State social worker charged with DUI while trans****ting a child
By Valarie Honeycutt Spears
VHONEYCUTT@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
state social worker has twice been charged with driving under the
influence of drugs -- once while trans****ting a child for a family court
hearing.
Justin Prater was arrested in Knott County on April 7, when he arrived
with the child after driving 115 miles from Greenup County to Knott
County.
Eight days before that arrest, Prater was ticketed by police in Boyd
County for careless driving. He paid a fine.
The case reveals an inequity in the child-protection system, one of the
state's leading child advocates says.
Families seeking to regain custody of children are typically subjected
to drug screens, and any new charges against them can cause social
workers to recommend that visitation be revoked.
But criminal background checks are not routinely updated on state social
workers after they are hired, and they are not subjected to drug
screenings, Anya Weber, spokeswoman for the Cabinet for Health and
Family Services wrote in an e-mail.
"This is clearly a gap in the safety net," said Terry Brooks, executive
director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. "The safeguards applied to
families should be applied to social workers. What's good for the goose
is good for the gander."
Wrong county
On April 7, Prater first took the child to the wrong place -- Perry
County -- where officials thought he "appeared to be under the
influence," according to arrest records.
Perry County officials notified Knott County, the citation said, and
when Prater arrived exhibiting the same behavior, Knott County officials
arrested him.
Prater, 34, a social worker assigned to Greenup County, was put on paid
leave by officials of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services the day
after his arrest. He is scheduled to appear in Knott District Court on
Tuesday.
Prater did not return telephone calls requesting comment.
On April 18, Ashland police stopped his vehicle and charged him with
driving while under the influence of drugs, third-degree possession of a
controlled substance, first-degree possession of drug paraphernalia and
speeding 26 miles over the limit. He is scheduled to appear in Boyd
District Court on May 23.
Background checks
Cabinet officials did not know about the March 31 careless-driving
charge when Prater was allowed to drive the child April 7, Weber said.
Criminal background checks are conducted when social workers are hired;
the records are updated only when a social worker is being considered
for reclassification or promotion, Weber wrote.
"We take appropriate disciplinary steps when we believe clients may be
at risk," she wrote.
In Kentucky, state social workers drive children to foster homes and
sometimes to visits with their families, as well as to court and medical
appointments.
In the April 7 case, Prater also is charged with endangering the welfare
of a minor.
Records from the arrests in Knott and Boyd counties say that Prater
performed poorly on sobriety tests. He refused to provide blood or urine
tests in the Boyd County case, according to court records. In the Knott
County case, he was not asked to provide blood and told police he could
not urinate when he was asked to submit to a test.
Weaving in traffic
In the March 31 incident, Prater was ticketed for weaving in and out of
traffic and traveling 60 mph in a 35 mph zone. He paid a $20 fine and
$138 in court costs.
The cabinet is in the final stages of determining disciplinary action
for Prater, officials say. Weber said that Prater has not been
disciplined previously on any drug- or alcohol-related issues.
Brooks, the child advocate, said the case "is a warning signal to the
cabinet. I hope they will respond in a positive way."
Cabinet officials would not say whether any policies regarding social
workers driving children would be changed as a result of the arrests.
"We are continually evaluating our policy," Weber said.
News researcher Linda Niemi contributed to this article.
An Inconvenient Truth about Child Protective Services, Foster care, and
the Child Protection "INDUSTRY"
Child Protective Services Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of CPS.
every parent should read the free handbook from
connecticut dcf watch...
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com
Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Wa****ngton. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS
Perpetrators of Maltreatment
Physical Abuse CPS/Foster care 160, biological Parents 59
***ual Abuse CPS/Foster care 112, biological Parents 13
Neglect CPS/Foster care 410, biological Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS/Foster care 14 biological Parents 12
Fatalities CPS/Foster care 6.4, biological Parents 1.5
Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and ***ual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.
THIS IS AMERICA'S HIDDEN HOLOCAUST
Currently Child Protective Services violates more constitutionally
guaranteed liberties & civil rights on a daily basis then all other
agencies combined, Including the National Security agency/Central
intelligence agency wiretaping programs…
THE CORRUPT BUSINESS OF CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES
BY: Nancy Schaefer Senator, 50th District of Georgia
http://www.senatornancyschaefer.com/articles.php?filter=6
This is Child Protection?
By Gregory A. Hession, J.D.
http://www.jbs.org/node/4632
Mercenary Motherhood: "Memoirs of a Babystealer."
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-callahan16oct16,0,5019944.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
FOSTER CARE IS A 80 PERCENT FAILURE:. A Brief Analysis of the Casey
Family Programs. Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study. By Richard Wexler
http://www.nccpr.org/re****ts/cfpanalysis.doc
HOW THE WAR AGAINST CHILD ABUSE BECAME A WAR AGAINST CHILDREN
http://www.nccpr.org/issues/1.html
Adoption Bonuses: The Money Behind the Madness
DSS and affiliates rewarded for breaking up families
By Nev Moore Massachusetts News
http://www.massnews.com/past_issues/2000/5_May/mayds4.htm
A recent study has found that 12-18 months after leaving foster care:
30% of the nation’s homeless are former foster children.
27% of the males and 10% of the females had been incarcerated
33% were receiving public assistance
37% had not finished high school
2% receive a college degree
50% were unemployed
Children in foster care are three to six times more likely than children
not in care to have emotional, behavioral and developmental problems,
including conduct disorders, depression, difficulties in school and
impaired social relation****ps. Some experts estimate that about 30% of
the children in care have marked or severe emotional problems. Various
studies have indicated that children and young people in foster care
tend to have limited education and job skills, perform poorly in school
compared to children who are not in foster care, lag behind in their
education by at least one year, and have lower educational attainment
than the general population.
*Casey Family Programs National Center for Resource Family Sup****t
80 percent of prison inmates have been through the foster care system.
The highest ranking federal official in charge of foster care, Wade Horn
of the Department of Health and Human Services, is a former child
psychologist who says the foster care system is a giant mess and should
just be blown up.
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=2017991
Four rigorous studies have found that at least 30 percent of America’s
foster children could be home right now if their parents had decent
housing.
This study found thousands of children already in foster care who would
have done better had child protection agencies not taken them away in
the first place.
Front-page story in USA Today.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-07-02-foster-study_N.htm?csp=34#Close
Read the studies online.
Casey "alumni" study: "Improving Family Foster Care: Findings from the
Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study,"
www.casey.org/Resources/Publications/NorthwestAlumniStudy.htm
MIT study: "Child Protection and Child Outcomes: Measuring the Effects
of Foster Care,"
www.mit.edu/~jjdoyle/doyle_fosterlt_march07_aer.pdf
Texas comptroller's "Forgotten Children" re****ts:
www.window.state.tx.us/forgottenchildren
The bottom line? - Child Protective Services and the Foster Care system
for the most part turns out young adults that are nothing more than
walking wreckage...
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CONSTITUTIONALLY
GUARANTEED LIBERTIES & CIVIL RIGHTS ON A DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER
AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL
INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAMS....
CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...
BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLI****NG CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...
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