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Photo - Billions in Federal Funding For Federal & State Kidnapping of Innocent Children By Steven R. Isham As a child and family advocate here in Arizona there is rarely a day that passes without a phone call, e-mail, text message, or a letter from a Mother or Father asking, “Why did they take my children?” The words stick in my throat as I try to explain to them why their children were taken by the “state” of Arizona’s Department of Child Safety. (Formerly Child Protect Services – CPS) In every sense of the word I share with them that their child was, for all intents and purposes, “kidnapped” for a ransom they can never pay. In the normal scenario of a child abduction and kidnapping (if there is such a thing as normal), the child is taken, parents pay the ransom, the child is returned to the parents, found deceased, or never heard about again. The difference, when the State of Arizona takes their child, is that the ransom is paid by the United States federal government to the State of Arizona. It is also different in that the child is rarely, if ever, returned to the Parents, or the child is found to be deceased, or never heard of again like in the normal kidnapping scenario. Both are equally devastating to the family and to the child. The obvious question is, “If the ransom is paid, why is their child not returned?” The answer is simple to state verbally. “You do not get your child back because the State of Arizona continues to get a monthly ransom payment from the United States federal government as long as they keep your child away from you”. With tears in their eyes and a crackle in their voice that innocently ask me; • “But I did not do anything to my children? I love them with all my heart? • “This is the United States of America?” • “This cannot be happening?” • “What can I do?” - “What are my rights?” - Who do I go to?” I desperately try to explain how this happens to children and families. Yet, it would be easier to explain the federal tax laws, “impossible”. At this point I ask several questions that one or more seem to be consistently answered “yes” by Parents that have neither abused nor neglected their children, but still the children were taken. 1. Did a spouse or family member call CPS? 2. Did you ask for a second opinion from one of your doctors or a hospital? 3. Did you anger, criticize, or question one of your doctors or a hospital? 4. Was there any medical malpractice suspected or discovered? 5. Does any of your children have a rare genetic disorder? 6. Has anyone taken a liking to your child that made you uneasy in any way? 7. Did you make the CPS workers angry? Question them? Or “Embarrass them? At this point I can usually rule in or rule out why their children were taken and/or why their children have been kept; even though they have followed every directive from the court and every directive from the Arizona Department of Child Safety. Regardless of the reason why, it automatically is economic, political, and historic. ➢ Historically: Laws created and written by good people for good reasons have been used by bad people, for bad reasons. The following laws fit that description perfectly, especially in Arizona: ▪ Title IV‐E Foster Care Maintenance Payments As an entitlement, IV-E foster care funding is determined by the level of need and claims filed by states for reimbursement by the federal government. ▪ Title IV‐E Adoption Assistance Payments As an entitlement IV-E Adoption Assistance funding is determined by the level of need and claims filed by states for reimbursement by the federal government. ▪ Title IV‐E Adoption Incentives When Congress passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act, as part of a larger legislative effort to encourage and expedite appropriate placement of children from foster care into adoptive families, they created an incentive fund under Title IV-E. ▪ Title IV‐E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payments As a state optional entitlement, states may establish a program to support kinship-guardianship placements ▪ Title IV‐E Administrative Costs States are reimbursed at 50 percent match (one state dollar is match by one federal dollars) for administrative costs related to foster care, adoption assistance and kinship care placement costs. ▪ Title IV‐E John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program Also part of Title IV-E, this program is often referred to as the Independent Living program, targeted to assisting youth who leave foster care due to their age and not as a result of being placed in a permanent home setting. ▪ IV‐E Tribal Title One of the most significant changes included in the Fostering Connections Act were amendments that allow Tribal governments or consortia to apply directly to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to run their own Title IV-E programs for Foster Care, Adoption Assistance and Kinship Care. ▪ Title IV‐B Part 1, Child Welfare Services (CWS) Title IV-B of the Social Security Act was first established as part of the original law when it was enacted in 1935. ▪ Title IV‐B part 2, Promoting Safe and Stable Families Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) is a combination of funding streams from different sources and purposes. ▪ Title IV‐A, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Social Security Act A state entitlement program, TANF is funded at $16.5 billion with additional funds provided through $150 million for healthy marriage promotion, and $319 million in supplemental grants to 17 states. ▪ Title XX, The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), Social Security Act The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) is a federal block grant that is considered an entitlement to the states. ▪ Title IXX, Medicaid, Social Security Act Medicaid is considered the nation’s health insurance program for the poor. Created in 1965 along with Medicare, it is an open-ended entitlement program that provides medical services to Medicaid eligible poor adults and children under certain conditions. ▪ The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), first authorized in 1974 (P.L. 93-247) is the only federal legislation exclusively dedicated to the prevention, assessment, identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect—the continuum of child maltreatment services and supports. ▪ Adoption Opportunities The Adoption Opportunities program was established in 1978 (P.L. 95-266) and was most recently reauthorized in 2003 (P.L.108-36, with CAPTA). Traditionally, it is always reauthorized along with CAPTA. ➢ Economically: The funding opportunities listed above inject an economic fix into Arizona’s economy much like the addict using drugs to fix their problems. Like the addict, Arizona is addicted to these funds from years of abuse and it will take a drastic intervention to resolve this illness, if even possible. The infrastructure in place here in Arizona helps our employment piece of the economy. The number of people employed dealing with one situation of a child being taken by the State of Arizona is significant. It is common for more than twenty-five people to be employed full time and part time for one case of one child. ➢ Politically: Politically we have yet to elect a Governor, an Arizona Attorney General, or an Arizona Legislature with the courage to break the “code of silence” surrounding and supporting this societal disgrace. Until we do, the taking of innocent children from innocent parents will continue. I realize this is difficult for the common citizen; democrat, republican, or libertarian, to believe and even more difficult to do a single thing about it. Yet, this is certainly not a secret to anyone in government or law enforcement. Billion Dollar Business 5 | 5 #TAKEN #AmericasTakenChildren: Billions in Federal Funding For Federal & State Kidnapping of Innocent Children By Steven R. Isham As a child and family advocate here in Arizona there is rarely a day that passes without a phone call, e-mail, text message, or a letter from a Mother or Father asking, “Why did they take my children?” The words stick in my throat as I try to explain to them why their children were taken by the “state” of Arizona’s Department of Child Safety. (Formerly Child Protect Services – CPS) In every sense of the word I share with them that their child was, for all intents and purposes, “kidnapped” for a ransom they can never pay. In the normal scenario of a child abduction and kidnapping (if there is such a thing as normal), the child is taken, parents pay the ransom, the child is returned to the parents, found deceased, or never heard about again. The difference, when the State of Arizona takes their child, is that the ransom is paid by the United States federal government to the State of Arizona. It is also different in that the child is rarely, if ever, returned to the Parents, or the child is found to be deceased, or never heard of again like in the normal kidnapping scenario. Both are equally devastating to the family and to the child. The obvious question is, “If the ransom is paid, why is their child not returned?” The answer is simple to state verbally. “You do not get your child back because the State of Arizona continues to get a monthly ransom payment from the United States federal government as long as they keep your child away from you”. With tears in their eyes and a crackle in their voice that innocently ask me; • “But I did not do anything to my children? I love them with all my heart? • “This is the United States of America?” • “This cannot be happening?” • “What can I do?” - “What are my rights?” - Who do I go to?” I desperately try to explain how this happens to children and families. Yet, it would be easier to explain the federal tax laws, “impossible”. At this point I ask several questions that one or more seem to be consistently answered “yes” by Parents that have neither abused nor neglected their children, but still the children were taken. 1. Did a spouse or family member call CPS? 2. Did you ask for a second opinion from one of your doctors or a hospital? 3. Did you anger, criticize, or question one of your doctors or a hospital? 4. Was there any medical malpractice suspected or discovered? 5. Does any of your children have a rare genetic disorder? 6. Has anyone taken a liking to your child that made you uneasy in any way? 7. Did you make the CPS workers angry? Question them? Or “Embarrass them? At this point I can usually rule in or rule out why their children were taken and/or why their children have been kept; even though they have followed every directive from the court and every directive from the Arizona Department of Child Safety. Regardless of the reason why, it automatically is economic, political, and historic. ➢ Historically: Laws created and written by good people for good reasons have been used by bad people, for bad reasons. The following laws fit that description perfectly, especially in Arizona: ▪ Title IV‐E Foster Care Maintenance Payments As an entitlement, IV-E foster care funding is determined by the level of need and claims filed by states for reimbursement by the federal government. ▪ Title IV‐E Adoption Assistance Payments As an entitlement IV-E Adoption Assistance funding is determined by the level of need and claims filed by states for reimbursement by the federal government. ▪ Title IV‐E Adoption Incentives When Congress passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act, as part of a larger legislative effort to encourage and expedite appropriate placement of children from foster care into adoptive families, they created an incentive fund under Title IV-E. ▪ Title IV‐E Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payments As a state optional entitlement, states may establish a program to support kinship-guardianship placements ▪ Title IV‐E Administrative Costs States are reimbursed at 50 percent match (one state dollar is match by one federal dollars) for administrative costs related to foster care, adoption assistance and kinship care placement costs. ▪ Title IV‐E John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program Also part of Title IV-E, this program is often referred to as the Independent Living program, targeted to assisting youth who leave foster care due to their age and not as a result of being placed in a permanent home setting. ▪ IV‐E Tribal Title One of the most significant changes included in the Fostering Connections Act were amendments that allow Tribal governments or consortia to apply directly to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to run their own Title IV-E programs for Foster Care, Adoption Assistance and Kinship Care. ▪ Title IV‐B Part 1, Child Welfare Services (CWS) Title IV-B of the Social Security Act was first established as part of the original law when it was enacted in 1935. ▪ Title IV‐B part 2, Promoting Safe and Stable Families Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) is a combination of funding streams from different sources and purposes. ▪ Title IV‐A, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Social Security Act A state entitlement program, TANF is funded at $16.5 billion with additional funds provided through $150 million for healthy marriage promotion, and $319 million in supplemental grants to 17 states. ▪ Title XX, The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), Social Security Act The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) is a federal block grant that is considered an entitlement to the states. ▪ Title IXX, Medicaid, Social Security Act Medicaid is considered the nation’s health insurance program for the poor. Created in 1965 along with Medicare, it is an open-ended entitlement program that provides medical services to Medicaid eligible poor adults and children under certain conditions. ▪ The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), first authorized in 1974 (P.L. 93-247) is the only federal legislation exclusively dedicated to the prevention, assessment, identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect—the continuum of child maltreatment services and supports. ▪ Adoption Opportunities The Adoption Opportunities program was established in 1978 (P.L. 95-266) and was most recently reauthorized in 2003 (P.L.108-36, with CAPTA). Traditionally, it is always reauthorized along with CAPTA. ➢ Economically: The funding opportunities listed above inject an economic fix into Arizona’s economy much like the addict using drugs to fix their problems. Like the addict, Arizona is addicted to these funds from years of abuse and it will take a drastic intervention to resolve this illness, if even possible. The infrastructure in place here in Arizona helps our employment piece of the economy. The number of people employed dealing with one situation of a child being taken by the State of Arizona is significant. It is common for more than twenty-five people to be employed full time and part time for one case of one child. ➢ Politically: Politically we have yet to elect a Governor, an Arizona Attorney General, or an Arizona Legislature with the courage to break the “code of silence” surrounding and supporting this societal disgrace. Until we do, the taking of innocent children from innocent parents will continue. I realize this is difficult for the common citizen; democrat, republican, or libertarian, to believe and even more difficult to do a single thing about it. Yet, this is certainly not a secret to anyone in government or law enforcement. Billion Dollar Business 5 | 5 #TAKEN #AmericasTakenChildren

from FB-RSS feed for Op Expose DCS Arizona #opexposecps https://www.facebook.com/AmericasTaken/photos/a.979241848832976.1073741828.976132759143885/1176564012434091/?type=3