“Gross negligence” would be the first thought that comes to mind after reading two of the more disturbing stories I’ve received via the keyword “homeschooling.” And while they are completely separate cases, I cannot help but wonder in what ways we are conditioning local law enforcement to overreact when child welfare is in question.
The first story involves self-proclaimed Constitutionalist Tom Shiflett.
An armed law enforcement team broke down the door of a family home with a battering ram and took an 11-year-old to a hospital after authorities feared he was not getting proper medical care for what turned out to be a minor head injury. Yahoo! News
I would hope that political beliefs would be irrelevant in the choice to knock down a door with a battering ram, draw guns and hold down family members while a boy is taken to the hospital for an evaluation. But World Net Daily reportedly spoke with local Sheriff Lou Vallario.
The sheriff said the decision to use SWAT team force was justified because the father was a “self-proclaimed constitutionalist” and had made threats and “comments over the years.
However, the sheriff declined to provide a single instance of the father’s illegal behavior. “I can’t tell you specifically. WND
I am curious about the words between the quotes, as I always am when quotes are ellipsed. Other media does not appear to be reporting about the family’s political beliefs, but I did find one incident.
Sheriff Lou Vallario defended the team’s action, based on a past felony menacing arrest. Shiflett admitted Tuesday that he chased his daughter’s former boyfriend down the street with an axe in 2005. The charge was dismissed, Shiflett said, because the man was trespassing, and Shiflett’s actions were warranted under Colorado’s “Make My Day” law. GJ Sentinel
The details of the case are interesting, but essentially a kid fell and hit his head. Someone called 911. Paramedics arrived and that is where stories begin to diverge. They report rough handling and threats. Ross Talbot, who owns the mobile home park and writes a free lance column for the Post Independent, witnessed the event and disagrees.
But Talbott said he was there when paramedics responded, and that Shiflett was not yelling or acting abusive. He only asked them to leave, Talbott said, and paramedics were in fact acting belligerent. Shiflett says authorities had no right to enter his home uninvited and without announcing they had a warrant. Post Independent
Social workers came and were allowed to see the boy, recommended treatment and were sent away. Two deputies came and finally the door was forced open by the Garfield County All Hazards Response Team. the boy was forcibly taken with threats of criminal charges if the family tried to follow and he was examined.
And returned home with a doctor’s note advising the family to do what they were already doing.
It sounds horrific. And I do not contest that it is. But I also wonder what options we have left local law enforcement. This is where the other case comes in.
A woman found in her home with the decomposing bodies of four girls faces murder charges, and authorities believe she is their mother, officials said Thursday. AP
The decomposing bodies were found when an eviction noticed was being served to mother Banita Jacks. Whose fault is it? Neighbor Larry Jones reported a “strange odor.” But residents keep to themselves. The kids simply stopped going to school on March 2, 2007. There were attempts to contact and officials were told she planned to homeschool the girls. They were officially withdrawn on the 15th. In April, the D.C. Child and Family Services agency received a report about a family at that address.
“We made several attempts to make contact with these people. We were unable to have any face-to-face contact with them,” Good said. “On the last attempt (in early May), it appeared they were no longer living at the address.” Ibid.
They didn’t knock down doors and drag children off for evaluation against their parent’s consent. And now the city is scrambling for an explanation of how four children could have lain dead for at least two weeks without anyone noticing.
“We are going to investigate every single contact that this family has had with the government, with people who are paid to look out for the welfare of children, and we will come back with a full report,” Fenty said. Ibid.
When CPS arrives, it does not know whether it is dealing with Shiflett or Jacks. And it has been conditioned by too many cases like Jacks’ to always act rationally. We either will need to accept the police state, which knocks in doors and guarantees that children cannot go without state contact for more than two weeks, or we might have to find other ways of encouraging accountability in the system charged to oversee accusations of child abuse.
Update: I just wanted to highlight Shawna’s comment, because I think her point is the closest to a real solution: community. Community is what can most effectively protect us from acts of state aggression and protect children from abuse, either through detection or even prevention by helping struggling parents remain connected and find support.
…I think part of what needs to happen is community. It seems that community was somewhat involved in Shiflett’s case with neighbor/park owner/columnist being able to shed some light on the actual situation; and community was involved where prejudicial judgement lead to radical actions, “The sheriff said the decision to use SWAT team force was justified because the father was a “self-proclaimed constitutionalist” and had made threats and “comments over the years.”
In Jack’s case community simply isolated itself and the Jack’s family. Children withdrawl from school and no questions are asked, children no longer come and go from a home and neighbors don’t ask questions, extended family seems out of the picture all together–no calls to the home, visits in those two weeks or months since the children where withdrawn from school, smells finally lead to something…
Hat Tip: O’Donnell Web
[tags]homeschooling, Shiflett, Jacks, CPS, child abuse[/tags]
I’ll probably regret making off-the-cuff comments without thinking about it first, but I did read both of these stories yesterday and talk about them with my husband, so I guess I’ll go for it.
The major difference is that the paramedics did see the Shiflett boy, and the dad told them that he was a medic in Vietnam and was treating his son.
There was a difference of opinion in how he should be treated (and the dad turned out to be right, which is important, too), not a legitimate concern of abuse.
Authorities and professionals do not like to be told that lay people can do their job. Just look at how the NEA reacts to homeschooling.
Tragedies occur and sometimes, when we are Monday morning quarterbacking the situation, we can figure out ways we might have been able to stop them, but that is not reason enough for the sort of police state action we see families endure.
In the Jacks’ case, there was concern that abuse was happening and there might not have been enough follow through, or maybe there was. There is not enough information yet.
As tragic as this is, it still does not justify action such as in the Shiflett case.
I vote “no” on the police state. (Too bad there is no real way to vote on it.)
Just to clarify a point, obviously there was not enough follow through with Jacks because four children are dead. What I meant was maybe the agencies involved did do everything they could reasonably do. At any rate, we’ll see.
Charity, I fully agree. My point is not that the state was justified because abuse happens. Quite the opposite.
But these things do not occur in a complete vacuum.
Here in Nebraska, a kid died after abuse was reported to CPS. If I remember correctly, there were four reports and no action. This brought a lot of changes to how CPS works here, and made the state much more intrusive. They had to do a full investigation on every anonymous tip, bringing the state into a lot of innocent family’s lives because workers could not screen out any call, regardless of how suspicious it was.
When claims are made about how “one case of child abuse” is too much and we allow our emotions to negate reason in these matters, we have set ourselves up for a problem. Because while I agree that every murder is horrific, especially when it involves parents torturing their own children, I also think that state abuse of power is horrific. Tyranny is horrific…and it occurs on a much larger scale.
I am not defending the officers involved in the Shiflett case but instead am asking if this is really the power we want to give the state? I think not. But that means we all have to come to terms with where responsibility lies for these events. The outrage in the Jacks case should be squarely on Banita Jacks. Sure, the department should review its procedures. But the abuse is not their fault.
Irrelevant, but this case at Corn and Oil made me think of the second case.
http://www.eduwrit.com/blog/?p=996
I hope this never becomes standard, but it isn’t the first time I’ve heard of families being pressured to homeschool to get problem children off their hands, presumably to improve test scores and truancy statistics. Because we still insist on holding people accountable for things outside their control…other people’s bad behavior.
From the Yahoo link:
“Caseworkers who later visited the family reported seeing injuries that included a “huge hematoma” and a sluggish pupil. They went before a judge seeking a search warrant and order for medical treatment, citing affidavits from the ambulance crew.
Following the raid, a doctor recommended Jon be given fluids, Tylenol and ice to treat the bruises, according to a copy of the child’s patient aftercare instructions.”
Were these caseworkers exaggerating in order to get a warrant? Hmmmmmm…….
Could be…but unless they are trained medical staff, what are they going to say? Those things can look awful, and they have the presumption of guilt because of what the paramedics said.
That is sort of backwards, since we are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. But it seems to me that CPS operates on the opposite paradigm. We are all raving lunatics, they just need to find the proof.
Maybe I’m too cynical.
I admit I haven’t read either article. Dh and I were talking about the first one the other night because dh is a police officer. He has spent a lot of time looking at the law which gives CPS authority and he says it’s more than any other agency. They can take your kid for practically no reason, just an allegation, while they “investigate.” Our conversation turned to things that he is, as a police officer, reluctant to do because they violate the Constitution.
It’s outrageous.
Here’s another link with a few more details- http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080108/VALLEYNEWS/248366321
Speaking about the incident from his home in the Apple Tree Park on Monday, Shiflett was very upset. Perhaps most offensive, Shiflett said, was that law enforcement didn’t announce there was a warrant before breaking into his home south of New Castle.
“I would have let them in,” he said. “It was traumatic to my children, and it’s unnecessary.”
His spouse, Tina, and his six of 10 kids who are still at home were shocked at the manner of entry. Tina said law enforcement, wearing masks, broke down their door with a battering ram and pointed guns in her children’s faces.
“They didn’t need to bash into my home and slam my kids to the floor,” Tina said, adding later, “I think they get a kick out of this.”
She said law enforcement threatened criminal charges should the family even try to follow Jon or find out where he was taken. Jon was returned hours later, around 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
Sounds like the authorities traded one kind of ‘abuse’ for another. As if the other children weren’t terrified, and this boy being taken from his family at the point of a gun and taken to a hospital alone w/o any family for comfort was just good, clean, family fun.
We can’t trade in our liberties for a bunch of ‘what ifs’. If a CPS worker showed up at my door, I would not let them in or allow them to talk to my kids. I’d let them know that they would receive letters of reference from my pastor and my family doctor to show that my kids were safe and healthy, but I am not letting some yahoo in my door to scare my kids to death. I’d be just as mad as the father in this incident, and would have a hard time not reacting with anger to people invading my home and trying to parent my children after seeing them for a whole five minutes.
Thanks, Sunniemom. I actually have that linked in the entry already. : )
It is outrageous and I agree. I’d have the same reaction.
We can’t trade in our liberties for a bunch of ‘what ifs’.
I couldn’t agree more. That is exactly what I was trying to point out!
*I haven’t read the comments yet.
I had read about Jack’s case last night and was appalled and concerned–the homeschooling she claimed will of course come up.
I think part of what needs to happen is community. It seems that community was somewhat involved in Shiflett’s case with neighbor/park owner/columnist being able to shed some light on the actual situation; and community was involved where prejudicial judgement lead to radical actions, “The sheriff said the decision to use SWAT team force was justified because the father was a “self-proclaimed constitutionalist” and had made threats and “comments over the years.”
In Jack’s case community simply isolated itself and the Jack’s family. Children withdrawl from school and no questions are asked, children no longer come and go from a home and neighbors don’t ask questions, extended family seems out of the picture all together–no calls to the home, visits in those two weeks or months since the children where withdrawn from school, smells finally lead to something.
The degree of community is key. Government and their agencies won’t get involved without some sort of tip off from the community for the average Joe. What tipped them off in Shiflett’s case? Disgruntled paramedics.
I think if families and communities would once again govern themselves than the need for outside governing actions could be limited, rather than abused or neglected.
Very insightful, Shawna. Community is key. How do you go that long without seeing your neighbor who is living in the same apartment complex? I don’t know. It is kind of scary to think that it is even possible to be so isolated from a community that people aren’t even sure you still live there…in the same apartment building!
And it is the involvement of the community that is making this case in Colorado more known. Without the witness, the state could get away with such things while we all just assumed a lot more had to have been going on. Someone took notice of what was going on and vocally condemned the state’s actions.
Not too long ago, the police raided a meth house in the community. Only, they got the wrong house. The house they raided (that would be the one next door to the meth house) was inhabited by a couple in their eighties. If I remember correctly, they broke the woman’s arm. The city lost that lawsuit.
Civil liberties aside, I’m tired of my tax dollars paying for the lawsuits they’re generating.
“That is sort of backwards, since we are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. But it seems to me that CPS operates on the opposite paradigm. We are all raving lunatics, they just need to find the proof.”
From my experiences that seems to be how they feel. And lying to prove it means little.
Strangely, I came across this RIGHT after I blogged about it and wasn’t even looking for this topic LOL. Guess I’m not the only one whose attention was grabbed by this story.
I think unless someone physically witnesses abuse, police and social workers should stay away. This anoymous tip investigation thing has GOT to stop.
I totally agree with Charity’s first comment.
Dana – could you let the appropriate homeschoolers know about this? I am a teacher at Broadfording Christian Academy:
Sal Dobbs is offering two writing courses, one for grades 5-8 and another for high school students. The purpose of the courses is to take students through the process of writing a research-based paper or essay. Middle school students will learn how to write an expository paper that is research-based. High school students who choose to write a paper may choose expository or persuasive, but the emphasis will be on the persuasive mode of writing, using research as the basis for argument. The course will be presented once a week for four weeks. The fifth session is an individual meeting with Mrs. Dobbs to evaluate the work turned in by an individual student.
This course is offered online, with handouts available to download. Students who choose to may submit a final paper via email to Mrs. Dobbs. She will evaluate it on the six-trait writing scale.
If you are interested in signing up for this course, please email scdobbs@broadfording.com
Sal Dobbs has taught writing, the teaching of writing, and the evaluation of writing, to students, parents and educators for over fifteen years. She has taught in both public and private schools. This course is being offered for home school and other interested students.
More details have since come out about the Jacks case and it’s clear that red flags were raised about this deeply troubled family well prior to the children’s removal from government-run schools. That’s what should’ve alerted the authorities to obtain a search warrant when the mom refused to answer the door for CFS.
I’ve got a post on my blog about it.
The wrong meth house? That has to be embarrassing. And frightening for the couple.
Crimson Wive, that doesn’t surprise me.
Mrs. C, I agree that something has to be done about CPS anonymous reporting. I don’t understand why they can’t take a name and address and leave it confidential. Then at least there would be the potential for charging people with the crime of false reporting or let social workers see a pattern.
Dana,
As to how a person could live in an apartment and never see their neighbors…
I lived on Bolling Air Force Base (the base in the story) until May. I drove past these townhouses every day. Believe me, these people don’t see each other unless they are friends. This is one of the poorest parts of DC. They have major drug problems and stabbings and shootings regularly. You don’t get involved in your neighbor’s business because it could be dangerous.
As to why they wouldn’t notice that the children had suddenly come up missing: they may have assumed that they had been taken by their father or CPS. This was obviously a disturbing situation. However, many of these neighbors probably didn’t even know each others’ names or say hello to each other.
Thank you, Kristina. I read a little about this area yesterday and it is scary.
Communities can get so fragmented…but it isn’t unique to poverty. I experienced the same thin in an apartment in college…everyone was used to people coming and going and just didn’t bother to even learn each other’s names.