KRISTI'S FIGHT FOR JUSTICE, OUR CHILDREN!
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The following statement was sent to us by email with the request for publication.
On May 27, 2008 my children were taken by DFACS. I am fighting for justice and to bring my children home!
On May 27, 2008, I, Kristi Strickler was in my bedroom getting ready for work. I have four children. My husband was outside with all of our children. My two year old, Jakk, was playing outside in the front yard and he tripped over a rock and fell on a radio. The antenna on the radio was broken and when he fell he hit the sharp edge of the antenna. We immediately took him to the hospital. Upon taking him to the hospital the police were notified as well as DFACS. They took our oldest son, Jess into an interrogation room at the hospital. By law you cannot take a child into custody without the parent(s) being there. I had two police guards standing at my hospital door. When they questioned Jess, he said the exact same thing that Kyle, my husband, and I stated. Then they told Kyle, my husband, that he needed to go home and get the rest of our children who were staying with a babysitter at the time. Then they took all the children at the time.
A couple of weeks prior, according to a DFACS worker at the hospital, there was an incident where a young child was taken to the hospital for a fractured arm. DFACS was called in and they decided to not take the child. A few days later the mother of the child’s boyfriend murdered the child. The DFACS worker said on that day, May 27, 2008 that my children would be taken on this day, because there was a lot of heat on DFACS; and they had to take them in order to rectify their wrongdoing.
Since then the following violations have occurred:
1. Due Process which is our First Amendment Right and this right it is covered under the 14th Amendment; is being violated. We have not been given access to a fair hearing or been able to file a complaint.
2. The children are being abused in their foster care home. The first time I noticed marks on the children was in our first visit to see our children whom were out of my care and in the foster care system/ a foster care home. This happened within the first-two weeks of them being gone: The DFACS worker, Valeria Stafford, who later got fired at the time when asked about the abuse stated, “Cali (age 4) had been playing and she fell”. Then she started to question about their being alcohol in Lori’s (age 1) bottle, and refused to investigate the marks on my children. Three days after leaving my care they said the bottle smelled like alcohol. They could not substantiate the claim because the smell was actually old tea that had become fermented. This is documented in the reports that they could not substantiate their claim. They were trying to cover up their own inadequacies and abuse within the foster care system. (Please see attached pictures).
Then in another incident they accused my husband, Kyle, of child sexual abuse. This occurred and accusations arose from DFACS, while the children were not in our care. This occurred in September of 2008 after the children had been in custody with the same foster care parents since May 27, 2008. We asked for our child to be checked by the doctor, and we wanted a rape kit done on our child. The case worker, Tiffany Fagen Hill, who was also later fired, told us that if we wanted her (our child) to be checked to come and do it ourselves because she did not care. Then the DFACS case worker slammed the phone down. These claims against Kyle could not be substantiated because the child was not in our care. Kyle had to take a paternity test that proved him to be the father. Kyle’s parental rights were terminated until he could prove he was the father. They could not prove any sexual abuse occurred between Kyle and our child because our child was not in our care. DFACS workers stated that the abuse had just occurred, and that these are not past accusations. Yet, at the same time they refused to question or investigate the foster parents. This concludes that these events started suddenly occurring when the children were taken into the foster care home that they are at now. Under the Georgia law: Circumstances That Are Not Grounds for Termination is Failure to Establish Paternity. Therefore, DFACS or the courts had no right to terminate Kyle’s parental rights for something going on in their system, nor mine to begin within.
Each week that I have had visits with my children while they are in that foster care home, we meet at a local church; the following has occurred: One of the children had scrapes all on their knees (Cali,4 years old). My oldest (Jess, age 9) had various bruises all over his body. Another child (Jack, age 2) had a badly bruised black eye. This last visit my youngest (Lori, age 1) had a badly bruised black eye. Their behavior has changed. And now the system is trying to put my oldest on ADHD medication. Cali is peeing all over herself. Jack throws his head back on the ground constantly. Every time they leave visits with me they go crazy, yelling, and crying. They never behaved like this before.
3. Parent Rights are being violated. Their main claim from keeping the children from me is because of a lack of supervision. The judge stated that no child should have cuts, bruises, or marks on them. These bruises and markings have occurred since they have been in the system. Whenever I ask the DFACS worker what is going on they make excuses for the foster parents about the abuse.
4. Racial Discrimination continues to occur. I, Kristi Strickler, have white skin with Cherokee bloodlines, and my husband, Kyle is Black. I am originally from Turlock, California. I attended Chico State University in California and Modesto Junior College. I have been in Georgia for three years now.
5. The fact that I am a kind, loving, responsible, nurturing parent to all of my children is not being considered, or investigated.
6. Freedom of Information Act is being violated. I have no access to my records.
7. Kyle and I have to have two different attorney’s so that they can continue to split the family apart. They have done nothing to be of help. My, Kristi Strickler, lawyer is Yolanda Parker-Smith. Kyle’s lawyer’s is Abdul Sadik. The court appointed attorney for the juvenile system and judges make decisions without our presence in the court room, we are not allowed in the court room to see the judge, and continue to postpone court hearings.
8. The court or DFACS is not trying to re-unify our family.
9. They juvenile system and DFACS is discriminating against us based on the fact that we are poor. We do have jobs and maintain a three bedroom home that we rent. But, this appears to be unsatisfactory and a reason to target our children.
10. The current DFACS caseworker is doing nothing to re-unify us, Matika Holton.
11. The foster mother writes me letters to substantiate why they have the bruises on them. It sounds to me like a guilty conscious at work. She does this on her own free will.
12. My children’s rights are being violated. They are not allowed to speak about the wrong they have suffered since leaving my care in May of 2008. And the agency interrogates them for hours and tries to make it seem like the children are changing their stories. The children have been stripped of their rights.
According to the Georgia statute of law.
Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights Georgia
Statute: §§ 15-11-58; 15-11-94
Circumstances That Are Grounds for TerminationMental Illness or Deficiency- There is no history of this pertaining to my case.
Alcohol or Drug Induced Incapacity- I do not nor have I ever done drugs.
Felony Conviction/Incarceration- Neither husband or I have felony convictions or records.
Thank you,
Kristi Strickler
This information was prepared by correspondence with my advocate, Nekesha Bell de Castañon
(916) 320-4369; Office Phone: (916) 364-7993, located in Sacramento, California. If you cannot get a hold of me, please contact her. Kristi’s Cell Phone: (404) 279-2761Note: Nekesha and Kristi grew up together and attended Turlock High School, graduated in 1997 and 1998. Nekesha's brother Michael Leon Bell, Jr. was placed on Death Row in San Quentin, CA from Stanislaus County in April of 1999. Nekesha is currently applying for her Master's at Oxford University in the U.K. in International Human Rights Law.
On May 27, 2008 my children were taken by DFACS. I am fighting for justice and to bring my children home!
On May 27, 2008, I, Kristi Strickler was in my bedroom getting ready for work. I have four children. My husband was outside with all of our children. My two year old, Jakk, was playing outside in the front yard and he tripped over a rock and fell on a radio. The antenna on the radio was broken and when he fell he hit the sharp edge of the antenna. We immediately took him to the hospital. Upon taking him to the hospital the police were notified as well as DFACS. They took our oldest son, Jess into an interrogation room at the hospital. By law you cannot take a child into custody without the parent(s) being there. I had two police guards standing at my hospital door. When they questioned Jess, he said the exact same thing that Kyle, my husband, and I stated. Then they told Kyle, my husband, that he needed to go home and get the rest of our children who were staying with a babysitter at the time. Then they took all the children at the time.
A couple of weeks prior, according to a DFACS worker at the hospital, there was an incident where a young child was taken to the hospital for a fractured arm. DFACS was called in and they decided to not take the child. A few days later the mother of the child’s boyfriend murdered the child. The DFACS worker said on that day, May 27, 2008 that my children would be taken on this day, because there was a lot of heat on DFACS; and they had to take them in order to rectify their wrongdoing.
Since then the following violations have occurred:
1. Due Process which is our First Amendment Right and this right it is covered under the 14th Amendment; is being violated. We have not been given access to a fair hearing or been able to file a complaint.
2. The children are being abused in their foster care home. The first time I noticed marks on the children was in our first visit to see our children whom were out of my care and in the foster care system/ a foster care home. This happened within the first-two weeks of them being gone: The DFACS worker, Valeria Stafford, who later got fired at the time when asked about the abuse stated, “Cali (age 4) had been playing and she fell”. Then she started to question about their being alcohol in Lori’s (age 1) bottle, and refused to investigate the marks on my children. Three days after leaving my care they said the bottle smelled like alcohol. They could not substantiate the claim because the smell was actually old tea that had become fermented. This is documented in the reports that they could not substantiate their claim. They were trying to cover up their own inadequacies and abuse within the foster care system. (Please see attached pictures).
Then in another incident they accused my husband, Kyle, of child sexual abuse. This occurred and accusations arose from DFACS, while the children were not in our care. This occurred in September of 2008 after the children had been in custody with the same foster care parents since May 27, 2008. We asked for our child to be checked by the doctor, and we wanted a rape kit done on our child. The case worker, Tiffany Fagen Hill, who was also later fired, told us that if we wanted her (our child) to be checked to come and do it ourselves because she did not care. Then the DFACS case worker slammed the phone down. These claims against Kyle could not be substantiated because the child was not in our care. Kyle had to take a paternity test that proved him to be the father. Kyle’s parental rights were terminated until he could prove he was the father. They could not prove any sexual abuse occurred between Kyle and our child because our child was not in our care. DFACS workers stated that the abuse had just occurred, and that these are not past accusations. Yet, at the same time they refused to question or investigate the foster parents. This concludes that these events started suddenly occurring when the children were taken into the foster care home that they are at now. Under the Georgia law: Circumstances That Are Not Grounds for Termination is Failure to Establish Paternity. Therefore, DFACS or the courts had no right to terminate Kyle’s parental rights for something going on in their system, nor mine to begin within.
Each week that I have had visits with my children while they are in that foster care home, we meet at a local church; the following has occurred: One of the children had scrapes all on their knees (Cali,4 years old). My oldest (Jess, age 9) had various bruises all over his body. Another child (Jack, age 2) had a badly bruised black eye. This last visit my youngest (Lori, age 1) had a badly bruised black eye. Their behavior has changed. And now the system is trying to put my oldest on ADHD medication. Cali is peeing all over herself. Jack throws his head back on the ground constantly. Every time they leave visits with me they go crazy, yelling, and crying. They never behaved like this before.
3. Parent Rights are being violated. Their main claim from keeping the children from me is because of a lack of supervision. The judge stated that no child should have cuts, bruises, or marks on them. These bruises and markings have occurred since they have been in the system. Whenever I ask the DFACS worker what is going on they make excuses for the foster parents about the abuse.
4. Racial Discrimination continues to occur. I, Kristi Strickler, have white skin with Cherokee bloodlines, and my husband, Kyle is Black. I am originally from Turlock, California. I attended Chico State University in California and Modesto Junior College. I have been in Georgia for three years now.
5. The fact that I am a kind, loving, responsible, nurturing parent to all of my children is not being considered, or investigated.
6. Freedom of Information Act is being violated. I have no access to my records.
7. Kyle and I have to have two different attorney’s so that they can continue to split the family apart. They have done nothing to be of help. My, Kristi Strickler, lawyer is Yolanda Parker-Smith. Kyle’s lawyer’s is Abdul Sadik. The court appointed attorney for the juvenile system and judges make decisions without our presence in the court room, we are not allowed in the court room to see the judge, and continue to postpone court hearings.
8. The court or DFACS is not trying to re-unify our family.
9. They juvenile system and DFACS is discriminating against us based on the fact that we are poor. We do have jobs and maintain a three bedroom home that we rent. But, this appears to be unsatisfactory and a reason to target our children.
10. The current DFACS caseworker is doing nothing to re-unify us, Matika Holton.
11. The foster mother writes me letters to substantiate why they have the bruises on them. It sounds to me like a guilty conscious at work. She does this on her own free will.
12. My children’s rights are being violated. They are not allowed to speak about the wrong they have suffered since leaving my care in May of 2008. And the agency interrogates them for hours and tries to make it seem like the children are changing their stories. The children have been stripped of their rights.
According to the Georgia statute of law.
Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights Georgia
Statute: §§ 15-11-58; 15-11-94
Circumstances That Are Grounds for TerminationMental Illness or Deficiency- There is no history of this pertaining to my case.
Alcohol or Drug Induced Incapacity- I do not nor have I ever done drugs.
Felony Conviction/Incarceration- Neither husband or I have felony convictions or records.
Abandonment or Extreme Parental Disinterest - There is no history of parental disinterest or abandonment. When leaving the children with babysitters and family to look for work, these are sincere efforts and good will to try to make a better life.
Abuse/Neglect- I have not ever abused or neglected my child. My only crime is being poor, being a women, and a loving mother of four children.
Failure of Reasonable Efforts-The fact that both myself and husband work and attend all meetings and visitations is not failure of reasonable efforts.
Failure to Justify Actions-The fact that I was getting ready for work in my house, in my bedroom while my husband, a responsible adult was watching the children proves that I am not #1) not libel #2) nor purposely neglecting my children. It can happen to any of us where a child falls and hurts themselves, and #3) the accusations from DFACS and the juvenile system is not justifiable.
The behavior of the accused parent much show a pattern of at least one year of wrong doings, bad behavior, etc.My oldest is nine years old and my youngest is one years old. I have not ever been abused or hurt my children in anyway. Nor have I let them be hurt by anyone else. But, the system is doing everything they can to make sure the children are abused, hurt, and neglected. They are making sure that for whatever reason they deem fit they are able to keep the children in the system and make money off of my children. They are making every effort to deny me my rights and my children’s rights.
Within 15 months of the 22 months the parental rights can be terminated.I, Kristi Strickler, believe that the juvenile court system and DFACS is trying to perpetuate claims that are untrue in order to keep the children in the system. Under the Georgia law the following has to occur and it has not:
Ga. Code Ann. § 15-11-58(m) (WESTLAW through End of 2003 Reg. Sess.)In the event that a child has been in foster care under the responsibility of the Division of Family and Children Services for 15 of the most recent 22 months, or if the court has determined a child to be an abandoned infant, as set forth in § 15-11-94, or has made a…
The list goes on, and lastly reason to terminate parental rights is if it is in
Child's Best Interest.It is not in my children’s best interest to be ripped from our home, and placed in the care of abusers, the foster parents, DFACS, and the juvenile system.
In summary: On May 29, 2008 the case was filed against me Kristi Strickler and my husband. June 10th, 2008 was our first and only hearing. Initial case plan was filed June 25, 2008, by Lashonda Struthers; She is no longer on the case and was taken off in July of 2008. By June 30, 2008 DFACS was suppose to refer us to a parenting class written by their office, and they have not done that to date. We are to have completed the parenting class by November 25 of 2008. We cannot take classes outside of their system because it will be held against us; and we will be found non compliant. And we must complete a counseling class by Novermber 25 of 2008 and we must be referred through the DFACS agency. They are trying to build a mental health case as well when there is no history of mental illness pertaining to this case. Next, review date is November 27, 2008, and it is not the court hearing. Permanent Placement is suppose to occur by May 26, 2009, this is a set up and an anticipated date. We are without hope, in the process of firing our lawyers, trying to find a way to the get help that we need, but we have been set up to fail. I am asking for help and anyone else who has been wronged to please come forward, as well as Letters of Character from people that have known me, a pro-bono lawyer, and much more. I demand to have my children back!Thank you,
Kristi Strickler
This information was prepared by correspondence with my advocate, Nekesha Bell de Castañon
(916) 320-4369; Office Phone: (916) 364-7993, located in Sacramento, California. If you cannot get a hold of me, please contact her. Kristi’s Cell Phone: (404) 279-2761Note: Nekesha and Kristi grew up together and attended Turlock High School, graduated in 1997 and 1998. Nekesha's brother Michael Leon Bell, Jr. was placed on Death Row in San Quentin, CA from Stanislaus County in April of 1999. Nekesha is currently applying for her Master's at Oxford University in the U.K. in International Human Rights Law.