One thing I have learned is that no matter with is in charge, Republican or Democrat, waste and Government go together hand-n-hand.

It is obscene, but factual..

“Katrina Kids” Taken By Court Not By Storm

The story of my family is a tragedy and one that shows fraud and mishandling of government funds. Unfortunately there are probably hundreds across our nation in a similar situation.

A little background for those of you who think this couldn’t happen to “good citizens” like yourself. My husband has served in the military, has been a sheriff deputy, and has now worked for over 10 years as a federal law enforcement agent. I have been a business owner, and a manager for various companies over the years. Most of all I have been a wife and mother to 4 boys.(one of which is on his way to serving in the military)

Both of us always had custody of our children.(presently their ages are 16, 14, 12, 10 & 16 months) Never have we been brought before any court about our children,(I have never even had a speeding ticket)During the years that I was a single mother of 3 boys I never received welfare or even paid child support by my sons' father.

My husbands job brought us to Tennessee about a week after Katrina. Upon arrival my husband, my 11 year old son, 4 week old baby and I stayed in several different hotels for the first few months. We were still searching for my husbands daughter age 9 and had left my oldest son age 15 with my parents in Laurel MS to be home schooled until we had a better housing situation. (My 13 year old son lived with his Dad in Laurel MS at the time of the storm)

I sought help at the area Red Cross shelter set up for evacuees that came to Williamson County, Franklin, TN (1st or 2nd wealthiest county in the entire USA, I might add)
At the shelter, put together by the Mayors “Emergency Task Force”, I searched for information about our medical needs, clothing, school and so on. (since 2 children having ADHD, a newborn not yet immunized, my need for care after the recent birth of my son, and also my husband that had recently undergone 2 brain surgeries just weeks prior) They were a great help except I was never given information about school for my children. Living in a hotel and not knowing where we would be from day to day it concerned me about having to move my child from school to school according to what district a new hotel may be in and so on.
There was no one there from the education department or school board. My son had been out of school for almost a month now and being extremely ADHD it was important for him to return to school. (I should have been told then, as all people should have been, and made aware of the Mc-Kinney Vento Act that was made to help those of us in this exact situation.) Instead not knowing at the time I had a girl from a church help me get my child enrolled in a private school on a scholarship so that I could keep my son in the same school for as long as we were there. I couldn’t work as there was no busses so I had to drive my child 20 miles each way daily to get him to and from school.

The week of Thanksgiving we were placed in transitional housing. My oldest son then joined us there. We had problems with depression and my baby even had illness due to Ecoli from the well water at the house. Then the first week in January we found out my husbands daughter had been left in Texas with people she had only been around a few times, abandoned there by her mother. (she went to Florida?)

At that time my 11 year old son was failing (his IQ is 118) and not doing well emotionally, but was excited his little sister was coming and sowe decided to put him in the public school just a few blocks from the house were our daughter would attend upon arrival. This decision also seemed right because of our small baby with the cold weather and getting him in and out so much made him sick often while I transferred my son to and from the private school. We felt also our daughter would feel anxious and afraid at a new school after all the tragedy that she has been through since the hurricane. Not seeing her father who has raised her or her step brothers, loosing all she had and then being deserted by her mother was horrible, among other things I won’t discuss she saw and went through during and after the storm, a horrific ordeal for anyone much less a barely 9 year old little girl.

Then this is were the real heartache began for us all. First we had to put off being reunited with her until I found proper papers showing my husband had custody of her. The school told us she could not attend until we produced those papers. (This too is in violation of their rights under the Mc-Kinney Vento Act) We placed her in school after going down to look through the flooded storage for papers to get her into school. Then what would have been her 3rd day of school here she got freaked out going into hysterics and didn’t want to go to school that day because my 2 sons had doctors appointments that day. She thought we would not come back and get her, or that “some one may come take her“!
Then in response to her absence the school principle became upset and argumentative with my husband about her UNEXCUSED absence from school. He knew of all the horrible circumstances and still thought “the most important thing is for her to be at school”. He threatened to get the authorities involved. After this we felt we could not leave our children in a school with such heartless people in charge. We then had to go back to the private school and await for an approval to get in. During this time the public school principle charged us with Dependent Neglect of our children.

When this occurred I did some research looking for help in our situation. This is when I discovered our children's rights under the Mc-Kinney Vento Act. We continually tried to find help from the area school board concerning our children's rights. We asked and emailed so many trying to find out answers about why this act is being ignored. The crazy answers and all we went through was astounding and very troubling. This all began over a few absences dealing with the aftermath

Since February 2005 we have been in court a total of 11 times with lawyers, judges, social services, school boards, and even the children’s guardian ad litem all totally ignoring this act and our children’s rights being violated. (BTW even my 11 year old noticed that it only took 5 absences to have the charges brought against us which was in violation of the federal Act yet they missed 8 days of school being in court)

During all this time our homes have been investigated, counselors, and social workers in and out of our homes searching and waiting for us to do something wrong now for almost a year. We have moved 7 times since the storm. For months I had sometimes 3 and 4 appointments with them EACH WEEK in my home as ordered by the court. In the end after almost a year of this nonsense nothing more than the absences have they found. Then it was then transferred and reviewed in yet another county were we moved during the summer hoping to get better help and someone to pay attention to the federal laws that had been violated the only one who saw this was the DCS worker who no longer works for them???

Now as of December 6, 2006 we have lost custody of all 3 of the children because of 5 or more unexcused absences due to the storm. (So if that is neglect then I guess when they missed a whole month due to lack of information at the shelter that should have been provided as stated in the Act it self then shouldn't they be found in neglect on part of the county?)
You see any districts “Zero tolerance rule with absentism” is thrown out under the Mc-Kinney Vento Act as it is a barrier to the child's success in school and is said to be disregarded in their case. When in transitional housing or shelter or hotel you are considered homeless under this act. We should never have been brought before any court in the matter but helped with the funds provided to the schools on our children’s behalf!

Besides the fact we should not have been before the courts. Where is the money these schools received from federal grants provided to help these children succeed? They not only didn’t help or provide what was supposed to be but they have completely destroyed our entire family. One of my children failed and the other was passed by permission of the guidance counselor not from successful grades ( although both children have high IQ‘s and given the proper help could have succeeded.) My 11 year old has a low self esteem and ADHD and I feel he may never recover from this if not given the chance to get back on grade level where he belongs.

They were supposed to be given tutoring, counseling, mentoring, and all the things that the fund is supposed to provide yet all we got was harassment and abuse. Also protected is their right to an IEP. I had actually never heard of one and my pediatrician here in TN suggested I ask for one and I was refused by the school guidance counselor. (protected also with NCLB) There is tale upon tale that I could write that occurred through out this year. But the bottom line is our children's rights have been violated and the end result is total devastation. It was a pathetic time that so many of us had to endure so much from a horrible storm. The things challenges we have had to overcome is hard to explain unless you too were a victim. The storm, well no one but God could control, but this should have been avoided and is totally unbelievable and should not be accepted by me or any other family.

This is hard to explain to children that have had to go through something so horrible then end up not even seeing their family, their mother, their father or their siblings for Christmas. As we are all now living in 3 different states with custody given to 3 separate households. Including my ex husband that has never even paid one dime of child support or medical care or even driven to visit my 11 year old in the 10 years since our divorce. And to ad fuel to the fire I NOT ONLY lost custody of them but was ordered to have SUPERVISED visitation in their homes in other states.(ALL OVER SOME ABSENCES FROM SCHOOL LAST YEAR AFTER THE HURRICANE....THIS IS TOTALLY REDICULOUS

In the end I want justice and my children back as the family that was happy and healthy before the storm. My children deserve help and I don't know how or when or where justice will happen for them, but I will do all in my power to make sure this never happens to them or any child again.

God works in mysterious ways I know, and maybe this was His way of giving me a meaningful mission in life. If this is then I am today and will forever seek justice and will help hold accountable those in government the rights deserved on behalf of my children, for the sake of others that are still suffering from hurricane Katrina, along with those children with various homeless situations, and for the many more children that face things like this in the years to come.

Today the media seems to be fixated on people committing fraud and the citizens of fine Southern states like Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama being made to look as though they are only populated with nothing other than criminals, looters, poor, non-working people. This is NOT the case. Yes are some of them poor, yes are their crimes committed in those states, yes were there looters during the worst natural disaster this country has seen, and yes do we have unemployed people in those states? to all of this the answer is yes. But what state in this country does not have all of the same?

Maybe “they” want to concentrate their efforts on these things to keep the public from becoming aware of much more important issues like this one. I have found that some government officials or government employees want the general public to stay ignorant to real truths so that they can work only to do the bare minimum in their jobs. They do not want people to educate themselves for then some may discover their rights under the laws created for us by our great government because then some one may actually come along and hold them accountable for what they are being paid to do and for the money of ours that they are spending.

They want to talk about FRAUD then lets talk about the fraud such as this being committed by state agencies like the DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION in TN. Lets discuss that instead of the continual downing of the victims from the storm that continue to suffer as they over come and rebuild their lives. Lets quit taking care of other nations and trying to tell them how to run their country when we are NOT even taking care of ours and helping our own. Especially as we are neglectful while dealing with the education and care of our children.

Our children that are born and living and even fighting for our country the wonderful but hurting United States of America. Educate your selves and educate others so you will not be ignorant to your rights and the rights of your children as I was. And remember to look at your schools to see if they have the Mc-Kinney Vento Act posted as it is required by federal law. If you notice they make darn sure we fill out a form each year about what language we speak at home trying to help those who can not even speak our American Language- yet no information is posted that is in place to help our own homeless and other devastated children- How SAD IS THAT?????

PASS ON MY STORY TO FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND POLITICIANS!!!! (and a great lawyer with some guts would be greatly appreciated and any other KATRINA family that may be suffering from some of the same problems)
Thank You and May God Bless You and Our Great Nation, but most of all our Children,

Mom previously from Bay St. Louis,MS now in TN

P. S. Educate our children now or who will build our levees later?