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Kidjacked | Jacked Up
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The good caseworkers don't last long. They're driven out by the nature of the work. What's mostly left are those who were abused themselves as children, or those who enjoy the power. -- Corvallis, Oregon family attorney Pennsylvania CPS News Archive
Pennsylvania News Coverage
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Alleged Abduction Parents Waive Extradition Hearing, Will Face New York Trial
by Matthew Hampton
Shaneel Nadal and Nephra Payne, the birth parents of eight children they allegedly abducted from a Forest Hills foster care center, waived their right to an extradition hearing on Wednesday.
Nadal and Payne were arrested in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania last month, after being caught stowing their eight children-from 11 months to 11-years-old, all named but one named Nephra Payne-in a large black van.
foresthills.patch.com
October 6, 2011
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Lawyer: NYC parents of 8 kids to waive extradition
HARRISBURG, Pa. - A defense lawyer says the New York City parents suspected of abducting their eight children from foster care will return voluntarily from Pennsylvania to fight the kidnapping charges.
Norman Steiner says he met Friday in Harrisburg with 34-year-old Nephra Payne and 28-year-old Shanel Nadal. He says the pair wanted to unify the family amid fears their children had been abused during two years in foster care.
online.wsj.com
September 30, 2011
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IFCAA Fighting State Court-Based Racketeering Announces Advances in Illinois, Georgia, PA and Utah
by MMD Newswire
The IFCAA announced that, despite the obstacle of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan representing the judges engaged in alleged racketeering enterprises they had taken on apparent judicial corruption in the Cook County Circuit Court family court.
In addition to helping provide evidence to state and federal authorities in pursuit of indictments of allegedly corrupt public officials including Mormon judges, Mannix has networked with Virginia citizens as well as Utah citizens, the latter of which have specifically called upon their Mormon GOP state legislators to launch an independent forensic audit of all Federal taxpayers' dollars coming into the State's family court-related programs.
mmdnewswire.com
September 26, 2011
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Professor sues Pittsburgh over sonic device at G20
by Joe Mandak
A university professor says in a federal lawsuit against the Pittsburgh police that her hearing was damaged when officers used a giant speaker to disperse protesters during the Group of 20 economic summit two years ago.
CNS News
September 21, 2011
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Mark Ciavarella Jr., Judge, Gets 28 Years In 'Kids For Cash' Case
by Michael Rubinkam
A longtime northeastern Pennsylvania judge has been ordered to spend nearly three decades in prison for his role in a massive juvenile justice bribery scandal that prompted the state's high court to toss thousands of convictions.
Former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. was sentenced Thursday to 28 years in federal prison for taking $1 million in bribes from the builder of a pair of juvenile detention centers in a case that became known as "kids-for-cash." The Pennsylvania Supreme Court tossed about 4,000 convictions issued by Ciavarella between 2003 and 2008, saying he violated the constitutional rights of the juveniles, including the right to legal counsel and the right to intelligently enter a plea.
huffingtonpost.com
August 11, 2011
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Homeschoolers have to be monitored
by Jonathan Zimmerman
Under Pennsylvania law, I have to get my family's cars inspected every year. I can't say I enjoy it - especially when my mechanic finds my aging minivan needs an expensive repair - but I accept it.
So why are some Americans allowed to educate their children without any government inspection at all? That's the question brewing in New Jersey, where the death of a homeschooled child prompted a recent proposal to mandate annual medical examinations of kids who are educated at home. The measure would also require homeschooling families to submit portfolios of their children's work to demonstrate that they are actually learning.
philly.com
August 4, 2011
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Physical education program for home schooled children offered at Appalachian
by Appalachian State University News
BOONE -- The Appalachian State University Physical Education Program will again offer its Home School Physical Education Program for the 2010-11 academic year.
Classes start Sept. 13 and will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-1:50 p.m. in Varsity Gym on campus. The cost is $30 per student for the full academic year, which includes a T-shirt. The class is for students age 5-12 (must turn 5 years old by Oct. 31).
news.appstate.edu
August 4, 2011
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Blandon contractor is charged with theft; losses estimated at $730,000 - Berks Community Television
Homeowners and subcontractors suffered a total of about $730,000 in losses in fraud and theft by the president of a Muhlenberg Township construction company, Berks County detectives said Thursday, July 28, in a news release.
John Anthony Kavusak Jr., 57, of 530 Harvest Drive, Maidencreek Township, was charged with 31 counts of theft by deception and related offenses. Detectives began investigating Kavusak's business, John Anthony Contracting, 2851 Centre Ave., in April 2009 after reports of fraudulent business practices and theft.
bctv.org
July 28, 2011
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Harrisburg church creates unique program with cyberschools
by Beth Anne Heesen
The Paxtang resident searched for the right place like Goldilocks for the right breakfast. Public school? Schmiedel liked the idea of cyberschool but has a job and didn't want Liam stuck at home.
Schmiedel made her own porridge after finding a recipe at Quakertown Christian School: What if students enrolled in a cyberschool of their choice but spent "school" days at St. Stephen's for tutoring and extracurricular activities?
pennlive.com
July 17, 2011
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Controversy swirls about cyber schools
by Terrie Morgan-Besecker
Ten years after the first charter school in Pennsylvania opened, students continue to flock to the alternative form of education, thanks in part to the advent of cyber charter schools.
The schools, which provide lessons to students via computers in their homes, have skyrocketed in popularity. The number of enrollees statewide increased more than 4,000 percent, from just 582 in the school year ending in 2001 to 27,779 in 2011, according to data from the state Department of Education. In Luzerne County, enrollment increased tenfold, from just 63 students in 2001 to 700 in 2011.
timesleader.com
July 17, 2011
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Pittsburgh man and his infant he's accused of kidnapping are found in DeWitt
by John Mariani
A license plate reader in a patrol car alerts authorities that the man they were checking was wanted in Pennsylvania. Pope and the child were taken into custody without incident, he said.
Bury said he was told Pope did not have custodial rights to the child. The last time the child was seen in Pittsburgh was on July 7, when he was turned over to Pope's mother for a visit. Pope is suspected of having taken the child then, Bury said.
syracuse.com
July 14, 2011
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Juvenile Abuse
by RiShawn Biddle
Only in 2009, after a decade of complaints often ignored by Ciavarella and Conahan's fellow judges and Pennsylvania's Supreme Court, did federal investigators bring down the entire "Cash for Kids" scheme.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice shocked the nation when it revealed that one out of every three kids held in 13 juvenile jails and prisons were sexually abused by guards, other employees, or fellow inmates. This included 37 percent of kids imprisoned at the curiously named Backbone Mountain Youth Center, and Indiana's Pendleton juvenile prison, which has become nationally known thanks to the popular MSNBC reality show Lockup. Nationally, 12 percent of all juvenile prisoners reported molestation and other forms of sexual abuse.
The American Spectator
March 11, 2011
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Chambersburg man faces 60 counts of sexual crimes
by Jim Tuttle
A Chambersburg man was arrested Friday for the alleged sexual assault of a young boy in Fulton County over a period of nearly six years, from when he was five to 11-years-old.
Thomas John Tomlinson, 41, of 1652 Richardson Drive, was charged Tuesday with a total of 60 counts of sexual crimes including indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors and indecent exposure, according to Pennsylvania State Police, McConnellsburg. He was taken to Franklin County Jail and subsequently released on $50,000 bail, according to a jail representative.
publicopiniononline.com
February 19, 2011
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Homeowner Forecloses on Wells Fargo
by Ash Bennington
You read the headline correctly: A homeowner has begun foreclosure proceedings on a local Wells Fargo office in Pennsylvania. This is how it happened.
A Philadelphia homeowner named Patrick Rodgers, who mortgage banks with Wells Fargo, was told by Wells that he needed to take out a $1 million homeowner's policy on his house. Rodgers bristled at the demand: Because the market value of his house was far below a million bucks -- he'd purchased it for $180,000 in 2002 -- and because the insurance policy cost $2,400.
CNBC
February 19, 2011
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Picture of duct-taped toddler gets Pa. mother caira ferguson arrested
by Crimesider: Barry Leibowitz
Pennsylvania mother Caira Ferguson is being held without bail after what police call a "disgusting and deplorable" picture led them to file child endangerment and other charges.
The picture shows a toddler, wearing only a diaper, bound to a chair with her mouth, hands and feet duct taped. A woman, who police say is the one-year-old's mother, is also seen in the picture sitting next to the girl, according to CBS affiliate KYW.
cbsnews.com
February 17, 2011
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Good news: State seizes newborn baby after mom eats poppy seed bagel
by Allah Pundit
If you're pregnant and happen to live in Pennsylvania, avoid Dunkin Donuts at all costs.
The birth of a couple's first child is supposed to be a joyous occasion -- and for the first three days, it was for Elizabeth Mort and her partner Alex Rodriguez. But then the commonwealth of Pennsylvania took their young daughter away after the hospital where she was born reported the mother for testing positive on a drug test. Her drug of choice? An "everything" bagel from Dunkin' Donuts. Mort and Rodriguez's daughter was taken by the state a mere day after they returned from the hospital. Despite a test of the child failing to uncover any trace of illicit drugs, a pair of LCCYS caseworkers and two police officers showed up at their door bearing a court order legally entitling them to seize her. And that never would have happened were it not for Jameson Hospital's written policy of subjecting mothers-to-be to urine drug tests — and to then report them to the state for testing positive if they exceed an exceptionally low threshold that is far more stringent than the one the federal government applies to its own workers.
Hot Air
November 9, 2010
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Allegheny County CYF caseworker fired again
An employee of Allegheny County's Office of Children, Youth and Families who filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit after being dismissed from her job was fired again last month.
Penne Fabian, who first lost her job in October 2002, returned to work as a case practice specialist in September and received a $154,000 settlement under an agreement reached over the summer.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
October 23, 2010
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Did a bagel cost mom her baby?
by Scott Sunde
A woman in New Castle, Pa., says her newborn was taken away after she allegedly failed a drug test.
But she says she ate a poppy-seed bagel before she gave birth, and that's why her drug test was flagged. It showed opiates.
San Francisco Chronicle
October 14, 2010
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Child advocates laud Monroe and Pike anti-abuse, foster programs
by David Pierce
Reported child abuse incidents and foster care placements are both down in Monroe and Pike counties, according to a children's advocacy group.
The Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, which issued a statewide report on child welfare, credited local officials with enacting successful early intervention programs. "There are a lot of positive practices in your counties that are strengthening families and moving people through the system faster," said group spokeswoman Kathy Geller Myers.
Pocono Record
October 5, 2010
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PA Family Support Alliance Names New Director to Guide Training for Reporting Suspected Child Abuse
Christina E. Phillips, a former practice improvement specialist with the Child Welfare Training Program, has been named director of training for the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance (PFSA).
Phillips, who has experience in child welfare at the local, state, and federal levels, will be in charge of training "mandated reporters" to recognize and report suspected child abuse and neglect.
Digital Journal
October 4, 2010
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Foster care placements falter in county and beyond
by John Latimer
The number of children living in foster care is declining in Lebanon County, which reflects a statewide trend, a nonprofit youth advocacy organization reports.
Almost 90 percent of counties in Pennsylvania recorded a reduction in foster care placements in the past year. The actual number of children in foster care across the state dropped from 31,537 to 27,776. The drop in number of placements is seen as a positive development because children living safely with their birth parents, a guardian or adoptive family are considered to be in a healthier environment when compared to a lengthy stay with a foster family.
Lebanon Daily News
September 26, 2010
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County shows fewer children in foster care
by Amanda Alexander
A number of new initiatives in Pennsylvania are making a dent in the number of children living in foster care, according to a report from Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.
It shows a 12-percent decrease in the number of children in the system statewide and a 16-percent decrease in Lycoming County. "We averaged 55 children in care (per day) last year. Back in the early 2000s, we probably averaged 150 children in care a day," said Mark Egly, administrator for Lycoming County Children and Youth.
Williamsport Sun-Gazette
September 25, 2010
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Intensive Tutoring: A Foster Care Child's Educational Right
Of the more than 1/2 million foster children in America, fewer than half will graduate high school and only 20% enroll in college.
Educational Tutorial Services continues to be a company that provides intensive tutoring for foster children. Through doing so, obstacles foster children commonly face can be overcome.
PR Web
June 28, 2010
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Congress can help prevent child abuse
by Senator Robert P. Casey Jr.
Passed in 1974, CAPTA supports progress by providing states with funds to use for prevention, as well as intervention, such as child protective services, community-based preventive services, data collection and research, training and evaluation.
Reauthorizing CAPTA at full funding will help to ensure that states can help community members break the vicious cycle of violence begetting violence. It will help communities build upon programs that work and help as many children as possible.
The York Daily Record
June 25, 2010
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York County parents plead not guilty in beating death of son adopted from Russia
by Lara Brenckle
In a quick and quiet arraignment this morning, husband and wife Michael Craver, 45, and Nanette Craver, 54, pleaded not guilty to all charges against them in the beating death of their 7-year-old son, adopted from Russia.
The Cravers, of Carroll Township near Dillsburg in York County, are charged with criminal homicide, child endangerment and conspiracy. They adopted the child, Nathaniel (formerly named Ivan Skorobogatov), and his twin sister in 2003 from an orphanage in Russia.
The Patriot News
June 14, 2010
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