Comments on: CPS, Swat Teams and homeschooling

By: Dana

Dana — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:58:13 +0000

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.

By: Kristina

Kristina — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:07:03 +0000

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.

By: Dana

Dana — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 15:40:20 +0000

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.

By: Crimson Wife

Crimson Wife — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 02:17:51 +0000

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.

By: mrsdurff

mrsdurff — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:28:41 +0000

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.

By: Mrs. C

Mrs. C — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:18:45 +0000

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.

By: Summer

Summer — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 23:42:33 +0000

“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.

By: Life On The Planet

Life On The Planet — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:08:01 +0000

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.

By: Dana

Dana — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 18:06:30 +0000

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.

By: Shawna

Shawna — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:18:37 +0000

*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.