Category: Child Services Family Courts

Locks Don’t Work At Delco Prison And Inmates Are Making Shivs

Locks Don’t Work At Delco Prison And Inmates Are Making Shivs — Delaware County Council, last night, Feb. 7, faced a contingent of correction officers from George Hill Prison who told them the locks on the cell doors don’t work and the prisoners are tasked with fixing them.

Which they don’t seem to be doing albeit they are making shivs from the materials they are given as per Officer Al Johnson of Morton.

Johnson, a 14-year veteran, said he has never seen it this bad. He blistered Councilman Kevin M. Madden who is on the county’s prison oversight board and has made comments to the media that conditions there were peachy.

He said suicides have increased as have assaults on staff and other prisoners

He said sexual abuse is heaped on the staff by the prisoners and the complaints are ignored by Warden Laura Williams.

Frank Kwaning, president of the Delaware County (Pa) Prison Employees Independent Union, reinforced Johnson. He also said Madden’s claims that everything was fine were false.

He said the facility is not safe for officers. When the staff makes complaints the warden retaliates against them.

He said he wants council to visit the prison and meet with staff without administrators present

Harriet Burgess of Drexel Hill said she was one of the victims of retaliation.

She had been a sergeant at the prison and was fired because she wouldn’t falsify documents, she said.

Ms. Burgess blasted Madden saying he was unfit to serve on either the oversight board or council. She also Warden Williams was not fit to serve, and that officers fear entering the cell blocks because the doors are not fixed.

She said there are thousands of OSHA violations at the prison.

When it came time for council comments, Elaine Paul Schaefer blithely thanked the correction officers for coming in but said they were wrong about conditions at the facility.

She said she knew because she used “data points”.

She then talked about the county trail system and how wonderful it was.

Madden, who was attending virtually, attempted to defend himself.

He accused Kwaning of making the claims as a union bargaining ploy. He said the prison wouldn’t let him tour without senior staff present.

One of the speakers claimed that Delco hired Warden Williams despite her being fired from Allegheny County Prison.

Madden defended her saying she had not been fired.

Whether she was fired or not it’s safe to say Allegheny County was not sorry to see her go.

Madden said the prison is much improved since the county took over from GEO Group on April 6, 2022 in response to some of the speakers pointedly saying otherwise.

The only councilmember that seemed to give a fig was Vice Chairman Richard R. Womack.

Womack said he was not going to take the correction officers at their word but that he will investigate. He said it was inexcusable for someone to be fired in retaliation for making a complaint. He said would visit the prison.

While he did not expect to be able to tour it without administration present, he would request that a union member accompany him, and that he would speak to the officers outside of the hearing of senior staff.

The officers in attendance gave him loud applause.

The growing crisis regarding the prison have been reported for more than year. The incompetence and indifference that led to the agonizing death of paraplegic inmate Mustafa Jackson did not get near the publicity it deserved.

Speakers say they expect a guard will eventually be killed.

For a story on the single moms and other parents who, last night, described abuse committed by the county’s Children and Youth Services visit here.

Locks Don't Work At Delco Prison And Inmates Are Making Shivs

Locks Don’t Work At Delco Prison And Inmates Are Making Shivs

CYS Horrors Revealed To Delco Council

CYS Horrors Revealed To Delco Council — Correctional officers appeared en masse, last night, Feb. 7 to berate Delaware County (Pa) Council, about conditions at George W. Hill Prison

And numerous parents — including several single moms — gave them horror stories about the county’s Children and Youth Services (CYS)

If the CYS stories are even half true, council should resign en masse.

Actually, the same holds true for the prison. See other story.

Regarding CYS, Rael LaPenta of Upper Chichester described the nightmare she was put through when her ex-husband sicced the agency on her.

She had custody of the children but says her ex cooked up a complaint and the county people took her son from her ignoring established protocols.

Ms LaPenta fought and was able to get him back but the removals happened twice again. Again, she fought and regained custody but the legal battles continued. She began reaching out to public officials for help including Councilwoman Christine A. Reuther. After months of trying, she finally met with her in December. Ms. LaPenta said she has since ignored her.

She asked council to intervene as they had direct oversight of the agency.

Ms. LaPenta had more to say but speakers are allowed just three minutes.

Ashley Green of Ridley Park followed her. Ms. Green is a teacher. She said she lost nine months of her child’s life along with her teaching certificate because CYS accepted allegations of abuse from the child’s father.

They placed the child in the custody of someone who was the father’s choice before she managed to get him back after nine months.

She said she had an active protection of abuse order against the father when the agency took her child.

Sharon Poole of Glenn Mills cried whe she told her story. Ms. Poole is a registered nurse. She said CYS took her son after accepting unfounded allegations from the father. While in the father’s custody they made the boy wear a dress and the father’s girlfriend abused him including penetrating his anus with her finger, Ms. Poole said.

Ms. Poole also asked the county to impose direct oversight and create a clear policy as to when children may be removed. The policy should provide detailed formal explanations to parents as to why it is happening, and what their recourses are.

“How many kids not safe in this country?” she said. “When will this change?”

Bill Ruane of Springfield said that while living Westbrook Park in Clifton Heights he called CYS when he saw a child lying on a bare bed frame amidst vomit.

He said he was told an investigator would not be able to appear for several days despite the apparent danger to the child. Apparently CYS did contact the family but nothing was done.

Anyway he and his wife had a child just before a recent Christmas and they received a surprise visit from CYS agents. They explained that they were following an anonymous report that the couple was using meth and heroin.

The Ruanes let the agents tour and consented to a swab of their mouths to test for drug residue.

They hadn’t heard back for a period and that after New Year’s the checked back and were told that the wife had tested positive for meth.

It was a false positive but obviously the claim by a government agency is terrifying.

In the Ruanes’ case, they never lost custody.

Anthony Mix (sp) of Chester told council the CYS was wrongfully taking kids

The only council member to show any sincere concern was Vice Chairman Richard R. Womack.

For more on the meeting see other stories.

CYS Horrors Revealed To Delco Council

Chesco Courts Inspire Dirty Secrets Of Divorce

Chesco Courts Inspire Dirty Secrets Of Divorce — We met attorney Renee Mazer at Wednesday’s hearing concerning election transparency in Delaware County and learned she is an author, a bit of a comedienne, and a crusader for reform in Pennsylvania’s family courts.

Her book The Dirty Secrets of Divorce or What Your Lawyer Won’t Tell You is a warning about the dangers and costs of divorce along with the apparent corruption that makes divorce far more painful and expensive than it has to be.

This apparent corruption includes the alleged theft of property and untenable and unconcionable loss of access to children.

It’s based on what she experienced in Chester County family courts during her divorce, and what she saw in countless other cases from around country.

What she describes meshes with Montco resident Elaine Mickman’s experiences mentioned several times here.

The Dirty Secrets though is anything but angry. It’s short, whimsical and upbeat. It features poetry — which is rather funny — and cartoons.

The warnings and explanations of the problems with the process are pointed, though.

Practical, much cheaper, options for couples wanting to split up are presented and they might be the most significant part of the book.

These include marriage restructuring with informal arrangements, legal separation, and collaborative divorce, all clearly described.

Places where the book can be bought include Amazon.

Besides the book, Renee has created a whole new method for divorce called The Mazer Method, which is almost court free.

“We act as coaches,” she said. “We don’t act as lawyers.”

Basically, the parties file their own papers and little or no time is before a judge.

It is much more affordable and healthier, she says. She says her clients are quite pleased with the service, and their kids are doing great.

And she’s also considering going into comedy.

And she says that her experiences with Pennsylvania’s family court system have left her with strong opinions regarding divorce.

“Hypothetically, I can unequivocally say . . . I would choose a psychopathic, child torturing spouse I haven’t had sex with in years over child torturing psychopathic lawyers and judges who screw me on a daily basis,” she said.

Chesco Courts Inspire Dirty Secrets Of Divorce

Chesco Courts Inspire Dirty Secrets Of Divorce

Family Services Group Sues Wolf

Family Services Group Sues Wolf Think of the children, Governor, and stop playing politics.
Think of the children, Governor, and stop playing politics.

The Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services has filed a lawsuit against Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services seeking to compel them to perform their duty to continue to fund the critical and essential services necessary to care for and protect the most vulnerable populations of this Commonwealth – abused, neglected and dependent children, their at-risk families and juvenile offenders.

The legal action, filed today, Sept. 15, with Commonwealth Court by Lamb McErlane, PC, seeks to ensure that child safety and community protection services are designated as being essential even during budget disputes. PCCYFS, which represents more than 100 private providers of child welfare and juvenile justice services in Pennsylvania, believes that children, youth and their families must be able to access needed and defined services without fear of delay or disruption, even in the absence of state budget decisions.

“Since July 1, PCCYFS has tried to work in a proactive and positive manner with the Wolf Administration to have the state’s child welfare and juvenile justice services designated as essential services to ensure that public dollars flow despite the current budget impasse,” said Bernadette Bianchi, Executive Director of PCCYFS. “Unfortunately the Governor’s Office has failed to acknowledge the Commonwealth’s responsibility to financially support funding for these mandated services. We wish we did not have to take this legal action, but it is necessary to ensure that children, who are entitled to these services, continue to have uninterrupted access to these crucial services.”

“In the vast majority of cases, these child welfare services – which include in-home supports, foster care, and residential placements – are court-ordered. Children requiring placement out-of-their own homes due to abuse or neglect need protection, but the Administration has nonetheless refused to classify these interventions as ‘essential’,” said attorney Joel L. Frank, legal counsel for PCCYFS.

“Juvenile offenders requiring rehabilitation to keep communities safe are also not included on this essential services list,” Frank said. “That the state receives federal money for many of these programs, but the Administration is refusing to make those existing federal funds, or the necessary state funds, available to counties to pay counties and service providers is frustrating, improper and violates a comprehensive federal and state statutory scheme enacted to protect and serve this specific population”.

“The state has a responsibility and a duty to fund these critical, essential programs,” said Alex Rahn, Wanner Associates and Government Affairs Consultant for PCCYFS. “The Administration’s failure to fund these programs – while at the same time claiming that child daycare subsidies are “essential” — is unacceptable and irresponsible public policy. This court action is designed to protect these vulnerable and at-risk populations. We will not stand by and allow the safety of children or our communities to be held hostage in this budget debate.”

Federal and state laws define the entitlements of children who have been abused or neglected. Services to ensure their ongoing safety, as well as the supports to be available to their families, are often also put into court orders. Many of these supports, including programs offered in the child’s home, foster family care and residential placement, are delivered through contracts between counties and private provider agencies. These services are clearly intended to be funded with designated public tax dollars.

Juvenile offenders who have been declared by the court to be in need of rehabilitation are another population of youth with entitlements to interventions. Those youth who present a threat to the safety of their community require placement interventions and are again primarily served through the private provider network. Although funding continues for some youth served in the State Youth Development Centers, services for youth presenting the same behaviors placed in private facilities are not.

Private agency staff are working every day to meet these legal and ethical expectations – many programs are staffed round the clock, seven days a week. The additional pressures of worrying about how to pay for the care, supervision, food and transportation for these children and youth by exhausting agency resources, taking out loans and staff layoffs are an unfair consequence to the agencies committed to this work. These services are absolutely essential to the health, safety, and protection of Pennsylvania’s children, are certainly required by federal and state laws and must be funded. PCCYFS is confident the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania will agree.

Hat tip Pete Peterson

Family Services Group Sues Wolf