Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Friday, December 20, 2013
Where Is Adam Herrman? $50,000 reward offered in Butler County disappearance of 11-year-old Adam Herrman
December 20
BY AMY RENEE LEIKER
The Wichita Eagle
EL DORADO — A $50,000 cash reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the disappearance of a Towanda boy in 1999, Butler County Sheriff Kelly Herzet announced Friday.
EL DORADO — A $50,000 cash reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the disappearance of a Towanda boy in 1999, Butler County Sheriff Kelly Herzet announced Friday.
The reward is being posted by an anonymous donor who “would like to see some closure for the family” of Adam Joseph Herrman, Herzet said at a news conference in El Dorado.
Adam was 11 when he went missing, but authorities didn’t learn he had vanished until late 2008, when his older, adoptive sister shared concerns about him with law enforcement.
The boy’s adoptive parents, Doug and Valerie Herrman, did not report him missing. They later were declared suspects in the case by the county’s chief prosecutor, Jan Satterfield, who said the investigation could result in first-degree felony murder charges.
As of Friday, though, Adam’s whereabouts remain unknown to authorities. The last tip, Herzet said, came in months ago.
Adam would be 26 now.
“We’ve not had any contact with anyone who’s called and said, ‘Hey I’m Adam Joseph Herrman. I want to come talk to you,’” Herzet said. “It’s an open case here in Butler County, and we’re still trying to get to where we need to be to on getting some closure – finding him, his whereabouts, his remains, whatever it may be.”
He called the case “very frustrating.”
“We’re hoping with a reward, this might make somebody call.”
Anyone with information about Adam Herrman is asked to call the Butler County Sheriff’s Office at 316-322-4257 or 866-484-5924 or El Dorado Crime Stoppers at 316-321-1080.
Tipsters also can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s hotline at 800-THE-LOST (843-5678).
Doug and Valerie Herrman have not faced charges connected to Adam’s disappearance. They claim he ran away from the family’s Towanda trailer home after Valerie spanked him one night.
The couple have said they did not report him missing out of fear they would lose custody of their other children.
Relatives have said that the Herrmans told family that Adam, a home-schooled child, had been returned to state custody.
After learning of the disappearance, authorities dug for Adam’s body in the Towanda mobile home park where he’d lived but turned up nothing. A search of nearby wooded areas also yielded no clues.
In 2011, Doug and Valerie Herrman pleaded guilty to felony theft for continuing to accept a state subsidy to help them care for their adoptive son after he vanished. They were ordered to pay $15,488 in restitution — the amount they pleaded guilty to wrongly accepting — and a fine of $2,500 each.
The couple received the $700 monthly subsidy until Adam’s 18th birthday, in 2005.
Butler County District Judge David A. Ricke also ordered Doug Herrman to serve nine months in prison for the theft and gave Valerie Herrman a seven-month prison term.
Herzet, who was the lead investigator on the case before becoming sheriff that year, said at the time that he was “focused on working this case as a homicide.”
“The Herrmans still are, in my eyes, suspects,” he said in 2011, “and we’re going to continue to work the case as the leads come in, and I hope we can resolve the case in the very near future and arrests are made.”
On Friday, he echoed similar resolve.
“A lot of my detectives have pictures of Adam hanging in their office. He’s not going to go away, and the case isn’t going to go away.
“ ... Every time we get a lead or something comes up, one of the detectives assigned to the case jumps right on it, and we follow it through to the very end.”
Contributing: Tim Potter of The Eagle.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/12/20/4704909/butler-county-sheriff-expected.html#storylink=cpy
The reward is being posted by an anonymous donor who “would like to see some closure for the family” of Adam Joseph Herrman, Herzet said at a news conference in El Dorado.
Adam was 11 when he went missing, but authorities didn’t learn he had vanished until late 2008, when his older, adoptive sister shared concerns about him with law enforcement.
The boy’s adoptive parents, Doug and Valerie Herrman, did not report him missing. They later were declared suspects in the case by the county’s chief prosecutor, Jan Satterfield, who said the investigation could result in first-degree felony murder charges.
As of Friday, though, Adam’s whereabouts remain unknown to authorities. The last tip, Herzet said, came in months ago.
Adam would be 26 now.
“We’ve not had any contact with anyone who’s called and said, ‘Hey I’m Adam Joseph Herrman. I want to come talk to you,’” Herzet said. “It’s an open case here in Butler County, and we’re still trying to get to where we need to be to on getting some closure – finding him, his whereabouts, his remains, whatever it may be.”
He called the case “very frustrating.”
“We’re hoping with a reward, this might make somebody call.”
Anyone with information about Adam Herrman is asked to call the Butler County Sheriff’s Office at 316-322-4257 or 866-484-5924 or El Dorado Crime Stoppers at 316-321-1080.
Tipsters also can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s hotline at 800-THE-LOST (843-5678).
Doug and Valerie Herrman have not faced charges connected to Adam’s disappearance. They claim he ran away from the family’s Towanda trailer home after Valerie spanked him one night.
The couple have said they did not report him missing out of fear they would lose custody of their other children.
Relatives have said that the Herrmans told family that Adam, a home-schooled child, had been returned to state custody.
After learning of the disappearance, authorities dug for Adam’s body in the Towanda mobile home park where he’d lived but turned up nothing. A search of nearby wooded areas also yielded no clues.
In 2011, Doug and Valerie Herrman pleaded guilty to felony theft for continuing to accept a state subsidy to help them care for their adoptive son after he vanished. They were ordered to pay $15,488 in restitution — the amount they pleaded guilty to wrongly accepting — and a fine of $2,500 each.
The couple received the $700 monthly subsidy until Adam’s 18th birthday, in 2005.
Butler County District Judge David A. Ricke also ordered Doug Herrman to serve nine months in prison for the theft and gave Valerie Herrman a seven-month prison term.
Herzet, who was the lead investigator on the case before becoming sheriff that year, said at the time that he was “focused on working this case as a homicide.”
“The Herrmans still are, in my eyes, suspects,” he said in 2011, “and we’re going to continue to work the case as the leads come in, and I hope we can resolve the case in the very near future and arrests are made.”
On Friday, he echoed similar resolve.
“A lot of my detectives have pictures of Adam hanging in their office. He’s not going to go away, and the case isn’t going to go away.
“ ... Every time we get a lead or something comes up, one of the detectives assigned to the case jumps right on it, and we follow it through to the very end.”
Contributing: Tim Potter of The Eagle.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/12/20/4704909/butler-county-sheriff-expected.html#storylink=cpy
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Brandon Blackmon, Court: Man deserves trial over use of restraints
Link to the lawsuit
"The court noted that the Supreme Court had held that the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of due process prohibits any punishment of presumptively innocent individuals awaiting trial. It said there is "ample evidence" in the case that the defendants at least sometimes used the chair to punish the boy"...."The problem is that the evidence also suggests that the boy was shackled to the chair for long stretches when there was no hint he posed a threat of harming himself or anyone else, according to the decision. On one occasion the boy was stripped out of his clothes and forced to wear a paper gown while restrained in the chair."
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/11/08/3104560/court-man-deserves-trial-over.html#storylink=cpy
Previous lawsuit
Kansas Reaches Settlement to Pay for CPS Abuse $875,000 "The Rev. Thomas Campbell, former vice president at St. Francis, predicted Blackmon “would be 'fresh meat’ and the 'target of sexual predators,’” court records say."http://kscpsabuselawsuit.blogspot.com/2009/07/state-agrees-to-pay-875k.html
State agrees to pay $875K "Blackmon, 23, alleged his civil rights were violated by SRS employees who had him sent to a residential facility serving adolescent male juveniles convicted of sex crimes. He also asserted SRS didn’t respond appropriately to abuse he suffered at the center." http://cjonline.com/news/state/2009-07-07/state_agrees_to_pay_875k
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
So What?? Judge Henderson wants the State to review adoption recommendations
Are people really that gullible to believe this story? http://www.kansas.com/2013/11/04/3097090/judge-asks-state-to-review-some.html#emlnl=Morning_Headlines_Newsletter
This looks more like a cover up as the state will investigate itself, it's contractors, the DA's who prosecute the cases for the state and the Judges. Does anyone really expect the state to find wrong doing? After all the state would then be liable.
What about Judge Henderson?
This looks more like a cover up as the state will investigate itself, it's contractors, the DA's who prosecute the cases for the state and the Judges. Does anyone really expect the state to find wrong doing? After all the state would then be liable.
What about Judge Henderson?
Let's not forget the mother that was jailed and her child who was shackled
The family that filed a complaint against Judge Henderson
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Kansas Foster Care IS Rampant With Secrecy, CoverUPS, Forced Illegal Services
Per the article below, SRS/DCF wants families who have complaints about Faith Builders to contact the State. I would contact Rick Plumlee at 316-268-6660 or rplumlee@wichitaeagle.com. Follow him on Twitter: @rickplumlee.
Can you really have faith in a system that falsifies records to steal children? Are you concerned that the State files allegations against parents to remove children, then places the children in State custody with an agency with no oversight? ""Gilmore she said that DCF doesn’t have a contract with Faith Builders. DCF contracts with St. Francis in the Wichita region to provide foster care and family preservation services, she said. St. Francis contracts with DCCCA, a Lawrence-based organization, which works directly with Faith Builders, she said.""
Does anyone really believe that SRS Secretary Phyllis Gilmore is going to do something about violations of children and parental rights when she was over the KSBSRB and refused to investigate social workers when parents and families made complaints to the KSBSRB? http://changingkansas.blogspot.com/2012/02/phyllis-gilmore-secretary-of-srscps-is.html
What about these legislators who have known about these issues and have done nothing to help children and families? Our State lawmakers have written laws that give immunity to State workers with no consequences for violations of law by these individuals. When Don Jordan was the SRS Secretary he was recorded in a closed meeting stating that the Sedgwick County DA Nola Foulston's office bullied social workers to alter records to place children in foster care. The State did an audit, found this to be true, then dropped the ball. What was the purpose of the audit and multiple hearings over the years except to cost the tax payers money and fund the legislators retirements.
As for Brownback, he made promises to improve the foster care system and failed. Under his watch, more children are being removed from their parents custody each year that he has been in office. At this point, anyone would be a better option than Brownback.
2008 March 18, 2008, SRS Secretary Don Jordan said the Social Workers were bullied into falsifying records: "But in Sedgwick County oftentimes we end up writing things because it's what our social workers get bullied by the district attorney's office ( Sedgwick County) into writing. So they really have no belief in what it says." "The reality comes down to, you send a 25-year-old social worker into a room with a 15-year county ADA who is willing to yell at them, cuss at them, scream at them and threaten them," Jordan said. Don Jordan said, “I am working on our staff that we do our assessments properly and we not get bullied into writing things we don’t believe” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2BhDnnC2x4
Jun. 08, 2008, Concerns arise over SRS files' validity, BY TIM POTTER, The Wichita Eagle ""For years, some families have complained that court documents filed by social workers that result in children being removed from the home have contained false or fabricated information. " Now, some say they have proof. The head of the state's child welfare agency was recorded in a meeting with a family advocacy group saying that Sedgwick County prosecutors have "bullied" social workers into putting information they don't agree with in affidavits....But critics of the state child custody system and some legislators say the remarks by Don Jordan, secretary of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, raise questions about the affidavits' validity. "" http://groups.google.com/group/alt.support.child-protective-services/browse_thread/thread/3db7b9c96116196d/8ae03d3a4852077d?lnk=gst&q=nancy+berry#8ae03d3a4852077d
Child removal inquiry's focus Posted: Friday, October 31, 2008 The Legislative Post Audit Committee last month approved the SRS probe after statements by SRS Secretary Don Jordan that the Sedgwick County prosecutors "bullied" social workers to put things in affidavits that they didn't truly believe. Jordan since has backed off those statements, and Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston has denied the accusation. But lawmakers still pushed for an investigation — saying they had heard such allegations even before Jordan's widely publicized statements. Senator Schodorf said she asked for the audit after Kansas Attorney General Stephen Six declined to investigate, citing Jordan’s retraction of his statements. http://cjonline.com/stories/103108/kan_350202188.shtml
For the current story, read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/24/3076954/kansas-dcf-halts-placements-with.html#emlnl=Morning_Headlines_Newsletter#storylink=cpy
Kansas DCF halts placements with foster-home operator Faith Builders pending review
By Rick Plumlee The Wichita Eagle Published Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, at 5:21 p.m.
Legislators criticize DCF for keeping report secret Results of internal review of Kansas agency for children, families won’t be disclosed DCF's letter to legislators In a letter to state legislators, the secretary of the Kansas Department for Children and Families said her agency wouldn’t place children at foster homes operated by Faith Builders until a review of ongoing concerns is completed.
Phyllis Gilmore wrote in the letter dated Thursday, “I want you to be aware that in an abundance of caution, I have instructed our contractors and sub-contractors to do no further placements with homes associated with Faith Builders.”
Faith Builders and its association with DCF’s regional office in Wichita became a topic of concern among legislators. Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, D-Wichita, contacted DCF staff in August, prompting the initial review.
She cited such concerns as the agency’s Wichita office directing children to Faith Builders’ foster care homes, improperly providing confidential information to Faith Builders and Faith Builders circumventing the court process on parental rights.
That review was completed and given to Gilmore on Oct. 10, but Gilmore would not release the results publicly, citing attorney-client privilege. That resulted in a bipartisan group of legislators calling for the review to be made public, which prompted Gilmore’s letter.
Theresa Freed, a DCF spokeswoman, said the letter was sent to eight legislators who have spoken publicly to the media about the issue. The letter will be sent to additional legislators, if they request it.
Diane Bidwell resigned last week as director of the Wichita office. DCF officials have said the resignation was voluntary.
Gary Ayers, attorney for Faith Builders, said Thursday he wasn’t aware of the content of the letter until a copy was provided by The Eagle.
“I was trying to reach our client,” he said. “I don’t know if Faith Builders has received any notification from DCF. This comes as a surprise.”
Ayers said Faith Builders has 25 foster homes in Wichita. Since it began operation in 2007, he said, it has helped many families by providing food, cribs, rent, furniture, respite and foster care.
When he met with the DCF investigator during the preliminary review, Ayers said: “We asked if Faith Builders had done anything wrong.
The DCF investigator said no. “The DCF investigator also indicated there had been no family complaints,” he added. “It seems the only complaint has come from a politician.”
Faust-Goudeau could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Gilmore said in her letter that the initial review has prompted her to request additional “work be done to address DCF’s association with Faith Builders.”
“I want to assure you, we are quickly and thoroughly reviewing each and every case in which Faith Builders has been involved,” she said. Information from the additional review will be shared with the legislators after it’s completed, she added.
Gilmore she said that DCF doesn’t have a contract with Faith Builders. DCF contracts with St. Francis in the Wichita region to provide foster care and family preservation services, she said.
St. Francis contracts with DCCCA, a Lawrence-based organization, which works directly with Faith Builders, she said.
Reach Rick Plumlee at 316-268-6660 or rplumlee@wichitaeagle.com. Follow him on Twitter: @rickplumlee.
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/24/3076954/kansas-dcf-halts-placements-with.html#emlnl=Morning_Headlines_Newsletter#storylink=cpy
Results of internal review of Kansas agency for children, families won't be disclosed http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/18/3066320/results-of-internal-review-of.html
Legislators criticize DCF for keeping report secret http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/23/3074507/legislators-criticize-dcf-for.html
DCF's letter to legislators http://media.kansas.com/smedia/2013/10/24/16/32/14wqUC.So.80.pdf
Can you really have faith in a system that falsifies records to steal children? Are you concerned that the State files allegations against parents to remove children, then places the children in State custody with an agency with no oversight? ""Gilmore she said that DCF doesn’t have a contract with Faith Builders. DCF contracts with St. Francis in the Wichita region to provide foster care and family preservation services, she said. St. Francis contracts with DCCCA, a Lawrence-based organization, which works directly with Faith Builders, she said.""
Does anyone really believe that SRS Secretary Phyllis Gilmore is going to do something about violations of children and parental rights when she was over the KSBSRB and refused to investigate social workers when parents and families made complaints to the KSBSRB? http://changingkansas.blogspot.com/2012/02/phyllis-gilmore-secretary-of-srscps-is.html
What about these legislators who have known about these issues and have done nothing to help children and families? Our State lawmakers have written laws that give immunity to State workers with no consequences for violations of law by these individuals. When Don Jordan was the SRS Secretary he was recorded in a closed meeting stating that the Sedgwick County DA Nola Foulston's office bullied social workers to alter records to place children in foster care. The State did an audit, found this to be true, then dropped the ball. What was the purpose of the audit and multiple hearings over the years except to cost the tax payers money and fund the legislators retirements.
As for Brownback, he made promises to improve the foster care system and failed. Under his watch, more children are being removed from their parents custody each year that he has been in office. At this point, anyone would be a better option than Brownback.
2008 March 18, 2008, SRS Secretary Don Jordan said the Social Workers were bullied into falsifying records: "But in Sedgwick County oftentimes we end up writing things because it's what our social workers get bullied by the district attorney's office ( Sedgwick County) into writing. So they really have no belief in what it says." "The reality comes down to, you send a 25-year-old social worker into a room with a 15-year county ADA who is willing to yell at them, cuss at them, scream at them and threaten them," Jordan said. Don Jordan said, “I am working on our staff that we do our assessments properly and we not get bullied into writing things we don’t believe” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2BhDnnC2x4
Jun. 08, 2008, Concerns arise over SRS files' validity, BY TIM POTTER, The Wichita Eagle ""For years, some families have complained that court documents filed by social workers that result in children being removed from the home have contained false or fabricated information. " Now, some say they have proof. The head of the state's child welfare agency was recorded in a meeting with a family advocacy group saying that Sedgwick County prosecutors have "bullied" social workers into putting information they don't agree with in affidavits....But critics of the state child custody system and some legislators say the remarks by Don Jordan, secretary of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, raise questions about the affidavits' validity. "" http://groups.google.com/group/alt.support.child-protective-services/browse_thread/thread/3db7b9c96116196d/8ae03d3a4852077d?lnk=gst&q=nancy+berry#8ae03d3a4852077d
Child removal inquiry's focus Posted: Friday, October 31, 2008 The Legislative Post Audit Committee last month approved the SRS probe after statements by SRS Secretary Don Jordan that the Sedgwick County prosecutors "bullied" social workers to put things in affidavits that they didn't truly believe. Jordan since has backed off those statements, and Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston has denied the accusation. But lawmakers still pushed for an investigation — saying they had heard such allegations even before Jordan's widely publicized statements. Senator Schodorf said she asked for the audit after Kansas Attorney General Stephen Six declined to investigate, citing Jordan’s retraction of his statements. http://cjonline.com/stories/103108/kan_350202188.shtml
For the current story, read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/24/3076954/kansas-dcf-halts-placements-with.html#emlnl=Morning_Headlines_Newsletter#storylink=cpy
Kansas DCF halts placements with foster-home operator Faith Builders pending review
By Rick Plumlee The Wichita Eagle Published Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, at 5:21 p.m.
Legislators criticize DCF for keeping report secret Results of internal review of Kansas agency for children, families won’t be disclosed DCF's letter to legislators In a letter to state legislators, the secretary of the Kansas Department for Children and Families said her agency wouldn’t place children at foster homes operated by Faith Builders until a review of ongoing concerns is completed.
Phyllis Gilmore wrote in the letter dated Thursday, “I want you to be aware that in an abundance of caution, I have instructed our contractors and sub-contractors to do no further placements with homes associated with Faith Builders.”
Faith Builders and its association with DCF’s regional office in Wichita became a topic of concern among legislators. Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, D-Wichita, contacted DCF staff in August, prompting the initial review.
She cited such concerns as the agency’s Wichita office directing children to Faith Builders’ foster care homes, improperly providing confidential information to Faith Builders and Faith Builders circumventing the court process on parental rights.
That review was completed and given to Gilmore on Oct. 10, but Gilmore would not release the results publicly, citing attorney-client privilege. That resulted in a bipartisan group of legislators calling for the review to be made public, which prompted Gilmore’s letter.
Theresa Freed, a DCF spokeswoman, said the letter was sent to eight legislators who have spoken publicly to the media about the issue. The letter will be sent to additional legislators, if they request it.
Diane Bidwell resigned last week as director of the Wichita office. DCF officials have said the resignation was voluntary.
Gary Ayers, attorney for Faith Builders, said Thursday he wasn’t aware of the content of the letter until a copy was provided by The Eagle.
“I was trying to reach our client,” he said. “I don’t know if Faith Builders has received any notification from DCF. This comes as a surprise.”
Ayers said Faith Builders has 25 foster homes in Wichita. Since it began operation in 2007, he said, it has helped many families by providing food, cribs, rent, furniture, respite and foster care.
When he met with the DCF investigator during the preliminary review, Ayers said: “We asked if Faith Builders had done anything wrong.
The DCF investigator said no. “The DCF investigator also indicated there had been no family complaints,” he added. “It seems the only complaint has come from a politician.”
Faust-Goudeau could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Gilmore said in her letter that the initial review has prompted her to request additional “work be done to address DCF’s association with Faith Builders.”
“I want to assure you, we are quickly and thoroughly reviewing each and every case in which Faith Builders has been involved,” she said. Information from the additional review will be shared with the legislators after it’s completed, she added.
Gilmore she said that DCF doesn’t have a contract with Faith Builders. DCF contracts with St. Francis in the Wichita region to provide foster care and family preservation services, she said.
St. Francis contracts with DCCCA, a Lawrence-based organization, which works directly with Faith Builders, she said.
Reach Rick Plumlee at 316-268-6660 or rplumlee@wichitaeagle.com. Follow him on Twitter: @rickplumlee.
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/24/3076954/kansas-dcf-halts-placements-with.html#emlnl=Morning_Headlines_Newsletter#storylink=cpy
Results of internal review of Kansas agency for children, families won't be disclosed http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/18/3066320/results-of-internal-review-of.html
Legislators criticize DCF for keeping report secret http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/23/3074507/legislators-criticize-dcf-for.html
DCF's letter to legislators http://media.kansas.com/smedia/2013/10/24/16/32/14wqUC.So.80.pdf
Saturday, October 26, 2013
PC Justice Weblog
http://pcjustice.wordpress.com/no-title/
Lots of good information with links to multiple articles.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)