Jaycee Dugard: 11 Missed Chances to Stop Kidnapper Phillip Garrido - ABC News
This reports highlights that government bureaucratic workers failed to search the backyard and failed to talk to neighbors in investigating a report of children living on the grounds of this violent sex offender.
Not in this article but of interest in Diane Sawyer's television news report is a video of the violent sex offender's wife video taping and harassing the parole officer who is searching inside the house. She harasses him, mocks him wants to know what he's doing to help parolees. The harassment is effective and parole officer leaves in what I would describe as a meek manner.
As a former child day care licensor I know that dynamic from being an investigator on licensed day care home complaint referrals, for example, a day care with a history of serious and concerning violations; and instead of the day care provider correcting the violations, the day care provider would go into verbal attack mode as seen in this news story.
The unelected bureaucratic managers like whipped puppies would capitulate to this behavior rather than operating the agency by the laws and regulations in the state of Washington. Then too many times these managers would refuse to allow licensors to do the follow up monitoring visits required on day care facilities with violations to witness whether the day care provider corrected the violations.
What do you do? How do you stand up for children?
Some of the neighbors of this violent sex offender (apparently, they didn't know he was a sex offender which should have been the first job of the parole officer, to protect children in the neighborhood and give the neighbors his business card) feel terrible.
We have to speak up and say what we see; and if the unelected bureaucratic managers fail to do their jobs as prescribed by law, take it to local law enforcement, take it to the media, take it to the governor's office as the Governor is now the top person in the chain of command for child day care licensing in Washington State.
As I've blogged before on the Connie King family home child day care in Clark County the day I went to investigate another complaint of her being over her capacity of 12, she did not want me to go upstairs, saying that the upstairs was not licensed. Upstairs she had 8 children hidden in one room; and 2 babies, each in separate rooms with no fire escape on the second floor. She had 21 children by herself.
I left for a scheduled trip to England and another licensor did a follow up visit and found her overcapacity. Then the supervisor went out and found her in violation of not supervising the young ones per regulation. Fully expecting revocation action to have been taken, I was surprised to learn the supervisor took no such action. Furthermore, my supervisor refused my plan to do follow up monitor visits including going out on weekends as she was doing 24/7 day care.
The best suggestion I can give to parents is to trust your gut feelings, your intuition and empower yourselves by speaking up (and document) and don't trust unelected government bureaucratic managers.
The Department of Early Learning (DEL) website is missing the most vital information parents must have and that is day care providers who have valid child protective services (CPS) allegations; yet the department let day care providers continue to have a license, this included sexual violations that were done to children while in licensed care.
How many different government bureaucracies have failed children and their parents? Can we uncover these secrets and expose them to make a better future for our children here in America? Can we be brave and decisive as those two campus police women who followed their intuition and started digging into the story?
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
All Day Kindergarten - A Bad Idea
All day Kindergarten is a bad idea from the most basic fundamental knowledge of young children. They need rest, they need a nap to stay healthy mentally and physically.
My 5 year old grandson when I picked him up from Kindergarten did not want to take a nap. He's a kinesthetic, enthusiastic, engaged kid who hated Kindergarten. He needed to be able to move. So you might think, he didn't need a nap from just sitting.
I made a deal with him. "Lie down on your bed for ten minutes. I will come in and check on you in ten minutes and if you are still awake you can get up." He thought that was fair.
He was out in a heart beat and usually slept 2 hours.
This a kid whose mom and my son were very consistent with both boys who calmly each night took their showers, got into their pajamas and with no whining or attempts to stay up got into bed at 8 pm every night. And slept soundly until 7 am the next morning.
He still required a 2 hour nap after a half day at Kindergarten.
No full day Kindergartens. Bad idea.
My 5 year old grandson when I picked him up from Kindergarten did not want to take a nap. He's a kinesthetic, enthusiastic, engaged kid who hated Kindergarten. He needed to be able to move. So you might think, he didn't need a nap from just sitting.
I made a deal with him. "Lie down on your bed for ten minutes. I will come in and check on you in ten minutes and if you are still awake you can get up." He thought that was fair.
He was out in a heart beat and usually slept 2 hours.
This a kid whose mom and my son were very consistent with both boys who calmly each night took their showers, got into their pajamas and with no whining or attempts to stay up got into bed at 8 pm every night. And slept soundly until 7 am the next morning.
He still required a 2 hour nap after a half day at Kindergarten.
No full day Kindergartens. Bad idea.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Jose Baez...the "Columbo" of the courtroom & Government Bureaucracies
Jose Baez...the "Columbo" of the courtroom!
I didn't follow the Casey Anthony case closely.
When I saw the prosecutor on The View yesterday I was taken by his sunny disposition and his emotional detachment on the death of this sweet two year old, Caylee. Then I read the article linked above that he giggled in front of the jury at the defense's opening statement and of his presentation of arrogance. Now he's pleasantly off to retirement on the taxpayers' dime.
As a Washington State government employee I witnessed that arrogance from my unelected bureaucratic managers starting in 2001. From being sent to the Basics of Supervision training to become a manager I learned it was not skills, experience, knowledge, intelligence, research, knowing the law, knowing the regulations or expertise that was important. It was loyalty.
Our newly promoted supervisor was a poor composer of the legal and written word.
She did not believe that my success rate in administrative hearings was due to my extremely dedicated, fair and hard work I put into my caseload and enforcement actions.
Her belief was we won just because we are the state. She brought a legal action against a day care provider that for some reason, not apparent to me, she and other managers didn't like.
I was sent along to be a witness to her licensor making a visit. The issues for the most part the supervisor was focusing on to me weren't violations of the regulations.
There was a supervision issue that had validity and follow up monitoring visits should have been done. I saw a major safety violation not addressed previously, and reported that to the supervisor upon returning to the office.
Months later that licensor was getting ready to leave the office to go to an administrative hearing regarding that day care provider. "About what?", I asked thinking it was the major safety violation we witnessed.
The licensor showed me the legal letter she would have to defend at the administrative hearing. I looked at that letter and said, "You guys are going to lose."
I asked about what happened to the major safety issue we witnessed. The licensor showed me the plan of correction form the state used; she had written it up, but the supervisor wouldn't let her issue it to the day care provider.
The department lost big time and should have for the sloppy work; and the arrogance of this supervisor believing we just win because we are the state.
So what did the state do with the sloppy arrogant supervisor who also ordered the alteration of records in licensing files and removed a document from a public disclosure request I processed? And after I reported these wrongdoings up the chain of command to the DSHS Secretary and to the State Auditor's whistle blower program? She was promoted to headquarters.
Thus without following the Casey Anthony case in detail the behaviors of the prosecutor are well known to this former insider and witness on how the culture of a bureaucracy works and/or doesn't work.
I respect juries. I was on a jury once as well as being elected the foreman of the jury. Jurists for the most part take this responsibility very seriously. This jury had, I believe, 36 pages of instructions to follow and they had to make their decisions based on "beyond a reasonable doubt". The prosecution should never have gone for the death penalty.
In my opinion, Casey caused the death of her daughter, likely not intentionally.
Casey's behaviors are so detached, in my opinion and from having worked with adolescents who were severely emotionally and behaviorally disturbed, I could guess Caylee had some normal two year old behaviors; and somehow Casey believed using a little chloroform and duct tape would stop those behaviors and keep her quiet.
Every kid we had in group care had been sexually abused. It is my opinion, some such trauma happened to Casey as a child.
A sad, sad case. Casey will never be free. And a beautiful two year old is no longer in this world.
I didn't follow the Casey Anthony case closely.
When I saw the prosecutor on The View yesterday I was taken by his sunny disposition and his emotional detachment on the death of this sweet two year old, Caylee. Then I read the article linked above that he giggled in front of the jury at the defense's opening statement and of his presentation of arrogance. Now he's pleasantly off to retirement on the taxpayers' dime.
As a Washington State government employee I witnessed that arrogance from my unelected bureaucratic managers starting in 2001. From being sent to the Basics of Supervision training to become a manager I learned it was not skills, experience, knowledge, intelligence, research, knowing the law, knowing the regulations or expertise that was important. It was loyalty.
Our newly promoted supervisor was a poor composer of the legal and written word.
She did not believe that my success rate in administrative hearings was due to my extremely dedicated, fair and hard work I put into my caseload and enforcement actions.
Her belief was we won just because we are the state. She brought a legal action against a day care provider that for some reason, not apparent to me, she and other managers didn't like.
I was sent along to be a witness to her licensor making a visit. The issues for the most part the supervisor was focusing on to me weren't violations of the regulations.
There was a supervision issue that had validity and follow up monitoring visits should have been done. I saw a major safety violation not addressed previously, and reported that to the supervisor upon returning to the office.
Months later that licensor was getting ready to leave the office to go to an administrative hearing regarding that day care provider. "About what?", I asked thinking it was the major safety violation we witnessed.
The licensor showed me the legal letter she would have to defend at the administrative hearing. I looked at that letter and said, "You guys are going to lose."
I asked about what happened to the major safety issue we witnessed. The licensor showed me the plan of correction form the state used; she had written it up, but the supervisor wouldn't let her issue it to the day care provider.
The department lost big time and should have for the sloppy work; and the arrogance of this supervisor believing we just win because we are the state.
So what did the state do with the sloppy arrogant supervisor who also ordered the alteration of records in licensing files and removed a document from a public disclosure request I processed? And after I reported these wrongdoings up the chain of command to the DSHS Secretary and to the State Auditor's whistle blower program? She was promoted to headquarters.
Thus without following the Casey Anthony case in detail the behaviors of the prosecutor are well known to this former insider and witness on how the culture of a bureaucracy works and/or doesn't work.
I respect juries. I was on a jury once as well as being elected the foreman of the jury. Jurists for the most part take this responsibility very seriously. This jury had, I believe, 36 pages of instructions to follow and they had to make their decisions based on "beyond a reasonable doubt". The prosecution should never have gone for the death penalty.
In my opinion, Casey caused the death of her daughter, likely not intentionally.
Casey's behaviors are so detached, in my opinion and from having worked with adolescents who were severely emotionally and behaviorally disturbed, I could guess Caylee had some normal two year old behaviors; and somehow Casey believed using a little chloroform and duct tape would stop those behaviors and keep her quiet.
Every kid we had in group care had been sexually abused. It is my opinion, some such trauma happened to Casey as a child.
A sad, sad case. Casey will never be free. And a beautiful two year old is no longer in this world.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Article IV of the United States Constitution
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Article II of The United States Constituition
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Article I in the United States Constitution
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; of the right of the people to peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Preamble to the Constitution of the United States
"We the People of the United States, In Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure Domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
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