CHILDREN ARE BEING TAKEN FOR MONEY: IS THIS THE UNITED STATES of AMERICA?

        The State of California Department of Social Services (DSS) is receiving funding from the Federal Government to the tune of 25 billion dollars a year and this does not include incentive bonuses. The federal funding to California comes from CAPTA (Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974) funds. The primary goal of CAPTA as stated in federal law is child safety and family reunification. The laws are there but the DSS does not follow them, as there is no effective oversight of the system that is now out of control. It has become readily apparent that SS takes children from families, adopts them out and collects the federal monies for this process.

         95% of the children taken by the DSS are from low income and minority parents. The next focus group of families will be the middle-income parents. DSS focuses on the low income and minority families because they cannot afford proper legal counsel and will loose their children to the system. Why would DSS want to take and keep their children? It is all about money! The system got out of control and was flooded with foster children. The money flows into the state to take care of these foster children. In 1997 the Adoptions and Safe Families Act (ASFA) was passed and it provides a 4 thousand-dollar incentive bonus to the state and counties to increase adoption quotas over the baseline to a set goal to be reached in 2002.The intent of ASFA was to help reduce the number of children lingering in the foster care system. Unfortunately most of the older children are not desirable to adopting parents. Since adoptions of older children could not increase, then the most adoptable age of children would be 3 years old and under.

The ASFA also started concurrent planning to help move children especially 3 years and under through the adoption system quicker. Concurrent planning is now confidentially acknowledged to have been a mistake by the state as the counties are abusing the ASFA concurrent planning to steal babies and adopt them out to meet their quotas. Children are now just a quota being used to get a bonus paid to the state and counties. ACF (Advocates for Children and Families) is a grass roots self help organization of parents whom are being abused by the misuse of power by state and local Department of Services Agencies (DSS).ACF exists to help families and children with the administrative law process. ACF survives on the donations of its members and has no governmental or outside funding. The representatives of ACF have joined together to help others in need. ACF can provide help to those that want to learn the process to help themselves and eventually others that are in similar situations. The primary goal of ACF is to help children develop in a safe and loving environment and to secondly keeps the family unit functioning if at all possible. 

JUVENILE DEPENDENCY LEGAL BACKGROUND AND ISSUES

                    The child welfare system in California involves two legal processes consisting of the judicial system and the administrative law system as seen on Figure 1.The judicial line within this system consists of Superior Court at the top and the Commissioners, Referees and Mediators at the bottom. The judicial system (juvenile dependency) has jurisdiction over custody of the children in detained by the SS, paternity and visitation with the parents. Administrative law governs all actions of the SS. This is generally consistent throughout the United States through federal oversight. The administrative complaint process or State Fair Hearing is clearly shown in 45 CFR 205.10 et. seq. .; XIV Amend. U.S. Constitution and Title 22 Division 22 22-000 et. seq. pursuant to California’s state plan. Administrative law is that legal process in which the SS operates.

ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

Child Welfare System