Skip to Content

Family Voices

It's down to the wire for the first of our Family Voices videos. I'm getting my workflow ironed out on how to approach a video documentary project like this - and there are a lot of wrinkles yet! But I'm really excited about the Family Voices project. Giving families an outlet for their stories could be the most impactful, long-term activity we have to date. Every state legislator (everyone for that matter) we've told about this project has been very receptive to the concept.

For those that don't know what the Family Voices project is, we're filming parents telling their stories and talking about their experiences with "the system" in all it's forms from HHS to insurance. The first video will be "premiered" at the conference this Saturday, Oct 3, and is sort of a short teaser (5-7 minutes long). After that it, and all future Family Voices videos, will be available here on the FAM site.

So if you have a story to tell, let us know!

NDHHS and West Case in Omaha Nebraska

Where to begin. Chapter One:

On December 23, of 2008, the NDHHS left a note on my door that I should call a number. I picked up the note when I got home from work around 5:30 pm. So I called the number and left a message. I am a single Father with custody of my children Alec and Olivia West. They were visiting their mother and her family for 10 days over Christmas Break when the note was left on my front door. The address on the note was incorrect, no name was on the note, just said I needed to call a number. The children returned home December 30, 2008 and in the mean time I had played phone tag with Jessica Bronw, NDHHS. We finally made phone contact and scheduled a sit down visit on Tuesday evening January 6th. The kids went to school Monday, January 5th, morning and everything seemed fine. But at 3:20 I had not recieved a call from Alec or Olivia indicating they were home from school. Well guess what, Jessica Brown had went to the schools and detained both my kids. I called the children's school to see what was going on and they would not let me talk to them but said they wre detainded by social services. I got no phone call from NDHHS, I did not get a subpeona, there was no investigation, and they just took my kids. My kids were taken to project harmony where they were questioned and had to spend the night at a foster home. So from 3:20 until 8:00 am the next morning I received no call from NDHHS indicating what was going on, I did not know where my children were and had no ideal what was happening. I called the hotline number for NDHHS and no one would tell me anything. I called the Douglas County sheriffs office and they could not tell my anything. At 8:00 am the next morning Jessica Brown finally called to let me know what had happened, but lied about the kids being questioned at school, they took them to project harmony and questioned them, they were taken in separate police cars and kept in separate rooms contrary to everything Jessica Brown had told me. This woman is a man hater and is now on the Douglas county police force. As my male attorny said, she definitely has gender bias. She also told me in our interview that this is a traditional state and women have custody of the children. As well as, she had done a back ground check on Olivia and new about Olivia's past history of truancy and running away while in her mother's care. Or one of the annonomous calls indicated the issues Olivia had while living with her mother, and there are only a hand full of people who know this. I know to date, 1 year and 6 months later that the calls to NDHHS where planned and that the children's mother Julie West had cooerced Olivia to come to live with her in Illinois. Olivia's friends are in Illinois and Indiana and she would be 16 and could have a car to go visit them. I will attach a detailed document of dates showing the inefficiencies (not following procedure) of Jessica Brown and NDHHS at the beginning of this case. Yes my case is still going on and continues to be a debacle, nightmare, lies, people in all positions lie, obstruct justice, commit perjury, violations of title 18, violations of due process, and withholding evidence -  NDHHS (7 case workers have been on the case), 2 Judges Wade Thomas and Judge Crnkovich, GAL Thomas Incontro, and therapist. I have filed 3 bar compliants, 2 discrimination suites, emailed Govenor Heinmann, sent letters to Debra Gilg US attorney for Nebraska, contacted the attorney General, sent letter to the US Dept of Justice, filed to protective orders against a therapist and social worker for harrassment, and contacted the local media at first. No one wants to listen or help with the criminal activity in this case. This is definitely about "sustainable Governement" and the federal government is part of the backer. I found out through an ex lawyer for HHS that the states receive federal funds if they have the detention hearing within some many days (10) or the adjudicate hearing within 30 days. I have learned more about Judicial misconduct, Nebraska statues for the GAL, and civil procedure. I have also been on NDHHS website and found a PDF that indicated by the year 2010 there would be approximately 1.8mm to 2.1mm ipeople living in Nebraska. And out of that population that had calculated that so many families were dysfunctional, and that x amount of children would need care. this is a targeted strategy to procduce case load, economic sustainablilty, legalized Human trafficking, job justification etc....this way they can justify paying the civil court judges $129,000 per year. In 1982 or 1992 the state legislation decided that the civil court Judges would make 92 % of the supreme court Judges. Prior to that I believe the salary range was around 60,000 per year. this was a planned government growth going forward. Also, my insurance pays for a portion of all services and rest is paid for by medicaid / medicare. I have a medical stack of Blue Cross Blue shield medical statements that is probably 1 1/2" thick. My legal documents fills 2 binders 4" thick, and my attorney's fees exceed $13,000. The government does not want you to know the process so they can make it up as they go and keep you confused. Oh by the way I filed the discriminations suites against Jessica Brown, no longer with NDHHS and Susan Stovall, no longer with NDHHS for both saying to my face, "this is a traiditional state and the women have custody" guess who you file that with.....Health and Human Services.

This is just the tip of the ice berg as I have so much more to tell. Chapter one was December 2008 thru approximately January 6th, 2009. I have the other details stored on a document that I will attach. I will send chapter 2 and keep telling my story as it has unfolded over the past 18 months. I have also spoken to others I have met and this is not the first time this type of situation has happened. HHS has been bullying people since the 1980's.