ELIZABETH FRY SOCIETY: yes to a public inquiry

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Release Date: June 24, 2005

Heather McKenzie, the Elizabeth Fry Society’s Outreach Coordinator, indicates that, “approximately 35% of my clients are presently working with the Children’s Aid Society to maintain custody of their children”. Donna Phillips, Executive Director states, “in working with women and their families on a regular basis, we have identified many discrepancies in the manner in which the policies and procedures of the Children’s Aid Society are interpreted in the apprehension of presumed at-risk children in our communities”. These interpretations raise many questions, provide very few answers and lack a clearly identified course of attaining information for involved families and/or support agencies.

Many women, who are part of this procedure, often are left feeling powerless and overwhelmed by bureaucratic procedures and feel they have no recourse for support and protection for the family unit from an agency that was put in place for their benefit. As a result, these women, through fear of unfair treatment, often turn away from this agency, instead of toward it for assistance and guidance. It is our belief that the original mandate of the Children’s Aid Society is to support and advocate for the family as a unit; to explore all available avenues with parents and children that would provide a working plan that would lead to a healthy, intact family.

Phillips states, “in light of the information we have received from our concerned clients, the Elizabeth Fry Society strongly supports the call for an immediate inquiry respecting the Children’s Aid Society of Nova Scotia. It is necessary to investigate the accountability of policies and procedures as well as measure the quality of performance of the organization”.

In order to be of true value, we support that an inquiry be carried out by an objective third party. It is our belief that an inquiry, structured and implemented in a positive manner, will only work to the benefit of all concerned parties. Our organization is also concerned with the Department of Community Service’s apparent failure to complete a mandated review of the child welfare system in the province. It is our understanding that this procedure has not been followed since 1999.

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Background Information
The Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia supports and advocates for women in conflict with the law and those at risk of becoming in conflict with the law. The Society works hard to provide preventative programs in the community to assist women before they enter the criminal justice system. The Society has been working with women in mainland Nova Scotia since 1982.

For more information regarding this release please contact:
Donna Phillips
Ph: (902) 454-5051, Cell (902) 449-0737, Fax: (902) 455-5913

BORDEN COLLEY: Standoff couple loses baby

Judge denies VandenElsen, Finck access to child
By SHERRI BORDEN COLLEY / Court Reporter
The Halifax Herald Limited
Friday, June 24, 2005

The baby at the centre of a police standoff a year ago last month has permanently been taken away from the parents - Carline VandenElsen and Larry Finck.

On Wednesday, Associate Chief Justice Deborah Smith of the family division of Nova Scotia Supreme Court placed the couple's infant in the permanent care and custody of the Children's Aid Society of Halifax - with no access for either parent.

A written copy of the ruling was made public Thursday.

"I am satisfied that (the baby) continues to be a child in need of protective services," Justice Smith wrote in a 48-page decision.

"Serious mental health concerns have been raised throughout this proceeding about both of (the child's) parents."

Ms. VandenElsen and Mr. Finck, who are in jail pending their sentencing next week on convictions stemming from the standoff, were not permitted to speak to the media Thursday.

"The issue is in relation to not feeling it's in their best interests at the time to speak to the media and the fact that they still have outstanding matters before the courts," said Sean Kelly, superintendent of the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth.

Marilyn Dey, a friend who visited Ms. VandenElsen in jail on Thursday afternoon, said Ms. VandenElsen found the ruling too upsetting to even read it.

"If this report is anything like the previous orders and renderings of Justice Smith, it is libellous and slanderous and shows a grave conflict of interest," Ms. Dey read from a four-page statement Ms. VandenElsen wrote.

Ms. Dey said her "emotionally strong" friend expected the decision to go against her.

"She's known that right from the time (the baby) was a fetus, when they (Children's Aid) were after it," Ms. Dey said.

"I mean, this is the written word but she has known that this was going to come. I mean, she is devastated. There's no question about it."

In January 2004, the month after the child's birth, Children's Aid asked the court to find that the child was in need of protection.

At the initial hearing, the society requested a supervision order that would have allowed the child to be left in the care and custody of the parents but would have permitted social workers to periodically visit the family home to make sure the child was being properly cared for.

The society also requested that both parents undergo a psychiatric and psychological assessment, which the court subsequently ordered.

Ms. VandenElsen and Mr. Finck have never complied with that order.

Evidence from the interim hearing, particularly that given by the doctor who delivered the baby, indicated that the child appeared to be well-cared-for by the parents.

But other evidence raised serious concerns about the mental health of both Ms. VandenElsen and Mr. Finck.

Both have been charged in the past with child abduction.

In November 2003, Mr. Finck and Ms. VandenElsen, well along in her pregnancy, moved to Nova Scotia from Ontario because they knew Children's Aid officials in Ontario wanted to seize the baby soon after birth.

On Dec. 19, 2003, the Huron-Perth Children's Aid Society in Stratford, Ont., issued a Canada-wide child protection alert telling authorities that Ms. VandenElsen's access to her triplets from a previous marriage had recently been terminated.

The alert also noted Ms. VandenElsen's pending trial for the alleged abduction of those three children and that Mr. Finck was on probation for abducting his older daughter and bringing her to Nova Scotia. It also said he had refused a psychological assessment.

The supervisor who wrote the alert recommended a warrant be issued to apprehend the couple's baby, who was born just days later.

Based on information received from its Ontario counterpart, the Children's Aid Society of Halifax became involved with the family in December 2003, the month the baby was born.

The standoff began in the early hours of May 19, 2004, when police tried to enforce Justice Smith's court order from Jan. 15, 2004, mandating that the baby be placed in the temporary care of the Children's Aid Society of Halifax. That order was upheld in subsequent reviews.

Last summer, in Mr. Finck's criminal case, a psychiatrist at the East Coast Forensic Hospital in Dartmouth found that he suffers from chronic delusions of persecution and has serious psychotic illness along with a personality disorder.

While Justice Smith had no expert opinion evidence concerning Ms. VandenElsen's mental state, she had no hesitation in finding there are "serious and legitimate concerns about her mental health."

Ms. VandenElsen presents herself in court as an intelligent individual but "her conduct is often grossly inappropriate, aggressive, antagonistic and sometimes bizarre," the judge said in Thursday's ruling.

"There have been a number of occasions during the course of these proceedings when she has either been unwilling or unable to control her behaviour."

Ms. VandenElsen and Mr. Finck dispute any suggestion that they suffer from mental illness and claim they are being persecuted because of their strongly held belief that the family justice system is corrupt.

They also believe that the court violated their charter rights by ordering them to participate in a psychiatric and psychological assessment.

Ms. VandenElsen also alleges that government agents "systematically kidnapped" her baby.

Justice Smith said Ms. VandenElsen's involvement in the child's disappearance from Halifax on Jan. 15, 2004, and the couple's role in the armed standoff in May 2004 put the child "at substantial risk of physical and emotional harm."

Since the standoff ended on May 21, 2004, the couple have done little to deal with the issues that put the child in temporary care, the judge said.

"They refuse or are incapable of recognizing or dealing with the mental health issues that have been raised throughout this proceeding - opting instead to charge ahead in what appears to be a relentless pursuit of fighting 'the system.'

"They appear to be consumed with their perception of a corrupt family justice system and seem incapable of recognizing their role in (the baby) being placed in care."

The judge concluded that the parents are unable to focus on or act in the best interests of their child and that the child would be at substantial risk of physical and emotional harm if returned to their care.

The custody decision comes on the heels of the couple's criminal trial stemming from the standoff.

On May 12, Ms. VandenElsen and Mr. Finck were convicted of obstruction, contravening a child custody order and weapons offences during the standoff. Their sentencing hearing begins Tuesday.

Ms. VandenElsen, who is demanding a public inquiry, began a hunger strike in jail on May 21.

She is also awaiting a new trial in Ontario on charges of abducting her triplets after an acquittal was thrown out in 2003.

Mr. Finck was convicted in 2000 and served prison time for abducting his daughter, then four, from an Ontario reserve in 1999.

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Copyright © 2005 The Halifax Herald Limited

CLUFF: Lawyer worries for VandenElsen

Stratford Beacon Herald
By Paul Cluff / Staff reporter
June 22nd, 2005

Former Stratford resident Carline VandenElsen is on a hunger strike in Halifax and has not eaten food in 31 days.

Ms. VandenElsen has survived on a liquid diet and vitamins, says Amy Robern, a Stratford lawyer who has represented her in the past and has kept in contact with supporters and the VandenElsen family.

Ms. VandenElsen and husband Larry Finck were convicted earlier this year of offences related to a 67-hour armed standoff with police in Halifax in May 2004.
The couple have appealed the judge’s ruling.

Ms. Robern said she is worried about the physical and mental state of Ms. VandenElsen.
“She is doing very poorly.”

Ms. VandenElsen was in hospital for evaluation but has since been placed back in custody, where she awaits sentencing, said Ms. Robern.

According to a supporters website, Ms. VandenElsen’s “Starving for the Children” hunger strike began May 21 to “alert the public and pressure the government to order an inquiry in the apprehension of her five-month-old daughter on May 21, 2004.”

Ms. Robern said Ms. VandenElsen’s actions are in protest of the Children’s Aid Society of Halifax.

Ms. Robern said the CAS must justify why they wanted to take the newborn from the mother and her husband, Lawrence Finck.
The standoff started when the CAS attempted to take custody of Ms. VandenElsen’s baby, Mona Claire.

After the standoff, the baby was placed in the care of the CAS.

“No one knows why. No reasons have been given. It's pure harassment,” Ms. Robern said.

Supporters of Ms. VandenElsen in Halifax have held a vigil in support and have asked for an inquiry into the actions of the CAS.

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Copyright © 2005 The Stratford Beacon Herald

JACKSON: Party to sue to force review of Children's and Family Services Act

NDP: Lack of committee against provincial law
Party to sue to force review of Children's and Family Services Act
By DAVID JACKSON / Provincial Reporter The Halifax Herald Limited
Thursday, June 23, 2005

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MLA Graham Steele said it's important because it would provide an outlet for people to express their views to someone other than decision-makers.

NDP: Lack of committee against provincial law

New Democrat MLA Graham Steele plans on going to court to force the province to follow its own law.

Mr. Steele said Community Services Minister David Morse is bound by statute to set up an advisory committee to review the Children's and Family Services Act.

There hasn't been such a committee since 1999.

According to the act, the committee should include two people who've had children who needed protective services, two members of minority communities, a legal aid lawyer, a representative of the department and the minister, and up to three other people appointed by the minister.

Mr. Steele, who learned a few months ago about the requirement for a committee, said it's important because it would provide an outlet for people to express their views to someone other than decision-makers.

He said the case of Larry Finck and Carline VandenElsen has highlighted issues relating to child protection orders.

The couple was involved in a three-day police standoff last year that started when Halifax police tried to enforce such an order.

Mr. Steele said that case isn't the reason he's going to court, but it's caused other people to come forward with concerns.

Mr. Morse said the province has advertised for people to serve on the committee but hasn't had any response.

"If Mr. Steele wants to do something constructive, and he knows somebody that would like to participate on this, we certainly would encourage him to send those people to the executive council office," he said.

Mr. Steele called that response "complete and utter nonsense."

"It's the most feeble, most ridiculous excuse that I can imagine," said the Halifax Fairview MLA.

"He knows that there are people out there who have asked him, begged him to set up the committee and volunteered to be on it."

Mr. Steele plans to file court papers Monday.

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Copyright © 2005 The Halifax Herald Limited

YOUNGSON: Response to Dorey's article

Kim Moar, Barry Dorey, Media, CS/CA, Minister of Community Services David Morse: (see attachment in 2 formats)

RE: Article published Saturday, June 18th, 2005 in the Daily News: Children's Aid Fights Back with PR Push ( Kim Moar) ; and article published June 17th, 2005 in the Halifax Herald, VandenElsen Supporters Pose Questions at Aid Society Meeting (Barry Dorey)

KIM MOAR :

What is with this "crashed the annual general meeting"? In an attempt to sensationalize this story, you have misrepresented what happened at the annual meeting of the Halifax CAS on Thursday, June 16, 2005. This meeting was open to the public and as such anyone was able to attend.

And as for "demanding answers", we were asking questions. When someone from the audience challenged our right to do so, Mr. John Rowan, the Executive Director of the Halifax Children's Aid Society, confirmed that this was a public meeting and that we did have a right to ask questions. To which I thanked him for his reply.

BARRY DOREY:

You have wrongly lead the public to believe that we had "peppered the board members with questions" about the VandenElsen / Fink case. In truth we did not ask ANY QUESTIONS pertaining to this case.

You ascertained that Evangiline Godron was a supporter of Carline VandeElsen. You then made assumptions of the other women present. When I came over to speak to you, after your talk with Evangiline, you did not ask if I was a supporter of Carline's and you did not even speak to the third woman.

I did tell you that I was university educated with 3 degrees and that I had been researching concerns about Children's Services/Aid (CS/CA) for 2 1/2 years and that I was quite frustrated that noone from the media ever wants to talk to me. I had suggested contacting you and you immediately began giving me excuses, to which I stopped you and told you I had heard all the lies and all the excuses already.

THE MEDIA:

What happened to fair and even coverage by the media?

I think you in the media need to pay close attention to the information that is being given you by CS/CA. They are better than politicians in avoiding questions.

For example, when Evangiline asked for details about what the Halifax Children's Aid Society did under specific circumstances, Mr. Rowan began spouting off that the CFS Act says this, that, and the other thing. As he began his rambling, I interjected and told him, that we were well aware of what the act says, and I informed him that that was not the question. That the question asked was what did the Society do not what the act said..

Do you not understand. This is one of our major concerns, the Act says a lot of wonderful thing BUT very little of the act is followed by the court, CA/CS or the Minister of Community Services.

As I recently said to one of my professors: " The act is full of 'the Court shall", ' CS/CA shall", and 'the Minister shall BUT I see very little 'shalling' going on!"

For an explanation of the legal importance of the worh "shall" in the CFS Act, see what Rollie Thompson told us about its significance more than a year ago in the attached document under section 88.

It does not matter how wonderful the Act sounds if the government and the courts are disregarding the law and not following it! ! ! !

Children's Services / Children's Aid :

"All truth passes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Second it is violently opposed. Third it is accepted as self evident" Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Have you entered into the second stage ? If so, I welcome it because this means that the third stage is on the way!

Mr Morse:

I am still waiting for a reply to the e-mail I sent you 2 weeks ago. You assured me in writing that you would inform me in time to apply for the committee:

June 10, 2005

Dear David Morse, Minister of Community Services:

Re: Membership in the Minister's Advisory Committee as per Section 88 of the
Children and Family Services Act.

I wrote you May 11, 2004 and August 16, 2004, and you replied June 28, 2005 and September 21, 2004, respectively. In your June letter you informed me, " Given your expressed interest, I would be pleased to inform you at the appropriate point in time when membership selection is being considered."

I am patiently waiting to be contacted so I can apply for membership to this committee.

I phoned your office in December, 2004 and January, 2005 requesting an appointment with you. In reply, Judith Ferguson, Assistant. Deputy Minister of Community Services, phoned me and we had a conversation on January 6th. In this conversation, she assured me at the beginning of the conversation, that if I was not satisfied with my conversation with her that a meeting could be arranged with you. By the end of the conversation, I assured her that I still wanted a meeting with you. At this point, she informed me that she would phone me back - I never heard from her again!

I am still requesting this meeting. You say you like meeting people. I assure you I am an interesting person to meet.

I am also formally notifying you that I expect, as promised, to be informed at the appropriate point in time when membership selection is being considered for the Minister's Advisory Committeeso so that I may apply for membership.

Considering I have been communicating with you since May 11. 2004, and I was promised a call back concerning a meeting with you (that I am still waiting for), as well as the fact that this committee is suppose to meet on an annual basis, I am expecting a speedy and positive reply to this letter.

Your sincerely.

Linda Youngson

c.c. Rick Howe, Marilyn Dey

Linda Youngson B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed.

Please see the attachments above, the articles below and the following blog site http://www.carlinevandenelsen.blogspot.com/ . Be sure to see both sets of comments. The first has 34 comments - the second 10 (thus far)
VandenElsen supporters pose questions at aid society meeting
Officials refuse to talk details

Friday, June 17, 2005 The Halifax Herald Limited

By BARRY DOREY / Staff Reporter

Some supporters of Carline VandenElsen tried to make things uncomfortable for those attending the annual general meeting of the Children's Aid Society of Halifax on Thursday night.

Friends of the woman who was convicted last month on several charges stemming from a custody dispute that turned into a standoff with police in May 2004 peppered board members with questions.

Evangeline Godron asked whether thorough investigations precede every case in which the society seizes a child, alluding to allegations that Ms. VandenElsen's child was taken unjustly.

"We follow the protocol in all cases," acting CEO John Rowan told her.

He said the province sets out clear rules and guidelines that must be followed.

The society held its 85th annual general meeting at a Halifax hotel just blocks from the Shirley Street home that was the scene of the three-day standoff.

Ms. VandenElsen and her husband, Larry Finck, were found guilty last month of obstruction, abducting their baby in contravention of a child custody order and other charges.

The standoff began in earnest when a shot was fired over police officers' heads from inside the house and neighbours were evacuated.

The society issued a news release in anticipation of questions about the case, which it did not mention by name.

"The Children's Aid Society of Halifax is unable to comment on the specifics regarding any family it works with," the release said. "We appreciate that this allows unfounded allegations to go unanswered."

Ms. Godron also requested a breakdown of how much money or work that legal firms have contributed to the society or its charitable foundation.

The annual report states the society spent $571,412 on legal fees in the last fiscal year, roughly half of the overall administrative budget.

She said she wanted answers about community services practices in general.

"There are thousands of comparable cases, the VandenElsen case is just the best-known," Ms. Godron said in an interview.

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Children's Aid fights back with PR push
The Daily News (Halifax) Local News, Saturday, June 18, 2005, p. 3

Kim Moar

In the wake of a high-profile child-custody case, the province hopes to promote public awareness of what the Children's Aid Society is all about with a new brochure.

"If the public has a better understanding of what we do and why we do it, it makes our job that much easier," acting director of child welfare services Leonard Doiron said yesterday.

While unable to talk about Larry Finck and Carline VandenElsen specifically, Doiron said the publicity surrounding that case has raised the public's interest in Children's Aid.

"The public's perception, in all fairness, is probably poor in terms of what child-protection work does, because they rarely have an opportunity to hear the full story," Doiron said.

In May 2004, Finck and VandenElsen were involved in a 67-hour armed standoff on Shirley Street in Halifax that resulted in a shot being fired at police. Officers were attempting to serve the couple with a court order giving temporary custody of their five-month-old daughter to child-welfare workers.

In all, less than one per cent of the estimated 11,500 cases a year in Nova Scotia involve taking the child into care.

"Taking a child from the home, either temporarily or permanently, is unusual and only done with a child is in imminent danger of abuse or neglect," the brochure states.

During a 10-week trial into a number of firearms-related charges, Finck and VandenElsen repeatedly criticized Children's Aid and the way child-protection workers handled their case.

Confidentiality prevents the agency from responding to specific allegations.

On June 28 - coincidentally the same day the province will host a conference on child-protection issues - Finck and VandenElsen will be back in court for sentencing.

On Thursday, VandenElsen supporters crashed the annual general meeting of the Children's Aid Society in Halifax demanding answers about the agency.

"We want to make a full description of our services and our processes made available to the public so they can make up their own minds about how things are done," Doiron said.

In a concise format, the brochure explains the agency's services, families' rights and how to report suspected child abuse or neglect. The brochure is available online at www.gov.ns.ca/ coms/families/child_welfare.html.

kmoar@hfxnews.ca