The whole area of family dynamics has changed and the times have not kept up with those changes. There are different definitions of family in today's society, with single parent families consisting of child and mother; and child and dad, with the dynamics of those families changing also.

The area of child protection has to change also. Society and child protection has to get in step with those changes to deal with those families. The age old ideas of child protection need to be re-evaluated. Front line social workers require better training in the areas of child protection, family dymnamics and the understanding of child protection laws. The child protection system is to quick to resort to short term fixes or take the band aid approach as opposed to pro-active approach to help prevent what places children in need of protection services. It is a reactionary approach instead of a pro-active one. As much effort as possible should be put into keeping a family and children together as opposed to taking the severe step of severing the family. Child protectrion is to reactionary and extrememly confrontational. It puts children and families in highly intrusive situations. They have to deal with the bullying of agency workers and child protection itself. The situations of being the subjects of court proceedings that at most time do nothing more than to ensure that the family may not survive.

For the most part adoption seems to be the answer and the cure in the eyes of child protection. We do wonder why so many adoptors are told "you will have to go on a waiting list for at least ten (10) years in order to adopt a child" with others adopting within months. We see persons that do adopt and especially foster parents that do not have to wait anywhere near ten (10) years to adopt. This seems to be the quick and easy answer for the system. It is time that the system came into the present and see the damage it causes children and families to have their lives devestated by a system that refuses to understand that times have changed. The draconian ideas of child protection of fifty years ago causes more damage to children and families.

The system is riddled with horror stories of children that have been torn from their families and suffered horrendously at the hands of the child protection system. Taken from homes where there have been problems, at times minor problems, but the problems not properly evaluated and steps taken to ensure that they are resolved to allow the child(ren) to remain or go back. There are too many bad judgement calls by these frontline workers.Money could have been better spent ensuring that these children received the services they and their families needed to remain together. We do wonder why so many children have to be placed in foster care when at most times many of the natural family are not consulted in helping to raise these children. Money at most times is the main reason why problems exist in some of these homes.

It is time we came out of the dark ages and stop hiding children from their heritage. These children have the right to know who they are. Society has tried this with young, pregnant, and single women back in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Most of them had their children taken and taboo's placed on finding out about these children and what has happened to them. We cannot rob these children of their identities or of their heritage. They deserve to know who they are and where they come from. They deserve to know their heritage, their cultural background and who their Mom's and Dad's are. It is clear that with the stories of today and what birth children had to endure in trying to find out who they are, that we are obligated to effect change to the archaecic adoption laws that rob these children of who they are. They have the right to know. The answer is open adoptions records with full disclosure to children.

It is ironic that one of the person that fought shoulder to shoulder with the Child Protection System here in the province of Nova Scotia in Cape Breton, working with Mr. Robert Crosby another lawyer for the child protection agency in this area, is now Family Court Judge Claire MacLellan.,She is ensuring that these children are put in the hands of her previous employers (Children's Aid Society of Cape Breton Victoria). Judge Claire MacLellan days after being appointed a Family Court Judge started hearing child protection cases with the very agency she worked for just a short time before. She started giving Children's Aid Society of Cape Breton Victoria court orders to take children. Judge Claire MacLellan, is the wife of the former Premier of this province. It is like she has complete immunity and does not have to fear accountability. The Family Court system in this province is riddled with bias and lacks independance. Decisions most times are based on this bias or on individual likes and dislikes towards the people before it. When or who has upset the system at the time. If you do not cower to the system you are made to pay the price. That price is enivitably very costly, you loose your children forever. Ask Mrs. X. she knows full well the wrath of the system and what it can do to your life. She and her children paid the ultimate price.

Most of the same players in that case still work for CAS Cape Breton Victoria , and were afforded immunity. Lying does not seem to matter to them, as was pointed out in the internal investigation into the Mrs. X's case. One of those workers is Ms. Marie Boone who is now the Executive Director of the Agency. The system lacks integrity and is given the job of ensuring the "integrity of the family" which it does not do. Honesty and integrity does not have a place in the system. It is allowed to withhold evidence from the courts, workers commit perjury and manipulate evidence.

Police will not investigate, will not lay charges when child protection workers commit criminal offences. Child protection needs to come out of the closet and out of the dark ages...hiding children from the world has to end. There is a better way to deal with supposed child protection as it stands and rid the system of some of the taboo's in relation to adoption and the nasty secrets embedded in the term "confidentiality". We have not only allowed the fox to guard the hen house but we have also allowed the pack to invaded the barn yard.

Even with the Child Welfare Specialist Ms. Carol MacLellan put in place it does nothing to hold these agencies accouintable. At best she could be termed a figure head, a perception that step are being taken with no real effort to hold agencies accountable for the devestation and destruction they create. She is a pawn of the ageicies who lacke and "actual" power to be able to take action to hold these people accoountable. There has only been meager attempts to effect perceptual changes as opposed to legimate change in the system. The Family Court is one of the areas that needs to be overhauled and held accountable for pandering to child protection and not making decisions in accordance with the law. Superficial change is not change but rather a way to deceive the public in beliving that real change has taken effect.

This begs the questions; What motivates Child Protection Agencies: is it the need to fill a quota....as we know there are people out there waiting five to ten years to adopt and are willing to pay handsomely for a child ... is it to flex their muscles and show their authority....to teach parents a lesson....or is it there to really protect children...we need answers to those questions and to have those answers we must have a full public inquiry into the the operations of child protection.

There is a better way, the system can be changed in the "best interest of the children" it can work more effectively both in child protection cases as well as custody and access cases. A better system can be made and needs to be. The courts should be the last resort to deal with family problems.