My prayers will be with you. I wish the best for you!

DHS (the Oregon Department of Human Services). I don't know even where to start about these bastards. It was DHS, which brought me to the perception that just because you have a college degree it doesn't make you any smarter with real-life interaction. Most of their employees are book smart and people-stupid. It should be a mandatory requirement for any company or agency which deals with and dictates policy into human lives that they complete an internship living with and experiencing what is involved in the lives of the kinds of people whose care they will become responsible for. If you have no idea what its like to stand in the other's shoes, you can't help them or be very compassionate. DHS is abusive from within too. My only living close friend works for, of all things, DHS! He has worked for the state for almost 20 years. He does not have a college degree. On weekends, instead of enjoying, he sneaks down to his office and works on his cases, sometimes for a whole eight hours on Saturday and Sunday, without pay, because he has too many cases and DHS will not give him any help. He tells me, "these people can't wait forever, they need help now, not next week, not being put on another stack of files, not be told to come back. I can't get any sleep at night if I do not do my best and help." He has told me many times, "if DHS knew I was down here working they would fire me." Sometimes, he goes down Friday night and brings the DHS computer home, and works at home all weekend, then sneaks back Sunday night and puts it back. And, he works every weekend, without pay. My friend's compassion is a rarity for a DHS worker. But, like, I, said, no college degree, worked up through the ranks, family life was never that great, and, thus, my friend has a feel for those he must help. We became friends through a real odd-ball event. My friend Thomas, who had brain cancer came to be under the overseeing care of DHS. DHS should stand for the Devil's Hell System; how can we assist in throwing you into the fires of hell? Anyway, I took care of Thomas for 18 months, until the stress of dealing with Thomas' cancer and DHS got me on June 30, 2007, and I suffered a heart attack. Immediately, like the next morning, his worker showed up at my hospital bed to tell me I couldn't take care of Thomas any more, unless I, not they, could find another care provider. I found another care provider (care providers are licensed through DHS, as, I had, as Thomas' illness worsened). Using a long list given me by DHS, I found a lady I thought would work and allow Thomas to stay in our home. He was also my roommate. The first day the new care provider was in our home she refused to give him any ice cream because he didn't eat his dinner! And, the next day, I caught her stealing his pain medication and ordered her out-of-the-house. DHS immediately removed Thomas from our home and put him in a local concentration camp called Beaverton Rehabilitation. They, using their on-sight notary, drew up a document changing his power-of-attorney from me to them. Thomas didn't even know what he was signing, he did not have a clue. Following that I was no longer permitted to bring him home, or even take him outside. He died there on August 3, 2007, after they pumped him full of morphine. Thomas and I had an agreement and that was to never allow morphine. I had no power, I could not stop them from killing him. And DHS approved it all. After he passed I filed a complaint with another wing of DHS, Adult Protective Services, abot the care provider who stole his medication and about Beaverton Rehab. I, to this day have never been allowed to learn the results of that investigation. But, one thing I can tell you, the woman who stole his medication is still to this very day working as a licensed care provider, under Home Care Worker Program coordinated and operated by DHS. Thomas had communicated to me that upon his death he wished to be cremated and I was to take his ashes and scatter them at Mt. Tabor Park in Portland, Oregon. I had even worked it out with the great guy who is the County Coroner for Washington County, Oregon. He was kind enough to arrange for a free cremation. He told me "as soon as Thomas is ready I will personally call you. He called me a couple of days after Thomas passed, and said, "Mr. Howard, I'm really sorry, but, I never received Thomas' body. Beaverton Rehab donated his body to science. There will be no cremation." I dug around a little bit to see if I could stop the process. DHS said it was out of their hands. It should have never been in their hands. What I found out was Thomas was in a freezer, his head removed. And, that is the last I ever knew of my friend. Getting back to how I met my friend who works for DHS, on the morning I had the heart attack I knew what was going on, but, I couldn't just leave Thomas home alone. He weighed only 60 pounds (he was 5 foot 9 inches tall). I got him dressed, in his wheelchair, and then called a cab. The hospital admitted me immediately, but, I had no one to give Thomas to. So, there we were. I was in my hospital bed, and Thomas parked next to me in his wheelchair. The hospital said "he can't stay here all night!" Thomas looks at the nurse and says "oh, that's ok, I'll go outside to the bus shelter and hang out there till morning." He was such a sweetie. That's when I said "that's not going to happen." "I need to call Adult Protective Services." It was 6pm on a Friday night, and get this, Adult Protective Services, like all state agencies, close at 5pm on Friday, and does not open till 8am on Monday. Well, that's real protection! (Thomas' cancer caused memory losses, this was just the tip of the issues - I remember he always said, "its one thing to lose your mind, its another thing to know your losing it.") So, I'm trying to think, who to call? Thomas, spouts off, "you, know, last year," and he paused, for a long time. He nodded a lot too. He hated what was happening to him. His journey, had been long, from American scientist - to trying to beat the grim reaper. Thomas, had nodded away. So, now, I'm back looking through, of all things, the Yellow Pages, the book! I look up from the book and Thomas is wide awake looking at me. I asked him, so, what's up? That was, sort of, our secret-code, to let him know he had lost track of the conversation, and he had been talking. "What are you looking for, he asks? Some safe place YOU can spend the night! You don't have to look in there. He hands me a piece of paper with a phone number on it, he had removed from his wallet. He says, "last year when that caseworker called, after hours, I wrote her phone number down." He could always pull a rabbit out of a hat, even, when there was no hat. We called the number, and a guy answered. I told him about my plight, and, he said, "where did you get this number? I live in Salem (50 miles from where we were) and I'm almost home!!" After a couple of minutes of combative conversation I hung up on him. Within seconds, my phone rang. This guy says, "I'm not even suppose to be talking to you. I'm not your worker. I'll be there as soon as I can." Without the guy's help, Thomas and I, both, might have had to go to the bus shelter till morning. I would have never let him go alone. James found Thomas a nice caring place to stay for a couple of days, and remained our friend till Thomas died, and continues to remain my friend, and if DHS knew this, they would fire him. DHS, after finding out what James had done rang him through the ringer. He almost was fired. Its documented in his work-file. Next, time, DHS said, you'll be fired. DHS, in Oregon, is Children's Services. While in their care children have been abused, killed, and sent to Mexico, even though they were U.S. citizens. They are the scum of the earth. Oregon agencies hold more power than our courts. And, always remember, if you think they're on your side, hey, they all eat lunch together... I'll keep you in my prayers... +1 "It does matter what you believe, but, what you believe does not matter if you do not act upon your beliefs." you can not vote on the truth --Pope John Paul II, 1995 Television was invented by Utah boy, 14 (1921): http://www.farnovision.com Make Money Writing $$$: http://www.xomba.com/referral/7777ea2e

Our grandson belongs with family!!!!! My prayers are with you and I believe the final victory will be yours.

Justice is so hard to find nowadays, my support goes out to you and your family. Please take care of them. Good Luck and Godspeed.

I have heard too many stories like this, not only in the US but in Canada and other countries as well. There is no justice for family members trying to make a difference in a child's life today. Never give up the fight!