We have the Children’s Aid Society (or as we not so affectionately call it, the Children’s Kidnapping Society) who remove children from the home, sometimes seemingly at random with little or no regard to the best interests of the child or to that child’s rights to be raised by his/her parents. There are laws specifying that C.A.S. must give due consideration to blood ties and bonds created by time spent with family members (even if not related by blood), which the C.A.S. blatantly disregards. C.A.S. promotes divorce and we are sure causes divorce in several cases as well by placing undue stress on the couples they are involved with.
After extended court battles, sometimes causing bankruptcy and often causing illness due to stress, many parents don’t get their children back. If the parents do get the children back, it is often with restrictions and continued C.A.S. involvement. Often it takes an extended period of time to recover from the financial loss during which the child suffers when the parent cannot afford nutritious food or clothes that fit or medicine or other essentials. The child has suffered emotional trauma being in the system and often requires more attention, which cannot be given as the parents are now working extra hours to pay bills and debts. Those parents who use legal aid have less chance of getting their children back than those who pay a lawyer full rate. Healthy children are removed from loving homes, while parents who truly do abuse their children are not even investigated. It is much harder to sell damaged children.
As a woman writing this portion of the site, I wish to address the problem of Malicious Mother Syndrome. This is the name given to the all too common situation where a woman fabricates accusations against the father of her children in order to gain most or all of the custody rights. These accusations can include false claims of abuse against her or against the children (abuse of any type: physical, sexual, emotional, and mental). Charges often result from these false accusations and fathers and children are tragically deprived of their rights to contact with each other. While we acknowledge that some women and children are truly abused and our position is that there is no excuse for abuse, we respectfully suggest that this is not the case in many situations. We believe in the equal rights of women, but unfortunately the pendulum has now swung too far in the other direction. True equality of the sexes does not discriminate against either male or female. True equality acknowledges the right of both parents, regardless of gender, to access and raise their children. Admittedly, in cases where parents separate or divorce, many issues are raised and one parent obviously must become the primary caregiver. However, the non-resident parent must have their rights respected and must have equal input into the day to day life of their child. This includes, but is not limited to issues of education, religion, discipline, etc… We advocate the necessity for both parents to be involved in the child’s life and to act like mature adults and work together for the best interests of the child. Honestly, your petty squabbles with each other and even larger disagreements pale in comparison with the importance of your child’s needs and well being.
Judges and C.A.S. must be accountable for their actions. Their accusations must be proven and not considered correct merely because a member of C.A.S. utters them. C.A.S. can lie and get a warrant from a Justice of the Peace to apprehend a child. The parents have no chance to respond or defend themselves. After the child is apprehended, parents often wait several months to tell their side of the story. We believe this is extremely unjust. The Justice of the Peace who issues the warrant must also be held accountable. It is terrifying that these people in positions of power who have never met the parents or who have only had limited contact with the parents can make life altering decisions without ever really knowing who these people are and what makes them tick. If the system makes an error, they will never admit it and they will never face any repercussions. Warrants for the apprehension of a child have been issued for such insignificant items, as dishes not washed, toilet not being flushed and feces in the toilet (ie The child did not flush), feces in the cat litter box (where else would they like it?), and profession (we are not talking prostitution here). In cases where the custodial parent is male, his gender is all the excuse C.A.S. needs to remove the child from the home. Admittedly, in extreme cases there is a need for a body, which has the power to intervene on behalf of children, we insist that this agency be held completely accountable for their actions. We propose a separate, government funded agency, which is to be present at all visits and /or interviews, and which is to remain completely impartial. This agency must be completely independent of C.A.S...