MD Parents To Sue On Free Range Parenting

[Kathianne]

With the caveat that parents use commonsense of both their children and the environment the children are exploring, I support the parents.


This is a story that has been an ongoing one for months, the kids were picked up again this past Sunday:


Parents of Kids to File Lawsuit, Attorney Says | NBC4 Washington (http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Parents-of-Free-Range-Kids-to-File-Lawsuit-299721601.html)



The parents of two Maryland children who were into police custody after playing alone at a park will file a lawsuit, a lawyer for the family said Tuesday.


It's not clear who will be named in the suit, but the attorney confirmed to News4's Kristin Wright that a lawsuit will be filed "soon."


...



The original story which led to charges of 'unsubstantiated child neglect.'


'Free-range' parents face neglect investigation - CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/20/living/feat-md-free-range-parents-under-attack/)



(CNN)It's starting to feel a little bit like Groundhog Day when it comes to parents under attack for letting their children do things on their own.


The latest case? A Silver Spring, Maryland, couple is facing a neglect investigation for letting their 10-year-old son and 6-1/2-year-old daughter walk home from a playground, about a mile from their house, by themselves on a Saturday afternoon in late December.


The story immediately brought to mind the South Carolina mom arrested for letting her 9-year-old daughter play at the park alone while she worked at a McDonald's and a Florida mom arrested after letting her 7-year-old walk to the park alone.


Is it just me or have things suddenly gotten way out of hand when parents are being arrested -- or investigated -- for doing what was considered totally normal and appropriate just a few decades ago?


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[Kathianne]

It appears to me that kids in public schools are much more likely to be victims of sexual predators (http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/21/us-usa-crime-teachers-idUSKBN0NC14H20150421) than homeschooled children are to be abused.

As pointed out in the following, the parent(s) accused of abuse/murder were already reported to protective services, which failed.

The oppressive state then figures, 'let's monitor all the homeschooling parents, twice a year. What will happen when neighbors decide that parents aren't feeding their children correctly?:

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/04/20/michigan-lawmakers-want-homeschooled-children-registered-like-dogs-and-inspected-by-social-workers/


Michigan Lawmakers Want Homeschooled Children Registered Like Dogs and Inspected by Social Workers

Mandatory government surveillance.


In the wake of the tragic murders of two Michigan children whose mother tortured them before stuffing them into the family’s freezer, lawmakers are calling for more stringent regulation of homeschooling in the state.

The proposed legislation from state Rep. Stephanie Chang, a Detroit Democrat, would require homeschooled children to be inspected twice per year by a licensed social worker or law enforcement officer. The bill would also require homeschooling parents to register their children — like dogs or sex offenders — with the superintendent of the school district in which they reside. Michigan is one of eleven states that do not require homeschooling parents to report to state or local authorities.


Chang cited the case of Stoni Ann Blair and Stephen Gage Berry (http://detroit.cbslocal.com/tag/mitchelle-blair/) as a reason for planning the legislation. Investigators believe Stephen was 9 when he died in August 2012 and that Stoni was 13 when she died the following May. Their mother, who is accused of torturing and killing them and then stuffing their bodies in the freezer, had said she homeschooled them.

“We all failed Stoni and Stephen because Michigan does not maintain a list of homeschooled children and so we have no way to identify and then protect any child who could be at risk for abuse,” Chang said. “Most homeschool parents have their child’s best interest in mind, and many do a fine job homeschooling, but with Stephen and Stoni, that wasn’t the case.”


Every few years legislation like this pops up as a knee-jerk reaction to some terrible tragedy that was inflicted upon children who were allegedly homeschooled. The most recent was in Ohio in 2013 (http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2013/12/18/ohio-lawmakers-want-social-workers-to-have-veto-power-over-decision-to-homeschool/), when Democratic state Senator Capri Cafaro introduced Teddy’s Law in reaction to the very tragic death of Teddy Foltz-Tedesco (http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2013/12/18/ohio-lawmakers-want-social-workers-to-have-veto-power-over-decision-to-homeschool/) in January 2013. The law (which was quickly withdrawn after an outpouring of state and national opposition) would have required homeschoolers to pass background checks and have their children inspected by authorities before being allowed to educate them at home. Teddy was killed by his mother’s boyfriend after he was withdrawn from school because officials there suspected abuse. Relatives and neighbors say they reported the abuse to the children services board on repeated occasions but were rebuffed.

That’s a common thread in most of these tragic stories. In nearly every case — almost without exception — the family had a history of contact with child welfare officials because of allegations of abuse. And in almost every case — almost without exception — the authorities dropped the ball. In the case of the children in Detroit, the state had investigated allegations of abuse (http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2015/04/02/competency-exam-ordered-for-mom-charged-with-killing-kids-hiding-bodies-in-freezer-for-years/) in 2002 and 2005 and the mother was referred for counseling. In the Ohio case, family members called authorities multiple times but nothing was done. They said they were accused of lying.
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[darin]

I support parenting rights even if it endangers the kid. It sucks, but liberty has a cost - a cost much easier than the alternative.


The michigan thing? The woman sponsoring it is completely foolish. Just assinine.

[Gunny]

It appears to me that kids in public schools are much more likely to be victims of sexual predators (http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/21/us-usa-crime-teachers-idUSKBN0NC14H20150421) than homeschooled children are to be abused.

As pointed out in the following, the parent(s) accused of abuse/murder were already reported to protective services, which failed.

The oppressive state then figures, 'let's monitor all the homeschooling parents, twice a year. What will happen when neighbors decide that parents aren't feeding their children correctly?:

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/04/20/michigan-lawmakers-want-homeschooled-children-registered-like-dogs-and-inspected-by-social-workers/

If you live in CA, THAT answers easy. Neighbors report you for anything and you lose your kid. When I was Cpl had a Cpl buddy of mine who had a little girl who was just one of those kids that looked dirty. It was her complexion though. We used to babysit her regularly and I know for a fact she wasn't dirty -- as in uncared for.

Their neighbor chose to get high n mighty and report them to Child Services. They took the kid and my fried and his wife played Hell getting her back.

That I saw as it played out. From what I hear, CPS in Texas is just as Gestapo-ish.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

If you live in CA, THAT answers easy. Neighbors report you for anything and you lose your kid. When I was Cpl had a Cpl buddy of mine who had a little girl who was just one of those kids that looked dirty. It was her complexion though. We used to babysit her regularly and I know for a fact she wasn't dirty -- as in uncared for.

Their neighbor chose to get high n mighty and report them to Child Services. They took the kid and my fried and his wife played Hell getting her back.

That I saw as it played out. From what I hear, CPS in Texas is just as Gestapo-ish.

CPS is pretty much Gestapo-ish in every state. I went thru living hell back when my 18 year old son stayed with us one year back in 1994.
He was a son by one of my former girlfriends , that was sent to stay with me because he had joined the Crips gang in Arizona, got arrested and was released to me.
Eventually, he in anger struck me and I smacked him down good. He called his Mom , she then called CPS here.
Get this , 18 is legal adult here in this state , yet they came, inspected my home, checked how we feed him, etc. Because we had our own daughter that was only 6 years old then ... They treated me like I was a raving monster,etc...
This went on for over a month(checking my home twice a week) and only stopped when the out of state crazy mother threatened to come here and kill all of them for not arresting me!- :laugh::laugh::laugh:
Suddenly they saw the light, came to my house that day, closed the case and suggested that I send Benjamin back to her if she caused any more trouble! However before that they had eyed me as if I was some kind of monster ...
He screwed up again a few weeks later and I sent him packing..
CPS guy asked me if I ever hit my daughter like I did Benjamin? I replied no , but if she were male, an adult and hit me like he did, I would..
I then told the idiot, I have a firm policy of never letting any guy hit me without my knocking hell out of him back!
Guy said not a word but just frowned at me.. :laugh:
The ffing idiot, my son --Benjamin was not a child--they had no right to get involved but did so anyways because they are Nazi types.. -Tyr