Social Services In Georgia Is Collapsing And Their Legal System Punishes The Sick And Disadvantaged

A couple weeks ago we were summoned to court and my sister was charged with “Educational Neglect” for her 11 year old son (who is a “special needs child”) and his 13 year old sister was charged with truancy. I believe it’s important to add that her son made the honor roll for the year, and his sister had all A’s and B’s with just one “C” in spite of missing too much school. There were days when both of them wanted to go to school, as they enjoyed school and were proud of their grades - but unfortunately, their headaches and vomiting caused their mother to keep them home where they could stay in bed - something that any contentious parent would do. While we were waiting for court, we spoke to several families and found that some of them had “special needs” children -which to me, appeared to border on discrimination against those who require special care. I believe this issue is ripe for a Federal Civil Rights Class Action lawsuit - and I have been urging several parents to join in a class action lawsuit so that Georgia’s mishandling of their truancy laws can be decided by a Federal Court, not the local court that seems to be interested in punishing parents because their children are sick and are unable to meet the criteria that Lumpkin County seems to believe is the avenue to create income for the court system while making sure they receive their full quota of “No Child Left Behind Funds” even when it is inappropriate and punishes those who need more care than average children.

Furthermore, I was also charged in the original complaint, and stated that I would represent our family rather than relying on a Public Defender’s office that has a conflict of interests with me from a previous unrelated incident. The Judge asked who I was and why I was speaking even though I was named first in the complaint at least two (2) times and was also “summoned” to court; while my Sister was recuperating from her surgery, I had power of attorney over her and the children and it’s possible that I too may have been “guilty” of allowing the children to stay home from school or took them to the Doctor while she was ill. Yes, in Georgia, even though your child is extremely ill, you and your children can be punished for taking your child to the Doctor too many times - even though the physicians don’t have a clue what is making them sick.

Because of my sister’s illnesses, she hasn’t been able to work for approximately two years. She has a total income of 360.00 per month from SSI benefits she receives for her son, so my sister and her two children have been living off my income. These unjustified charges are costing us money we don’t have and the county and state know it. Of even more concern is that she was told that she cannot have a public defender for the charges against her in regard her son for “educational neglect” because that is a civil matter rather than a criminal matter so she has to apply to another division of public assistance to receive representation on a case that is obviously intended for the state to attempt to take custody of her son. Her son’s illness is complex, requires a great deal of attention, and even while she was recuperating from surgery - she stubbornly refused to allow anyone to care for her son except her (within the family), and in the process, unknowingly lengthened her recuperation time.

I’m not griping because of the money I have had to spend; family is family, and as long as I can keep a roof over their head I will - notwithstanding the constant incompetence shown by Family Services (Which I maintain is not their fault, but caused by budget cuts.) and a school system that is attempting to punish our family for my political views. Yes, early on as we attempted to adjust to the new school system, we found that the Middle School was great, but the grammar school that my Nephew attended was far below par of the one he attended in Forsyth County - and they seemed to be exacerbating his problems by their own neglect. I argued with the principal and somehow or other politics made it into the argument, and from that date forward, my Nephew was treated like a leper.

One instance that stands out was his school bus driver; my nephew was constantly accused of causing havoc on the bus. Other children in our neighborhood stated the bus driver seemed to be picking on him for no apparent reason - and some of these children felt so bad for him that they actually came to our home to stand-up for him, as they knew he was being singled out when he had done nothing wrong. One day, the commotion on the bus was so bad the driver had to pull the bus over to calm the students, and when my nephew caught the bus the next morning, the driver stated that he/she was going to get him kicked off the bus for yesterday’s incident. (If he lost bus privileges, we would have had to give him rides to and from school for the rest of the year, something that would have been financially impossible.) My nephew didn’t ride the bus that day, and the driver actually watched the video tapes of the bus run to verify that he wasn’t there. (It would seem that a quick call to the attendance clerk would have been easier, but anyone that targets an eleven year old special needs child for harassment isn’t the brightest bulb on the tree anyway.)

When we found out that mold was the culprit that was making all of us sick, instead of moving out of Lumpkin county as I should have, we decided to move to northern Lumpkin County which would leave my niece in her same school but force my nephew to attend a closer Elementary School. We felt that moving both children to a new school system would be detrimental to their education, therefore we paid more to stay in Lumpkin County for the betterment of the children (sic). My Nephew’s grades immediately improved and he was no longer a “problem” on the bus. The immediate improvement in his grades and “behavior” on the bus seemed to instantly change, which in my opinion, demonstrates that it was the school, not him, that was responsible for many of his educational problems.

I feel sure that as soon as this article is published, we will feel the wrath of the school(s) and the people whom are responsible for this farce, but it’s coming anyway - and I believe that the state should investigate this county and its practice of targeting individuals whom are really sick, and in some cases, children that have severe physiological problems as well as ADHD and other emotional factors that I cannot discuss in this Blog. I can and will say this; my sister was in such miserable physical health because she and her children had been abused by her husband. She is separated and has sole custody of the children but is unable to afford a divorce. The father has never paid a cent in child support, states that he never will, and has chosen to be an unemployed bum rather than paying a nickel to support his own children. They grew up being beat, not spanked by their father - and there were instances when he kicked his own son with steel toed boots.

Both children are doing much better now that the abuse has stopped, and for the first time in their lives, they can honestly state that no one has ever layed a hand on either of them since they have lived in my home. Now, instead of an abusive father, we have to fight an over zealous legal system that thrives on the poor and disadvantaged - and I feel guilty that my writing has made their situation worse - as I never would have believed that Republicans would pick on children to get at me. It just goes to show you that like love and war, anything goes in the realm of politics, and that includes traumatizing children that are guilty of nothing more than having an uncle that is a Liberal/Progressive living in the midst of one of the reddest counties in Georgia.

The Public Defender’s Office reluctantly accepted my Niece’s case, and then refused to discuss his case until they appeared in court. Without them having any background on the case, I feel sure that the outcome will be “let’s make a deal” rather than on the merits of the case. Furthermore, as it pertains to the charge of “Educational Neglect,” we believe that charge stems from my sister’s disapproval of his Special Education needs which were cut without any justification or explanation from the school. She made the mistake of disagreeing with bureaucrats and insisted that he still had multiple issues that needed to be addressed on an educational level. Furthermore, he is being advanced to the fifth grade - and I don’t believe for a minute that he can stand-up to the curriculum of the fifth grade. Yes, the school stated that he was an honor roll student - but I’d bet my money that once again, another school may be guilty of manipulating test scores. I’m one of the individuals that helps him with his homework, and he barely comprehends what he is reading, has difficulty forming complete sentences, and other issues too numerous to mention - but now that we live in the age of “No Child Left Behind,” and schools can be punished for not achieving their goals, I’d like to see some independent testing that proves he is ready for the fifth grade.

William Cormier

NOTE: How long it takes to recover from mold sickness varies, however, it is directly correlated to how long the exposure lasted, and in our case, it was for months. We sent to Arizona for petri dishes to identify what type of mold it was, as well as the proper treatment, but our landlord saw the petri dishes in the refrigerator as we were moving out and would not let us back into the dwelling.