What Is Going On With Our Country?

How can we allow government entities to change our Constitution to suit them?

Did you know that hear say can & will be used against you in a “Court Of   Law”? This is   a  fact!  This not only goes against everything that our country stands for but is a giant step towards communism.

If The Division of Youth and Family Services is to take you to court, You Are Guilty & Have To Prove Otherwise. You can be found guilty on The Division Of Youth & Family Services “Opinion” alone. This practice goes on daily in the sate of New Jersey!

  The Great Powerhouse The Division Of Youth & Family Services

You as a single person have zero chance of taking on the “Great Powerhouse the Division Of Youth And Family Services government agency. No chance at all of getting you point across. If the division is knocking on your door you better do what they want and as fast as they want it ,Or Else!  This is reality!  I do not know if this is like this threw out the country or not; but in the state of New Jersey it sure is.

The Division Of Youth And Family Services operates on a method of receiving calls or complaints.most of the time anonymously. Well in this day and age there is nothing done anonymously but I can see that it needs to be done this way. My problem comes when this power is being abused by the division!  They use this anonymous issue to get things done in court! All they have to do is say “Oh We Had A Anonymous Call” no proof of call or anything and they get what they want!

Believe me I do not get along with some of my family members and have had my life turned up side down because of around 5 to 7 claims of anonymous calls. Mind you my children are the last children in the world that are neglected or abused in any way! I am a single father of 4 and have custody of 3 of them and fighting to get the fourth.

What I am saying is how can they spend the time and resources to investigate me and my children when there is children that need help. Maybe there isn’t in my area and they are doing it for job security? This has been going on for over a year! At times they were coming to my house 5 days a week.   You would laugh if you new me and my children . Why are they wasting there time and resources on me my family,”How Many More Family’s Our Out There” that they are just dumping there lives upside down for “Job Security”. If there is no problem lets make one is what I am thinking how they operate in Ocean County NJ.

Scared To Write Because Of There Power

I have been told by friends & family not to write about my story because they and I are afraid that they will come after me,Well they have been the whole time. Whats the difference!

Who does one turn to for help? Should I go to the police and file a criminal complaint against a government agency? Were does one go when they are scared for me my family! I believe in my heart that they broke a few laws and now have to take my children away from me in order to prove there case ! Without anything even being done  wrong on my part!

I have spoken to a few higher ups in  Division Of Youth And Family Services Workers from a different area’s and asked them to please look over this case that my children’s mother has. She agreed.

Do you know what she came back and said to me is ? My God in 25 years of working with the division I have never seen a case like this!”They Are Doing Anything They Want” her advise get the case closed and then  move away from that town!

Do you know how scared that made me ? They are doing everything in there power to take my children and I know it! There own rules state that a removal of a child should be the last resort. In this case it was first, I am the father and never was asked before the removal. What about the two sets of grandparents? Never a option! They took a brand new baby first with no positive urine’s or anything ! Even worse they told the doctor staff things that ended up changing the way the baby is being treated for” Head Injure ” to dug abuse and without and test results started to detox the baby with drugs.

How can this happen in the greatest country in the world?

We have been asking for over a year, almost to a point of begging for a meeting where we can all sit down and talk over the case together in one room at the division office to get everyone on the same page because the division is telling family members things that are not true and causing fights. The whole family is not speaking to one another because of this case worker and her feelings about what she thinks? Also for over a year we have been asking for a different case worker because this one there seems to be problems with she gets a sudden case of amnesia every time it comes to getting something constructive done.  Wouldn’t you know finally after 5 years of asking and 3 different open cases none with me they all of a sudden remove the worker.No we know that she was just doing what she was told from her superiors things are still getting worse!

Why aren’t they Putting The Family Back Together ?

It’s over a year since my daughter has been born and they still will not give her back to her mother or me. Her mother it is so ridiculous the hoops they put her threw and still will not give her back. They even made her do parenting 3 times without any recommendations from the first one, anger management for 6 months when it was never even on case order to be done as far as a substance abuse evaluation she did a extended evaluation with no recommendations,yet still will not give  the baby back.Worse yet I tried to take custody thinking how could they not give her to me I am raising a 3 year old and a 5 year old ? Well they are going after my 2 now !

The desire to write grows with writing. — Desiderius Erasmus

Firstborn: The Independent Educational Evaluation

 http://danadogooder.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/firstborn-the-independent-educational-evaluation/

 ADHD: To Medicate or Not

http://danadogooder.wordpress.com/2011/02/04/adhd-to-medicate-or-not/

 Firstborn: More on Double Deficit Dyslexia

 http://danadogooder.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/263/

 My Firstborn

http://danadogooder.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/my-firstborn/

“Race to Nowhere, The Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture!” My review and personal interjections!

http://danadogooder.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/259/

Firstborn: The recommendations!

http://danadogooder.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/firstborn-the-recommendations/

Firstborn:The Scary Man

http://danadogooder.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/firstborn-the-scary-man/

Firstborn: The evaluation by the Developmental Behavioral Optometrist

http://danadogooder.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/firstborn-the-evaluation-by-the-developmental-behavioral-optometrist/

The Burning Bed

http://danadogooder.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/the-burning-bed/

Firstborn: Teacher Checklist

http://danadogooder.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/firstborn-teacher-checklist/

Copyrighted 2011; danadogooder and DMT

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• My 100th Blog! (danadogooder.wordpress.com)

Writing and reporting on CSR and sustainability issues, I have always preferred to keep personal stories out of my writing. However, this once I’d like to talk about an incident that has me rattled. And like everything else I write, I’d like to share it with you and hopefully together, help make someone’s life a bit easier.

There is a girl who recently started working at this store I frequent in my neighborhood. Yesterday, as I stood in her checkout line, she seemed flustered, stressed, worn out.

Was it the recent storm? No, she said. “It’s my life.”

The girl, 19 years old, was clearly upset and I asked her manager to give her a 10 minute break so we could chat.

She is one of thousands of abandoned children in New Jersey. Her father is in prison. Her mother, who remarried, abandoned her and she was placed in one of the state’s foster homes.

Then, she was in school.

Yesterday, however, was her first day of college thanks to New Jersey’s Foster and Adoptive Family Services (FAFS) program. Instead of the usual excitement, however, she was scared. Here’s why:

Her foster home parents, from the Division of Youth and Family Services agency (DYFS), have encouraged her to study and work at the same time. What makes it harder for her is that unlike the other kids in the house, she doesn’t have a car.

So she ends up spending hours everyday taking the NJ Transit bus from home to school, school to home, and then home to work, and back home. The problem: NJ Transit buses run every hour or so with limited runs after 10pm. Her shift at work doesn’t end till 10pm so she has to wait for the next bus, which doesn’t run till 11:58pm.

Here’s how her day goes, she explained:

5:00am: Wake up, rush for college

6:30am-1:00pm: Classes

1:00pm-2:30pm: Bus, lunch at home

3:00pm: Back on the road heading to work (shift starts at 4pm). She only lives 15 minutes away but is dependent on the bus schedule

4:00pm-10:00pm: Work

10:00pm-11:58pm: Wait for the bus

12:30am-2:00am: Finish homework and complete weekly assigned house chore

2:00am-5:00am: Sleep

She doesn’t have a case officer anymore, she says, because her father got sentenced and that’s when the case closed. Her mother doesn’t support her and the DYFS workers receive half of her bi-weekly paycheck, which doesn’t leave much for her to save between food and textbooks.

She also told me that those funds are “supposed to be used toward weekend trips and expenses like a bus pass for the kids,” but that in reality, none of those trips take place.

Can she report this to someone? She doesn’t think so. After all, they are helping finance her college education. And she doesn’t have an assigned case officer.

She is also thankful for “having a roof on her head and health insurance.” She realizes that leaving the home would mean financial instability and she certainly cannot afford independent health insurance.

But why work that exact shift at work? Perhaps an earlier shift can help get her home sooner, giving her more time for homework and sleep?

The DYFS staff insist she work in the evening to support her expenses.

Clearly, she has a complex mix of logistical and puritanical policies to deal with. How does she want to move forward?

Take a year off of school to save enough money to buy a car and afford rent so she can get out of foster care.

The hitch? She says, the DYFS folks insist that she go to college; that it is part of the arrangement of living in foster care.

All through her narration, I’m thinking, there has to be two sides to the coin. DYFS after all is a social services agency built to protect such children. Surely, she is biased and simply stressed with trying to balance work with studies? Most adults have a hard time juggling work and home, she’s just a teen at her first job.

But at the same time I was also thinking more on lines of how I could help.

Regardless of whether she is biased, simply venting or stating the honest truth, can I help improve her life in any way? What can I do to help her cope with life and believe in herself?

Mobility is clearly her biggest obstacle. Would a car be the solution?

Or financial help?

Or something else?

Living in the country of “everyone’s dreams,” makes it easier for us to forget people who are worse off. Growing up in India, poverty, destitution and neglect were visible, right there for everyone to see. The jhuggis (straw huts) coexisted with the brick and granite mansions on the streets of Delhi. The Mumbai slums–now that everyone is familiar with them thanks to Slumdog Millionaire–are in your face, there everyday, alive and naked.

Here though, in one of the most expensive states of the country, girls like her are invisible — and stories like these so much more shocking.

So, what should I do? What would you do?

Connect with me @AmanSinghCSR or leave a comment.

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Over the past 4 years I have been going through an almost silent pain, my daughter decided to live with her father and then he kept her from me.  He wouldn’t allow me to see or talk to her until recently.  And then my daughter started telling me that everything at home was not all peaches and cream.  Now living with her dad for some time I knew what he was like and I hoped that he would be different with his own daughter, I would be wrong in that assumption.

Last week I received a text from her which led to me calling the police (can’t go into detail because of a pending DYFS investigation and my daughters own privacy).  So now after all this time she is living with me!  Family court has granted me temporary legal and residential custody of her.  I am so happy that I think at times I am going to burst.  4 years of missing birthdays, holidays, school events,  and other life changing moments, I don’t even know where to begin to heal all of the time that has passed.

Having a teenage daughter at home 24/7 is different from what we are use to.  My step-daughter lives at our house on the weekends but she usually does her own thing because her friends live by her moms house.  Since my daughter has been home we are on teenage girl overload; shopping, hair, make-up, boyfriends, etc…. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I know we are in a honeymoon phase right now but why not bask in these moments while they last?  Living through the court system for the past 14 years I know next week could be a whole new ballgame.

Vincent Williams of Camden pleaded guilty in March to aggravated manslaughter, admitting he punched and kicked 9-year-old Jamar Cruz. He then waited a day to seek medical attention for the child, who later died at a hospital.

The beating occurred in the apartment Williams shared with the boy’s mother, who wasn’t home when the incident occurred. It came four months after New Jersey’s child welfare agency had closed its file on the family.

The Division of Youth and Family Services became involved after Williams was accused of beating the boy with a belt in 2007. He later pleaded guilty.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

[listicle id=55129 align=left show_title=true]

Vincent Williams pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter on Monday.

The 28-year-old Camden resident is expected to be sentenced to a 30-year prison term next month.

Williams told a judge he beat his girlfriend’s son, Jamar Cruz, in their apartment last year.

New Jersey’s child welfare agency closed its file on the family four months before the child was beaten to death.

The Division of Youth and Family Services became involved after Williams was accused of beating the boy with a belt in 2007. He later pleaded guilty.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

In a 7-0 decision, the court found the state Division of Youth and Family Services lacked sufficient evidence to remove a teenager from her father and stepmother’s home in 2008, and dropped the abuse and neglect judgment against her stepmother.

“The parental decisions made within this family unit may not have been exemplars of stellar parenting, but they did not rise to the level of Title Nine violations,” wrote Justice Jaynee LaVecchia, referring to New Jersey’s child abuse laws.

The girl was removed from the home after her grandfather reported the parents for taking her earnings from her part-time job and “slapping her around.” A DYFS worker also found the home was without heat and authorized an emergency removal.

The father told a DYFS representative that his wife had slapped his daughter once two years earlier, and that part of his daughter’s earnings went to the cable bill. The couple said their central heating was broken, and they were using space heaters. The family members were not named the decision.

The Supreme Court found that an occasional slap, “although hardly admirable … does not fit a common sense prohibition against ‘excessive’ corporal punishment.” And classifying as abuse and neglect the requirement of a working-aged child to contribute to the family finances is “simply wide of the mark,” LaVecchia wrote.

The girl is no longer a minor, so the court’s decision did not affect her custody.

A spokesman for the state Public Defender’s office, which represented the stepmother in the case, said the court’s decision solidifies the definition of child neglect.

“The court properly determined that the minor difficulties that occur within a family regarding disciplining a child, heating a home and the relationship with a grandparent fall far short of neglect or abuse of a child under New Jersey law,” said spokesman Tom Rosenthal in a statement.

Lauren Kidd, a spokesperson for the Department of Children and Families, which oversees DYFS, declined comment, saying the department does not discuss litigation.

In its decision, the Supreme Court reprimanded DYFS.

“That DYFS did not make any offer of assistance to remedy the heating problem is troubling, particularly to the extent that the deficient central heating component of the home was used as a basis for removing (her),” LaVecchia wrote. “Most of the allegations were the product of the family’s tight financial situation.”

Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, said DYFS ”made everything worse.”

“There was nothing wrong in this family that some concrete help to pay the heating bill and perhaps a little counseling couldn’t solve,” he said. “All of that time and that money was in effect stolen from some child we may never know who really is in danger and really does need to be taken from his home.”

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

I called my Pastor and told her what had happened. She said she had done some social work and that if DYFS were to be called on me that they would come and realize there were no threats to my children. Again I was told not to worry.

I called my pediatrician. Remember I was new to the area and had probably only met the pediatrician a couple of times by now. They listened to my story and told me not to worry. I really think they thought I was nuts.

Then I called my neuro developmental pediatrician. She was the only one who felt my pain. She was really concerned too. We talked and she made note of all the comments from the Lithium to the threats of DYFS.

Little did I know at the time of my panic phone calls that they would be later be documentation of these threats being made. At the time, I was only looking for comfort and advice of what to do. I didn’t even know I was making a record with these professionals.

During this same time my son started falling asleep in class. He had no other symptoms. Being my son had ADHD and was usually hyper I was extremely worried that he may be suffering from mononucleosis (mono).  I mean what else could it be and I also remembered my friends daughter who was in high school having the same scenario just a year before. No symptoms but so fatigued she also fell asleep anywhere including school. So I took my son to the pediatrician and he was examined. I asked that she test my son for mono but she said it was rare that a first grade child would have mono and wanted to hold off on testing. I was told to call in a week or two if the pattern continued.  

In the meantime, the aid called me again and this time she told me that my son’s resource room teacher who was a new hire and not tenured and who I liked was having problems with the administration. She said there had been an incident but would not elaborate. 
The next call was on December 7, 2002. The aid asked if she could come to my son’s birthday party. I found it really strange and I was getting extremely nervous. I received two more calls on December 12th and 13th.  Then on December 17, 2002 which was my son’s birthday she showed up at my home unannounced when I was out on the road working in Long Island. Thank goodness, my aupair Melanie did not let her into my home.

The next day at the prompting of a district employee that I had befriended I scheduled a closed meeting with the principal and vice principal. Although the aid claimed that the school district staff were out to get me I decided I had to go to them. I did not know what else to do. I told them everything that the aid had said from the DYFS threats, to the resource teacher having problems with the administration, to her Lithium statements, to her showing up at my home. They sat there wide eyed and listened.  They agreed that the aid would be terminated without any knowledge of our meeting since I relayed to them I was scared to death that she may attempt to show up at my home again or even worse try to kidnap my son. I then also realized maybe she was drugging my kid with Lithium. Maybe that is why he was sleeping in class? I mean she made the comment and she had access to the drug. It felt like a crazy scene from a Lifetime movie. I could not believe
this was happening.

*
I called the neuro developmental pediatrician again and told her what was going on. She was so upset that she contacted some type of crisis center for doctors at the hospital. She told me to take my son back to the pediatrician for testing. I went back to the doctor’s office. This time I saw a different doctor in the practice. I told him either my son is suffering from mono or the school aid was giving him lithium. I asked him to test for mono and to check for lithium levels. He was extremely hesitant and I knew he thought I was some crazy pregnant lady. I told him to call the neuro developmental doctor or that he could call the school. There was that certain someone at the school who knew what had been going on besides the principal and vice principal. Someone who had knew some inside information about the aid and about the incident with the resource room teacher. (Even all these years later I will not go into who this person was as I would not want to
create any problems for them) So let’s jut say I instructed the doctor to call this person. He did and they confirmed the threats against me were real and there were in fact pending problems with the aid and teacher. It was true. I wasn’t a nut. He did the tests. My son did have mono and I was pissed that the original doctor did not test him the first time around because it could have alleviated some of stress at the time. Especially since I was due to give birth in seven weeks.

In any event, the following day I received a letter from the principal that the resource room teacher was leaving the district. It said, “We thank her for her commitment to the children and wish her the best.” I thought to myself they hadn’t mentioned a word to me at the meeting yesterday. Maybe the aid had been telling me the truth. It was all just too strange.

The day after that I got another letter from the principal. The case manager was leaving and they had already a new case manager and were just notifying me of the change.

I never did get a letter about the aid’s termination but yes she was gone too!

Copyrighted 2011: danadogooder and DMT

At a news conference Tuesday, Muhammed Khalil told reporters including 1010 WINS’ Steve Sandberg that a Division of Youth and Family Services worker unleashed a barrage of insults at him in a crowded Paterson restaurant.

Download: muslim-3sandberg-w40-soc-mcmorrow.mp3|titles=Steve%20Sandberg%20reports|artists=1010%20WINS

Khalil, a green card holder originally from Egypt, said the case worker asked him “where is your knife? You’ll slit my throat” and also asked “where is your bomb strapped on you?”

Another Muslim woman, Sandy Dahmra, who was with Khalil at the restaurant, was allegedly told “go back to your country.”

Both Khalil and Dahmra said they had other comments directed toward them including “terrorist,” “Bin Laden lover” and “why don’t you call your Allah.”

The case worker also publicly declared he would never get his boy back, Khalil said.

Khalil has not seen his 6-year-old son since he was taken from his mother’s home a year ago and placed with foster parents for reasons unknown because of privacy laws. Khalil was not living there at the time and is separated from the boy’s mother.

Khalil wants an investigation and said the worker also violated privacy laws by disclosing the case in public. Ultimately, though, Khalil said he just wants his little boy back.

“I only want my son. I want my son,” he said, breaking into tears. “I think I have all the reason to have my son with me, give him toys, enjoy with him.”

Khalil claimed he has had run-ins with the case worker before, but that there were never any witnesses.

The Department of Children and Families said it was “aware of the alleged incident” and “is looking into this allegation.”

The agency said it “continues to have an ongoing dialogue” with CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations), which is supporting Khalil in his fight.

Elida Marroquin was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, child endangerment and weapons offenses following Saturday’s incident at the family’s home in Bergenfield.

Stabbed: the mother attacked her son with a knife

Authorities were still working to confirm what country Marroquin is from and other personal details about her.

Authorities said the 37-year-old married mother of three, who does not read English well, grew stressful and mistakenly feared she would lose custody of her children after receiving several letters from their school in recent weeks.

“It seems to us that this may have been something that has been building up the last couple of weeks,” Police Detective John Casper said.

“She was under the impression that at some point her children were going to be taken from her,” despite numerous reassurances from her husband that she had nothing to be concerned about.

Bergenfield Schools Superintendent Michael Kuchar said district officials reviewed the letters that were sent home to the family and found nothing that would support Marroquin’s concerns. He said the documents included a field-trip form and a school progress report.

Marroquin allegedly attacked the boy late Saturday morning while he was on his parents’ bed, playing video games with his 2-year-old sister nearby. Marroquin’s husband was not home at the time, authorities said.

The boy screamed when he saw the knife, causing his 12-year-old sister to run into the room, and Marroquin then stabbed him in the stomach, police said. The boy ran from the room and was followed by his older sister, who had grabbed the younger girl.

The children fled the residence and ran to the apartment of their upstairs neighbor, who called the police. Meanwhile, the older girl returned to the family’s apartment to get paper towels, which she used to stop her brother’s bleeding.

After stabbing her son, authorities say Marroquin turned the knife on herself, cutting her neck and abdomen.

She and her son were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where doctors removed the boy’s gall bladder and treated his mother for a puncture wound to the neck. Both remained hospitalised on Sunday, and the mother will soon undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Marroquin’s two daughters are temporarily staying with a family friend, and the state Division of Youth and Family Services is involved in the investigation.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/top_three/article_15f95b20-7eee-11de-aac7-001cc4c002e0.html

By JOHN FROONJIAN Special Projects Writer, 609-272-7273 Posted: Monday, August 3, 2009

Eileen Bennett traveled from Cumberland County to Trenton one late-summer day in 2007 for a difficult meeting. She was to hear what the state might have done to prevent her stepdaughter, Wendy, and two young grandchildren from being murdered by Wendy’s husband.

Bennett expected a whitewash.

“My expectations were low,” Bennett, 55, of Commercial Township, said last week. She doubted one state agency would criticize another.

But she was amazed.

E. Susan Hodgson, who was the state child advocate at the time, laid out missteps by the state Division of Youth and Family Services in unsparing detail. DYFS failed in its case handling, her report said, and failed to protect the family. To Bennett, one line validated everything the family had claimed about the shotgun homicides of her 12-year-old grandson and 7-year-old granddaughter: “Scott M. Jr. and Melanie M.’s tragic deaths were possibly preventable.”

“I was shocked at how brutally honest they were about DYFS’ shortcomings,” Bennett said. “We figured this was a new era for DYFS, that other children would be protected because DYFS would have to redo its practices.”

That era is about to end.

The state has quietly decided to stop publishing child-fatality reports such as the one that held DYFS accountable in the Bennett case and in 34 other child deaths since 2003. The Child Advocate Office did not formally announce the change, but confirmed it in a Star-Ledger report last week.

Under the new program, the advocate’s office will work with an existing state review board to analyze cases in which DYFS-supervised children die or are seriously injured because of abuse or neglect, spokeswoman Nancy Parello said in a telephone interview Tuesday. The advocate, the review board and the state Department of Children and Families, which runs DYFS, will report annually on system-wide problems and recommend changes.

But the advocate’s office now will keep secret what actions DYFS took in specific cases and whether the agency did anything wrong. The public no longer will have access to that information.

Children and Families spokeswoman Kate Bernyk said DYFS still will disclose whether it provided services in child fatality cases and will document the extent of its involvement. But the advocate’s reports had provided much greater detail than the information DYFS is required by law to release. And DYFS does not provide a critical review of itself.

New Jersey established the advocate’s office in 2003 after the murder of 7-year-old Faheem Williams, of Newark, shocked and mobilized the state. The boy’s beaten and mummified body was found in the closet of a relative. A public outcry spurred reforms. The first child advocate, Kevin Ryan, worked to expose agency lapses in a number of tragic cases.

Parello says the office also was created to address a range of issues affecting child safety, including drowning and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. She said the office decided to re-evaluate its mission after Hodgson resigned as advocate last year.

“Our job is to identify systemic issues, not to provide the public with the details of every single case,” Parello said.

Activists say they fear the loss of public scrutiny will jeopardize improvements New Jersey has made in child welfare since establishing the advocate’s office and agreeing to have federal officials monitor the system as part of a lawsuit settlement.

“We’re back to square one,” Bennett said. “The bureaucracy wins again.”

State Sen. Diane Allen, R-Burlington, Camden, said the public cannot hold DYFS accountable if it doesn’t know what’s going on. She echoed a sentiment expressed by others: “We don’t solve the problems of child abuse and neglect with less information.”

Richard Wexler, director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, said policy should not be driven by the relatively few extreme cases resulting in death. He said regular reviews of randomly selected DYFS cases would reveal more about how DYFS works than studying “the horror stories” – concentrating on deaths distorts the agency’s practices like a “funhouse mirror.”

But he said providing no information could be worse. The agency must be publicly accountable in tragic cases, Wexler said.

State officials countered that they still will be held accountable. Parello said experts from different fields will evaluate DYFS’ performance as part of the annual report done with the Child Fatality and Near-Fatality Review Board.

“There’s accountability for everyone involved with children,” she said, adding: “We see this as going in a positive direction.”

Advocates say that if DYFS is internally accountable only to government officials, the public is left out.

“We all have to be watchdogs,” Allen said. “Government isn’t perfect. We need to hold the feet of those in charge to the fire.”

Cecelia Zalkind, director of the Association for Children of New Jersey, said that “Basically, they’re saying, ‘Trust us.’” She added: “And past experience shows that’s not good enough.”

For Bennett, who lost her stepdaughter and two grandchildren, the change is a “giant step” backward. “Everything we thought that was good that had come out of this (ordeal), we feel was for naught.”

Bennett, who formerly worked for The Press of Atlantic City as a bureau chief, copy editor and reporter, said she was stunned when she read that the state no longer would publish performance analyses in child-fatality cases. The advocate report on the case involving Bennett’s family – which settled a lawsuit against DYFS for $750,000 – is a prime example of the kind of accountability that will be missed.

DYFS was involved with the family before the murders.

PDF Fatality Report: New Jersey

In mid-2004, another Bennett grandchild, Amanda Bennett, then 16, charged Wendy’s husband, Scott McCarter, with sexually abusing her when she was 13. McCarter was charged in July 2004 with six counts of aggravated sexual assault against Amanda and her best friend.

DYFS got involved. McCarter, who was initially jailed and then living out of the family’s Millville home, was ordered not to have contact with Amanda and Scott and Melanie, until services and treatment were completed. But DYFS ignored complaints that McCarter had violated orders to stay away from Amanda and her younger siblings. Amanda moved out.

Wendy initially supported Amanda. But within months, she wanted to reunite the family. Police told DYFS Wendy pressured Amanda to drop the charges.

But DYFS did not even visit between Aug. 17 and Oct. 6, 2004, the report said. Then, workers discovered McCarter had moved back in, and Amanda had moved out to live with her paternal grandmother. The report found no evidence that two DYFS workers expressed any concern about McCarter violating the case plan. Nor did they act to remove Amanda’s younger siblings from the home. The report noted it is “unlikely” that a sexual abuser would limit abuse to only one child.

DYFS did not insist McCarter move out until Dec. 30, 2004. DYFS workers were supposed to visit the home every two weeks in 2005. But only eight visits occurred. During one, workers discovered McCarter was spending unsupervised time with the children in violation of the case plan.

No visits were recorded in 2006, the report said. McCarter’s sexual assault trial began in mid-May. On May 25, 2006, on a day he was supposed to testify, McCarter, 40, entered the family’s Millville home and shotgunned to death Wendy, 35, and their two children, Scott and Melanie. They died while they slept in their beds. McCarter then turned the weapon on himself.

The child advocate’s report documented case-management problems in detail, including a “fundamental flaw” in the DYFS case plan that allowed an accused sexual molester access to the children during the day, even though Amanda and her friend had said McCarter abused them during daytime hours.

State officials have said one reason for discontinuing its public case reviews is to protect surviving family members. But Zalkind said those families often want to know how the system failed.

Bennett said that it hurts every time their story is retold. But she said she believes the public accountability keeps the system honest and directly helps save other children in dangerous situations.

“Every time our case is mentioned, it’s a new trauma for Amanda and us,” she said. “But you weigh that against improving the system and saving the life of a child.

“We want to see our children in New Jersey safe,” she said.

A recent case that could be affected by the state’s change in practice involves the April 22 murder of a 2-year-old boy in Woodbine, Cape May County. Caden Rivera, who had cerebral palsy, died from blunt-force trauma to his abdomen, authorities said. His mother’s boyfriend, Damien Garcia Rodriguez, 31, of Wildwood was charged with aggravated manslaughter and awaits trial in the Cape May County Jail.

Caden’s estranged father, Juan Rivera-Perez, 30, of Wildwood had claimed in a complaint to DYFS a month before the murder that the child was being abused.

DYFS released a document showing that DYFS acted on the tip and had investigated the mother, Jennifer Bowen, in the past on allegations of abuse, neglect and substance abuse. Three of her children were removed from her care and placed with relatives in April 2000, the document said. DYFS found no evidence of alleged substance abuse in March 2007, when Bowen was pregnant with Caden, it said.

But the document provides no details of DYFS’ activities in the month leading up to Caden’s death, other than that the last contact with the child was made March 25, six days after it received a complaint.

Did DYFS workers follow proper procedures? Did they interview the accused murderer? Did they find evidence of abuse or neglect? These are the kinds of questions the Child Advocate Office had asked – and publicly answered – until now.

Wexler, of the national reform group, advocates a bold approach to public accountability in child welfare.

“What’s really needed is a ‘rebuttable presumption’ of total openness,” Wexler said. “All court hearings should be open. Almost all records should be open – not just in fatality cases, but in every case.”

Seventeen states, including Florida and New York, have opened proceedings and some records to the public. As a result, he said, the public understands more about the system’s workings, and not just fatality cases. Accountability has improved, Wexler said.

“You can’t fix a government system with one designated government watchdog, be it (the child advocate) or a review board,” he said. “We all have to be the watchdogs, so we all have to have the information.”

E-mail John Froonjian:

JFroonjian@pressofac.com

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/678/2009/may/01/state-family-of-slain-boy-was-being-investigated.html

The Associated Press

A two-year-old was beaten to death while child welfare officials in New Jersey investigated his mother’s boyfriend for child abuse.

Caden Rivera died on April 22 from blunt-force trauma to his abdomen.

Damien Rodriguez is held without bail in Cape May County, charged with aggravated manslaughter.

Officials at the state’s Children and Families Department say they received a complaint in March that Rodriguez was abusing the boy. The investigation was ongoing.

Authorities say they also received complaints about the boy’s mother.

In 2003, New Jersey’s child welfare agency dealt with deaths and mistreatment of children in the its care.

Since then, advocates have praised the agency for reforms.

___

Information from: The Press of Atlantic City, www.pressofatlanticcity.com

Cape May disabled toddler dies while under DYFS supervision

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/cape_may_disabled_toddler_supe.html

by Susan K. Livio/Statehouse Bureau

Thursday April 30, 2009, 9

A 2-year-old disabled boy who had been supervised by New Jersey’s child welfare system has died, allegedly at the hands of his mother’s boyfriend, the second such incident in less than a month, state Department of Children and Families officials said today.

State officials confirmed this week that the agency had been investigating the family of a Cape May County toddler with cerebral palsy who died April 22.

The disclosure came just days after a federal monitor issued a report crediting the department with making improvements to expand, better train and supervise its child welfare caseworkers.

A spokeswoman for Children and Families Commissioner Kimberly Ricketts called the child’s death “a tragedy that we all feel very deeply,” but said it should not give the public reason to doubt the department is far better since it has been under the supervision of a federal court monitor.

“The monitor’s report does accurately present the marked improvements and changes in the state’s child welfare system, which is very different from what it was just a few years ago,” said the spokeswoman, Mary Helen Cervantes.

Cervantes said the department has opened an internal investigation into how the agency handled the case involving Caden Rivera, a 25-month-old boy from Woodbine, Cape May County. The toddler, born with cerebral palsy, died from blunt force trauma to the abdomen, just a month after his alleged killer had been accused of physically abusing the boy, according to a report obtained by The Star-Ledger.

The state Division of Youth and Family Services was investigating alleged abuse by Damian Garcia-Rodriguez, 31, of Wildwood, when Caden died last week, according to police and DYFS records.

Garcia-Rodriguez, the boyfriend of Caden’s mother, faces second-degree manslaughter and child endangerment charges and is being held without bail, Cape May County Chief of Detectives James E. Rybicki said today.

Caden’s death follows the March 31 death of 9-year-old Jamarr Cruz of Camden, whom DYFS began supervising in December 2007 after Vincent Williams, his mother’s live-in boyfriend, pleaded guilty to using excessive force to discipline the child.

DYFS closed the case in November 2008 after the child’s mother and Williams completed family counseling classes and Williams finished an anger management course. Camden County Prosecutor’s Office charged Williams, 26, with the boy’s death.

Cecilia Zalkind, executive director of the Association for Children of New Jersey, said she hoped that in the Cape May County case, investigators would have considered the child’s disability and young age when it evaluated whether he was safe.

“These two cases raise concerns about what is the standard the division is using to determine whether cases should be opened and closed,” Zalkind said.

Citing state statistics, Zalkind said there has been a 28 percent drop in the number of children DYFS is supervising.

“A drop in caseload can be good, but there should be some examination about how these decisions are made,” she said.

According to the DYFS record on the Caden Rivera case, his mother, identified in published reports as Jennifer Bowen, had a long history with DYFS, which found she had been negligent twice with her other children, in 2000 and 2003. Her three other children have been living with relatives since 2000.

Four children have died from abuse and neglect this year, including Caden and Jamarr, Cervantes confirmed. Of the other two, one was the subject of an open DYFS case; the other had no DYFS history. The department could not supply more details on the other two cases tonight.

The New Jersey Supreme Court today ruled that to terminate the rights of a biological parent, the state must show ending the relationship would not do more harm than good and ought to come with the promise of a new start for the child with a permanent family.

The case involves a woman by the name of Emilia, who had her daughter Andrea taken away from her when she was only three years old. Emilia was a drug addict, suffered with depression, and was unfit at the time to take care of her child. However, Emilia cleaned up her act, got a job, stopped doing drugs and secured an apartment. The State however still proceeded to remove the parental rights from Emilia.

Andrea, on the other hand, has been shuffling in and out of foster homes and institutions. Throughout that time, she would constantly ask to be re-united with her mother whom she still held contact with through periodic visits and phone calls. Andrea has suffered from physiological breakdowns during the time she has spent away from her mother and as the court ruled, “was not likely to be adopted.”

However, the State of New Jersey was determined to end the only emotional and loving support that little Andrea had. They went through with the termination of Emilia’s parental rights because their system is flawed and inhumane. They prefer torturing a child by sending them to foster homes where they are unwanted and to institutions where they are uncared for. Sure some foster homes produce a loving environment, but it’s not a family.  They still lack parents and the love and warmth that all children need in order to grow in life. The foster child has more of a chance of failing by going through numerous “institutions” than they do if they live with a parent.
Why does our society have so little faith in our youth that maybe, just maybe they will learn from their parent’s mistakes and build a life off that.

I applaud the Supreme Court for ruling in favor of children today.  Justice Albin stated sincerely in the majority opinion that “Against the bleak prospect of adoption remains the one sustaining force in Andrea’s young life – her mother’s love and emotional support.”

The state’s job is not to kidnap children, it is to have their best interests at heart. Now instead of just grabbing a kid out of their parent’s home, DYFS must actually find a home and guarantee a better life before they do so. Nevertheless, one thing remains certain, no love is like a mother or father’s love and luckily more children in NJ will now be able to experience that.

Supreme Court Ruling

My wife and I moved to Nutley Properties Apartments in Nutley, NJ. twenty years ago, when the complex looked decent, management was friendly, and the quality of life was good. We now find it necessary to leave because of the declining condition of the apartments, the disingenuous behavior of the management and maintenance staff, and harassment by emotionally disturbed young people being warehoused here by D.Y.F.S.

THE APARTMENT COMPLEX – The exterior of the apartments are showing the ravages of time, and the interiors exhibit years of hard use:

>There is no air conditioning, you will have to purchase your own.

>The wiring is so old the building inspector allows only 15 amp fuses in the circuit breaker (the standard is 30 to 100 amps); it doesn’t take much to blow them.

>The walls and ceilings have very bad cracks that cannot be permanently repaired; the rotting plaster easily chips and peels.

>The walls are uneven and bumpy, making it difficult to hang pictures.

>The hot and cold water pressure drastically fluctuates, resulting in uncomfortable showers.

>The wooden floors are old and very noisy.

>There is no soundproofing and the noise from your neighbors can be maddening. Also, your most intimate moments and private discussions will become the talk of the complex.

>Closets are very small, no walk-ins.

>No ventilation fan in the kitchen; cooking odors permeate throughout the apartment for hours.

>The water and sewage pipes are in a progressive state of disintegration; maintenance is continuously entering apartments to repair and replace them.

>The hot water supply is not reliable; the 60 year old boilers are forever breaking down. I have taken many a cold shower.

>There is no assigned parking, and there are not enough spaces to accommodate even one car per apartment.

>Squirrels run amok above the ceilings of the second floor apartments. There have been outbreaks of roach infestation.

>The apartments were built following WWII, and the exterior brick facade is dirty with ugly streaks of black and white paint bleeding from painted surfaces.

>There are decorative window shutters on some windows and not others.

>The grounds display years of abuse and lack of professional care. Dead shrubs are rarely replaced.

>The rent increases 5% every year. My current rent, as of October 2005, is $1,326.00 per month for a 2 bedroom unit (578 sq. ft).

>The manager of the complex has a serious attitude problem, and can be exceptionally nasty and vindictive. Watch your back with this one, I mean it!

THE D.Y.F.S. CONNECTION – Over the past several years D.Y.F.S. (N.J. Division of Youth and Family Services – rated the worst state run agency in the country and currently under Federal Court oversight) has been clandestinely placing emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children and adolescents with individuals and families in the complex. D.Y.F.S. has been under attack for many years because of inept leadership and management (An October 2005 Legislative report states that, “D.Y.F.S. is disorganized, …and in chaos”.), and the placement of mentally disturbed children and adolescents in apartments is just another example of their ongoing incompetence. Apartment living is the worst possible setting for these young people, since it only exacerbates their condition (constant exposure to people and noise creates a highly toxic environment), they should be housed in detached homes or group facilities. To make matters worse D.Y.F.S., in its’ frenzied quest to meet a federally mandated deadline, is allowing these disturbed young people to be placed with some very undesirable guardians (Example: a 2006 court-ordered disclosure shows foster children being placed with homeless people and sex offenders.).

The Asbury Park Press reported on July 5, 2008:

“A Parlin man who is a licensed foster parent (caregiver) with the state has been charged with sexually assaulting four girls under his care.” So much for the highly touted Foster Parent Licensing Act of  2002 that was supposed to screen-out potential abusers and other undesirables. (More on caregivers further down.).

In 2004 it contracted with Youth Consultation Service (Y.C.S.), and other private agencies, to do the work it is incapable of performing (placing emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children in homes), and the results are reflected in the growing mess that has been created at Nutley Properties.

My daughter is an ardent advocate for children and adolescents with Neurodevelopmental Disorders. She is a degreed special education teacher who cherishes her stressful career, and loves many of her students as if they were her own. Even though the kids have kicked, punched, bitten and struck her with objects, and frustrated parents have been verbally abusive and threatening, she continues to defend the special education system. When I asked her about D.Y.F.S. she readily admitted she had heard stories about the organization that distressed her, but chose not to elaborate. I lovingly admire her for her devotion to these young people, but find it very difficult to have any sympathy when my quality of life is being severely compromised.

After explaining to my daughter the problem her mother and I were having, she reluctantly investigated our concerns and discovered some disturbing information:

- There are children and adolescents living here who have a Neurobehavioral Disorder (“A life-long developmental disability that manifests itself by problems with learning, social, emotional, or behavioral disorders due to a brain malfunction”, National Mental Health Association.). Unable to communicate and form social relationships, they develop antisocial behavior which they cunningly direct at unsuspecting tenants; once they develop an unhealthy fixation on someone they will relentlessly torment and stalk them.

- When agitated, or overstimulated, they are prone to uncontrollable behavior that can lead to physical violence, destruction of property, and fire setting. They have no conception of right from wrong, and do not understand the harmful consequences of their wildly aggressive behavior. Once adults, they are at high risk of engaging in violent and/or criminal activity.

- Some of the young people go to special education schools, or classes, while the rest are warehoused in the apartments 24 hours a day.

- They are easily agitated by the sounds of footsteps, voices, doors closing, phones ringing, vacuum cleaners, running water, children playing, fans, lawnmowers, leaf blowers, workmen in adjacent apartments – you get the picture. No matter where the noise originates they will incessantly follow you from room-to-room banging on the walls and ceilings, slamming doors, stomping, dropping heavy objects, loudly playing the radio, and trying to distort the flow of hot and cold water when your showering; other times they just follow you around for no apparent reason and tap or bang on the floor or ceiling 24/7. Their disturbances are usually most intense when a caregiver is present, although some will come after you while alone. If, however, you are very quiet and there are no other bothersome noises, they may just follow you around without incident; but be assured, they will never leave you alone (More on this under the heading Tenant Alert.).

If you complain to management about the harassment, your charges will most likely be ignored or downplayed. On the other hand, if the caregiver or caseworker decide you are upsetting these mentally dysfunctional people (almost anything you do will annoy them), be prepared for a dirty fight; lies and deceit will be the name of the game, and everyone from the apartment manager to DYFS will get down and dirty. Remember, you are not supposed to know these dysfunctional people exist, and the organizations involved will do everything in their power to control your life and discredit your grievances. If you reach this juncture you will probably be faced with four choices: accept their one-sided demands and acquiesce to the abuse, move out, ignore their demands and be evicted, or get a lawyer and dig in.

How is it these mentally disturbed children and adolescents, 95% of whom will never become self-reliant, are allowed to victimize the taxpayer? It’s very difficult to have any compassion when you are on the receiving end of their dysfunctional behavior.

I truly believe there are foster caregivers and caseworkers out there who try to help these mentally disturbed people without destroying the quality of life of others around them. Its just unfortunate that my wife and I have been victims of the darker side of the child welfare program.

- They will tolerate only a select few entering their space, and will go ballistic if anyone else gets too close. If approached outdoors, they may try to hide or turn away so you can’t look into their eyes.

- Some have sleep disorders which keep them from resting for more than an hour or two in a 24 hour period, while others sleep periodically during the day and torment all night. The caregivers allow these young people to use the bedroom directly under/over yours for their all-night harassment which includes loud TVs and radios, stomping, banging on walls and ceilings, and squealing like wild pigs; these sick puppies seem to calm down only after they have thoroughly tormented someone. The caregivers, who are well schooled in the art of deception, move to another area of the apartment to sleep or just get away.

The caseworkers, and especially case aides, act as if tenants should just grin and bare the abuse. Has anyone bothered to tell these fools who it is that ultimately foots the bill for them and their organizations? (NJ-D.Y.F.S. 2005-06 operating budget: 1.1 billion tax dollars)

Tenant profiling is used by DYFS, and foster care agencies, in collaboration with most apartment management; that is, these organizations determine which victims will be chosen to live above or below the mentally disturbed. Some new renters are unknowingly steered to designated apartments, while other long-time tenants are targeted to live side-by-side with these disturbed people when their neighbors move out; God help those who wind up in a nest of them (some complexes only have a handful, while others are inundated). Apartment selection depends on the perceived needs of the mentally ill, regardless of the tenants’ rights; in other words, the tenant be damned.

 - Identifying the children and adolescents warehoused 24/7 can be difficult, since they quietly scurry around like rats with the assistance of their caregivers and others in the child welfare program; these youths are the most troublesome. Those enrolled in special eduction are more visible, socially integrated, and somewhat less antagonistic and harassing. Also, be aware that your movements will be carefully monitored so that you do not see or cross paths with these people (The National Institute of Mental Health states, “Because the child is so disruptive, inflexible, and manipulative caregivers frequently allow themselves to get sucked into helping them with their dirty deeds”.). For some of these young people survival instincts kick in and they become devious and shrewd. They quickly learn to manipulate their caregivers in order to act on their twisted compulsions.

The caregivers lack of genuine concern for the young people only adds to the problem and becomes glaringly obvious when the disturbed youths are left alone for several hours at a time, are allowed to harass tenants (better you than the caregiver), or are used to exact revenge on neighbors the caregivers don’t like.

My difficulties with foster caregivers have convinced me they are not being held accountable for their actions; as a matter of fact, I believe they have been allowed to use the position of foster caregiver to their advantage. They seem to do pretty much what they want at the apartment complexes, regardless of the rules, and get away with it. They also work hard at trying to control their neighbors behavior and movements, rather than properly supervising those in their care. There is no question in my mind there are too many in the program who are unfit to be caregivers, and an alarming amount of caseworkers who are clueless about their job responsibilities. There seems to be a huge disconnect between the caregiver and the caseworker, and the caseworker and the child welfare program.With the screening process for caregivers broken, a lack of accountability and transparency in the community, and ineffective caseworkers in the field, is it any wonder the mentally disturbed seem to be running the asylum? This is one seriously flawed state program that is costing the taxpayer a bundle.

The Star-Ledger reported on December 9, 2007: 

“Members of the N.J. Assembly Human Services Committee recently demanded that child welfare officials raise the bar for who can be a foster caregiver. Recent reports strongly indicate there is a lack of proper care being given by caregivers in resource homes.” You think???

PERSONAL EXAMPLE: One of these adolescents lived with a family, and their behaviorally disturbed child, below me for two years; then, the caregivers packed up and abandoned the boy. One of the maintenance workers was supposed to take him in, but instead, took checks from D.Y.F.S. while allowing the boy to remain in the empty apartment between August and November of 2004; the worker has since moved on. The only time the boy left was in the morning hours between 6am and 7am, and returned about 1 hour later. While he could only be heard moving around during the day, his 12am to 6am barrage of noise was extremely loud. When tenants reported him crawling in and out of windows, management’s response was that of indifference. When I reported the boy to management they claimed he was not down there, and then suggested that it was my imagination. Finally, when I reported the boy to D.Y.F.S. I was given the ultimate runaround, a caseworker even had the audacity to speak in defence of the apartment manager before I was even questioned about the matter. It wasn’t until much later that I discovered that D.Y.F.S., Y.C.S. and Nutley Properties were actually working together, and Y.C.S. created the problem (Is unscrupulous behavior part of the caseworker, and case aide, training curriculum?). The teen is still downstairs, but now, with another D.Y.F.S./Y.C.S. sponsored family, and a mentally disturbed boy they brought with them. Both boys continuously follow my wife and I from room to room, flying into a rage at the slightest sound we make.

A couple of years before my weird encounters began I occasionally heard distraught tenants complaining of peculiar sounds emanating from vacant apartments, or loud noises coming from their neighbors 24/7. According to these tenants, some of the situations became very suspect when Nutley Properties management insisted that the noise was coming from outside and refused to take action; most of these people moved out of the complex shortly after expressing their frustrations. During this period in time I had not yet experienced anything out of the ordinary, so I would just listen curiously to my neighbors tales of shadowy figures and strange nocturnal sounds, never imagining that one day the same thing would happen to me – but it did. Then on March 8, 2008 I learned from a retired property manager that DYFS, and agencies under contract with it, regularly lease apartments for mentally disturbed individuals and then bring in a caregiver. When the caregiver fulfills their contract and leaves, the mentally disturbed person remains alone in the empty apartment while local caregivers bring food. It is not unusual for this individual to live in the vacant apartment for months-on-end while awaiting another caregiver; not too creepy!

- The Specialized Treatment Home Family program, a Y.C.S. foster-care undertaking for children and adolescents with developmental disorders, has become very lucrative for many of the economically disadvantaged caregivers; however, they are the only ones benefiting. Their lack of life skills considerably hinders any potential improvement that could be realized in the young persons maladaptive behavior, which makes these so-called caregivers nothing more than pricey babysitters. Even though some of these guardians look and act as if they can scarcely take care of themselves, D.Y.F.S. has entrusted them with the task of caring for mentally disturbed young people while paying them as much as $1,500.00 a month per youth, plus clothing allowance, plus medical coverage.

It has also been discovered that rental agents and/or property managers are also receiving some form of remuneration for their cooperation and help. In addition, some are receiving finders fees and others are foster caregivers. No conflict of interest here!

Many of these children and adolescents have been released from mental treatment facilities, detention centers, and psychiatric hospitals. Special interest groups have lobbied furiously for these special needs people to be placed in the mainstream community, but without first researching the consequences of any social intervention.

Governor Corzine’s administration has recently indicated that it is …”concerned about the flood of mentally disturbed citizens entering our communities”. His administration would like to see some of these individuals returned to the institutions they came from, where they can receive more meaningful help and care.

“Curiouser and Curiouser!”, cried Alice.

In typical New Jersey government fashion they are trying hard to keep this hidden from the public, but awareness is growing. D.Y.F.S. caseworkers, case aides, and Nutley Properties agents, have been seen together entering and leaving suspected apartments since May of 2005; yet, all parties claim they have no knowledge of these young people. It is now evident that management is partnering with D.Y.F.S./Y.C.S. at the expense of the tenants.

The Record reported on January 12, 2003:

D.Y.F.S. is …”an agency that has hidden far too long behind a bureaucratic curtain of silence that seems designed more for covering up its mistakes than protecting its clients.”

Any attempt to seek help from the Trenton offices of the Department of Children and Families or Division of Youth and Family Services will only meet with extreme frustration. There is a survival mechanism in place to wear-down anyone pursuing answers, expressing criticism, or requesting action.

Tenants have the right to full disclosure of all foster caregivers in their apartment complex; the veil of secrecy must be lifted! Renters are also entitled to an ombudsman who would be responsible for investigating complaints against caregivers, their wards, and D.Y.F.S. personnel.

Why does D.Y.F.S. hide these dysfunctional people while their harassment of apartment tenants goes unabated?

1. Is it because it’s very difficult to physically control the mentally disturbed, and the caregivers have limited authority and influence over their behavior?

2. Is it because these dysfunctional people could pose a threat to life and property?

3. Is it because many of the foster caregivers have dubious backgrounds, abuse their position, and view their wards as nothing more than cash cows?

4. Is it because the caseworkers are poorly trained, incompetent, and do not effectively supervise the caregivers?

5. Is it because the supervisors are not managing and leading – resulting in anxiety, poor morale, and negativity among the caseworkers?

6. Is it because D.Y.F.S. has a bunker mentality, and it’s them against the rest of the world?

I believe all of the above accurately describes the current situation in New Jersey. This program is badly managed, and the foster caregivers are taking full advantage. The result, the emotionally and behaviorally disturbed are running the asylum!

If you are having problems with D.Y.F.S. you can contact the Department of The Public Advocate, Office of Citizen Relations, 240 West State St., P.O. Box 851,  Trenton NJ. 08625-0851, Phone: 609-826-5070, Fax: 609-984-4770, Web: nj.gov/publicadvocate. You can also contact Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, Chairman of the N.J. Assembly Human Services Committee, 985 Styvesant Ave, Union NJ. 07083, Phone: 908-624-0880. Both parties are currently monitoring D.Y.F.S. for future action!

Does the state of New Jersey require any accountability from D.Y.F.S.? Is the Department of Human Services that corrupt, incompetent, and mismanaged that it allows D.Y.F.S. to hire inferior candidates to fill the positions of front-line supervisor, caseworker, and case aide? Will there ever be an end to the litany of New Jersey Government corruption and incompetence?

 Unless you haven’t lived in Jersey long, or you have been in a coma for the past seven years, you must have read or heard about the ongoing fiasco at D.Y.F.S. This agency is a comedy of horrors, that the New Jersey Child Advocates Office characterizes as being ..”riddled with people who lack an understanding of what their job responsibilities are”.

The Star-Ledger reported on December 7, 2003: 

“DYFS failed 13 of 14 federal tests of how well it protects children and monitors their welfare, posting the worst performance among 48 states so far.”

One example of this organization’s poor management record is the absence of sound hiring practices: According to the Star-Ledger, an employee of D.Y.F.S. was arrested January 11, 2006 for walking through building security with a loaded handgun; worse yet, a criminal background check revealed that this individual was hired despite an outstanding warrant for her arrest on an assault charge. Four days after this incident a friend of one of the caseworkers was arrested for trying to go through the same security entrance with a loaded handgun; whats going on here? Who are these people that work for the Department of Youth and Family Services? This is scary stuff!

The Star-ledger has also reported on the recent resignations of the Division of Youth and Family Services Director, and the Department of Human Services Commissioner. In the case of the Commissioner, he left with a serious ethics violation looming over his head. It seems that during his final days in office he told county officials he would get them special funding for their human services departments, and then strongly suggested they hire him as a consultant to administer the grants. Is it any wonder the child services workers are allowing the taxpayer to be abused and the children to be neglected – the whole organization is a corrupt and mismanaged mess.

 New Jersey is currently spending 4.5 billion tax dollars a year on intervention treatment for these young people, most of whom will never realize any improvement in their condition. With a growing national price tag of 100 billion dollars annually, the enormous cost for treatment is only benefiting the mental health professionals, private foster-care agencies, government employees, and special interest groups – not the children and adolescents. Mind you, these young people will one day age-out of the child welfare system (age 18 to 21), and become low-functioning adults who will continue to drain tax dollars from local, state and federal sources.

TO SUM IT UP – Nutley Properties is no longer a desirable place to live. The tenant mix is much different from what it was in the late 1990′s, the buildings and apartment units are no longer appealing, management and maintenance have brought with them a third world demeanor, criminal activity in the local community is escalating, and D.Y.F.S./Y.C.S. are using the complex as a dumping ground for hard-to-place children with dysfunctional behavior. 

TENANT ALERT 

 Your Neighbors May Know More About You Than You Realize.

It has come to my attention that adolescent apartment dwellers have discovered a rather disturbing recreational use for portable/hand-held listening amplifiers, motion sensors, and even thermal imaging cameras. They have used these gadgets to track people in neighboring apartments and listen-in on their conversations and personal/intimate moments. While some of the microwave motion sensors, used for home security and sports training, can detect movement through walls, ceilings, and floors up to 100 feet or more, the usefulness of a sound amplifier is usually limited to floors and ceilings (Note: Microwave motion sensors emit bright bursts of microwaves that resemble a pulsating foggy light after penetrating the ceiling of a darkened room.). The better connected are using hand-held thermal imaging instruments that are used by plumbers, home inspectors, firefighters, security, and even pest control companies; these gadgets are capable of capturing, monitoring, and recording images based on heat emissions. There are also some very sophisticated through-the-wall radar imaging instruments being used by the military and law enforcement (one was used on an episode of NCIS) that could one day turn apartments into fish bowls.

A source told me that many of the dysfunctional children living in New Jersey apartments have been issued motion sensors and sound amplifiers; it keeps them occupied while being warehoused 24 hours a day. The licensed caregivers are especially fond of these devices because they allow them to track your whereabouts, and gather information that can be used against you if there exists a need; these people seem to have no boundaries or limits to their unconscionable behavior.

If you live in an apartment guard yourself against potential privacy invasion by your neighbors, or your personal conversations and intimate moments could become the talk of the complex (Example: voices and sounds can be partially masked with white noise or electric fans.). Remember, these devices are also in the hands of mentally disturbed children who have nothing better to do than follow you around and violate your privacy 24/7.

Use of these instruments in the above situation is in violation of privacy laws.