Update on the Henderson Case

BOARD OF COUNTY SUPERVISORS, DCFS, RUTHERFORD CONTACTED

by Sharon Rondeau

(Sep. 10, 2012) — On September 9, 2012, The Post & Email reported on a case in which Los Angeles police and DCFS workers tore a five-week-old infant from a mother’s arms on August 31, 2012 and refused to return the child after the parents declined a court-appointed attorney last Thursday.  The remaining five children belonging to the Hendersons have been placed in various foster homes around the state.  As of yesterday’s report, mother Erica’s unsupervised visitation had been terminated, presumably out of retaliation, which the mother relayed to our source was expected.

Last night, we contacted the Los Angeles Board of County Supervisors via email and today received the following message:

ExecutiveOffice

This morning, The Post & Email has called the Los Angeles Board of County Supervisors about the case and spoken with an assistant to one of the supervisors, Regina, who listened courteously to our concerns for several minutes.  While taking our call, she had to break away twice, stating that the phones were ringing constantly.  Toward the end of our call, she said she had “five calls on hold.”  She promised to relay our concerns to Philip Browning, Director of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

Ironically, Los Angeles County has deemed the week of September 10-14, 2012 as “Family Reunification Week.”

After the children were taken from the parents in 2010, no signs of abuse or neglect were found, yet the children have not been returned to their home.  The parents have both been jailed and suffered ill health as a result, lost all of their personal possessions, and had money stolen from them.  The children are scattered in several foster homes, and one has reportedly been abused.

The Post & Email then contacted the office of Director Browning and spoke to Ms. Rice, who “screens his calls.”  We related our concerns and indicated that the story is now being read nationally and internationally.  We stressed that the five-week-old baby was torn from his mother at a very crucial time in his development and that the other children may never recover from the emotional damage which has been inflicted upon them.

Ms. Rice asked us to email her a link to our story, which we did, with instructions to register for a free subscription.  We asked that if she finds any factual errors in the story to please advise us and a correction would be issued.  As of this writing, we can confirm that Ms. Rice has registered with The Post & Email.

We have also contacted The Rutherford Institute in Washington, DC, which came to the defense of Brandon Raub, a former Marine arrested for posting comments viewed as “anti-government” on his Facebook page.  Rutherford has reported that Raub plans to sue for civil rights violations over the involuntary incarceration he suffered in a psychiatric ward.

At 12:08 p.m. EDT/9:08 a.m. PDT, Regina called us back to ask the first name of the mother, which we supplied upon returning the call.  We also supplied other details available in various reports on the case, including the retaliation which followed the parents’ refusal to accept the court-appointed attorney in Thursday.

The Post & Email will continue to follow this story in the interest of seeing the Hendersons reunited and free of retaliation from the Los Angeles County government, specifically DCFS.