Parents Against Negative Intervention by CYFS - PANIC

PO Box 7071 Palmerston North

Director: Phone 06 357 7402 Fax 06 357 7594

Email: jktonson@xtra.co.nz Website: www.panic.org.nz

NEWSLETTER

December 2004

Not social work but social engineering

Dear

A lawyer said in a recently defended Family Court hearing that the Department’s intervention in that case was “not social work but social engineering.” How true that is of the uplift of many children by CYFS from our clients’ families.

Silent victims: How are these children faring in the “care” of CYFS?

Many children especially those torn away from their families and against their will experience a whole range of emotions – anger, sadness, constant stress, blaming themselves or parents, suicidal thoughts, separation anxiety as well as separation trauma from the uplift. The views and feelings of our (collective) children need to be understood by child counsel and child psychologists and put to the Court but how often do these concerns get aired in the Court process? How can we get information on this out to parliamentarians and the general public?

Many children are the silent victims of social workers’ misguided attempt to make things better for them when there is no clear evidence of abuse or neglect by the parents or other caregivers. Some children run back home showing how much they thought of their removal!

What is wrong with the Department?

Exhibiting a witch-hunt mentality and a punitive attitude to parents, conducting inadequate investigations, believing false allegations, exaggerating everyday problems, manipulating evidence, presenting false information all contribute to the destructive and unwarranted removal of children. These unprofessional behaviours mean there is a disposition to remove children instead of a concern to honestly find out what are the facts of the case and what is really in the best interests of the children. In their arrogance, zeal and obsessiveness with “unfit” parents and creating “care and protection issues” which aren’t really there social workers are actually causing abuse of children rather than protecting them. Failure to follow the family-friendly principles of the Act and abuse of their legal powers are at the heart of the problem which could be summed up as a huge lack of balanced and compassionate professionalism.

Investigate Magazine article

The latest issue has another appalling story of injustice and manipulation of issues which resulted in a small child allegedly maltreated by her father actually given into that father’s care by the Judge and the child Counsel. The mother who suffered huge stress and suicidal thoughts eventually regained custody of the child. A key player, the child psychologist, was prevented from giving evidence which would have exposed the wrong intention of the Court in giving custody of the child to the father. In contrast many cases feature the psychologist giving evidence which is slanted in the Department’s favour and which fails to recognize the child’s need to be reunited with the parents.

Palmerston North & Wanganui

Two families supported by PANIC have suffered the indignity and injustice of removal of children on totally inadequate grounds and by young social workers fresh in the job! Responsibility, of course,

doesn’t just rest with them but with their supervisors, the Care and Protection Panel (if it considered these cases?!) and with the too-ready approval of CYFS’s “ex parte” affidavits by the Family Court.

Family Court judges are still allowing CYFS to take children by “ex parte” applications on very insubstantial grounds and then in a defended Court hearing not giving the children back because CYSF may possibly have a case but when this is not demonstrated at the hearing! In one of the above cases the family’s lawyer has worked well for the family and believes that the High Court will rule in favour of the family and order that the child be given back.

Petitions presented to Parliament on Feb 24 2004

One petition sent to Parliament addresses the issue of unjust “ex parte” removals. It says “That where a child is removed from their parent(s) or caregiver(s) care by means of a warrant under Section 39 or 40 of the CYPF Act, without a defended hearing being held, the grounds must be sufficient to also charge those parents or caregivers with a crime relating to the care and protection of the child.

Petition one on legal aid asks that parents pursuing care and protection cases should be granted legal assistance sufficient to enable them to receive adequate representation …. and to see their case to completion in the Family Court; and That parents should be eligible to receive the same quantity and quality of legal assistance that CYF can access.

Petition two on legal aid asks that all funding for legal aid in child care and protection issues, including the funding of Court costs and Counsel for Child costs should be accounted for from the CYF appropriations.

It is hoped that submissions on these petitions will be written soon and sent to Parliament. It is gratifying that the Justice and Electoral Committee has asked for a second time for submissions on these petitions. If you would like to express support and contribute material for these submission please do so and send your contributions to: PANIC Director, PO Box 7071, Palmerston North.

Website update

It is hoped that soon more up-to-date stories will be put on the website. If you want your family’s story to be included please send it to the above address by snail mail or email. We will ask you to sign a form giving permission for this to be done.

Communications

These have been difficult in 2004 as all key personnel have been extra busy in their daily work and so on. After a big space of time I am delighted to send you this newsletter and ask you to contribute ideas, snippets, anecdotes, etc which could be featured in the next newsletter. We urge you to communicate with Parliamentarians to further educate them in the damaging activities of CYFS and the Family Court and to press for the need for reforms such as those put forward in our petitions. Please also let us know by phone, fax, letter or email that you want to receive newsletters and thus encourage us by your positive interest.

Kind regards to you from Krissy, myself, and our other Board members. May 2005 be a good year for you.

John Tonson

PANIC National Director