PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE SHOULD BE A PIECE OF CAKE TO PROVE.

I am on the side of this poor young girl. And, I know you are too. I also know that as taxpayers...you are wondering how this stuff happens.

None of us will know unless DSHS opens its doors to public scrutiny. We need open and accountable government. Please write your legislators and demand it.

Want to protect children and stop waste of money? Then DSHS administration has to do a better job.

OPEN YOUR CLOSED DOORS CPS...LET THE REST OF US SEE WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT

I feel so comforted to know that Washington's CPS is "reviewing the case of the starved 14-year-old in Carnation." (Seattle Times, 10.15.80)

This is just another outrage.

Let the people do the reviewing

CPS has no accountability in the system. The public has no faith in them. Open Your Closed Doors CPS.... Let The Rest Of Us See What You Are All About!

This is the only system of government...Anywhere...where people can die and there is no open investigation of the system that allowed it. When top cop of Tacoma, David Brame, murdered, we all saw the investigation. There was a free press that went after this. There were elected officials that hustled around to answer the demands of the public.

But, when children die (eight in Pierce and Kitsap Counties since January), CPS repeatedly hides their operations from the public. From a legislators perspective I see no attempts to hold the system accountable to the children or to the public.

Here is what highly paid, former P.I. Editor and now CPS spokesperson Thomas Shapley, says of the incarceration and starving of the 14 year old. "We're going to thoroughly reviews the case and see if there were things that were not disclosed at that point (three years ago)."

If there was an eleven-year-old who weighed 60 pounds and told her teacher that she was being starved....WHAT COULDN'T YOU SEE? What the hell do your eyes tell you? If you didn't believe she was being starved then you should have investigated for anorexia! Normal growth and development....that is not on your check list? Why would an emaciated child lie to you?

LET THE PUBLIC IN....WE WANT TO SEE WHAT IS GOING ON. WE WANT TO KNOW WHY CPS MANAGEMENT IS SO DANGEROUSLY INCOMPETENT

Don't get the job done...I guess. Just hire the most experienced (he is highly skilled) spin doctor in the state. Thomas, maybe you can tip some of your old buddies in the press to what is going on here. Surely you have some of the social conscience about you. You were a good, caring-heart committed liberal at Seattle's most liberal paper. And now you are paid to cover it up.

Thank You For Your Responses

Emotional subjects draw interest and response. Thank you for both.

I am publishing most of the comments but if they are a bit long I have read them as letters to me rather than blog responses. I haven't taken the time to edit comments to size.

To clarify for those who have asked....

Hear me now: The department does not want this child to go to ANY relative. All relatives...good relatives...have been arbitrarily taken out of the running.

The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) does not like the grandparents. He liked them at first...but they complained about their daughter's living conditions and then it was down hill...like being thrown out a window. He has yelled at them and threatened them. And, this CASA is an unelected judge, of sorts, and has the power to make decisions.

Hear me now....You have to figure out what the outcome of given activity will be to understand what someone really wants!

They say they want reunification but forbid the aunt and uncle.

Then they allow only five hours of visit time with the grandparents in one year.

Then they set an extremely high bar for the teen mother (one drink in 10 months!!!!)

The mother is accused of failing.

The state claims the toddler does not know her relatives.

After the "one drink termination" the state awards the child to the "back to back" day care foster parent.

Reunification is not the goal of DSHS/CPS. The goal is termination and a predetermined placement

.

The department tells me out of one side of their collective mouths...that they are working toward reunification. If that was really the case then they would not put all of their eggs in one basket...the 19 year old mother. And, they would let other relatives have a continued familial relationship with the child. That way...if the mother messed up...the child still has other relatives in her life.

So...if your goal is to reunite the family...it means the whole family and not just the mother!!! And, you prepare for the fact that termination may occur and other family members are ready and willing to receive the child.

This is what the legislature, "in its wisdom" has decided. Absent any accountability....the culture of DSHS...steals children.

The mother, in this case, has grown up a lot. She has the support of a loving family. She should not have her child stolen by CPS, the CASA, and an unworthy foster adopt. This child belongs with her family.

Senate Majority Leader in North Dakota Helping Me Fight For My Constituents ...And His...

WHAT ABOUT THE CHILD'S AUNT AND UNCLE?

They reside in North Dakota. The aunt is in her 30's and happily married. She and her husband have two little girls.

The family is known by the Republican Senate Majority Leader of North Dakota. They are wonderful, highly regarded people.

When I found out about the aunt and uncle the aunt flew in and I met with her. She is PERFECT. I learned about her senator and called the majority leader and asked that his state do a "home study" on this couple. Their DSHS did this and the couple passed with flying colors!

The "home study" was sent to WA (I am monitoring this whole thing).

I assumed that our DSHS would tell the judge that this family wanted their niece. Instead DSHS hid the study! They did not tell anyone about it though admitted to me later that "yes" they did receive it. (The department did not WANT to follow the law and so they just didn't.)

I was allowed to read a statement in front of Judge Katherine Schaffer in King County. She was "shocked" when I told her about the mother's sister in ND. The judge turned to the CASA and said: "Why didn't I know about this?"

Answer? Because there is no one who wants this child kept with the biological family! They are working to take her. DSHS later told me they hid it because they only tell the judge after a termination occurs! What a crock!

The purpose of family placement is to try to keep the family together. This is not a "whim" issue. Our legislature (YOU...the people) have decided that families should stay together if possible.

Note: The state of Washington has a compact with the state of North Dakota (and many other states) that they will honor out of state "in home studies" and that they will mutually work to keep children with biological families. Our DSHS hides them. Robin Arnold Williams, Director of DSHS, and all of her personal generals were personally told about this study...by me... They shove aside everything and everybody. They do what they want. There is no accountability in DSHS CPS. I have been through HELL with these people. Try to imagine what it must be like for the good people whose lives they tear apart!

New Blog Exposes Foster Adopt Parent

While I have never mentioned the foster mother's name...as you will remember...she decided to file an ethics complaint against me because I am working for my constituents. She wants me to take down this blog. She demands to know how I know what I do about her. Well, someone told me what I know and could prove what they told me! This woman's name was used in open court. I did not "out" anyone.

But, this high school friend of the grandfather went public when she filed that complaint. Before she filed it I could have used her name. But I didn't.

At the end of this blog I am going to post a link to a site that has information about this case. I did not write it. I did not research it. I do believe the information to be factual.

I have been threatened in a nasty email (unsigned) that the child would never go back to the family... and only on to yet another foster person. I believe that was the email of a DSHS employee. This person knew too much about the case to be anything but one of these conniving elitists.

I want the state to follow the law. I am asking nothing more than that DSHS be accountable to the law and for their actions. And....I believe that is what the public wants!

Unfortunately, DSHS is in the press too often. Children die (eight in Pierce and Kitsap county since the first of the year) because lawmakers and the public do not make demands! I am making those demands! And, I am being ignored.

I tried every avenue available to me to get Child Protective Services to follow the law and instead they have done everything in their power to take this child and permanently put her with someone else.

The system is broken on both ends. You know they can't get it right when it comes to taking kids from bad people. It should not be a stretch of the imagination to believe that they also take children from GOOD people.

The biological mother in this case had marijuana and liquor as a teenager...but not to excess. The child is not drug affected. So, how bad could the mother have been???

If the state terminated the parental rights of every unwed mother who had even one drink of booze in a period of nine months....we would be shipping bus loads of babies out to foster adopt families. And that....is apparently exactly what they want.

THINK OF ALL THE MONEY THAT DSHS WOULD GET TO DO THAT! My Gosh...what a bonanza!!!

http://savealexisnow.com/
Warning: this blog DOES reveal some of the names.

"What Has Happened To Her To Date?" ...Asks A Reader

What does Pam Roach want!!!Why is she such a ****,****,****. (This is a family blog.)

I want the State of Washington to follow the law. And, personally, I would like to have a picture of me standing in the front yard of a neat little Enumclaw home, with a little 3 year-old, her mother, and her loving grandparents. It would be a picture I would hang in my office as a reminder of love and perseverance.

Little Lisa to date?....

*She lived the first 9 months with her grandparents. Her mother was 16 and unmarried.

*The grandparents cared for her and did everything they could. Grandpa left his job of 15 years to get a position with better insurance....for the baby. He had the car glass tinted to keep the glare off the baby's sensitive eyes. They provided all needs and were loving grandparents. No one has ever said any thing different. The baby loves the grandparents.

*When 18 months her mother came home but this time decided to take the baby for a couple of weeks. When she returned the grandmother thought the baby looked a little weak and did not want the mother to take her again. Over that the police were called.

*Mother and baby were sent to two different "homes" in Tacoma. One house, provided with your tax dollars and approved by DSHS, had 13 people and one bathroom. Two wrecked refrigerators laid in the front yard. In the second "home" the mother and baby were housed in a basement bedroom with another mother and her two children....that would be 2 unrelated adults and 3 children in one bedroom. Neither home was supervised. The grandparents hauled in a bed as none was provided. They took needed food.

*Lisa's mother argued with another troubled girl and that is when the state took little Lisa.

*Now? She lives with a single 43 year-old woman who was a troubled teen herself. The state has placed an infant there too. Lisa goes to back to back daycare. Five days a week she goes to Childhaven and then is bused to Kindercare.

*She came to daycare with a black eye. The mother noticed it on a supervised visit. I called the police to report it for the mother.

* Lisa has only been allowed five visits in a year with her grandparents. In February, Lisa clung to her grandparents and cried when the social worker dragged her away. It was heart wrenching for everyone...even the social worker.

*Recently she arrived at daycare with food up her nose.

*Lisa loves visits with her mother. When the little girl became upset because the mother's visit time was over....DSHS reduced the number of visits that the mother could have!

TO DATE???? SHE HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM HER FAMILY, DEPRIVED VISITS BY FAMILY MEMBERS, KEPT FROM PLACEMENT WITH RELATIVES WHO HAVE PASSED IN-HOME STUDIES, AND SUFFERED DISTRESS WHEN SHE HAS DESIRED TO BE WITH THE PEOPLE SHE LOVES. THE DEPARTMENT HAS DEPRIVED THIS LITTLE GIRL OF HER RIGHTS!

THE LEGISLATURE HAS SAID THAT DSHS MUST FIRST PLACE WITH RELATIVES. NONE WERE EVEN CONSIDERED! THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS. THE COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE (CASA) WHO IS SUPPOSE TO REPRESENT THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD HAS PREDETERMINED THAT THE GIRL WILL BE TAKEN AND PERMANENTLY PLACED WITH THE FOSTER ADOPT. THE STATE TRIES TO ALIENATE AFFECTIONS BETWEEN THE CHILD AND THE REST OF THE FAMILY. THEN, IF THE YOUNG MOTHER BREAKS ANY RULE THE CHILD WILL NOT GO TO FAMILY, BUT BE PLACED WITH THE FOSTER PARENT.

STATE LAW IS BEING SHOVED ASIDE.

Note about the little girl: Little Lisa is perfect. She is not drug affected. She does not have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The mother is learning as she grows up. There is no precedent in law that says you terminate parental rights if a teen tests positive once in 9 months for alcohol as Lisa's mother did

.

News Tribune In Tibet

I never got the picture sent in. But, the News Tribune was tucked away in my backpack last year at this time. I was a solo traveler to Tibet.

Here I am in front of the Potala, where the Dalai Lamas resided for hundreds of years and the current Dalai Lama would like to be now. It is one herkin (my word) tall edifice. And, at 10,000 ft. can be a killer to climb, which I did.

The Chinese presence is felt with every breath. They have a base in the middle of Lasha (capital). There are heavily armed soldiers at the airport. They do mean business.

A Chinese passport is not enough. You have to apply for and get a permit. I was turned down the first time. So, I changed my occupation (at a different agency) and got the document.

I was proud to take the free press to Tibet.

Something Creepy (Well...it is almost Holloween)

I found out the other day that Lisa's (still not the real name) grandparent went all through jr. high and high school with the foster parent. They know eachother.

That is pretty creepy. Pretty creepy to fight so hard for someone else's grandchild.

Comment Section

New comments are being posted down the blog from previous reports. You might want to check them out.

The attack continues against me. I have received a string of harassing blog comments. It would seem like someone turns their chair to the deeply stained wood bookcase and pulls a shrink book from its place on the wall. The harasser then lets the book fall open to the definition page and picks out some mental disorder. Then they write the word, the definition, and then say, "This is you Pam Roach."

Really brilliant commentary...don't you think?

I was trained as a teacher...yes. So, if the comments don't make the grade they don't get in the blog. I am also an editor of sorts.

DSHS...In The News Almost Everyday...47 Lb. Teenager Left To Die By DSHS

Thankfully, the News Tribune has been vigilant in reporting the cases of child death and maiming that occurs under the "watchful eyes" of DSHS. The Seattle papers seem disinterested.

But, since there is a teenager, this time...even Seattle has to put it in print. She can talk. (I am sure for 'privacy" and "psychological" reasons the department will recommend that she not be interviewed.) SHE SHOULD BE INTERVIEWED. THE PUBLIC SHOULD...AS HARD AS IT WILL BE TO LISTEN...BE TOLD WHAT SHE ENDURED.

Let me speak for her.

The 47 Lb. teenage would say to the public: "Where were you? I asked for help. I begged you. I told my teacher! And, I thought I would get help. Instead...a CPS worker came to my house and... just listened to my evil dad and hateful step-mom.

I was skinny and meek in the corner of the room. I never smiled. My head was down...I couldn't look at anyone for the fear of retaliation on the part of my parents ran through me. And, after CPS left...it was even worse than before! Oh, why did I try to get help?

Be aware that there will be no apology given to the 14-year-old. To do so would be for DSHS to admit they should have done a better job. That means they would be sued.

We don't have a lot of money these days. But, if it draws public attention to the need for accountability, and it helps with the expenses that this young woman will encounter because of her home torture and incarceration...then so be it!

WE NEED TO OPEN UP DSHS TO PUBLIC REVIEW! LET THE LIGHT OF DAY SHINE ON THIS DEPARTMENT. WE NEED A CITIZEN OVER-SIGHT COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE CASES. CITIZENS...NOT SHRINKS...PEOPLE WHO VIEW THE WORLD AS IT REALLY IS.

Foster Mother Attacks Senator Roach..Will Roach Fight Back?

I guess my little blog here has gotten under someone's skin.

A woman claiming to be the foster adopt mother of little three year old Lisa has filed an ethics complaint against me with the State Senate.

How does anyone know who I am talking about anyway?

I have never given the name of the foster mother (though it was stated in open court for the public to hear).

I have never uttered the real name of three-year-old "Lisa."

I have never printed the name of the biological mother.

I have never printed the name of the man for whom the foster adopt woman sought and received a restraining order. (The old boy friend with the GUN.)

I have never mentioned the name of the evil Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). We can talk about him later. Oh, by the way, my opinion is that he is evil. I have the right to an opinion just like any other citizen. (My opinion is shared by his ex-wife...well...at least one of them...I don't know about the others...but they are exes aren't they?)

I have never mentioned the name of the aggrieved grand-parents.

I have never mentioned the name of the aunt and uncle who passed an in-home-study in North Dakota and were ignored by the State of Washington...even though our state has a compact with ND.

I have never mentioned the name of the man who lists the foster parent address as his own.

All bets are off now. This is one state senator who will not be intimidated by a woman in cahoots with others to take a child from its good and loving biological family.

According to Mike O'Connel, Ethics Board Counsel... while the board itself must keep the complaint confidential until just cause may be determined:

"Neither you nor the complainant is held to this confidentially standard."

You see folks...I have been very polite. While I may not have been legally constrained, I acted without giving names just out of courtesy. And, I would never risk making a judge angry. I would never spend this much time on an issue that I didn't feel strongly about.

DSHS should be screening foster parents for basic living skills and background. Anyone this vitriolic and quick to temper should probably not be given one child...let alone TWO!

The self identified foster adopt parent has just brought me into this at a much different level.

OH, DID I MENTION THAT A LOCAL TV CAMERA CREW WAS OUT AT THE HOUSE YESTERDAY?

KIng County Budget Leaders Pass the Buck and Will Ask For New State Taxes

Tough problems require tough decisions.

The economy has been feeling a downturn for months... months before "economic crisis" became a public catch phrase for "What the heck happened to my retirement?" Or, as younger citizens would put it, "Oh NO...we are going to lose our home/job!"

We are now in the process of watching a huge crescendo of impacts working their way through the economy and through government. The country is preparing for a financial Katrina. It is heading toward us and the world. It is a matter of how fast we can build the dikes and levies! Households, businesses, and governments will be affected.

So, King County government leaders have sent out a press release telling us all how they are responding. I probably read it verbatim in the Encumclaw Courier Herald.

The ubiquitous "bi-partisan" effort is politically safe for everyone, they reason. I guess the Republicans are using the Congressional model. And, in this case they figure why not? No one wants to do the tough thing and cut existing programs. No one wants that on their record and yet no one seems to want to take the leadership and do what will undoubtedly be necessary.

No one should want to duck and assume the "let someone else do the taxing model" either. We want our leaders to have a sound and informed idea of what they will need to cut. Where is the "How Will We Hone Government Committee? Without that, the counties will have little say in what the state will or will not fund! We need to hear from the counties and we want those council members and commissioners to tell us they have talked to their taxpayers!

Or will those discussions all be behind closed doors? Don't we want our leaders to have meetings in their districts and ask the tough questions? shouldn't there be a ranking of priorities by our taxpayers? Why are they waiting for that?

The press release reads, "We invite you to share your priorities with us at one of six public meetings." Then the budget will be adopted in November. "The budget will put basic services first and will incorporate every savings and efficiency." Good.

There is no mention of program cuts. That will be left to the legislature.

(The press release mentions the solutions that average people are implementing. Well, average people not only don't but the new car...they cut off the cable TV.)

The two democrat and two republican member panel calling itself the "Budget Leadership Team" has announced that they will suspend new hiring, keep motor vehicles longer, eliminate overtime and eliminate unnecessary communications,(but, maybe I want my government to let me know what they are doing with my money...), and freeze construction spending. No government programs under their proposal will be reduced or eliminated.

They want the legislature to do that...to be the "bad guy." So, the council will go into a holding pattern until the legislature meets.

"In the long term," the King County Council...bipartisan...budget leadership...team writes, "the state Legislature must engage in a serious discussion of broadening the base of revenues that support state mandates and the public services provided by all 39 counties in Washington state."

They will all, "bipartisanly"(newly needed word)come to Olympia and ask for new state taxes.

HAM Radio Classes

In keeping with my personal emergency preparedness plans I will take a HAM radio class and I want to invite you to attend.

Friday, Oct. 16th, 6:30 to 8:30 PM
Saturday, Oct 17th, 8 AM to Noon
Saturday, Oct. 25th, 8 to Noon (day of the test)

If you are interested please call 360-786-7660 and my aide will let you know where I will be in Enumclaw.

Doesn't ANYONE Control DSHS????

I received a personal email (to my non-office account) from Robin Arnold Williams, head of DSHS, two weeks ago....

She said that Lisa's "goodly" (my term...no one at DSHS seems to like biological relatives) grandparents would have regularly scheduled monthly visits with the grand-daughter they had raised for a year and a half.

The grandparents are thrilled with being able to see their grand-daughter...even if for just an hour a month.

I wasn't happy that these visits had been purposefully and largely withheld for the last 14 months...and that they would be limited to one visit a month. These supervised visits are one hour each.(The grandparents have had five visits in 14 months.)

NOTE: REMEMBER...THE GRANDPARENTS HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG!!!!! NEITHER HAS THE MOTHER TO WARRANT PERMANENTLY TAKING HER CHILD.

SUMMARY: The head of the Department of Social and Health Services writes a state senator and says the grandparents will now, after 18 months, have monthly visits. A...n...d..(drum roll here but no real surprises)... When the grandparents called to set up the visits....they were denied!

A recently released Child Protective Services employee called the division of Child Protective Services fascist. No kidding.

I Flushed Out A Heavy Handed, Government Loving, Bloodsucker!

Bingo! I got myself a yellow bellied bloodsucker. Unfortunately, they are not really rare and have little intelligence to even put up a good fight. But it is still fun to hook one. And, there is virtue in pulling them out of the barrel.

The bite came this morning in the form of a blunderous tug on my line. In it swam.. this double ugly bottom fish... to crudely comment on my opinions and me personally. And, of course, want to do that anonymously.

I didn't have time to comment, (I actually work for a living), and so I pulled it to reprint and comment on it later. I think everyone should see the mentality of someone who backs onerous government. The elitism in the letter is really so wonderful. It lets us all see the way these half-brained bottom fish try to reason.

I look forward to showing off this small fish to those who haven't seen something like this up close.

BEWARE: While insignificant alone...when they school in their quiet, lurking ways they can be very dangerous to your family.

VOTE ON THE SIDE BAR PREPAREDNESS POLL

LET'S SEE HOW WE ARE DOING AS A GROUP.
The poll is anonymous.

Lunch With the Car Dealers and the 500 Point Plunge

HOW MANY CHANCES WILL WE HAVE TO INDIVIDUALLY PREPARE?

Today the stock market went down another 500 points. These are some tough times!

At mid-day I was eating lunch with local car dealers at the WA State Car Dealers quarterly meeting. Senators Franklin, Rockefeller, Rasmussen, Eide, and myself (along with a few House members) heard from the industry.

Competition from neighboring states is a big deal since only WA has a Business and Occupations tax. And, without a finance market, potential buyers stay away from the show rooms. Twelve dealerships have just gone under! Other owners are laying off dozens of longtime employees. One dealer reported laying off 25 employees last week. They are going under....FAST!

The industry is asking for a lower B&O Tax and to be able to charge the administration costs of document transfers as other states do. Without parity, out of state dealers have a competitive advantage. "We should support our industry," was the message.

This is just one of our troubled industries.

Please:
Pay off credit card debt...
Store a month's worth of food...
Have a crank radio...
Save as much money as you can for only necessary expenses

We will all be affected by this downturn. And no one knows what they will individually experience.

Update on the stealing of a child

There is a three day trail. The grandparents have to sit outside of the courtroom. Inside, the state attorneys lie and tell the judge just about anything they can to get the child. That is the goal...GET THE CHILD. Not, do what is best for the child...not reunite the family...just get the child.

The 19 year old mother, who has never abused the child or done an unkind thing...walked out of the court room after the first days ordeal. She was crying. The state's attorneys had torn into her integrity, and given her little credit for anything... they want the child!

Still in tears, the mother walked to the corner of the hallway and threw-up.

Take One Drink and Lose a Child....

Three-year-old Lisa's mother is 19. She was told last June by a judge that if she tested positive, just once, for alcohol or drugs that there would be a termination of her parental rights. She had to go from last January to December...free from alcohol or drugs...or lose her child.

In July...she tested positive for alcohol. She had gone seven months with clean tests.

I felt at the time of the order that the bar was something this girl might not meet. The teen mother had been going to counseling and drug testing. She was visiting her child regularly, (without a car she travels by bus). She was made to live in a home with 13 people and one bathroom. At one point she lived in a small basement bedroom with four others. She was made to go 90 minutes each way for her UAs even though she actually lived at a testing site. So, while two judges agree that "great progress" is being made...she may ultimately lose her child over one drink.

I was in the court room when Judge Ronald Kessler told the mother last June just exactly what would happen.

So, after eight months of passing the UIs and visiting her child regularly, and doing all that she was asked to do...she blew it!

I have sat in many meetings over the years where statistics are reviewed: The Governor's Juvenile Justice Committee; Chair of the Senate Law and Justice Committee; currently a member of the Governor's Council on Substance Abuse; and a member of the Sentencing Guidelines Commission, etc., etc.

And, one thing I can tell you...there was no way this teen was going to make it until December as the judge had ordered. It would have been a miracle. Was she set up to fail?

Like vultures circling overhead, the Court Appointed Special Advocate has been waiting for this moment. The attorneys for CPS have been waiting. The attorney for the CASA has been waiting. The foster-adopt mother has been waiting (and probably told not to worry..little Lisa would be hers).

I have been in two different courts during four visits. There are three attorneys and a social worker vs the mother and her court appointed free attorney. There is really no fair match here. Judge Catherine Schaffer did recognize that for the record. But that did not change the fact. So, the 19 year-old has no match in court.

The bottom line: Should a mother lose her daughter over one drink?

Well, it really is that simple here. And, if you think so, for consistency the state needs to get out its paddy wagons and go out rounding up kids from their teen parents who drink. 80% of them illegally drink.

Oh, did I tell you? ....The state has made every effort to keep relatives away from little Lisa. The state never mentioned to either court that an aunt and uncle had passed an in-home placement assessment with flying colors. Grandparents have seen Lisa three times in many months and only because I have demanded that the state follow the law. (The CASA actually told the grandparents that the judge ordered that they NOT visit. That was not true! This guy is a snake!)

The state wants Lisa with a single woman, who has an active restraining order out against a former lover with a gun, who sends Lisa to daycare with a black eye. One of the judges said she didn't want to hear any more about the black eye and that she didn't think a restraining order was any indication that the foster mother's home was dangerous. I think the black eye occurred at the home judge, so I may not agree with you on that account. But, when the foster mother has a restraining order out...she has told us there is a danger in her house! How many beatings and murders have been committed against women who have restraining orders out against former lovers?

DO WE PUT A CHILD AT RISK TO BE FAIR TO A FOSTER PARENT???? I THINK NOT!

So, one drink could land little Lisa in a terrible environment. A CASA with a sorted background, superior government attorneys, alienation of a relationship with other relatives, a high bar....and, well, I have seen Judge Kessler be very fair in the past. I don't know what he will do in this case.

Last June the CASA'a attorney presented Judge Kessler with termination papers BEFORE the trial. The judge was outraged that the state had such little respect for the process.

It all rests with the judge.

Grandma Definately Had It Right

MY GRANDMA CALLED IT

Thirty-five years ago I read a letter-to-the editor written by my grandmother and published in the "San Diego Union Tribune." This was in the heat of the pro-life/pro-abortion debate.

Grandma was a modern day polemic. She had something published at least once a week and that was in the day that editors let citizens go back and forth with their own debates in the letters section.

Mostly, Grandma wrote about cutting taxes and reducing government spending. But, this day, she wrote about something that was private as far as I knew. Because, she never talked about social issues.

She wrote to the women who were choosing abortions. And, told them how she loved her three granddaughters. She told these young women (then my age) that they would be sorry and lonely in their old age if they opted to be childless. Hers was not a moral argument but rather one of understanding life's cycles.

TWO SOCCER GAMES, ONE FOOTBALL GAME, AND A CHEER LEADING SHOW

So, Saturday, Jim and I sat bundled up along the sidelines. The two eldest (9 and 7)of our ten grandchildren each played a soccer match and then during our grandson's football game his sister was cheer leading! We were cheering and watching our two young stars, sipping hot cocoa, and holding our umbrellas either from the wind or rain or both. It was musical games because each was at a different location. We treated to pizza at Farrelli's (my favorite) after the games.

My grandmother may have looked at this whole proposition as an investment. She was a successful business woman and from her vantage was relating her returns. But, me? I'm just glad I regarded Gloria, Bella, and Jane as wackos!

Child Protective Services Would Finally Find ACCOUNTABILITY Within the State Patrol

I have served in the Senate for 18 years and I have studied state government for longer than that.

For me, adherence to constitutional principles and government restraint are two of the most important drivers in what makes government work. But to have that be the case...THERE MUST BE ACCOUNTABILITY.

Let's talk briefly about the best and the worst.

The Washington State Patrol rates highest in Accountability

Hands down. This government agency has a system of rules that employees follow. In its military like functioning:

1.Everyone knows the rules for behavior and accountability. If you violate the rules you are written up.

2.If you want to move up the ranks you have to qualify! You take a written test for a score and you go before a review board for a verbal interview and yet another score. YOU COMPETE FOR OPEN POSITIONS.

3.When it comes to law enforcement this department demands of itself what it demands of the people...adherence to rules.

4.Everyone knows who is responsible for what...and where. Boundaries of jurisdiction are set. Each person has a different buck on the desk. They know what stops where.

5.Ultimately, the chief is responsible for the functioning of the department. And, the chief has no problem accepting that responsibility.

6. The department is relatively small (1,200 troopers) and close. In August, when the son of a trooper fell asleep at the wheel...everyone in the patrol knew about that. They pitched in and helped the family during the vigil. They helped pay expenses. And, they eventually shared tears at the funeral. The chief was there. I saw him...the victim was one of the most perfect members of my family. He was also a part of the State Patrol family.

The Department of Social and Health Services...Child Protective Services is the Least Accountable

1. DSHS is a huge agency...many thousands of workers do a fine job. But they are self regulated. And there are those at the top who do not attempt to correct the errors of the errant. In the following example you will note an employee who was lying to a supervisor. There was no reprimand. There was no note in the file. In other words....there was no accountability.

EXAMPLE: When the good grandparents of little three-year-old Lisa (name changed) were allowed their third supervised visit in nine months, the social worker showed up 20 minutes late. And, the grandparents were not allowed to make up the 20 minutes at the end of the visit. I personally reported that to a "higher up."

"Oh, let me call the social worker and ask about this," I was told by the high level bureaucrat.

"Thank you," I replied...with an ace in my pocket.

RING.....RING.... "Well, I called and she said she was only 5 minutes late. She said it was no big deal."

I replied, "Well, I had a private investigator sitting in a car by the daycare center. Let me get him on the phone. He was there when your worker arrived."

DON'T YOU JUST HATE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS?!


Let me be clear...if an employee lies...there should be consequences. That...is what accountability demands of you if you are the leader. Robin Arnold William, Director of DSHS, does not hold any of her employees accountable that I can tell, though she does punish them if they are honest in answers to legislative inquires.

Government servants in CPS have ignored state laws and yet Williams seems unconcerned. She and her high level bureaucratic staff "don't get involved at that level" (to quote Cheryl Stephanie #2 at CPS). But, more on that later.

BOTTOM LINE: I think the State Patrol should handle child protective cases. They are a disciplined bunch. They know and follow the law. They are accountable to their "higher ups" and they are better trained to know the difference between the bad guys and the good. CPS should be broken out of DSHS. This $6 billion dollar a year agency is dangerously big and without substance at the top.

(Please read a previous blog to be reminded of the 8 dead children in Region 5 since the beginning of the year. Lack of accountability has a trickle down effect.)

Melt Downs

#1 Bush
We are talking spiral here. Nothing seems to be going right for George.

#2 The '09-'10 State Budget Prospects
It will be like wading through warm butter. Nothing will stand up. The $3.5 Billion deficit will be made up in cuts/taxes. Every citizen will feel this...and it will be in a bad way.

#3 WA MU and other institutions
They were strangled to the ground by greed: Greedy management and greedy people who wanted more than they could afford and were not told NO. When the cave in started a lot of good people went down with it.

#4 Conan O'Brian
I'm sorry. This guy is just not funny! There is a thud of a difference in late night hosts. Carson was unbeatable. Leno holds his own, nicely. But O'Brian just plain pans.

#5 Mainstream media's effort to fake fairness
No pretense any longer. Even those easily fooled..can't be. The chart is flat. This baby is dead.

#6 Child Protective Services in WA State
Without integrity, nothing stands tall.