Schoharie County Family Court Judge Barlett,Sandy Wood,Susan Loubier,Paul Brady, Comm. of Schoharie County, Att. Mr. Lapenelle,Schoharie County CPS False documents,tampered evidence,harrassment,intimidation,threats Schoharie, New York

i hate this county

 First off I do not think you will have the balls to answer back. However I would like to make it VERY CLEAR we are not losers or scumbags, in fact I can guarantee most of us are more educated than you are. Given what you wrote, that clarifies things for me. we are all very productive members of society, I work 12 hour days, own my own home, and have 3 beautiful children who are on high honor roll and was also prom queen. Do you want to know why, she is not a follower she is a leader, She has gone on to succeed tremendously in her life. My other girls are still in school 1 16 and the youngest 6. 

I also would like to say that no way are you considered "normal" you letter proves and says a lot about your character, I am frightened for your children who are growing up with a uneducated, and yes scumbag. I am so far out of your league that you made a huge mistake referring to us, our children and our parents as scumbags. Only a true scumbag would write what you have.

I would also like to make this very clear since you are obviously uneducated, ( maybe you should do a search about cps corruption, it is happening all over the world)  The children that need help are being neglected by this system because they are preying on innocent families. Not all families are innocent but a huge number of us are. The truth of the matter is it is Schoharie County DSS using your taxes to go after these innocent families. We are hard working people, I take pride in my children and it is people like you that assume and we all know what happens when we assume, I should not have to explain my story but since you brought up drug addict get your accusation correct, I was in a very abusive marriage, I left.. ( I had been threatened several times that if I left he would make me look like the worst mom in the world)

He followed through on that promise and wrote up a letter to the court making horrible, false allegations. He pulled it out 3 hours later but it was too late, CPS got it,I already had dealings with them in the past because my niece was placed in my home by them for a number of years. I raised her.  I was living in a safe house and then an apartment. During this whole time I was not feeling well I kept going to the doctor saying something was very wrong, I kept falling asleep. ( I had recently been put on the fentynal patch for severe back pain) I asked it this be causing it. Every doctor kept telling me no. I ( yes I have my own private crappy insurance) started going to a pulmonary and critical care service.

I spent numerous nights there having sleep studies. I am in so much debt from this ( all because I needed help because something was wrong) turned out I was right it was the patch and until my body adjusted to it ( it was the mixture of the patch and a high blood pressure medication ) I would have these issues so I decided to get off the patch. I was told by DSS id I did that then we are all good. That was an outright lie. They are hurting my children, and it has been almost a year now of dealing with it. To be honest my caseworker was blindsided in court and has never heard of this happening. SO do not EVER call me a drug addict, I had a reaction and from the beginning was looking for help.

you obviously have major misjudgment about this forum, Many of us work hard, own our homes and are married. yes that is right Married 23 years here. My husband realized he made a huge mistake and that I am in his words "the best mother in the world" He put in those court papers which started this whole thing, he withdrew them but CPS jumped on it, 3 professional doctors are 100% on my side, I DO NOT misuse my medication like you accused.  Do not ever tell us you are supporting us and our kids, WE support ourselves, work very hard and then come home to work on the CPS corruption.

On a last note the only scum bad I see on here is you, I treat people the way I would like to be treated however you came into this room calling names and talking about things you have no idea bout. Finally I am way out of your league ( not to sound arrogant but the comments you posted brought this on) I was a model, graduated from college, worked for many years at a great job and continue to be at my job now for over 12 years.  So if you want to call anyone of these parent on this forum a scumbag, then call their children scumbags and try giving advice, well these families are hard workers, some own their own homes, have beautiful happy children, and are fighting for justice.  

It takes just one anon. call to reports somebody, you have someone that does not like you and they can call and make up a complaint and suddenly you are being investigated for 90 days. Welcome to what you call the scumbag club.  It is that simple, you can destroy a whole family with 1 phone call. I would like to go back to the children, "yours"  Your mentality is very questionable and it will affect you children, I think you came from a very low income home, fighting to make ends meet , yet your behaviour puts you into the category of scumbag. I will pray for your children, having to grow up with someone like you, mark my words it will  WILL cause damage.  

YOu may not see it now but someday you will.  I mentioned earlier about my abusive relationship I am going to post some photos of a night that went really bad, I am only doing this because I want to say that I was hurt really bad, I did nothing but try to go to bed, I was getting kicked by him ( for waking him up and was thrown off my bed hit a wall and my knee hit the radiator ( this goes back to when I had my niece) so DSS was already involved Of course Melissa Packard and this is what she did, she sent me to anger management and not my husband. How does that make any sense? 

 Hopefully by doing a search on DSS corruption and knowing a little bit more about us, you will stop your abusive behaviour and start to see the light.

I just wanted to add, i feel sorry for your children. This is how Bigots are born. We haven't had enough lately? This world needs another bigot? With the bombings and school shooting.

Dear Biggest Loser,                                                                                                                                                              For your information, I don't collect welfare, medicaid or am I on food stamps. So the information you have is totally wrong. My husband was has retired from the Army after 21 years and I don't work because I don't have too. Not that it's any of your business what any of us do for a living.

As  for your children NEVER being kicked out of school, I don't think I'd brag too much because what your teaching your children,  I'll bet they are the kids that bully other children. That is if they are learning anything from you.

You really have no business going around putting people below you.

If anyone's parents went wrong.... it was yours. Momma didn't use enough soap on you.

If you want to call someone a scumbag maybe you need to take a good hard look in the mirror.
   

Just for accuracy / clarity, the bell curve mention was generally colloquial and from a statistical / mathematical perspective it's inaccurate (There is no curve bell, I just meant it declines at that point; and the decline is relatively dramatic).

I find it interesting that the only person who is not a loser or non-lunatic is the only person that has directed swear words at anyone. 

I'll start off by saying there has been people from inside DSS who have admitted to the problems present; attorneys involved in the court system, workers, and foster parents. While you're correct that they are not conspiring against one single person (That would be silly, border-line indicative someone should talk to a therapist about it [grandiosity is a good sign something is wrong, but not necessarily immediately irrational]), it is a status quo maintained; essentially it's just a normal routine. Regardless no one claimed it to be a conspiracy, it's just people acting indecently and criminally.

Secondly, most of the people here have their children and some have no active case open; meaning they're talking from prior experience. One even had their case moved to another county and it was dropped instantly (Which says a lot about the state of the local county internal policies) with a formal apology; to get it moved she had to have recordings of the conduct that people are mentioning here, otherwise she would have been stuck in the same circumstances.

Thirdly, writing here takes at most 30 minutes per post to write; if it takes you your entire day to post here, that's more of a sign of your own deficiencies and not theirs (And I'm not saying it does take you an entire day, so don't take that offensively). And yet more, just because they post here doesn't mean they didn't have other things to do in the day; for example, not everyone follows your sleep schedule. Again, several of these people own their homes and most pay for their own stuff.

I don't believe anyone mentioned their children being thrown out of school, either which is indicative that you're projecting previous experiences.

Yet more, I don't think anyone mentioned they couldn't maintain a job, so I'm not sure but I think you're projecting concerns from a different place than what was presented here. Most of the people in question have jobs (Having spoken to them) and those who don't, have their job prospects limited because of being placed on the central registry for child neglect (Regardless if it was founded or not, you can be placed there even though you shouldn't be). Supporting rationale for the belief that I think you're unreasonably projecting, is your comments about not stealing from your place of work.

The only comment that makes rational sense, however convoluted is your mention of pay raises, which I think is a reference to something I actually mentioned about the pay raises by CPS employees, which I still stand by that they're unusual increases. There is no reason every employee in CPS (Besides first year employees) are getting 5-10% pay raises every year, with anomalies of 15% or more. The national average is 1-3% (3% being the baseline of 2012-2013), if you even get a raise, with anomalies of 5-10% every 5-10 years with a promotion. It curve bells once they reach the end of their grade, but they advance through the steps much faster than they should be. (This wouldn't be an issue if it was only one or two people; it's a pattern found in all of them)

You can verify through my FOIL request here (These are base salaries and do not represent overtime or benefits):

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9NzJGV-peahZU1NaEhWYmpYYkk/edit?usp=sharing 

In regards to your comments about prescription drugs, there is only one person who mentioned about being accused of abusing prescription drugs; and that was refuted by three professional doctors on her part. So again, you're projecting. In regards to your comments about promiscuity, I don't think everyone here has more than one kid and I'm fairly certain most have children with only one partner and not multiple as you suggested. I don't think of them mentioned about meeting their partners at a bar or rehabilitation though either.

I commend you for doing what you have to to survive and take care of your family, but don't immediately fault people for what they're going through because many of them are doing the same and some of them who aren't, are only not because their circumstances have overwhelmed them. No one is perfect and everyone responds differently to different stimuli, it doesn't take a behavioral analyst to assert this fact.

I suggest, and I say this with the utmost politeness, that you just try and relax and look at things objectively; there is no reason to spit on people like they're less than human.

To the moron who posted as "Losers and F**ktards" ... what a fitting title. For yourself that is. I haven't seen one person post on here mentioning their employment status, with the exception of you, and you're such a big talker you can't even post under your real name. What a chicken shit. You obviously have a very high opinion of yourself, most likely to make up for the fact that no one else does. Anyone with half a brain, which apparently you're lacking, can see exactly what goes on with the corrupt local government in Schoharie County. As far as Dr. Phil calling Rita a "sh**ty mother", again you're way off base. As I am she and had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Phil personally, I can tell you he had the complete opposite to say. So unless you actually have facts to back up your blathering, you should keep that hole in your face shut. Seemingly you do not work enough or you would not be trolling the internet, looking at this web page, and subsequently commenting on things you know nothing about...meanwhile making yourself sound like an uneducated asshole. By the way, you really should learn how to spell. With all of that being said, go s**t in your hat...and have yourself a nice day!

Wow. What a bunch of scumbags you all are. I wish I had the time to sit around all day like you dirtbags and cry about how sorry you all feel about yourselves. But I dont, because I am a productive member of society who actually works, has a home that other people don't pay for, has normal kids that don't get thrown out of school, and I don't abuse prescription medications and/or drugs, and I don't blame all my self-created problems on everyone else but myself.

So, I am the exactly the opposite of all you lunatics and scumbags who really expect all the hardworking normal people of society to believe that there all these conspiracies against you by judges, social workers, DA's, courts, lab facilities, and who knows who else. The half dozen or so of you fucktards on here have to know that sounds batshit crazy, right? Of course you don't, that's why you are on here, desperate for someone, anyone to see you as anything other than what you all actually are: scumbsgs who suck the life out of society by making my taxes go up to pay for all the services you need for all your problems. You all probably grew up with scumbag parents, so its partially not your fault that you are all scumbags now. Just like I'm sure its not all your kids faults that they are scumbsg burdens on society, either. I mean, they have you all as parents, they were doomed from the start.

So, if I may offer some helpful advice to you all to stop feeling so sorry for yourselves and blaming your problems on everyone else, let me break it down for you:

1) JUST SAY NO! This is a two fold suggestion, with the first bring to just say no to drugs. Just because you get prescribed a personal pharmacy of psych meds and painkillers, using them in other then the manner which they were prescribed is still substance abusee and a crime. And really, you need all those pain mess for what, hurting yourself working so hard?!?! Hahahaha. The second part of just say no is: close your legs and stop popping out a kid with every guy you meet at rehab or the bar! I work hard and earn money so I can take care of my kids, I'm sick of taking care of yours too.

2) GET A JOB. And actually try to keep it. Most jobs, from mcdonalds to Apple, expect you to show up sober and on time when you are supposed to, work hard while you are there, and not steal from them when you leave. Follow those simple rules and you may actually keep a job for more than a day or a week. Im sure its a difficult concept for you all to understand, but when you work hard And stay st the same job for more then a week, you actually advance and earn pay raises.

3) FACE FACTS This isn't Hollywood and you definately aren't a movie star. There are no conspiracy theories in which entire and multiple units of government agencies bribe each other to conspire against you. There are many more important things than you that government resources can, and should be spent on. The truth is, you are fucked up. Stop blaming everyone else for your problems. A few weeks ago on TV, even Dr Phil told this mom he called "rita" that she was a shitty mom. Go Dr. Phil, maybe if more people heard the truth they would wake up.

So, those are my simple suggestions to all you scumbags on here. Try them. They will work. Try them long enough and someday, you might even contribute to society instead of just sucking the life out of it. Sorry I cant offer more advice, but I have to go to work now to support you and your kids.

Hey, it's Erin. I only have an iPhone and can't figure out how to do much on this site with it, but call Melissa and get my number. I recently wrote my own ripoff report on this site explaining the false reports made against me. I definitely have a case(also involving ur sister) from last year. Melissa Packard screwed me out of getting employment in this town and embarrassed my kids! A friend of mine recently contacted the FBI and they are going to start an investigation soon.

I.am doing this from my phone and it is very hard. I'll be at the office tomorrow to reply. They didn't have a case against me for.my sons death but suggested that we had something to.do with it. My son.died from SIDS. They were called on me for a report saying I was abusing my kids and smoking pot. I'll get into full detail tomorrow when I.can type on a computer instead of this phone. Thank you see you soon

Hey Travis,

If your kids' primary residence is in Albany county, there should be zero reason that a court case would be held in Schoharie -- so that's a plus. That being said, Albany isn't exactly a haven for the righteous either. Does your ex work at CPS, have connections with them, or knows that they'll bite onto nearly anything that doesn't go through other channels first?

Normally, as far as I am aware of, if it's out of county -- they should be passing the information to the right county. I'm not sure why they would be calling you, unless there was already an active case and you moved mid-way; especially considering that their primary excuse is that they're under staffed, it doesn't make sense to get involved in cases from other counties.

Can you provide more background though? Based on the language used, I'm guessing they brought a case against you in some way connected to your son's death (Which I wouldn't be surprised that they would prey, regardless of the circumstances that may have surrounded his death) in the past.

You can send a message to us on FB:

End Schoharie DSS Corruption
https://www.facebook.com/pages/End-Schoharie-DSS-Corruption/330016507120213

I know they said not to sign my name but my name is Travis Baldwin. I was a victim of the corrupt Dss and court system of schoharie county. I lost years of time with my children due to the lies and false reports made against me. They threatened me with never seeing my kids again if I didn't comply with them. They said I had failed multiple drug tests when I knew I was clean but told me to go with the program and not fight against them or is be sorry and would never see my kids again. I ended up putting in an Alfred plea of guilty to a.neglect charge after years of being in court and countless classes. They mentally drained me of my will to fight and they cost me two jobs from excessive court dates and classes. I gave up. I just wanted it to stop. I was still dealing with the death of my son and all the extra stress from Dss wasn't helping my mental state. All I wanted was to work and rebuild my life. I've lost years of time with my children and still to.this day I get cos calls against me out of schoharie county. I.don't even live in that county. I.live in Albany. Please help me. I just found out all of this stuff today. I want my neglect charge over turned. I knew they were lying but had no way to prove it. P.S. I just received a letter stating that schoharie county Dss is going to investigate me again for abuse. My ex lives in the county and she uses their corruption in constant attacks against me and I.feel very alone in all this. PLEASE HELP ME!!! WHAT DO I DO?

as this was in '94-95 and all has been paid to them its is water under the bridge, now, and yes this was in schoharie, as myself and my ex had split up , we were both responsible for his child support and this was the final bill, issued to me, don't know what his bill was , maybe I got screwed, he {ex} got himself declared mentally incompetant. I receive 50 dollars a month child support on a $75,000 arrears he accumulated, in back child support, my 2 children, are in their 30's and I will receive this for the rest of my life, he has only paid down to 68,000.  But I paid off DCF. Remember they also made me pay off all his legal troubles.

Is this in NY nanna (Know you're down in Florida, so just wanted to verify)? Regardless that seems absolutely excessive; the U.S. Department of Agriculture report puts childcare in between $12,000-$14,000 for complete child care per year (In a two child home).  And mind you the reports tend to be on the higher side; I'd say it's probably half at best in our neck of the woods as that is based on people making 60,000 a year; so something like $4000-7000 is most likely reasonable here (considering everything like shelter, food, insurance, clothing, ...). On top of that, that's a full year -- so you're looking at $2,000-$3,500.

It'd be interesting to hear about this from others because that seems not only excessive, but abusive and border-line criminal. A lawyer, I'm guessing a medicaid lawyer, would be someone to talk about that with. That's insane in my opinion. 

Folks please be aware that if your child is put into foster care you will be responsible for paying child support. not normal child support, your child will be put on medicaid, counseling, and any other service they provide for your child , you will be responsible to pay all that back, my son was in foster care for 6 months, my bill was over 30,000 dollars, so while they are making all this money by taking your child out of your home you are still responsible for their care and I don't know about you but I don't spend 30,000 dollars in six month at all.

 have found a website for the NY corruption of CPS the address below is this

www.petition2congress.com/3499/cps-family-court-corruption - Cached

If you have trouble go to the search engine and type in  CPS family court corruption/petition to congress. 

This not only goes to all of congress but also to the president. I think this is a great start, Schoharie needs enough people to petition to get an investigation.

thanks 

Just copy and paste the facebook address that worked for me.

Try typing in "End Schoharie DSS Corruption" into the FB search box. I had someone else not get it show up either (Not local); might still be propagating or something in their databases geographically.

I am writing this for people whom don't understand why a County would do this to people if they haven't gone through the nightmare themselves.
This is what I have been reading up on and the things I have seen that make me truly believe that this is the bottom line of what goes on.
CPS targets a poor family, struggling to get through with their children.
A family that hopefully doesn't know their rights or where to turn to. A family that can not afford to hire their own attorney.
It is a child theft ring in which they make money and keep money flowing into the County.
They receive lets say 20,000-30,000 per yr per child. They pay out to foster care maybe 300.00-400.00 per month which equals out to lets say 5,000 per year (and that's adding a bit to it.)
Where does all the rest of the money go?
It goes to all the way from the Judges, Public Defenders, Guardian ad litem,  doctors, testing laboratories, CPS workers, drug and alcohol classes, parenting classes. The list goes on and on if you think about all that is involved with these cases. It is money they have to keep it coming into the county so the more they children they can get the higher the money goes. I have even read that if they can adopt children out they get bonuses. It's also their job security.  Without this they have no jobs.   
They lie to the parents and use scare tactics to have them sign over the children. Parents that see no hope at the end of the tunnel and just give up because they are beaten.
This is not the only State this is happening in. I have read stories where CPS workers showed up at the hospital just one day after a mother giving birth to take the child. The stories are all horrendous.
Some of the older children will become rebellious, wanting nothing but to go back to the home they were ripped out of. They put these children into institutions, hospitals or group homes. They have a list of foster parents that are mostly in it for the monthly income. Some of the children are abused in these homes and when CPS is made aware of the abuse they do nothing to remove these children. They can't afford to lose a foster parent that accepts very little out of that great big chunk of money they receive.
I hope this brings some light to the non believers.
To all the parents out there that do not have their children home to celebrate this Easter with, I'm not going to say Happy Easter because I know the holidays are nothing without your children. Hang in there and fight for them. They are counting on you as their parent to win this and not give up.

I tried the link you posted and its not working, for the facebook page 

Hi all,

Sorry to those I haven't had a chance to respond to yet. I will tomorrow (Actually later today, it's about 2 AM right now).

I created the following FB Page:

End Schoharie DSS Corruption
https://www.facebook.com/pages/End-Schoharie-DSS-Corruption/330016507120213

I feel it'd be better to use this to organize things on the discussion board (I'm still organizing documents though and I was going to send a few emails out asking for help with administrative work -- but if anyone wants to help, just ask there).

Personally, I'm honestly getting really disgusted by seeing such high salary increases. Anyone I talk to has never heard of 5%+ salary increases year over year, let alone 10-15% salary increases ever (They're 3 people at least so far who had a 30% increase in salary over the course of 3 years).

I need more to compare to, so if people could provide me a list of names from other departments as well, it'd  be nice. I looked at a few I knew and they were within reason, with maybe one high year (Which may be a retroactive increase or something), but it's still 3K+ salary at most in a single year since they were in the 30,000 range. Not 5,000-6,000 year over year.

The majority of CPS employees are making more than a number of Professors with Doctorals at Columbia University. Sigh. 

Does anyone know who makes the salary decisions? This is bothering me a lot, not sure why.

A Child's Point of View

My name is Jessica Miller former victim of Schoharie, currently age 17. Its one thing to be a parent of the child in foster care, but I being a former foster child myself can give you a detailed visual out look. I was taken out of my house at age 15 due to (false) drug allegations of drugs being brought into the house hold.

Stacey Mickle formerly being charged with possession of Crystal Meth set up my Aunt Uncle (bribing with
possible profitable money) into making a small amount (exaggerated by Schoharie County, what you maybe remember as Schoharie Meth Bust) due to my Aunt & Uncle recently living with me and my family at our
house, my house was raided by cops (something I wont forget and will stick in my memory threw out life).

Due to Stacey Mickle setting up cameras and getting it on tape for officers, her charges were dropped. Only a few months later she was arrested for scamming money off of the elderly. My Aunt and Uncle were arrested , and that same day of the raid I was taken into foster care. I was told I had a few mins to pack some clothes, witch I scrambled to do for me and my 3 siblings. I packed my antidepressant medication (Zoloft) which I was recently placed on,and clothes. I packed my 2 sisters clothes and my brothers clothes. Schoharie did not check what I packed in the bags, if they did and helped I would have realized I had for gotten my
younger sisters breathing (nebulizer) medication and that I had my medication in my possession. If I had been suicidal I could have consumed the whole bottle and they wouldnt have even known I had the medication on me, let alone possibly tried to cover it up after failing to do their job. I was transferred 7 places,4 within the first month of foster care alone(due to DSS not looking into how stable the placement was). Luckily my one brother and sister were able to go with their father, but for my baby sister who had a
different father she stayed with me , I had the choice to go with my father (same as my 2 other siblings) at the beginning but I took it upon myself to be the caretaker. I couldnt bring myself to leave without her, but what I didnt know was soon DSS (Jodi Bell) would separate us anyway. The adjustments were difficult,I put my baby sister to bed at night having her screaming herself to sleep and going to school the next morning with roughly 3 hours of sleep alone, I was only allowed to see my mother once a week for 2 hours , supervised in empty room that seemed more like a visitation room, one you would find in a prison. Our conversations were far from private(when a private conversation of closure was desperately needed) Why wasnt I home? Why was I taken away? Why did the cops come and raid the house? I was 15, but I was and still am a child, and I was as confused and terrified as a 5 year old not knowing what was going on. DSS isolated me from friends and family. Me seeing friends was completely absent from my life, and seeing family was scheduled in like a meeting. How would u expect a child to react? To act out, show signs of depression (attempting to cope), to not eat and talk much, and thats exactly how I dealt with it... How did
DSS react? Tell me its ok? Let me see my parents more? The answer was used it against my mother that I was unstable in the courtroom.

(Part One)
Will be continued

@justamom
You say to go ask for files.... my lawyer went to get copies of my files and she got told there are no files due to the flooding  so unless they are recent charges there are none.... My lawyer just now got the most recent charge which was back 2 months ago  which is why I am going to court for now, but it was "unfounded" so she does not understand why we are being called into court.  I was very honest with her and told her I had many run ins with CPS over the past years and NEVER once had to go to family court before.

 I have as well been given funny stupid charges such as - no socks when daughter got to school, my ex had visitations with my kids and numerous times send the kids to school dirty  yet I was the one who was called on because  I was given primary custody.  In my opinion he should have been called on not me.  

Another charge against me was that my daughter would take her medication out of her bottle - even though I stood right next to her watched her and helped that was wrong of me..... she has this thing of people touching her pills she wouldnt take them  still doesnt and doesnt like others to touch her food or drinks.

I get to have my first meeting with the preventative case worker on monday  I am not sure if I am to keen on having them  come in my home - what kinda lies are there going to be made - but as stated in some previous comments  I will have a notebook and my recorder will be on while she is here.  I filed a complaint with DSS inregards to the CPS worker who came to my house and even the supervisor - Amy said the comments that the worker made should never have been said.   

I am gearing myself up for some long family court proceedings by the sounds of everything.... I will say that nothing has happened in family court except for it to be adjourned 3 times already  and I only have preventative case worker coming because they suggested it  before we even started the court things.... but from now on I will make sure its court ordered before I go outta my way for them.  No counseling here in this county - I also hope that my medication or medical issues do not get put into play either because they shouldnt be unless I was unable to care for myself - there are worse things out there than what I deal with on a daily basis.

Grandparents do NOT have rights -

My mother could have and actually tried to get temporary  custody of my kids  but family court and the law guardian at the time (who never even met my children) said that the kids would be better off at their dads.  All because when I was ordered to take a psychologist test by dr. Luria (not sure of spelling) I went in took answered his questions, and than took a test on the computer that was suppose to take 3 hours (who in their right mind is going to sit there for that long)  so stupid me at the time  just clicked any answer -  especially on questions like  who would you rather be a  police officer,  ballerina,  or a teacher..... what does this have to do with being a parent.  In the end my kids stayed with their father, my mom did get visitation  and I was only allowed to see the kids when my mom had visitations - well after 3 months living with the father  he signed parental rights back over to me because of this his wife did to the kids at the time - which mind you she never got charged by CPS or the cops. 

The names jus,t meantioned Christina Linstead, Sandy wood, and Julie Sammons and of course melissa packard, NONE of them should be trusted in anyway. I know every single one of them, went to school with Julie, she comes off nice but stabs yoBy theu in the backm Christina Linstead in now a supervisor hmm, all of these people are never to be trusted no matter how nice they try to be, they are NOT your friends, they lie and twist everything. Please be careful when dealing with any of these women. Also as a note there is only one person here who has a child and that in Christina Linstead, a young child ( 5 maybe ) the other have no idea about really being parents or children

The names jus,t meantioned Christina Linstead, Sandy wood, and Julie Sammons and of course melissa packard, NONE of them should be trusted in anyway. I know every single one of them, went to school with Julie, she comes off nice but stabs yoBy theu in the backm Christina Linstead in now a supervisor hmm, all of these people are never to be trusted no matter how nice they try to be, they are NOT your friends, they lie and twist everything. Please be careful when dealing with any of these women. Also as a note there is only one person here who has a child and that in Christina Linstead, a young child ( 5 maybe ) the other have no idea about really being parents or children

I am truly saddened that this has and is happening to you, as I am with ALL of the families living   this  nightmare. I know there is so much to a case that you just can not write it all down, I am hoping that we ALL can help each other and hopefully get a full invesigation and wrongs are made right, The damage the depatment has caused will NEVER give us inner peace, but maybe we can get some of what we have lost wrongfully back ( including your children)with I am willing to fight this no matter the consequences or retaluation they try with, Everything will be dicumented and as we all no if a retaluation occurs, it is because we are fighting back, they want to show us they have the power, we ALL need to turn them upside down and show them the county has the power, us the people, We all really need to get together, the more the better at 1 time and request our records. This will show them that the people are speaking out and united.

I wrote a whole letter myself Diane and it never posted, I think I never hit the small agree button on the bottom and lost it all also.

I wanted to get comments and ideas from everyone, I know we all have the legal right to ask for ALL of our so called files, Everyone single one of them that was written out about our investigations, Of course I know we will all find lies, falsified statments ect. WE ALL have a right to have copies of everything written about us. I would like to turn the heat up on this county and would like every one of us to go to the department (if possible together, that will surely let them know something is going on and we need to get our lives back and get control over this situation before sso many more innocent families are destroyed) We need to get control over them insteasd of them controlling us. I also know of an out of county Lawyer who would review all of our cases, and if he sees a lawsuit or corruption ( which I am sure he will ) he will take this case on for free and fight HARD for us. Please let me know what you think, and if you have other idea please let me know. This really needs to stop.

Grandparent go through the same nightmares and have NO rights.
 
Relationship:
*General Comment


Report:
Let me start this off as I am the Grandmother of 2 children that Schoharie County Child Theft Ring had stolen.

I'm sure you all remember the big drug bust in Schoharie, well that was my oldest daughter and her husband. Stacey Mickle had set them up. They had come back here from Kentucky and had no where to stay so my other daughter let them stay there at her house with her, her fiancee' and children. The night they did the big drug bust in Schoharie they also
raided my other daughter's home and took the children. (The drug bust for my daughter and her husband was a good thing) it's most likely what saved their lives.

After taking my other daughter's children she took an over dose of medication and was hospitalized.

Months of going to court the original charges were unfounded so they  (CPS) changed the charges using her depression as the reason they kept the children. ( 1-15 yr old & a 1 1/2 yr old).

First we were never notified they had the children. As the grandmother I should have been notified.

They placed the 15 yr old in a State home and the baby in foster care.

My daughter jumped through each and every hoop they placed in front of her and then they would put up 10 more. Parenting classes, drug & alcohol and what ever else.

Myself and my husband which by the way have no criminal records, my husband is retired from 21 yrs in the Army. I had been State licensed for about 12 yrs having my own daycare. I had only 1 speeding ticket my whole life (and that was just recent). There was absolutely no reason that they shouldn't give me my Grandchildren.

We did go to court, we did get custody. I was warned by someone I know that any dealings with Melissa Packard should be recorded. That she lies big time. Well we did get lied to and we did confront her with the lies. She went behind our backs to remove the children from my care, as stated in the Court papers it was because we let my daughter into my home without their permission. I'm sorry but this is my house and they will not run my life.

My daughter had come to bring the baby toys, clothes, and about 200.00 worth of food.

I forgot to mention that I live 1 1/2 away from Schoharie.

I was told by another person we know that Melissa Packard was asking her if she could take the baby in for foster care is how we found out what she was doing. She just planned on sending workers to take the child back without notice to us.

Now with going to court with my daughter, we were sitting in the waiting room to be called. The woman (State Home worker) who had to drive and accompany my  then 16 yr old granddaughter was there also.

Just about 5 mins before court was to start they came in and handed everyone their paperwork.

The lady from the State Home started reading hers and she became very livid and told my daughter you had better read yours because CPS changed the report she had filed for my granddaughter. What she had reported   had all been changed and lies were filled in there. One of the things they lied and changed was saying my granddaughter refused to take her
medication and that wasn't so, the doctor took her off her medication. That was an out and out lie to make my granddaughter look bad. They still had original charges for my daughter in the paperwork for the reason for taking the children was drugs and they never proved that because all drug tests came back clean.

These people CPS are nothing but a child snatching ring. The circle of people that are being paid goes on and on from judges to doctors. I'm sure there are some cases out there that are warranted for removing the children but if you check the amount of children in foster care for Schoharie County and you look at the population it is unreal. I did watch the video of Nancy Schaefer and was happy to see that someone was bringing to light CPS corruption. Then I googled her name and found that
her and her husband both passed supposedly as a murder-suicide. That was a real shame and tragedy because she was so passionate about the cause.

There is something I left out that was when my granddaughter was very young maybe 7 or so. my daughter was cooking dinner one night for her children and Schoharie County CPS showed up at her door. One of the teachers at the school had notified them making a claim which caused them to make a visit. It's almost laughable but it shows you just how
much they grab at straws. The teacher called them and reported my granddaughter told her "she had a woody at home". Have they never heard of Toy Story??? I would have been so embarrassed after that if I were them.

If I lived in Schoharie County and had small children,  I would get far away from there.

There is seriously something wrong with those people.

First and foremost you do not have to let anyone into your home without a warrant.

They will act all nice meanwhile looking around at anything they can find to possibly use against you if not they will make stuff up.

Do Not let them in.

If you feel you have been targeted as their next victim and if you can, turn over custody of those children to a relative.

If you have a problem with depression you can lose your children (which 90% of this country does suffer some sort of depression)

I would like to go visit some of their (CPS workers) households and make claims of my own, I'm sure we would find lots going wrong in their family situations.

Let me start this off as I am the Grandmother of 2 children that Schoharie County Child Theft Ring had stolen.
I'm sure you all remember the big drug bust in Schoharie, well that was my oldest daughter and her husband. Stacey Mickle had set them up. They had come back here from Kentucky and had no where to stay so my other daughter let them stay there at her house with her, her fiancee' and children. The night they did the big drug bust in Schoharie they also raided my other daughter's home and took the children. (The drug bust for my daughter and her husband was a good thing) it's most likely what saved their lives.
After taking my other daughter's children she took an over dose of medication and was hospitalized.
Months of going to court the original charges were unfounded so they  (CPS) changed the charges using her depression as the reason they kept the children. ( 1-15 yr old & a 1 1/2 yr old).
First we were never notified they had the children. As the grandmother I should have been notified.
They placed the 15 yr old in a State home and the baby in foster care.
My daughter jumped through each and every hoop they placed in front of her and then they would put up 10 more. Parenting classes, drug & alcohol and what ever else.
Myself and my husband which by the way have no criminal records, my husband is retired from 21 yrs in the Army. I had been State licensed for about 12 yrs having my own daycare. I had only 1 speeding ticket my whole life (and that was just recent). There was absolutely no reason that they shouldn't give me my Grandchildren.
We did go to court, we did get custody. I was warned by someone I know that any dealings with Melissa Packard should be recorded. That she lies big time. Well we did get lied to and we did confront her with the lies. She went behind our backs to remove the children from my care, as stated in the Court papers it was because we let my daughter into my home without their permission. I'm sorry but this is my house and they will not run my life.
My daughter had come to bring the baby toys, clothes, and about 200.00 worth of food.
I forgot to mention that I live 1 1/2 away from Schoharie.
I was told by another person we know that Melissa Packard was asking her if she could take the baby in for foster care is how we found out what she was doing. She just planned on sending workers to take the child back without notice to us.
Now with going to court with my daughter, we were sitting in the waiting room to be called. The woman (State Home worker) who had to drive and accompany my  then 16 yr old granddaughter was there also.
Just about 5 mins before court was to start they came in and handed everyone their paperwork.
The lady from the State Home started reading hers and she became very livid and told my daughter you had better read yours because CPS changed the report she had filed for my granddaughter. What she had reported   had all been changed and lies were filled in there. One of the things they lied and changed was saying my granddaughter refused to take her medication and that wasn't so, the doctor took her off her medication. That was an out and out lie to make my granddaughter look bad. They still had original charges for my daughter in the paperwork for the reason for taking the children was drugs and they never proved that because all drug tests came back clean.
These people CPS are nothing but a child snatching ring. The circle of people that are being paid goes on and on from judges to doctors. I'm sure there are some cases out there that are warranted for removing the children but if you check the amount of children in foster care for Schoharie County and you look at the population it is unreal. I did watch the video of Nancy Schaefer and was happy to see that someone was bringing to light CPS corruption. Then I googled her name and found that her and her husband both passed supposedly as a murder-suicide. That was a real shame and tragedy because she was so passionate about the cause.
There is something I left out that was when my granddaughter was very young maybe 7 or so. my daughter was cooking dinner one night for her children and Schoharie County CPS showed up at her door. One of the teachers at the school had notified them making a claim which caused them to make a visit. It's almost laughable but it shows you just how much they grab at straws. The teacher called them and reported my granddaughter told her "she had a woody at home". Have they never heard of Toy Story??? I would have been so embarrassed after that if I were them.
If I lived in Schoharie County and had small children,  I would get far away from there.
There is seriously something wrong with those people.
First and foremost you do not have to let anyone into your home without a warrant.
They will act all nice meanwhile looking around at anything they can find to possibly use against you if not they will make stuff up.
Do Not let them in.
If you feel you have been targeted as their next victim and if you can, turn over custody of those children to a relative.
If you have a problem with depression you can lose your children (which 90% of this country does suffer some sort of depression)
I would like to go visit some of their (CPS workers) households and make claims of my own, I'm sure we would find lots going wrong in their family situations.

I'm writing this because I thought I was alone and unfortunately I'm not. In 2006 my children were taken away from me by this scary county, I have never had my kids taken away before nor have I had cps involved in my life. I was a single mother of 3 kids I was having trouble with one child who was diagnosed with ADHD, and impulse control. Cps wanted me to complete parenting classes be in counseling and taking my medication as I have bipolar, PTSD, anxiety and bpd. I completed 4 parenting classes, was in counseling for 4yrs, I completed 2apc classes and dbt classes.
I went to every court date, visit, and school event I was allowed to unlike the fathers of my children. When I completed all this they then wanted me to do it again, on 4/26/07 I got a phone call saying my kids were molested by my stepfather then I was told the children wouldn't be brought to the hospital because that would be too traumatic for them? About 2 weeks later I was told it wasn't my stepfather but his son so when I asked if I could talk to my kids about these allegations I was told no and that if I did I would get in trouble.
My children were then split up my now 12year old has been moved about 5 times no one not even a case worker (sandy wood) could handle my daughter. This woman sent my child to school after being in the hospital till 3am from having a double ear infection and she was on Tylenol with codeine. Also while in the care of this case worker my daughter ended up with a black eye, I was told she fell but my daughter told me another girl punched her. When I questioned it I was told I should not be talking to my kids about what goes on in their foster homes?
My daughter was then moved to yet another home.
At a visit my then 3 year old was telling me that her name was going to be changed to the last name of the foster parents I then questioned that as well and was told no they don't tell her that don't worry about it she just 3 she making things up. A lot of things went on that shouldn't have but I had case workers who didnt care to reunite my family to me they just wanted the money coming in. I had one Kristina lindstead, Julie sammons, Irene stabenow and a few others I have come across and it seemed not one cared that my children would cry because they wanted to come home to me, or that it was breaking my heart not having them with me.
I have a page on Facebook dedicated to people like us I'm trying to raise awareness to families who have been screwed by this county you can find it by looking up the email justice4att@aol.com
I can't help but think in my case it was also a race thing, during my groups and classes I came across a bunch of families who's children had been taken away and well some of us had the same case worker Kristina lindstead and they got their kids back, after having a meth lab in their home, prostitution, selling drugs ect. These families were all white, I'm not a racist as I'm half white as well it's just I don't look it and can't help but wonder if I was like these people maybe I would've got my kids back?
There is so much more that happen in my case that I'd like to share and if the media wants to talk to me then great I will share I have been trying for years to get my kids back but they unfortunately were adopted but if I can help some other family from going through what mine has then great. But something really needs to be done and soon.

I'm not to sure about what I am supposed to click on to submit my story. I did the other day and then lost the whole thing and it never posted. My story is also about Schoharie County and my Grandchildren.

@ country girl

It's hard to say whether it was a valid choice (I think it's safe to assume that the judge should have erred on the side of caution and not immediately shipped off a child). The immediate biological parents have the ultimate rights to their children. Specifically in regards to grandparents; it was ruled back in 2001 in NY that even requiring visitation rights for a grandparent is unconstitutional. Doesn't really matter if the father got involved late, the point is the intent of him wanting to be involved.

It's one of those grey areas sadly. It's easy to talk shit about the father, but you have to yourself in his shoes -- I wouldn't be surprised if it took 3 years for his involvement because he was afraid to fight in the first place. It's not a black and white decision. I highly doubt he woke up one day and said "I want to see my daughter" and that was it. It was most likely eating away at him for years. In a way it's all assumption, but Occam's razor would sooner suggest that it is more likely that, as parents (More so mothers than fathers) have an emotional sensitivity to their children.

So again, I apologize for being the devil's advocate, but that actually sounds like a situation where they did do the legal thing -- even if doesn't sit in-line with your best judgement.

I agree though if he had a drug problem. Mind you don't fault someone getting booted from the service for drug problems. I'm sure you know more than I do, but I just want to make a point that drugs are a common go-to to stop thinking about the outside world (This was especially true in Vietnam for example). So it's easier to assume, for me, he has emotional issues which isn't immediately room to say he's a bad father or bad person. This is coming from someone who does absolutely no drugs and hasn't drank in years -- I've personally seen a lot of people destroyed by drug but this also why I have an understanding of what goes through people's heads because of that personal concern.

Should the judge have verified that he successfully completed a CD program or has ongoing therapy? Yes. Should he be drug tested? Yes. 

Should the father have voluntarily allowed the grandparents to be involved in the kids life? Yes, especially given the only reason he was able to be involved in his kids life is because the grandparents allowed that to happen. Personally I think the father should have started slowly getting involved and then discussed the prospect of having his child live with him -- irresponsibly having the child sent with someone she's never met is just a recipe for disaster. 

Sadly, I don't think is a problem with the county though -- this is one of those really grey legal matters and it sounds like Bartlett acted within the bounds of what normally would be done. Whether that's right or wrong is perceptual -- but I think it's fair to say the way that it happened, was definitely not fair to the child or the grandparents.

It's not illegal for a person to be a s***** person, if the father is even a s****** person (You would know better, but I can't personally pass judgement without having more insight and regardless it's generally not an idea to assume things without having met the person).

Again sorry that I offer a non-answer, it's just I know that this was probably less to do with corrupt people and more to do with just a broken system (However wrong that may be in it's own way). And yes, I know my over-rationality is annoying :P.

If anyone could provide information on CPS case workers that have actually been good, that would be absolutely wonderful.

I'm reviewing a number of those accused in private emails and conversations, as well as those publicly announced, and I'm seeing a very concerning pattern in salaries and salary increases for every single accused person. However, I can't immediately assume that's cause for concern without a proper control or comparison. The one person I know who has a lot of good word, and I have personal experience with, has a low salary (Half of that of those accused), but there is only one year to compare this to (I can't look at salary increases; note that one of the people accused actually had a 12.5% increase) and she, as far as I am aware of, is a newer employee anyway so a lower salary is logical.

The reason I'm asking is I'm trying to prove as much cause for investigation, and showing a pattern of monetary irregularities is a concrete form that is easy to understand for everyone -- especially when these people are getting massive salary increases when others are getting salary cuts.

Thank you in advance.

Reading through all this makes me right down sick..I know a family that raised their grandchild from birth until the child was three years old...Parents didnt want the child, then one day the father decided he did..faught for the child ( that didn't even know him)AND some how Judge Bartlett gave him full custady...the Child was three, the father lived in a whole different State..Judge Bartlett took this three year old out of the home of the only people she knew and sent her On a plane with a complete stranger (her father) the father also had a history of being in troble and had been discharged from the service with drug charges..

You tell me why the judge would take that little girl out of that home and make her go kicking and screaming with someone she didn't even know..it took him three years to decide he wanted her..ya something was up with that case..I don't know how any of them involved could even sleep at night...I hope someone here gets some justice!

@ shockedparent

That's a good source you provided, I think everyone should make a point to take some time to read it when they have the time available. It would have been nice if they actually provided the laws / regulations in specific though, so it's easier to fact check.

I will note though that as far as I am aware of, you are protected by the 4th amendment against unwarranted/erroneous search and seizures (Note that CPS are held to different standards for cause though than law enforcement are). You are also protected by the 2nd amendment right to not self-incriminate (Make a point that you can't confirm or deny an allegation at your own digression, and only provide information that strengthens your stance).

Upon denial of entry, as far as I am aware of, they are required to obtain a search warrant within 72 hours or the case is dropped immediately (I need to verify this, so take that with a grain of salt please -- this is different than the 30-90 day time frame for an investigation, 60 locally); the standard is set pretty high, so generally a warrant won't be supplied unless they're is actually a real cause for concern. They are required to have a search warrant to enter your house UNLESS there is reason to believe that someone is in immediate danger; worst case scenario have a sheriff (And record it, as previously suggested) do the check and do not allow CPS to enter. I generally would never suggest to let any of them enter your house unless you personally feel room for concern (But again, never let CPS in unless they have an actual warrant allowing them to enter) or they have a search warrant, which I'll touch on later.

Please note that if your children are taken, you have the right to an immediate trial (within 72 hours); this again I need to confirm, but I've come across it from multiple sources. The actual law I need to find (The problem lies in the fact anyone can say anything, but the law is the law; it's easier to defend your rights if you know the actual laws that protect those rights). 

Make it verbally clear that when you do go with the Sheriff, if you grant him entry and no body can stand guard at the door, that CPS is not to enter your house under any means, otherwise they will claim that you implied entry on their part too (Which is a matter of opinion, and can't be confirmed or denied; so make a point to make it a fact). Sheriff's are generally held to a higher standard, so they would be more inclined to stick to the important issues and won't fixate on things like a stack of dirty dishes or a pile of clothes; they'll just verify that they're no drugs in the house or that a person is present and looks of reasonable health. The only sheriff's you should be concerned about, are sheriffs that have a tendency to be included in CPS investigations; locally this is easier to determine by word.

If they do have a search warrant, make sure you see it, and read it and that they follow the search warrant to the letter (This means, that if it says they can talk to one child that they don't talk to both)

Ask for them to (They normally will anyway) tell you what the allegations are (They're required to), but note that they're obligated to not tell you who made these allegations (Depending on the type of allegations, and the time frame, you may be able to determine who said what fairly easily).

Coercion is not allowed for both law enforcement and CPS; threats to enter forcibly shouldn't be ignored, they should be noted because this can give you cause to have the case thrown out as any evidence obtained was obtained by illegal means. (This doesn't apply when there is room for them to forcibly enter and the reason they entered was validated; and generally, this is on their side because you'll normally have to pursue to a higher court to get this type of determination. This is why they feel more in control with poor families who don't have have the financial resources for an extended legal battle to focus on this issue).

Children are considered a protected class of people, and are hypersensitive in nature so take note to what is said to your children. For example, Melissa Packard telling an adopted child that they were adopted I'd say is within the legal standard of intentional infliction of emotional distress; I would most definitely speak with an attorney if anyone finds parallel's to this type of abuse. Given Melissa has, apparently, a historical pattern of doing these things (According to what people are saying), it should be fairly easy to prove. I am not an attorney though, so speak to an attorney before you make the assumption that you meet the legal requirements. Also keep a level head; don't flood the court with unnecessary emotionally based petitions, it just hurts everyone else who do need that time slot more. (I personally encourage "StrongFamily" to ask about that though, because I really think if there is any reason to -- that's a damn good reason).

Also note, that pregnant woman are a protected class too -- it may be interesting to consider this if anyone is threatening to take your children away (Which I think people would tend to agree that a pregnant woman would be hypersensitive to this). Fight them at their own game when it calls for it, no?

Strategically, give your child a note that they can keep with them that says they will not speak unless you or your spouse or child's attorney is present (Children have a right to not speak until their parents are there) -- CPS may attempt to talk to your child at school, especially if the school is the accuser. Make it clear to your children that regardless of what anyone says, they do have this right -- so not only should they ignore any threats of punishment, but they should make a note of it. Your child has a right to have you present; CPS is well aware of this, so if they do attempt this, make a point of this in court because they are well beyond the bounds of what is allowed. Again, though, the problem with CPS is that courts tend to be local and it's immediately against you because they are already have an existing relationship; it's not so much that the system is broken, it's more that they're broken people involved. 

Ultimately, do what you think is right for your children and be logical.

--------------------------

In regards to Schoharie County Mental Health releasing confidential information; are you positive this was on the side of Mental Health (E.g. Did the counselor admit to this)? The reason is I wouldn't put it past CPS/APS to obtain by illegal means. Also note, to keep an eye on what information release forms you sign and that there is an area to write what it is to be used for and time frame that it can be used; they will tend to tell you that they need it for one thing and use it for an entirely different thing.

@ Absolute Truth

Creepy enough, I was just talking about Cascanet today. Do you know where I can find tangible evidence or at least insider knowledge of whether DSS was aware of this? I read the accusations before, but absolutely no one provided any form of supporting evidence. I apologize if I come off as the devil's advocate sometimes; it's just I don't know enough about the topic where I'd say it's fair of me to give opinion. It's not to say it's not true; but I like to discover as much information as possible before I make a judgement (Admittedly, I am not perfect though).

Strangely enough, Torri was mentioned as well for the first time by the person I was having a conversation about this with. Can you elaborate on the involvement of all the people mentioned?

Given Cascanet was actually put in jail for this, this is a good tangible starting point to suggest that there should have been a broader investigation and is ultimately this is why I ask is because it's an important asset to a strong foundation.

@ sb89

Really sorry to hear this; this bothers me a lot personally because I know two who were run through the system and are adults now. The sad fact the only people that are still for them are their biological family, and their foster parents immediately dissolved the relationship (And definitely didn't treat them like actual children should have been treated; they to me were more of a check to these "parents", than actual children or even humans) says a lot about how poor of a choice it was.

@ Sherryh

Your best bet may be be to talk to a related advocate agency (Meaning some type of advocate that has a specialized interest) if you think they're profiling you (Whether it's genealogical / based on your family or just blatant racism) as they would have the most experience. I personally am completely oblivious to this, but if it came down to racism -- I wouldn't doubt it sadly from what I've personally heard :/.

There is some rationality for them to use your existing relationships as cause for concern (E.g. Someone in jail, especially based on the type of crime) to build a case against you, despite I don't agree with the concept. If they attempted to make a point that they shouldn't be with a convicted criminal, that's really a matter of opinion and not of fact -- but it's one of those social misconceptions that people tend to have unless they actually have working experience with seeing both sides of the spectrum. It's safe to say it's pretty illogical to be concerned about (Unless it was a sex offender), because it's very publicly aware that people who hurt children have a tendency to get killed in jail or at the very least are shunned; so even the "deviants" of society cherish children. Problem is, very few people are capable of taking that into consideration and try to push their own personal agenda into the issue.

Sadly, it's one of those things you can't really help because it's a very black and white issue to most people. It doesn't even excuse the fact of how slanted it is against poor people and people of color in the first place, so you're at even larger disposition if in either of those two groups even if your crime is much less serious in nature, you're more likely to be put in jail for it just because you're part of said group. (Whether it's cognitive bias or just structural bias can't be said, but I'd say it's a mixture)

If your comment (I don't mean to be rude but the way it was written was in a way that could be perceived a few ways) was intended to show that they said one thing, and then backtracked on the issue and more or less pulled a "See, she's in bad company. Told you so", ignoring the fact that they just lied 5 minutes ago -- I'll note I wouldn't doubt it as I've personally seen this flip-flopping a lot and each time it honestly feels like I'm losing brain cells. It's one thing to expand on a topic, but it's another to completely flip-flop and act like nothing happened.

They definitely seem to follow the same political rhetoric we see on TV.

---------------------------------------

I apologize for any inconsistencies or grammatical errors, tired right now so I wrote a lot of that on fumes :P.

Yes, I agree it seems as though certain families  with certain names do get harassed.  I know this from experience as well due to other members in my family have had to deal with CPS and it seems to go around in circles.  Once their kids have kids and they have kids  it is an on going situation of getting knocks on the door and kids being visited at school to discuss things with a worker.   

I am so glad to see that more people are coming vocal to this and I would like to share a link if people are interested in.  http://www.falseallegations.com/recommendations-by-vocal.htm 

I read some things on here and  1-  I do not allow them in my house  I do have my kids come to the door - one time they showed up at my house after 10 pm  and wanted to see my kids  I said to them come back tomorrow  I am not waking them up  in no way  was I going to wake up my son who was I think 7 at the time at 10 pm  when he struggles to get to sleep as it already is.  

I have learnt by mistake they do twist things around - DO NOT GIVE CPS caseworkers or the police any information in defense of yourself.  CPS will take anything you say and twist it to use against you.  BE firm but polite and courteous at all times.  

I do now - DO document all interviews, phone calls, events or altercations as thoroughly as possible.  (Write things down as soon as possible after an interview or telephone call.  You have a legal right [in New York State] to record telephone calls.   Do so if possible.)

I by mistake have let this happen  the relationship be myself and one of my children has been terrible since  CPS involvement  because they told me I could not set boundaries or chores- DO NOT let the system diminish or destroy your parent/child relationship.


My kids use to go to Schoharie Mental Health - that was until I was told something from another worker there and made me aware that my kids confidentiality was broken by one of their counselors and they currently want me to take my kids there again  and I REFUSE - DO NOT use the services of any counseling service recommended by the county.

and the list just goes on.

I have had several serious violations on my family, by Schoharie County DSS....Namely...Julie Sammons...Terri Borst...Lapelle,.and all associated with the Cascanet case...Judge Bartlett..DA Sackett...Schoharie County Sheriffs....When they found out their friend, and co-worker, Patrick Cascanet, a DSS Investigator was brought to justice for molesting several little boys in Schoharie County as well, as several other counties....These people did everything in their power to destroy my family...It wasn't til I got a Attny. from a different area, and the news involved. This county was Hell to bring one of their most notorious pedophile to justice.....He worked for Schoharie County DSS as an Investigator. Judge Bartlett, was the Judge that overlooked the DSS cases...Cascanet, investigated families, and brought them in front of Judge Bartlett.....When, Cascanet was brought to court...Yes, it was in front of Judge Bartlett...Conflict of Interest..Judge Bartlett denied us a change of venue....These people conspired to make my family very very serious life threatening issues....All to cover up the behavior of their friend, and coworker, Serial Child Molester, Patrick Cascanet.....Many of the people knew that Cascanet was molesting little boys for decades....These entities worked together to try and make my husband and I criminals...All to cover up the actions of their friend, and coworker.....These entities are controlled by people who are related or have lived amongst each other forever....They are very destructive to children and families.....This counties beauty is incredible but, it is ran by Devils.....Thank God, for the media, in my families horrible experiences with these entities...Yes, Schoharie County conspiracy, indeed..

I am so glad to see that someone finally sees what all is going on. Years ago my parents had my older brother and I removed from the home and we were never ever in any danger what so ever. We had Sandy Woods as a case worker and she made so many faults statements that my family was not compliant with family counseling. My brother was place in foster care and was left at meetings waiting for hours for the DSS ride and they never showed. He was beating as well in the faster home his whole back was brushed and when we lived at home we never had a bruise on us unless it was cause from just kids being kids. Any way he was moved to another home. The home that abused my brother was never in the paper for child endangerment and was kid free for only a little while and now has kids in the home once again. I was placed in residential home. Later in life are Juvenal record is still in any court documents and were both grown adults now. I have spoke with a few lawyers that have tated themselves that this county goes by there own laws and regulations. It should be stopped..... Glad people are stepping up!!!

I had to deal with CPS for over 2 years they took my child away from me for 5 days.... I had a cases worker tell me it was my last name I was in and out of court for 2 years fighting it and all I got was postponed and my lawyer did not show up so the judge said we will have to post pone it and CPS lawyer start running his mouth and I was like I'm not going to say yes or no to u with out my lawyer.... My parent were not allowed to watch my little girl cuz CPS brought there past up and a CPS worker lied to my case work saying she say my friend walking down the street with my little girl and at that time my friend was in jail they brought that up in court and put that against me.... I'm sick of being harassed by Schoharie Cps 

@ Justamom36

I briefly mentioned it, but it wasn't entirely clear whether they could do anything because the agent on duty was a violent crimes expert and not a public corruption expert; he said he would write up a report and pass it down the line and they would be in contact (But didn't specify when, I probably should have given him my email to be honest because I'm more readily available by email than I am by phone). I'll make a point of it when they do call, if I can get an email address from the agent who does call.

A new update:

For those who have read my posts, mine is actually in regards to APS, as I am an Alleged Incapacitated Person (AIP; I'm enjoying this nickname now to be honest because it's so perfectly counter to the obvious) in an active litigation. This has now gotten some public notice and I got a call from my attorney letting me know that they (DSS) wanted to have a meeting/negotiation (Which I agreed to).

She's (my attorney) requesting it to be a private meeting with the Commissioner and David L. -- so hopefully things end well for me. However, since I'd have the opportunity to discuss larger issues (Mind you, the meeting would largely be about what we can do about my case in particular) or at least pass on information on your behalf directly for them to review. They're good people and they're definitely taking notice to the concerns raised, so I think it's a good opportunity overall.

Continue doing what you're doing, but just wanted to let you know there does appear to be some light at the end of the tunnel. If anyone has any points or notes that you want me to specifically bring up let me know here or at JesseEFinn@gmail.com.

Whether anything can be realistically done or will be done? I don't know, the problem with CPS/APS isn't a local problem, it's a problem across the entire country (And the degree of what the problem is very different from county to county). But it's worth a shot to actually try and present things intelligently and fix things locally.

The best thing you can do is keep posting and I (or we if anyone wants to help) can compile local stories. I personally avoid naming names here (Since it's permanent) unless they've already been brought up, so if anyone does get in trouble they can move on without having it follow them for life (And mind you, I rationalize the hell they put everything through doesn't call for that; but it's always best to have tactical room as well as the perceptual high ground. I do rationalize that they have families of their own that could be adversely affected. I learned early that blood for blood doesn't work). 

If you do explain your story, I encourage you to be detailed but keep to facts (And make a point to differentiate opinions from fact). I'd encourage no one to lie though so you don't risk making the issue look less critical than it is; people, especially people who are as mentally inadequate as the ones in question, tend to fixate on the small little details that are inaccurate even if the larger (99%) portion of it is of fact; it's the Dunning-Kruger effect. So I gather, watch what you say but still say it with your chest.

For those curious about the letter I mentioned I wrote, here is the letter with recanted names that are not already mentioned here (Note I made 4 grammatical fixes in contrast to the original letter I handed to them):

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To whom it may concern within the Department of Social Services of Schoharie County:

I want to make this point to all of you who may be of concern; you are in a den of thieves. I will make a point a non-response does not imply a lack of concern on your part, as that would be unfair of anyone to make that character judgment, but I will be forward and say this; if you feel genuine concern not only for myself, but the families of this county I would encourage you to take the time to demand an investigation into not only the Adult Protective Services unit, but the Child Protective Services unit as well.

I will be blunt and declare that you are surrounded by very corrupt people; whether that it is an inherent part of their personality or merely an environmental anomaly, I don't know and it is unfair of me to say, but I can tell you in my own personal experience I have witnessed so many lies, distortions of the truth, and acts of malicious intent that is honestly sickening. My trust not only in humanity as a whole as been deprived, but I unilaterally have no faith in the government anymore to do the right and proper thing.

I will point out the allegations against me in an affidavit, claiming that I am an AIP (Alleged Incapacitated Person) are: 

 1. Misrepresentations of character. XXXXA, of Schoharie County Mental Health, was incorrectly cited and even he is confused as to how that could even come to be; he never made that statement that I gave my sister $1,400, nor did I ever give my sister $1,400 of my flood reimbursement money, I gave her a small amount of $100-200 because she was in significantly more need of it; XXXXB actually tried to lie to me and say they received over $25,000 which was proven to be unequivocally false. She never apologized for her attacks on my family. No one in Adult Protective Services has spoken to my social worker or my psychiatrist in a very long time, and are both adamantly against the concept that I would be incapacitated.
 2. Intentional lies. I have never been exploited by a friend financially in my life, the few people that have, have always been family. XXXXB was aware of this and I had to correct her a plethora of times. Her inability to not only take me and professionals at their word but attempt to exude her control is absolutely outrageous. I was additionally hospitalized at MIBH for an adverse reaction to my medication, not an attempted suicide; XXXXB was made aware of this numerous times not only by myself but staff, and I have continued to correct her after the fact. Try and rationalize how damaging it is to my psyche to be accused of attempted suicide numerous times about an event that wasn't attempted suicide, when I actually have attempted suicide in past and future events. It says a lot about her character and complete disregard for my well being.
 3. Distortions of the truth and/or inaccurate. The majority (More than 50%) of the affidavit is inaccurate. For example, I never received a valid check in 2003. XXXXB was fully aware of this before the affidavit was created and admitted to this fact after the fact. My mother received a check as a lump sum but it was not used; it was broken up into three settlements. Furthermore, I don't give my food stamps card to my sister, I gave it to her once and it was necessary to not only feed her but her boyfriend and children.
 4. Contradictory. The claim that I'm being penalized for the lump sum budgeting rule because I revoked my Power of Attorney is not only false, it's contradicting the prior item that I won't be able to receive Temporary Assistance until 2048 because of lump sum budgeting rules, which is also false. The lump sum budgeting rules she's referring to is a Federal Regulation under Title 45, Subtitle B, Chapter 3, Section 233.20. The fact that I've already used a large portion for medical bills allows me to reduce the penalty by years as is. Furthermore, in the event you discover that the settlement was specifically intended for medical bills (Which it's not, it's for pain and suffering) I would be exempt from the penalty entirely. Regardless, I have absolutely zero intention to ever utilize the services of DSS ever again; the only reason I came forward is societal pressure and the fact I needed immediate therapy.

The concept that they are alleging my incapacity to understand the circumstances despite their own inferior understanding of their own regulations is ludicrous. The fact that they couldn't even spell my name (Let alone my aunt's name or XXXXA's name) right in a petitioning document says a lot about the dysfunctional nature of the unit as a whole, let alone their lack of actual concern for me. It doesn't help the image of the department either that my own attorney overheard XXXXB talking ill of me at court in the waiting room to Sandra Wood and Susan Loubier (Who else, I do not know; but she was very crass about it). The nature of said statements I won't elaborate upon, but the inability to procure even elementary algebra or a minute sense of economics makes it one of the most idiotic statements I've ever heard in my life.

Furthermore, their understanding of the legal requirements of those pursuant in an NY MHL Article 81 matter is at best crude; the fact that they considered this as a course of action without learning about the requirements is not just merely poor judgment, but disgusting. The fact that an AIP, myself, could even determine this within two days time in contrast to the unit that should have working knowledge of the requirements says a lot about the state of the department. That doesn't even excuse the fact that they were even allowed to pursue such a serious matter without any fact checking or any form of regulatory tape, which (this is a hyperbole, I'll profess) you have to jump through to even take a piss!

The fact that I was even allowed to invoke and revoke a Power of Attorney is contradictory to the legal definition of capacity (I have to be of capacity to invoke a Power of Attorney, and the same scrutiny is applicable in revocation). Furthermore, the letter I wrote a day before being alleged incapacitated gives me a lot of room for proving the frivolous nature of this litigation. The letter in question was a formal request to the department that I have my finances relinquished to me, requested by APS for their own record keeping; they even stated a day prior (XXXXC and XXXXB) that I was within my rights to do this and that it wouldn't be challenged and I intentionally made a point to allude to that fact in my latter statement in said letter because I anticipated their lies.

I will make this blunt here, and this is in no way meant to be offensive to you, but given the circumstances and the continued abuse by the department against me, I will make a point that not only the public will be very interested in these allegations against me, but the public media as it is immediately apparent that I am not incapacitated and this is a clear abuse of power. If their intent is to waste my time and expect me to roll over, then they made a critical mistake in misjudging kindness for weakness.

The very fact that as of right now, the only reason I am continuing therapy and am on a particular type of medication (Benzodiazepines, which I will note it is recorded that I have adamantly been against the concept of taking them for years because I've seen how easily addictive they are) to stop panic attacks caused by XXXXB and Adult Protective Services begs to question what other legal recourse I have on top of making this a public matter. The type of stress this has caused me I can't even begin to explain; it has effected absolutely every aspect of my life, including what little social life I did have.

It is undeniable on my part to say that I put myself in harms way; but that is because I adhere to a higher moral order than most people and not an inability to understand cause and effect. That is not to say I am a better person, because I strongly believe that we are all equal, but it is a simply a statement that I have a very abstract, philosophical view on life. I don't expect people to understand me, nor am I out to explain myself, but I do expect people to respect me and actually listen to what I have to say. I live firmly by the concept of might for right and that might is not right. I choose non-combativeness out of respect for people (Even if I'm receiving no respect in return), not out of lack of capacity to fight. I exert kindness and care not because that is what is socially acceptable or to appear a certain way, but because I genuinely care about the feelings of others. Furthermore, what ever my perceived inadequacies are, especially my social inhibitions, I can firmly declare that is well made up in my capacity to think and understand.

Now having met the Commissioner, David Lapinel, in addition to meeting numerous others in Temporary Assistance and Employment, so I know that they're people in the department that actually care, but I can absolutely say with every ounce of my vigor that Child Protective Services and Adult Protective Services are corrupt totalitarians. 

You may find it very coincidental that CPS is investigating my sister over things that they have known for well over a year, and furthermore factually lied about other elements (I was personally involved, so I know for a fact that they lied) in their initial report. You also may find it very coincidental that I was only made aware that there is an investigation into whether I have to pay back medicaid bills, back to 1 year of age, only after I revoked my Power of Attorney.

Furthermore, I am quite certain that CPS is not following proper federal procedure and is in a very harmful disposition and I guarantee that you will have no public backing if that comes to the broader spectrum of public light, especially from the local community upon finding, if they don't already know, that they're members within CPS who had 9-10% salary increases in the wake of Irene despite the claims by the department that they did not meet budget requirements. For the record, as you may know, all public government employee salaries are open to the public. The very fact that local CPS already has a very pronounced habit of using scare tactics and threats already puts your department at odds with the public, let alone with the legal system. It makes no sense to break the law and risk bankrupting a county for the benefit of a are few people.

And yet more, before anyone makes the claim to me again that XXXXB has never received a complaint and it is out of character (As stated by Julie Sammons and XXXXC), I would remind you and them that my own aunt made a complaint back in February/March of 2012; I do not appreciate having anyone lie to my face.

This is intended to be abstract and not literal but all empires fall, and I would be personally concerned with being around when it does fall; you can make the choice to lead a new empire or bear the crux of it's demise. I know for a fact, based on what I've seen in CPS/APS that they will make every attempt to bear blame on something or someone else and they will subjugate anyone they see fit; protect yourself before that happens, I am speaking from a position of having already making that mistake.

It is not to say every member of CPS and APS is corrupt (For example, the person working my sister's case was refreshing and I appreciate her intent to actually discover the truth), but there is definitely a fair amount of less than ideal individuals within said units, whether they're intentionally corrupt or are just outright mentally deficient. And I will openly declare that XXXXB is very much at the forefront.

If logic, reason, and morality isn't enough to give cause for anyone to speak up (And I'm not saying it isn't, but just offering supportive rationale) I'm sure money talks and just take a look at their salaries and take into account how much it will relax the budget to have a chunk of high salary (50K-70K) employees gone and for good reason to boot! If manpower has been an issue, you should be able to hire double the work force for what you relinquish. It's absolutely insane that XXXXB is making more money (62K~ as of 2012) than supervisor's / service coordinators like XXXXC & Sandra (Sandy) Wood; those units couldn't be more blatant about favoritism, especially considering XXXXB has been working half or a third of the time than said people, and is probably one of the most mentally defective people I have ever met in my entire life (And having known murderers, drug addicts, and people who have actual mental disabilities, I feel that's a pretty concerning opinion and observation on my part!) so I know qualifications is not part of that decision. It is furthermore absolutely sickening that I know for a fact that people in temporary assistance are working their asses off for a mere $30,000 in contrast to people who are abusing the system; so I feel it's fair to say that they're plenty of people within the Department of Social Services who would find logical alignment with said concerns.

I will tell you forthright, I will not sit down and watch this happen quietly, especially after the deliberate attacks on not only me, but my family. This is only the first step in a series of steps I intend to take to rectify the problems I bear witness to. I apologize for any collateral harm that this may cause, it is not of my intention, but I am doing what I feel is necessary and right, and ultimately under duress. 

I anticipate a targeted response at me, however unclear what the level of response will be, but I am already at risk of losing my right to free will, so in my eyes I have very little to lose at this point and I intend to use that perceived weakness as a strength. So please bear this in mind that I am fighting back only after years of a consistent and directed barrage of abuse. And no, this is not an implied rally call for violence but it is a cry for peace. 

Thank you for your time and I apologize for any inconvenience. I leave you with a question; what point is life to live in slavery to the whims of mankind? 

Best Wishes and with love,
Jesse E. Finn
Alleged Incapacitated Person 

I read your story and the tears just started flowing, First off you did not do anything wrong, CPS had no right to get involved in your case, you did the right thing and they take your son away. what they did litterly was take everything away, a parents worst nightmare and do they ever even admit to any wrong doing or the fact that due to their actions they caused the consequences. Your story is so sad with the worst poosible out come. The truth of the matter also is that some of the foster homes are 100x worse than the homes the children have been removed from, Causing these children much more harm. I am deeply saddened by your story and this goes to prove even more so why we need to fight in the name of the children that are effected by this type of tradgedy, esp when there was nothing wrong to begin with.

I am heartbroken to hear what you as a mother and your family has had to go through. NOBODY should ever have to bare this kind of pain, especially when CPS should have been held accountable for this, in some way. Before anymore tragedies like this happens I really hope something serious gets done. I wish you the best, you have had a horrible tradgedy that should have never happened. I do not know how these people sleep at night.

Jesse

I was wondering if you told the FBI about this page so that they can see how many families ( and this is just the beginning, there are so many more) that have been affected and ruined by this department and the people who work there.

I am going to make that call also, if anyone else would like to call the FBI and report this the number is (518) 465-7551. The number for the united states government is (518)257-1870.

1994, my son was charged with breaking into a house, along with a friend who had  been breaking into his neighbors home for quite some time and never been caught. As a matter of fact the BCI were investigating an earlier break across the street at the time these 2 boys where robbing a house across the street. To make a long story short I received a phone call from the other boys parents telling me  to come to their house immediately, which I did and at that point they told me that the boys had broken into a house.  The mother informed me that her son had been bringing things into the house , telling her they were from yard sales. The whole time we were speaking she would look at her son and scream at him that he had embarrassed her and what were the neighbors going to think. They suggested that we pretend this did not happen. Mind u her son had stolen guns from one of these homes and buried them in the back yard. I as a good parent said no, they must go to the police and turn themselves in. They got a lawyer, I as a single parent , got a court appointed lawyer.  They paid their way out of the whole thing and my nightmare began!!! my son was charged with 6 felonies of guns, taken away from me put into a foster home ran by a single woman, with a 'nephew' who helped her run this boys home. My son was 14, 6'1" 265 lbs when he went into this home. They would not allow me to see him for 3 months and when I finally was able to see him it was supervised by this woman and her nephew. My son weighed about 145 was skin and bones, shared a room with another boy who killed and saved in the bedroom he shared with my son, small animals, the boy had mental problems. I also must say that when the courts took my son from me was placed in a boys facility in Pa.until they found him a home, the worker who took him there was Castinette, remember him, he was tried and convicted of molesting boys. This foster mother would not allow my son to use soap while  showering,  they ate hot dogs and beans every day. 1 hot dog and a spoon full of beans for my 6'1" son.

Eventually I fought and won back custody of my son, with no help from my attorney, who by the way is now the DA, the horrors during and after still live with me, I have many stories I will share as time goes by, but out of this horror my son hung himself at the age of 20, left a wife, 2 sisters, family and a mother wondering if I should have agreed with the parents of the other boy and just swept it all under the rug when they wanted to pretend it never happened. I believe to this day that my son was molested in that home or  that this Castinett pervert or both had a hand in my sons death, and that the system did not do the best job for my son. I have dealt with alot of the names being mentioned in all the articles, have been abused, stomped on , and I'm happy to help anyway I can to see some changes in the county plz feel free to contact me  cireceivemymail@gmail.com

I noticed the article that justmom posted  was written back in 2010   how this family is now making out and not only that if the person who wrote the article would be curious to look into some of the new things going on as well as doing a follow up..... I am thinking might be time to contact the Gazette  - that is after I discuss things with my lawyer tomorrow and see how things go in court for me next week.

@ justamom36 

LOL. Weird I essentially just posted similar thoughts on the fact they seem to target the wrong families. Very weird.

But yeah, I'll update the thoughts in detail later just right now I'm drained.

About Senator Nancy Schaefer's report and subsequent murder-suicide, look up "Nancy Shaefer" and go to her Wiki page. Go to item 10 in the references. The strange thing, as I noted before, is she was killed just before another report was going to be finished and publicized. You don't generally here of 70 year old women being involved in murder-suicides, eh? :P

Her original report was called "The Corrupt Business of Child Protective Services."

I will more in length later, but I wanted to make a note it's hard to say whether the court appointed attorney's are willing to help or not. 

I think court appointed attorney's in general are not bad, but I do think it is fair to assume that in our particular environment, however paranoid it may sound, that they are largely apart of the dysfunctional nature of  the system. It's not to say all are (I know my attorney is awesome, so I'm lucky. But the costs I have to pay anyway, so she's not an atypical public defender).

Not all public defender's are inherently bad; the problem really lies in the human condition and the lack of intention to go beyond what is necessary. Most public defender's are paid flat fees / salaries, private practice attorney's tend to be paid by the hour -- so there is more incentive for hourly attorney's to fight as hard as they can and keep things going on as long as possible because it's more money for them. Public defenders tend to have to work within a budget in addition to having a much larger case load, so their time is a lot more sensitive in nature and while they may have the best intent -- they just don't always have the capacity do what is best for you because they only have so much time and so many people to help.
 
So I think the system, the way it is, it's immediately against you because there is little incentive to really go beyond the call of duty, and public defenders will tend to be more privy to negotiation as a result. 

Guardian at litem tend to be even worse because they're in a position where the reputation effect losing or winning is not at stake like the actual defendant and petitioning attorneys. So there is even less incentive for them to do the right thing, and they will tend to merely act more based on personal judgement rather than on their legal responsibility. With them, it's always a matter of opinion as opposed to fact .You may find the guardian at litem butt their nose in and contradict decisions even when all parties involved are in agreement, for example.

This doesn't even excuse the possibility that locally both the guard at litem and public defender's are intentionally chosen based on existing back-room relationships and compliance with the way Schoharie's system works. Logically, I'd assume this is the case but I can't say that as a matter of fact.

I think it's very fair to say you're immediately at a disposition to have a public defender / court appointed attorney, but I wouldn't say that all of them are bad news either. Just be wary and make a determination based on your experiences with them. A good attorney will tell you that they'll fight for what you want, and not what they want; a good attorney will also tell you what they feel is right, even if it's not what you want, but they will explain all the options to you so you're aware of all the possible outcomes. A good attorney will be personally involved, but have the capacity to separate feelings from logic.

I guess just look at it this way; we're angry about people passing judgement on us that isn't factual, so we should try to stop ourselves from doing the same in return (Even if it's admittedly within reason to do so). It's better to find a balance, in my eyes; look at as a yellow light (caution) rather than a stop (red) or go (green), you know?

I think they know time is on their side (CPS/APS), so I think they intentionally try to adjourn things to dissuade you from fighting. There is a very large amount of cases in Schoharie as well, so things get put off for a while and as far as I am aware of Bartlett is the only one handling these (Minus another judge for Supreme Court) so while as much bad reputation he is getting, it's easy to be sympathetic with the amount of bullshit he has to deal with day-to-day. As shitty as our stories are, I think we can all understand just how weird some people in this county really are and that they're real instances of concern :P. 

(I have no clue why I was put off for 2.5 months though; seems really extreme, almost cruel)

The weird thing with CPS is that it seems like they tend to always target the families who don't have concern for neglect, or at the very most just need some type of therapeutic help, and let the families that are actually neglecting their children go without any form of investigation. And even those who may be neglecting their children, the first act should be to offer assistance not immediately turn them into horrible people.

It also doesn't help that their is financial incentive to take your children. Their was an act passed in 1997 that quite literally gives the state bonuses if they're put into foster care. $4000 per child, and an extra $2,000 for disabled children. Furthermore, the families that get the children get tons of assistance from the state, so I wouldn't be surprised if behind the scenes they're homes that have working relationships with the county that the kids are sent to and the county gets kickbacks from the people (Which is illegal) for sending them their way. On top of this, for the county / state to receive said bonuses above, they actually have to meet a quota which is determined based on the previous amounts of children in foster care (So to get more money, it's a never ending need to put more children in foster care year to year).

I love Clinton, but that was one of the dumbest things on his part that he was involved in. There was good intent in it, but it has definitely backfired.

 I just want to make a quick note,  I do not know where it started but I am glad it did, I opened my face book account last night and today, Ripoff reports from Schoharie county are being posted all over the internet, I am happy to see that people are finally seeing the truth and I hope that other familes affected speak up. I think this is a great start. Our CPS/DSS and family court seem to think they can get away with anything,  the lies, falsified reports, paying off toxicology reports that are originally negative, causing a positive for a person who did nothing wrong. Do not get me wrong there are MANY families, parents that are abusing drugs, neglecting the children and abusing them, It just seems CPS focuses on the wrong familes instead of helping the needed. I am going to try and post the letter that the reporter wrote about about the schoharie county family court syst
What I post on this Blog does not mean I agree with the articles or disagree. I call it Unbiased Reporti

 Saturday, July 24, 2010 How not to help families, Schoharie style *NOTE* From Jessica

The reporter had our story partial mixed with someone else's. There were never allegations that my husband caused a bruise on our daughter's face. The allegations were that we got in a physical altercation in front of our daughter which was why the neglect petition was filed

How not to help families, Schoharie style
Thursday, July 22, 2010
By Carl Strock (Contact) 
Gazette Reporter

I bring you an update from Schoharie County and its singular Department of Social Services, whose mission seems to be to make life as difficult as possible for the people it gets in its clutches.

Example: the couple I wrote about last year using the pseudonyms Greg and Nicole to protect their privacy.
Greg is a construction worker in his late 20s; Nicole, his wife, is a licensed practical nurse in her early 20s.

I won't review their entire history for you that would be too depressing. Suffice it that after three years of their being jerked around, during which their children were removed from their home and they were allowed to see them only once a week under supervision, the court order against Greg was about to expire.

This order, among other things, forbade him to drink any alcohol under any circumstances and also gave the Department of Social Services the authority to require alcohol testing of him at any time, besides the usual authority to monitor and supervise his life.

The circumstances that led to this situation were not grave enough to warrant such action as the Department of Social Services took and that Schoharie County Family Court for a long time authorized, in my view.

But what happened on March 18 of this year was that Greg took another urine test as required, and it came back positive for alcohol. On that basis the Department of Social Services asked Family Court to declare him in violation of the court's order and also to extend the order against him for another year, thus keeping him under the department's thumb, subject to all its intrusions.

Very good, you say, except for two things: Greg swore up and down he had not been drinking, and by now, having been able to live together again, the couple had managed to save some money and they were prepared to fight.

They hired their own lawyer, Russell Langwig of Schoharie, and they set about researching the chemical tests that Greg had been administered. And what do you suppose they came up with?

They came up with perhaps the country's leading expert on these particular tests, Dr. Gregory E. Skipper of Alabama, who introduced them to the United States, and he provided a letter saying the tests had been wrongly used in Greg's case, that the results "by themselves do not prove drinking," and "should not be utilized as proof of drinking."

Greg's lawyer submitted this letter to the court along with a motion to dismiss the action against Greg, and of course a copy also went to the Department of Social Services.

Now, wouldn't you suppose there would be some red faces around Family Court and around the Social Services office next door? Wouldn't you suppose some caseworker would apologize and let Greg resume the normal life he has been trying to lead with his wife and children these past couple of years?

Well, if you did you would be mistaken.

The parties were back in court the other day I was there too, listening and there were no apologies and there was no backtracking.

Greg's lawyer had earlier demanded that the urine sample be retested, and not even that was possible, since it turned out the lab in Michigan that did the testing threw out the sample two weeks later.

Judge George R. Bartlett III agreed it was a "reasonable request" that the lab retain samples for the two years required by federal regulations, and the county's lawyer agreed to take that up with the lab, but as for the results being unreliable, nothing was said, nothing was decided.

Greg and Nicole are determined to fight. "We're going to take all our savings and pay for this," Greg told me. "I know for a fact I didn't drink. That test is bogus. I'm not going to let them steamroll me."

Good for him, I say.

But here is something to contemplate:
A few years ago, Greg and Nicole did have some trouble, during which he was he was twice accused of domestic violence, though in one instance no criminal charges were filed and in the second instance the charges were dismissed.
He was also accused of causing a bruise on the face of their first child, which he denied.
Since then they have lived together, or attempted to live together, without problems and have had another child together.
During that time, they say, caseworkers from the Department of Social Services have not been their friends and supporters but rather their adversaries, looking for every little reason to break them up and take their children away from them.
Even now, when they finally have their children back and are able to live together in the home that they own in Cobleskill, the Department of Social Services seems bent on harassing them.

The department could take credit, if it chose to, for a success. It could say, well, those people had problems, but after we intervened they got straightened out, so good for us. Or it could just take pleasure in two people making a decent life for themselves with their children.

But no. They look for any little reason to bust on them, even now insisting on the consequences of that discredited alcohol test.

I have a couple of theories to account for this sort of behavior. One is the bread-and-butter theory, which is that people like Greg and Nicole, who have had some minor difficulties and who can be sent jumping through multiple hoops, are simply the bread and butter of the Department of Social Services. It's how the people there make their living. If they gave all such couples a pat on the back and sent them on their way, there would be a diminished need for their services, and some of them would find themselves out of work. Mildly troubled families that can be strung along indefinitely are a source of employment.

My other theory is the bully-boy theory, according to which some people simply like to exercise power over others. There is hardly anyone easier to exercise power over than the poor and uneducated, and there is hardly anyone in a better position to do it than those invested with governmental authority.

Put the two together and you have a perfect picture: Low-class families vs. a county agency that is backed up by Family Court and ultimately by the police, if need be.

Alas, Greg and Nicole do not fit the profile quite well enough. Yes, Greg recently got laid off from his construction job, which he says was because he was missing too much time in order to keep court appointments, but basically they are both working people, and they are able to hire their own lawyer, pay an expert witness (Dr. Skipper) and also pay an independent professional to evaluate Greg for alcohol dependence (negative).

They are not just rolling over, and they are not just flailing in desperation, as many people in similar situations do.

So I'm waiting to see how this one turns out, but I am not hopeful there will be any fundamental change in how the Schoharie County Department of Social Services operates. Not based on what I've seen so far.
 
I think this is an article we can ALL relate too.

I am currently going through this lengthy process of dealing with Family Court along with CPS.  Reading all your comments  and some what having experience with CPS in past  but never having to go to court over any investigations I am a little concerned.  I will be watching a little closer now as the process of court is at hand right now I have had 3 court appearances  each one being adjourned  and another appearance next week.   In the meantime  we have to take time off from work for these 5 or 10 minute appearances,  wait on people to contact us to make appointments and hold our hands on our butts until this is over - which I am beginning to think will take years  at the rate it is going.

  In the meantime  my husband keeps taking time off making it a risk of losing his job to make all these appointments  When he loses his job is DSS going to help us? or once again tell us they can not put him on a case for 2 months because he was fired (this happened 2 yrs ago we went to file for assistance and was told he couldnt be put on for 2 months and in meantime he had to go to classes on how to look for a job and go to employment appointments) in the meantime while they were doing their paperwork  luckily he found a job within 2 weeks  good thing because later I found out we did not qualify for services.  Hopefully we will not have to experience this again.

We are now under "supervision" process where we have someone that is suppose to come into my home and help us with issues in the house.  I am sorta curious as to what kind of things they will expect of me now besides the parenting classes they want me to take - mind you some of these workers do not have kids of their own or have had to deal with children with disabilities ( I have 3 kids with multiple disabilities) I have been told I am a good parent advocate because I have more experience in dealing with them or finding agencies or information that agencies in this county have been unable to find themselves.  

  My kids are on medications as well as myself and one of the charges against me is having my kids know the medications that I am on as well as them.  I do not see this as a problem but the CPS worker did and filed that in my report.  I am a diabetic along with known mini strokes - one of my kids also knows how to administrate one of my shots in case something happens.  Is the judge going to tell me I can not do this or allow my kids to know this.... it is for my safety along with theirs - because I am taking a medication to help me  will the judge tell me I cant take it anymore?  What right does the judge have to order anyone off of medication that a doctor as prescribed?  Show me the medical degree I will say if this happens.  

I am happy to know that other people have made their experiences known and I now know what to look for and possibly discuss with my lawyer.  I am also wondering if the lawyers that are appointed to you through court are willing to actually push forward on something that is not true - yet CPS insists it is  or if the judge does order you off the medication given to you by your doctor.    I meet with my lawyer once again tomorrow and I am going to ask about this because this is a great concern of mine now.

I too would be willing to meet with anyone and help share my experiences if it helps to get the county looked into. 

I want to first thank-you Jesse for going to The FBI directly, It sounds as though you have a tough time doing those type of things a lone, but you knew it was the right thing to do. ALL of our stories are VERY similar, Jesse if they are looking for more complaints, you can notify me immediately, I am more than willing to tell my story. I think the rest of us who also posted, would not mind telling theirs. Something has to be done before more children and families get hurt, if they would stop trying to destroy innocent families then those poor children who really do need help, will ge the help they deserve. Yes there are some good workers in the office and yet the bad way out the good, and it seems as if the good workers do not get much say in the situation. My case worker I believe is one of the good workers, but was blind sided herself, and anything she had to say made no difference. Melissa Packard and Amy wright had David Lappenelle convinced I was abusing drugs, ( when I had court documentation from my doctor proving I had a serious adverse side effect, not to mention when I had this side effect I was going to doctor after doctor trying to figure out what was wrong) It was the fentanyl patch that I had been placed on a few months earlier. Black and white this case should have been, but Melissa lied, altered documents, her and Amy got in my face and were verbally abusing me, I started a panic attack, walked out for a moment, the next thing I was being accused of was being on drugs ( when it was a panic attack) I was lied to, told if I got of the patch ( I have really bad back) that everything would be ok. Well it was not, They made me go have a drug evaluation, I passed it, that was not good enough, CPS only allows certain places to do the evaluations, Carver was one of them, so that is where I went, when Melissa did not get the outcome she wanted she tried sabotaging my evaluation and telling the evaluator lies. When I spoke with the person who did the evaluation, she said that Melissa was infuriated and adamant to get me, she was not able to change the evaluators mind, but 3 months later this past court hearing when I was told I had to get off my anxiety medication, suddenly they tell the judge we do not use Carver she needs to have another evaluation.  10 months of them coming into my home, counting every medication I am on and having to do a urine test. NOT ONE TIME EVER did I have a miscount or a dirty test. My case worker had written nothing but good things, I had 3 professional doctors that wrote letters on my behalf, I do not even think the judge read them, I believe Melissa ( who by the way wrote up the original court papers claiming I was 6 short on my fentanyl patches. That is 1 of the things she and her supervisor were accusing me of) I questioned that for months with no answer ( I knew that was not true) 2 1/2 months later she slipped and said 20 patches a script, I said no the script only comes with 10. She had no case to begin with and I actually had extra, It was never changed in the court papers and as far as I know the judge still thinks that is true. In fact I think their lawyer still thinks it is true, the ONLY information he has is what he has been told by Melissa, and obviously it has been horrible. I do not believe anyone ( the judge or the cps lawyer ever read all of the true documentation. However they are all at fault, it is up to their lawyer to know the truth, Melissa should never have a job in that department, she will do anything to get what she wants including abusing her position to hurt families out od vindictivness. As my story was told earlier suddenly I am forced off my ant anxiety medication (xanax) I also take zoloft, nuerontin and clonodine ( a blood pressure medication used for ptsd victims who have night terrors) If you read my earlier posts it tells you why I need to be on these medicatons, it is the only medication that has helped ( even after trying so many blood pressure meds) keep my bp normal ( until now due to the extra stress they have caused) if you did not reas my earlier posts, I was unable to control my bp for a period of time and got very ill one day and had to go to the ER, a cat scan revealed several lesions on my brain due to lack of oxygen, possible mini strokes. I was told I was way to young to have this, that I had to keep my stress levels way down, stay away from stressful situations ( WELL HELLO CPS ) or it was going to kill me. Out of the blue that day the judge ordered me off the xanax for no resonable cause. Unethical yes, but also life threatening for me. I thank you again Jesse for going to the FBI, if they want or need more people before something can be done I will help in any way, I am waiting back to hear from a lawyer ( in about a week )  from the protection advocacy agency, when I told them my story about being ordered off the medication, they have NEVER heard of a judge doing that and are very interested in the case. Hopefully with all of us united we can change the system, before more families are ruined.

 I am also interested in having someone contact my home, as we have gone through the same.

 Our nightmare with these people has since ended, but I don't want to see them do this to any more   families. We didn't know who to turn to to turn over the information we had at the time that they were corrupt. I have read a lot of stories on the internet and found Victims of CPS. Only then did I realize how this goes on in other States just as badly. It is sickening and must be stopped.  My email address is di828550@yahoo.com and my name is Diane Patterson.

I have so much to say, and when I get a chance to sit down and write it I will, I know EXACTLY what you are talking about, and these people, Sandy especially ( they are easy to pick out who does not have children) They have no idea what they are doing and if you read the case earlier about Melissa Packard telling a child that she was adopted, and the child had no idea yet. They end up hurting innocent children and parents. You are right to tape EVERYTHING, do not let them know, you can not tape phone calls legally but you can tape meetings ect, I had the same issue, an order of protection against my children yet I lived with them. I am leaving for an appointment at this time, but I would like to keep following up with you and everyone else on this situation. I already have a NYS protection advocacy interested in my story, and I would really like to see that whole department investigated. There is no thought in my mind that they are not illegally crucifying great parents and hurting the children in the process. It needs to stop.

I spoke with an agent at the FBI Field Office in Albany, he's going to write a report up and pass the information down the chain to the proper people (Public Corruption), so ideally I will hear back from them in time. I figured I'd do it in person just so there was no question that I wasn't serious about my concerns (And mind you that's a big deal; I have a hard time going through with any new social situation alone). It was honestly refreshing, the people there were very nice and professional.

I also wrote a 4-page letter to DSS and gave them 10 copies to pass around (They would have needed to copy more) but I'm sure it never got past a few people, even if it even got past supervisors first. I'm still hoping though someone from the inside speaks up.

http://seethroughny.net/payrolls/counties/

Makes you question why they're making claims that they're under budget and so forth despite 9-10% increases in salaries for people already earning high wages (I can understand it being retroactive for lower-earners). But Julie Sammons for example had an 8.2% increase from 2010 into 2011, and then 8.8% into 2012. I never got the indication Julie was involved with anything, she seemed nice enough, but I just find that really odd; that's like $5-6,000 pay increases year over year. The average salary increase is at best 5%, but normally 2-3%. I have never heard in my life anyone getting those types of salary increases year over year, especially when I was seeing other employees having their salaries cut.

There is one case worker, the one I'm having problems with, who actually has a higher pay (62K) than both supervisors Sandra (Sandy; in my letter I actually incorrectly called her Sarah) Wood and David Hunt. Like what the hell? She's actually one of the highest paid in the county building which makes absolutely no sense.

I wrote to the local Times Journal as well to see if there was anyway they could help, and I intend to contact YNN at some point (What I do will be based on my attorney's suggestion though)

But regardless, any person of common sense that meets me can instantaneously recognize I'm not incapacitated and this is a clear power trip on their part and they're making it easy for me to prove that :P.

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@ justamom

Make sure you and friends keep some of proof of that judges order, logically I would have to agree that you're right that it's not his place to make that type of sweeping judgement, even if he is a Judge. Whether that's of fact? I don't know, your attorney would know better but I anticipate no attorney is going to want to call a Judge out alone,attorneys tend to get in trouble for making any such claims even if they're accurate (There is one video I watched about CPS corruption and literally every attorney present in the video said they were disbarred when they attempted to tackle the issue). The power of either a collective law firm or an advocate agency (Like the ones you mentioned) would be the best bet, I think.

Bear in mind that they may be intentionally trying to harm you, which is what it sounds like. But again, I don't know the whole details of what's going on so I can't say whether it was actually poor judgement or cruel on his part, but prospectively (based on what I've read), it is.

I am sure there are some wonderful employees, but this article is true! I witnessed this 19 yrs ago when Schoharie Co. family courts and Judge Bartlett dragged my poor children unnecessarily through the courts for 4 years.  We lived in Saratoga Co and despite the state saying, he could release the case to Saratoga (so that my children did not have to travel) he refused. My ex worked for David Vaughan. The entire case was influenced by his social status and it was corrupt! Judge Bartlett endangered the well being and safety of my children by ignoring mental health records and multiple allegations of abuse & drug use. My children had several law gaurdians who ignored their complaints of neglect and abuse. They too only wanted to reach a "mediation" decision so that they could get paid and go home. I also had a court appointed attornies who failed to represent me until receiving  Susan Mallory. I was treated horribly, and so was my present husband who is a wonderful father.  My children were devastated from the experience, and from being subjected to continued abusive situations from a court that failed to protect them.  For 19 years, I have kept silent. I thank God that my daughters, now 21 & 24, have overcome and grown into beautiful, successful young women. What they put us through is unforgivable, and I applaud this woman for speaking out- God Bless her for having the strength that I did not. As a recent graduate in human services (case management), I will use this experience as a lesson in what not to do!  I was also involved in another case that resulted in me having temporary custody of another womans children. She too was also railroaded. The Good Ole Boy Mentality Needs To End!

I find this report very interesting since I am currently in a new situation with the CPS dept of Schoharie County.  I have also had many interesting situations with them in the past as well  with every time they come to pay me a visit everything was always found as they say "unfounded"  they never had enough to make a case.   Currently I am now in the process of having to deal with family court, CPS, and Preventive Case Management for my family.  I will not go into full detail to save time but to basically put it  I am not allowed to ground my children or take things away from them since that is now not considered a good thing to do.  Currently we have been to court 3 times already  with each time be adjourned to another day, I have order of protection placed against me with my kids  - YET , my kids are still in my home.  I was suppose to be contacted by Preventative Case Management to set up "rules" to follow with my kids  yet - it has been 3 weeks now and still nothing - if my kids were in such danger why hasnt someone been here yet.  I do know I am suppose to be dealing with Lana Baldwin - I will be taping all conversations after seeing what others have been through  to be on the safe side.   I do have one experience and have put in a complaint to  the upper hands in regards to my incident - the case worker that came to my house Karen - actually stated "I hate working with teenagers and teenage girls are the worst" - well I was shocked at this statement since the one that she is investigating happens to be a teenage girl.  And than tell me that my parenting skills are not in good standard.  Excuse me  I grounded her for a week from the phone, computer and going to friends because of her attitude and disrespect towards me and asking her to do some chores.  When I was a kid if I ever did anything the kids do today my behind would be so sore I couldnt sit.   So now in the mist of all this she is now doing NO chores, goes on phone, computer and where ever she wants because she has been told I cant ground her.    So in the long wrong and shortly put - I as a PARENT have NO rights anymore.

hi everyone, I hope things are all going well for you, I have been looking into things about how we can file a petition or lawsuit against the department of social services, The child protective agency.  " Concerned" you are correct in the fact that you can call the FBI, In fact I looked the number up and it is toll free (212)384-1000, I will also be making a call. The other department that you can look up on the web here is the consumer complaint agency, It does mention that most reports do not get answered, however in my case I am hoping it will get there attention. The more people from this county that call and tell their story, we have a better chance of being heard. Not too mention that once things are out there a lot more people will come forward, I know so many are afraid to do are say anything due to repercussions. The more people there are, and if cps tried to pull that, it would definitely show a problem if they started targeting families who speak out.
 
On top of that I also wanted to mention that there was a reporter who would come out here and listen to the family court trials, I believe he has since retired, other wise I would sure give him a call, however you can find his story by putting in the search engine "how not to help families Schoharie style"  I think for all of us it will be a very familiar article, I tried reading your article "concerned" and I could not open the link. I will also be making a phone call to the protection advocacy agency, NY state commission quality care- rights for the disable...when your rights have been violated. Not that I am technically disabled but with panic/anxiety it is a mental illness and for a judge to rule that you can not take a specific medication is outrageous. If anyone else has any information I would love to know, also if there is anyone out there reading this and is having a similar problem with Schoharie County, please tell us your story.. Thanks Everyone and GOOD LUCK!!!

I would suggest to all of you to keep copies (Personal copies and copies for your attorneys) of transcripts to cover all angles. It would seem that the judge making judgement calls to that degree is beyond his professional qualifications and may be room for him to be disbarred (Mind you, I'm not an attorney and I recognize it is not that easy; but I feel it's fair to logically deduce he is stepping well beyond his bounds from a legal standard), so make sure you get transcripts before you make any open accusations.

In my experiences he hasn't been bad and he seems like a good, no bullshit guy, but the comments you are making is drawing parallels to another case I read that he was involved in (Such as making sweeping claims about his knowledge of drug addicts; it oddly reminds me of my own APS caseworker challenging a Neurologists diagnosis who not only said I was in perfect health, but I was oddly insightful. My caseworker said I was a "damaged individual" based on, supposedly, a short seminar she had and her experience with "brain damage" -- mind you her choice of words make me chuckle now). 

The case in question is this:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/government-services/schoharie-county-fam/schoharie-county-family-court-6d685.htm

It'll take you a while to read, but it does offer unique insight on the present state of the legal system in Schoharie. I feel really bad for what this guy had to go through.

If you're interested, this is the best representation (However scary it is) of CPS I've ever read and it answered one of my questions about CPS funding:

http://www.nccr.info/attachments/600_The%20Corrupt%20Business%20Of%20Child%20Protective%20Services.pdf

Note sadly, that by coincidence this Senator died in a murder-suicide shortly before she was going to release another important report. It tells you a lot about the forces involved :/.

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About how much it's effecting you medically, I'm totally with you there. I've been avoiding addictive medication for years because I've seen what it does to people (I won't go into detail). But because of the current litigation, I'm now on Klonopin for panic attacks (I had anxiety disorder prior, now I get clusters of panic attacks) and I had to drive myself to the hospital once because I was extremely suicidal over the stress last month; I'm not used to people blatantly lying to my face (Normally people are not cavalier about it), which APS seems to have absolutely no problem doing because they all back each other up. It's also why I'm intentionally putting my name out there, because I want to make a point I'm done putting up with their two-faced snobbery.

I firmly believe they generally do not care either whether you die or not. One of the items on their affidavit is they alleged an incident where I attempted suicide, when I didn't; I was hospitalized for an adverse reaction to my medication at the time. The fact that made me sad is they're instances of where I did attempt suicide, and they couldn't even properly provide one instance. It says a lot about what their intentions are.

They're really pulling out all the guns honestly; they're actively investigating whether I have to pay back some like 14K to 30K in Medicaid bills all the way back until I was 1 years old (I couldn't determine how much, because there was two items I saw, one for 14K with change and another for 15K with change; I couldn't figure out if they were inclusive or exclusive of each other. But this coincidentally started when I revoked my Power of Attorney), they by coincidence starting a CPS investigation on my sister (Based on of course false allegations and other items they had been aware of for over a year) and I'm anticipating they're going to target my daughter and ex (I kind of hope they're that stupid though to make things that blatant, but I'm concerned about the stress it will put my daughter through and how I will respond to that). 

Regardless, I may take a trip some time to the local FBI office in Albany and discuss what would constitute a corruption investigation. The problem is I don't feel they would have a case without any inside evidence provided, and I don't know what risks that an insider would suffer legally if they made anything public and had a tangible source (E.g. Internal memos) -- and further more, as far as I am aware of Albany and Schoharie have connections with each other, so I question if it would serve any use. 

Furthermore, I would definitely push to take this to a higher court if you can if you guys feel slighted because I don't foresee you getting justice locally, sadly. I really wish things were different; it definitely feels surreal for me so I'm sure it does for you guys as well as it sounds like you guys have been going through the process for some time. Definitely talk to your attorneys about pursuing damages; whether you meet the standard of the law or not I don't know (I'm not an attorney, nor am I aware of your circumstances in detail), but it's worth a talk.

Also I would keep an open mind and not immediately assume that all these people are bad, they just may be misinformed (We all have our unique vulnerabilities, you know? It doesn't make it right, but I suppose we're all human). For example, as far as I can tell David L. is a pretty decent guy, just has to go through the motions because it's his job requirement. I also don't believe it's everyone in CPS and APS that are corrupt; I'm sure some are just going through the motions because they have no other recourse. The assigned worker for my sister's case, luckily, seems to be nice for example and she actually took the initiative to get my statement (Which wasn't necessary, I'm guessing).

@ StrongFamily

I'm really sorry to hear about them telling your daughter she was adopted...that is probably the most malicious thing I've heard them to do to a child yet. The amount of psychological damage that can do to a kid, especially under those circumstances, is substantial. 

I agree completely that something extreme needs to be done, I was ordered by the court ( I have anxiety/panic disorder and ptsd,  have tried many medications, my blood pressure was so high that at one point I felt so ill I went to the ER and they did a brain scan and found multiple lesions, caused by lack of oxygen to the brain and possible mini strokes. I was on blood pressure medication for yrs' and it did not help. when I was finally placed on zoloft, neurontin and xanax my blood pressure became normal. I went to court last week and was ordered to get of the xanax or I would be in violation of my court order and until I am off I will not be able to live with my children. I have never abused my medication, they continuously counted all my meds and I a times had extra. This order even blind sided my case worker. I am now trying to see if I can appeal, since I agreed to the order after being asked many times if I was being forced I said yes at least 3 times, until I was told by my lawyer if we continue this, it will just add on more months of supervision ( 9 mths was this order ) if you read my original report, victim of dss it will explain the original situation. I was told the judge already had his mind set even with 3 professional doctor reports which did not seem to matter, that I would just be prolonging the inevitable. There is no fair hearing, The judge listened only to melissa Packards lies and false documentations along with twisting the facts. I do not know if I can appeal this, I am trying so hard, because what they have done is immoral, it can cause me severe health issues and god forbid because I can not take the xanax that was the only thing that helped my blood pressure, if I have a stroke. Mind you I was only 36 when the lesions where found and my doctor said I was way too young to have high blood pressure like this, and if we do not control the stress, It will kill me.



DSS has caused me more anxiety than ever and by forcing me off a medication that is medically necessary, my kids might not have a mother. I keep being told there are other ways, other medications, I have not been going through this for 10 yrs if I have not already tried alternate roots, this was what worked and I find this immoral, unethical and who are they to say what I need medically, that is for my doctors to say not a judge who compared me to one of there clients in drug court. The lies and the verbal abuse that DSS treats us as parents is disgusting, what I find more appalling is that there are children who need help and they are abusing there power over parents that are good parents and there children are happy, have everything they could want or need, all the love and support...yet DSS wants to destroy us, and so far it is working. I really hope we can all do something together, file a law suit, maybe just to put the heat on, filing one against melissa would be easy, she has abused her power, lied, falsified reports and that can easily be proven. Something has to be done, they are not helping families they are ruining them. Please keep in contact everyone, maybe we can do something about this together.



thank you

My family was also targeted by Schoharie County CPS. Melissa Packard, Lana Baldwin, Sandy Wood, Julie Sammons, and Dave Lapinel, along with employees from the CDC who didn't know us. These people lied, made up home visits, threatened me and my family, perjured themselves, falsified documents and even told my 10 year-old daughter she was adopted (she didn't know). We don't know how they got those sealed court documents. Melissa Packard had been involved with my ex-husbands case and was removed from it for making romantic advances toward him in a bar. These people tried to destroy my family and have caused my children to have emotional problems. We are in the process of appeal now. We should all get together and file a class action suit against them so they cannot keep hurting families. If anyone would like to speak to me, please feel free to contact me through this website. Thank You.

I suppose I'll follow up again too (I apologize for making a new comment, I couldn't update my original comment.)

My case was adjourned to May 31st, my original date was 3/14. The court evaluator had not written a report yet because he was sick (Which is okay) but my attorney and I anticipated an adjournment of a few days to a week or two at most, so we agreed to comply out of respect. We didn't anticipate two and a half months though, which almost feels surreal considering I've been told and I've read that guardianship cases are one of the most serious cases in general, and the most serious type of civil case.

Just seems ludicrous my life has been hi-jacked for 5 months based on false and contradictory allegations (On their own damn affidavit, no less!). On top of that, they're claiming to be doing things for me; yet they couldn't even spell my name right on the petition or affidavit. Really? My own attorney heard them talking shit about me when she was sitting outside the waiting room at court; how can these people be so callous?

Personally, I'm not from a legal standard concerned about losing because I've thoroughly read through the law and I most definitely do not meet the requirements to be "incapacitated" -- it to me is an ethical quandary. What are they doing to people who can't speak up for themselves like me?

My case worker in general has been less than ideal, crude and manipulative. Attacking family members and my best friend for example; I won't go into details, but in not one but two instance is my case worker claimed that my sister faked crying over my mother's death, who died in the fire last year in Howes Cave, to get pity from me and, verbatim, claimed that my sister didn't care about my mother. She actually tried to defend her position when I confronted her about it, in the second instance (The first time I was passive). 

I confronted her supervisors about this and her supervisor more or less told me I was lying (perceptually) and at the very least misinterpreting, as my case worker denied ever doing anything of the such. The irony here is I told that there is no room to misinterpret because it happened on two separate occasions, and the second occasion she tried to defend her claim! There was absolutely zero room to misinterpret, especially in the second instance. 

They deliberately try to put a wedge between you and any type of relationships you have; they actually by coincidence have an open CPS case against my sister now, over allegations that they've been aware of for over a year (And this time, two items are just out right lies! The case worker I talked to seemed nice I'll note, and she duly noted the points I raised to her). Interesting timing, right?

I just can't imagine that they can do things like what I said above to someone who is not just well aware of his surroundings, but hyper-sensitive to details in general (I'm arguably anal-retentive at times) and not get in trouble for them. Seriously, I'm sincerely concerned what they doing to the kids in CPS cases or the adults that they oversee in APS.

@justamom36

I hope everything works out for you on a personal level and please be vigilant in investigating their department; I sincerely believe there is a lot of wrong going on there deliberately. And what is not going on deliberately, should still be brought to light and fixed just for the sake of any families involved with them.

If I lose, an appeal is the easily seen as the most logical next step; hopefully at least some heat will make them think twice about this stuff.

If you could, keep me updated? My email is my full name above without any spaces or periods, and it's at Google Mail.

I suppose I'll follow up again too.

My case was adjourned to May 31st, my original date was 3/14. The court evaluator had not written a report yet because he was sick (Which is okay) but my attorney and I anticipated an adjournment of a few days to a week or two at most, so we agreed to comply out of respect. We didn't anticipate two and a half months though, which almost feels surreal considering I've been told and I've read that guardianship cases are one of the most serious cases in general, and the most serious type of civil case.

Just seems ludicrous my life has been hi-jacked for 5 months based on false and contradictory allegations (On their own damn affidavit, no less!). On top of that, they're claiming to be doing things for me; yet they couldn't even spell my name right on the petition or affidavit. Really? My own attorney heard them talking shit about me when she was sitting outside the waiting room at court; how can these people be so callous?

Personally, I'm not from a legal standard concerned about losing because I've thoroughly read through the law and I most definitely do not meet the requirements to be "incapacitated" -- it to me is an ethical quandary. What are they doing to people who can't speak up for themselves like me?

My case worker in general has been less than ideal, crude and manipulative. Attacking family members and my best friend for example; I won't go into details, but in not one but two instance is my case worker claimed that my sister faked crying over my mother's death, who died in the fire last year in Howes Cave, to get pity from me and, verbatim, claimed that my sister didn't care about my mother. She actually tried to defend her position when I confronted her about it, in the second instance (The first time I was passive). 

I confronted her supervisors about this and her supervisor more or less told me I was lying (perceptually) and at the very least misinterpreting, as my case worker denied ever doing anything of the such. The irony here is I told that there is no room to misinterpret because it happened on two separate occasions, and the second occasion she tried to defend her claim! There was absolutely zero room to misinterpret, especially in the second instance. 

They deliberately try to put a wedge between you and any type of relationships you have; they actually by coincidence have an open CPS case against my sister now, over allegations that they've been aware of for over a year (And this time, two items are just out right lies! The case worker I talked to seemed nice I'll note, and she duly noted the points I raised to her). Interesting timing, right?

I just can't imagine that they can do things like what I said above to someone who is not just well aware of his surroundings, but hyper-sensitive to details in general (I'm arguably anal-retentive at times) and not get in trouble for them. Seriously, I'm sincerely concerned what they doing to the kids in CPS cases or the adults that they oversee in APS.

@justamom36

I hope everything works out for you on a personal level and please be vigilant in investigating their department; I sincerely believe there is a lot of wrong going on there deliberately. And what is not going on deliberately, should still be brought to light and fixed just for the sake of any families involved with them.

If I lose, an appeal is the easily seen as the most logical next step; hopefully at least some heat will make them think twice about this stuff.

If you could, keep me updated? My email is my name above without any spaces or periods, and it's at Google Mail.

I originally posted "victim of schoharie county DSS" It was suppose to be posted as a comment to your statement. I am grateful that you have spoken up and are looking for the support of victims of the Schoharie county Department of social services, the CPS unit of which I have first hand myself also seen tampered documents, falsified statements and the verbal abuse towards parents. I myself included. I would appreciate it if you get the chance to read my original posting. As an update I have just been to court, where I was completely blind sided.

I originally agreed to the plea bargain, after a long period of discussion, to keep fighting and continue on with trial would have been a waste of time, and money, the attorney David Lappenal for the department of dss had already had the judge convinced, either way it would have been another win for them. Melissa Packard should never have a job in this department or any other family service department.  I can not blame the departments lawyer, ( well yes I can actually he should have looked himself into the truth)

Everything and Anything said about me as a parent ect all came out of Melissas mouth. She out right lied about 90% of the facts and destroyed a family out of some vandetta she holds against me. The system is here to protect children, yet they are abusing there power for their own satisfaction. I have Never spanked my children, my children get all the love they could ever want and then some, All their needs are met above and beyond. The department took so much from my family and they continue to harrass me. As I wrote in my first letter we do need to speak out,

we need to get as many families that have been victimized by this department, I have been extremely blessed recently towards which I have endless means of money and a whole law firm from out of state who will not only be appealing but a full investigation will be done on this department. It needs to stop here, there are so many children out there that need help and what are they busy doing, lying, falsifying documents, harrassing, slandering and deframation of character are also some of the issues of a long long list.

I asked in court how they could waste there time and the tax payers money on someone who did nothing wrong, everything Melissa stated was falsified one way or another. I wanted to know who was helping the children in  need, they say they are short staffed ect, if they focused there energy on what cps is all about which is child protection, not lies and abusing power to gain control over someone just because they hold some grudge or power trip.

I will fight and I will win, I was given a gift by my gaurdian angel ( that is the only way I know how to try and understand why I am being given this opportunity  ) this team of lawyers have allready uncovered many conspiracies. I expect this to help get he ball rolling, anyone out there who is also a victim please leave a message and lets all work together to get the truth out there, we can not afford to have any more families destroyed by this corrupt department. Thank you.

First off, I want to express my gratitude for you publicly speaking out, it's nice to know that there is someone within the county building that is seeing what I've been noticing from the outside. Secondly, I want to note that you should not feel bad about not giving out any personal information about yourself publicly; given how small the county is, word will get out fast. Provided my information is public, as intended, you may have heard my name; what you've heard about me I don't know, but as far as I am aware everyone speaks well of me. Deductively, I'm not an employee but I've rendered the services of TA and APS before, I've worked with employment and I've had contact with CPS as both a child and an adult (currently).

As far as I am concerned, the people in TA and employment seem very nice; I do sense a lot of them are tied down by bureaucratic tape though (Which I guess comes with any government position), so I think it may be fair to say they're more there that are in your same frame of mind but just don't know what to do. But that could be me projecting, because I'm very stressed out when it comes to red tape because I just look at as a failure to be human (And that is by no measure, the fault of the employees, in my opinion -- minus the ones who may be actively taken part in corrupting the services). 

The thing with me though, as I'm not an employee, and I'm already in an active guardianship case (Article 81; Adult Protective Services is pursuing guardianship of me. And no, you did not read that wrong! Apparently someone as well spoken as I am, is incapacitated) I have absolutely no qualms bearing the burden of being a whistle blower if I can gather enough information because I'm already in the grinder as it is. Granted I'm normally soft spoken, it's generally not a good idea to get on my bad side -- as hard as it may be to get there, and APS and possibly CPS has as well. I can't tell you whether people are intentionally distorting facts or not, but it's either they're incompetent or they're outright lying (Quite possibly lying to hide their incompetency). You would know better than I would, given you're an employee.

I personally have witnessed a lot of two faced lies, bold lies, mis-communication, and other types of distortion of "truthiness." -- I've been on the receiving end for quite some time and quite frankly, I've really had enough. I think while some who do lie, do really intend the best; but they're more-or-less in your position of being stuck. I've been as polite as I can be, and arguably I've been just as two faced (Minus the lies; my two faced-ness is strictly just me trying not to explode on people, which I think is human. I try to avoid talking behind people's backs, but sometimes I fail to keep to myself, sadly) -- but honestly, after reading what I've read in a few reports here and talking to other people, there really is something that needs to be done, especially when I know for a fact that there is still plenty of people struggling because of Irene (Including the department of Social Services as a whole).

Strangely enough; I mentioned the CPS thing that I had read before that the system was being abused; that the higher the case load, the more funding they receive. When I told this to my caseworker, she called in her supervisor and they more or less laughed in my face saying this wasn't true. If you could validate my statement, you would honestly make my day because I've been battling with insecurity about my perceptions ever since that day. I'm a highly intelligent person, but they just made me feel outright dumb -- so it puts me in a state of constant cyclic anxiety.

So I gather if you, or anyone is willing to get in touch -- bearing in mind I have no interest in petty stuff, just straight facts -- please do get in touch and under ideal circumstances we can come up with some sort of plan; but simply put, the more that they're honest people involved, the better. Maybe a class action lawsuit is in order.

I'll note that since you mentioned Julie, I hope she's not involved :/. I actually like her quite a bit, so that would be very disappointing to me (Based on your wording, I couldn't determine whether she was involved or not -- just that she knows things). And it's really sad to hear that about Paul too, he seems very nice as well.

Furthermore, I'll note -- I'm sorry if this gets double posted; I was having trouble posting. *Crosses Fingers*