(Cross-posted from The COFAR Blogsite) Ryan Tilly, who has Down Syndrome, had been living in his provider-operated group home in Haverhill for only four months in March of 2016 when he was allegedly assaulted by a staff member of the … [Read more...]
New Yorker article on guardianship abuses has familiar ring
(Cross-posted from The COFAR Blogsite) An article last month in The New Yorker magazine on abuses in the guardianship system in Nevada is beyond disturbing, and its findings echo many of the concerns we have raised about the dysfunction … [Read more...]
Trial in alleged assault of intellectually disabled man is put off again
(Cross-posted from The COFAR Blog) Today (Tuesday) marked the fifth time Sheila Paquette has traveled from her home in western Massachusetts to Cape Cod to seek justice in the alleged assault of her brother, John Burns, an intellectually … [Read more...]
Alleged assaulter of disabled man is no-show on trial date
(Cross-posted from the COFAR blog) Sheila Paquette's long-running quest to bring the man who allegedly assaulted her intellectually disabled brother to justice took yet another turn this week. After months of delay, Monday, January … [Read more...]
Update: some progress to report in abuse case
Charges against Saunders were personally brought by Sheila Paquette, Burns’ sister and co-guardian, after Paquette became frustrated with the slow pace of the state’s investigation into the case. Paquette has also been … [Read more...]
Justice is elusive in assaults of the intellectually disabled
Burns was not examined by a doctor until the following day, when he was taken, at Paquette’s insistence, to Noble Hospital in Westfield. Paquette said she was told by the medical staff there that Burns’ black … [Read more...]
90,000 infants abused or neglected – or 90,000 poor parents demonized?
Increasing the number of children removed and placed in foster care does not protect children nor does this improve outcomes for children or reduce abuse and neglect. Failure to strengthen families and confusing poverty with neglect … [Read more...]
Vital investigative agency limps along with little funding
You would think the vital importance of an agency like this would be universally recognized. You would think such an agency would at least be adequately funded. You wouldn't think such an agency would have to go begging, hat in … [Read more...]
Why can’t haleigh’s grandmother visit her?
I attended the last hearing of the House Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect yesterday. So did Haleigh Poutre's grandmother. I listened to Sandra L. Sudyka talk about Haleigh eating scrambled eggs, writing her name, and … [Read more...]
Stand up for Shawn, Child Abuse Survivors Everywhere
Dear [Person]:Stating that kidnap victim Shawn Hornbeck was "having more fun" with his kidnapper than his family is reprehensible in every sense of the word. Blaming the victim, especially in this case with evidence suggesting sexual … [Read more...]