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| Isaac and I in 1992 |
I can not tell you what it was like to have my question answered. My question was, "Are you going to request that a criminal investigation be conducted on the crimes I reported, in which my son was victimized?" I knew what the answer was; I just wanted the man to BE HONEST enough to say it. After reporting crimes that occurred on July 28, 2010 committed by Nancy Sherman; and psychiatrist, Jeffery Jennings on August 2, and 6, 2010; I was told the truth, "No, we are not" on February 3, 2011.
The man is not going to do his job, and launch a criminal investigation, probably on the advice of State Attorney General's Office. The Attorney General, Rob McKenna, is running for Governor. As anybody who has dealt with "the system" and needed to file a complaint would know; it is a miracle to ever hear the truth from a public servant. To get an answer at all is miraculous, even when the answer is more than disappointing. I filed a report documenting unethical and illegal conduct of State contracted Medicaid professionals and was told nothing is going to be investigated a mere 6 months after filing my criminal complaint.
My heart, my mind, my spirit are devastated, the overwhelming, inescapable reality that my son did not have a chance of being respected or helped to recover after being victimized while in State care as a preschooler. The fact that he has been further traumatized repeatedly, by the "treatment" he has received, is more tan insult to injury. I have come to the realization that what happened after I placed him in state foster care when he was a toddler and he was abused, was meant to happen: it is how the system functions.
The purpose of the social service system is to serve the people whom it benefits directly; and society as a whole indirectly, by doing so. The system more often seems to concern itself with sustaining the business structure of the system. One thing the child welfare system does is fail to protect children who are Wards of the State by allowing them to be entered in Drug Trials undertaken by psychiatric or academic researchers, and allows them to be given dangerous drugs to treat dysfunctional behavior. It was done to my son, doing so was not only immoral, but against State, Federal and International Law.
My son has not been served ethically, morally or legally by State social service systems and mental health providers, who owed him a duty. He has been stigmatized and discriminated against since developing severe behavioral and emotional issues while in foster care. The fact that I placed him in foster care, where he was harmed so very badly is something I remember every single day. I can hardly breathe at times knowing that it was my failure which is at the beginning of this long painful journey. There is no comfort in making my amends, no relief and no solace; I know now that all of these are viscerally related to Justice, and there has been none for my son; knowing this brings no chance of having any real peace.
The Children's Mental Health Initiative Systems Transformation Grant that Yakima County received from SAMHSA to correct the serious deficits in the publicly funded mental health service system for children, was run aground. In reality, the grant is pay Yakima County and the State of Washington.to comply with Federal regulations which are decades old. Specifically, the grant was to enable the community to make the necessary changes so all the service providers that receive federal funds work collaboratively together, and serve children with emotional and behavioral problems and their families, better; using federal tax dollars more efficiently. Just as importantly, the grant was meant to address the deficits in the social welfare social service system which defraud the Federal Medicaid and child welfare social service system. In effect, and in fact, the Federal Government is/was paying States and Local authorities to come into compliance with Federal Law; and stop committing FRAUD.
We have, in the community I live, an opportunity to become more effective, and ethically provide services to children and families. The grant from SAMHSA is intended to not just better serve children who have emotional and behavioral problems; but to alter how the system is structured to reflect this intent. All of the services are to be for the kids' benefit; and should be delivered and structured to reflect this. Where this fact is not well reflected, to make the changes required. Federal funds are NOT to preserve State business and political structures (or individual budgets) of the entities that serve our children, systems are to primarily serve the children. To do so responsibly, would require that the approach be dual pronged, making the changes necessary to serve the needs of the children; while developing a working responsive business structure to sustain the changes made.
I know that there is no interest in the Washington State system to help those who are harmed by State employees or State contractors. Even when the harm is the result of CRIME, violent or otherwise, there is a concerted effort to deny responsibility, even if it means committing more crimes to do so. There appears to be no recognition in the Washington State's Mental Health Division Behavioral Health and Recovery unit or Yakima County's Department of Human Services, that they work for my son and people like him; real people; not for some ephemeral idea, "The County" or "The State."
On July 28, 2010 Nancy Sherman committed 2 Felonies, each punishable by up to ten years in prison; forgery and perjury and had my son detained; On August 2, after drugging my son who was in crisis, into a confused stupor; and again on August 6th, psychiatrist Jeffery Jennings, committed perjury resulting in my son being further court ordered to "Involuntary Treatment," in spite of the fact my son had sought treatment. My son has yet to recover, to the condition he was in prior to these events; and it is nearly a year later. I am without hope that these crimes will be investigated or prosecuted. It is obviously not a priority to actually follow the Law or to protect the Constitutional Rights of people who are Court Ordered to Involuntary mental health treatment. Individual Rights protected by the US Constitution protect ALL AMERICANS--even those who are or are alleged to need "Involuntary Commitment." These protections are theoretical when Constitutional Rights to Procedural Due Process of Law are not even defended by counsel provided, as was the case for my son. Rules of Evidence were ignored, and Standard of Court Procedures were not followed; the original Superior Court record was shredded by the mental health agency; and there is no recourse since the reports of these gross violations of the law were NOT investigated. I can only assume The State of Washington apparently does not believe "mentally ill" people have any Constitutional Rights worth protecting.
My son and many others, are in need of kind and compassionate care from ethical practitioners, when in emotional distress. There is no justice, and therefore no peace for me. I was denied the right to protect my son as a child. Now my son is grown; a young man still needing to be protected; because he was used and abused in Drug Trials by the State of Washington, and is now cognitively impaired as a result. There is no excuse for this utter failure of Central Washington Comprehensive Mental Health or it's two employees, Nancy Sherman and Jeffery Jennings; there is no excuse for the State of Washington for yet another failure to address criminal misconduct which caused my son further harm. There is...
No Justice, No mercy. No mercy, No Justice.
"God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right, even though I think it is hopeless."
Chester W. Nimitz
"He is a poor son whose sonship does not make him desire to serve all men's mothers."
Harry Emerson Fosdick
"He is a poor son whose sonship does not make him desire to serve all men's mothers."
Harry Emerson Fosdick
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