Georgia CPS News Archive

Mother catches boyfriend raping 5 -year-old girl, spanks her

by Kimathi Lewis

Perhaps the most disturbing thing isn't that a man of about 50 years old raped and molested a 5-year-old girl - it's that the girl's mother saw the assault and spanked the child.

It took three trials to finally convict the woman's boyfriend, Mr. Warren Fambro, and on Thursday a Fulton County judge sentenced the 57-year-old to life, according to the district attorney's office. The incident happened in 2004 when the young girl was left in the man's care, the district attorney's spokeswoman Ms. Yvette Brown said Friday.

examiner.com

April 2, 2011

A north Georgia judge, a gun and a cable TV show

by Political Insider: Jim Galloway

Oh, where, oh, where, to begin. The Judicial Qualifications Commission today lodged a complaint with the state Supreme Court against Judge Anthony Peters, a Catoosa County magistrate.

Among the allegations against the north Georgia judge: - He admitted to smoking marijuana for three months in 2010. - Peters went on the local cable TV show, called "Night Talk," and referred to the chief magistrate as "spineless." - On the same TV show, he displayed a photo of an individual and identified him by name as "a purported confidential informant of the Catoosa County Sheriff's Office."

blogs.ajc.com

February 8, 2011

Foster mom: Murdered baby was perfect

by Lydia Senn

Farrah Martin remembers Sha'Niya H. Moses as a sweet, happy baby who rarely cried and loved music.

Martin and her husband, Jeremy, became the baby's foster parents a week after she was born. They were still her foster parents when she died in 2005 at 3 months old. The Martins said they were making plans to adopt her. At the time of the baby's death, she was in the care of her biological mother, Shamekia Byars, during a court-ordered visitation.

Rome News-Tribune

September 21, 2010

Lakewood Woman Receives 3 Years in Shaken Baby Syndrome Tragedy

by Jana Brown

A 27 year old Lakewood woman has been sentenced to a mere three years in prison for shaking her new born baby to death.

It is estimated that as many as 1,400 children die from Shaken Baby Syndrome each year in the United States alone. Shaking a baby is considered more dangerous than striking, because of their weak neck muscles, a large head in proportion to their body, and a brain that has not yet developed myelin, a protective, toughening layer of protein, thus making them more vulnerable to injury from being shaken.

Atlantic City Crime Examiner

August 26, 2010

Gulf of Mexico oil spill 2010: The worst-case scenario

by Ben Raines

The worst-case scenario for the broken and leaking well gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico would be the loss of the wellhead currently restricting the flow to 5,000 barrels -- or 210,000 gallons per day.

If the wellhead is lost, oil could leave the well at a much greater rate, perhaps up to 150,000 barrels -- or more than 6 million gallons per day -- based on government data showing daily production at another deepwater Gulf well.

AL

April 30, 2010

Hall County DFCS office shrinks

by Stephen Gurr

Hall County's office for the state Division of Family and Children Services is about 30 percent smaller than it was two years ago, with fewer case managers, supervisors and fewer total positions.

As of last week Hall County child protective services had 416 active cases. Georgia has diverted close to half of the neglect cases which in the past would have resulted in children being placed in foster care. By placing children temporarily with other relatives or friends until an investigation is completed and a case is resolved, DFCS has seen a decrease of about 40 percent in the number of children in foster care, Carter said.

Gainesville Times

April 18, 2010

Three more lawsuits doomed to fail, three more bad child welfare systems likely to get worse

by Richard Wexlar

The group that so arrogantly calls itself "Children's Rights" has filed another one of its Mclawsuits against a state child welfare agency - this time in Massachusetts. And NCCPR's sources say that another such Mclawsuit, in Texas, is imminent.

Meanwhile a group which is unaffiliated with CR but has the same myopic outlook about how to fix child welfare systems, the National Center for Youth Law, has filed the same kind of suit in Nevada. All of these child welfare systems almost certainly are every bit as bad as CR and NCYL say they are.

NCCPR Child Welfare Blog

April 15, 2010

High school teacher arrested in elaborate pot growing operation

Lewis County deputies said a high school Spanish teacher was part of one of the county's most elaborate pot-growing operations.

More than 700 marijuana plants were found in the basement of the Glenn Larson's home in the 100 block of Davis Hill Road in Centralia. Larson, 41, pleaded not guilty to manufacturing marijuana, theft and leading organized crime. A spokesperson said the teacher also worked as a student advisor and coached the girl's bowling team.

WALB News 10

February 15, 2010

Foster children experiencing 'high' rate of abuse and neglect

by Craig Schneider

Foster children in Fulton and DeKalb counties are experiencing a "high" rate of abuse and neglect while in state care, according to a report by federal monitors of these child welfare systems.

The report for the first six months of 2009 found that 25 of the 2,348 children in those foster care systems were abused or neglected while in the care of the state. The report emphasized that the two child welfare systems, overseen by the state Division of Family and Children Services, have "no higher obligation" than to ensure the safety of these children.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

January 24, 2010

Single mother jailed for refusing to deploy

by Joe Gould

When Spc. Alexis Hutchinson's airplane left Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., for Afghanistan on Nov. 5, she was not on board.

The 21-year-old single mom stayed home because she had no one to care for her 10-month-old son. Her mother in Oakland, Calif., initially took the boy in but became "overwhelmed" and refused to keep him for the deployment. Hutchinson, an Army cook assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division, was arrested the day after she skipped her flight. She is confined to Fort Stewart, Ga., hoping for a discharge instead of a court-martial.

Army Times

November 28, 2009

Mother accused of abuse speaks out

by Jessica Hawley-Jerome

A mother accused of depraved indifference for the welfare of her young child has stepped out from behind the curtain with her side of the story, proving there are always two sides to consider.

Franki Hill was arrested two weeks ago after authorities deduced that she not only requested her boyfriend physically discipline her 6-year-old son, but stood by and watched while things grew out of control. Now out on bail and working with Child Protective Services to regain custody of her boy, Hill said it's not all that it seems.

The Bandera Bulletin

October 13, 2009

Homeschoolers seek equity in Joint Enrollment admissions

by Danielle Bailey

Earlier this year the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia granted permission for state colleges and universities to accept applications for joint enrollment from independent homeschool students.

This change was not a mandate. Each institution must take action to change its own admission policy to allow independent homeschool students to apply. Georgia Tech is one of the institutions that does not permit independent homeschool students to apply for joint enrollment. We have learned that they will be examining their admissions policy this month.

Atlanta Northside Parenting Examiner

September 2, 2009