Why is the Arizona “Family Advocate” Threatening People Asking About Children in State Custody?

Image from Arizona State University website.

Brian Shilhavy
Health Impact News Editor

Maria Hoffman carries the title “Director of the Arizona Legislative Office of Family Advocacy.” The photo above is from the 2011 Awards Gala – 7th Annual Arizona Behavioral Health Awards. She is listed in the program under “Leader of Advocacy.” The description of the Gala Awards program is found here. Here is the description written about Maria Hoffman:

Maria Hoffman is the Director of the Arizona Legislative Office of Family Advocacy. Under contract to the President of the Arizona Senate and the Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, and working for all ninety members of the legislature, Ms. Hoffman is the only person at the legislature who handles CPS constituent issues directly and with the Attorney General’s Office. (Source.)

The statement “Ms. Hoffman is the only person at the legislature who handles CPS constituent issues directly and with the Attorney General’s Office” apparently means that parents who have questions about why the state seizes custody of their children can only be answered by Maria Hoffman, an unelected employee under contract with the Arizona legislature. Those elected to represent the parents and families, have to defer all questions regarding Department of Child Safety (DCS – formerly CPS) taking children away from families to her.

There are some very obvious problems with this according to parents we have spoken to. First, they would claim Maria Hoffman is no advocate at all, but rather works for the judges who order children to be taken away from parents, often through medical kidnappings in which parents disagree with doctors about the treatment of their child. They claim that if anyone dares to ask any questions about how CPS/DCS works and why Arizona is taking more children away from parents than any other state in the U.S., they are threatened with arrest and being put in jail for daring to question a judge’s order. This allegedly includes legislators as well.

Kristi Devine, who does not even live in Arizona but lives in Massachusetts, is part of a team trying to help one mother get her daughters back. She sent an email to Ms. Hoffman this week confronting her on this practice which strips all rights away from parents and their elected officials. Health Impact News was given a copy of the email (several media outlets were copied in the original email) and Ms. Hoffman’s reply. Ms. Hoffman threatened Kristi Devine with jail time and fines, even though she doesn’t live in Arizona! Here is a full copy of the email exhange:

From: Kristi Devine
Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2014 12:28 PM
To: Maria Hoffman

Subject: Urgent Matter

Dear Ms. Hoffman:

In accordance with any number of emails you have sent out, you are THE liaison between “… all ‘children and family issues’ for all members of the Arizona Senate.” You go on to say that “the people” have no right to petition legislators in the state of Arizona for anything unless they have a premonition of what is to happen, because, according to you, once anything egregious happens, there is no recourse to petition legislators as it is in the courts. That begs the question, why do you have any such job function when there is nothing to that job, and all people are shut down before they have reason to petition legislators?

I also question your job function in the wake of the fact that now, and long before, Arizona has had unbelievable and unconscionable problems with it’s CPS/DCF agency. They have been funded hundreds of millions of dollars to care for the children in their system, and yet nobody is held accountable for anything, most especially, wrongdoing that amounts to child abuse in state custody. WHO do “the people” petition their grievances to for the following when children in Arizona are being kidnapped by the state, by the very agency the Governor saw fit to abolish because it is so out of control?

CPS is breaking their own rules every single day in ways that are destroying families throughout the state, and causing far reaching and long lasting damages to Arizona’s most important, and most vulnerable, the children . . . Arizona’s and America’s future! Moreover, THEY ARE BREAKING ARIZONA’S LAWS!!!
1. CPS never filled the oversight panel.
2. CPS is not following their own laws such as holding a trial within 90 days.
3. Children are being abused while under the state’s care.
4. Arizona is taking so many children right now that there is no room to house them and they are sleeping in CPS offices. (This is stated to be over 32 children a day!)
5. Parents are screaming foul play as rights are being terminated without trials.
6. Out of state (unlicensed in this state), specialists are being hired to testify against parents at the taxpayers expense.
7. Children are being entered into drug trials, being starved without their feeding tubes and forced to have bone marrow transplants by local hospitals.
8. Judges are teaching judges that money is more important than returning the children (so make sure you check the right box so that the state can get federal funds to rip children out of loving homes with no investigation or evidence before doing so!)
9. A billionaire scientist is behind a new super computer at Phoenix Children’s hospital, which happens to be the hospital that is taking the most children in Arizona.
10. Arizona takes more children than any other state in the country.
11. Parents are gagged, and/or being threatened to be gagged, or arrested for speaking out on what is happening to their own families and children.
12. There are financial incentives to adopt children out, and away from their loving families.
13. Phoenix Children’s Hospital gets $865 every time they turn a child over to CPS.

The list goes on and on, and every citizen of Arizona’s rights, most especially parental and free speech rights, is under attack. You are not only saying there is no recourse, but are even threatening JAIL for those that speak out, and seek recourse from our legislators, and JAIL for the legislators themselves:

Again, (you say) this is a judicial matter, a federal matter, and that is why no member of the Arizona Senate or a member of the Arizona House of Representatives or the governor can get involved–that would be against our Arizona Constitution regarding “separation of powers” and against our Arizona laws and a judge would have the right to have any elected official who tries to investigate or get involved to hold that person “in contempt of court”. The fine for that could be jail time, a financial fine or a combination of the two.

And so I ask you, how do the people of Arizona speak out against wrongs and even government officials who are breaking the LAW, and how do they protect their children against the abuse and assault on them by these law breakers? What exactly do you suggest “we the people” to do in the face of such tyranny, government sanctioned kidnapping, and the destruction of families?

The Revolution was over Tea and Taxes. We seek more peaceful remedies over an assault far greater, i.e., an assault by the government on Families and Children. Please advise on how we may STOP this carnage. You seem to provide no options, and I still believe in AMERICA!

Sincerely,

Kristi L. Devine

Hoffman’s reply:

From: Maria Hoffman
To: Kristi Devine
Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2014 3:51 PM
Subject: RE: Urgent Matter

Ms. Devine: I am not a legislator–the 90 members of the Arizona Legislature–30 members of the Senate–and 60 members of the Arizona House of Representatives–make the laws.

If a bill passes out of both chambers, then the bill goes to the Governor. The Governor can veto the bill, sign the law or let it become a law without her signature.

The Legislature does not go back into session until the second Monday of January and in most cases, the bills usually go up to the Governor between May to June, which means if the bill is to become law, then it usually won’t take effect until September–in other words, September of 2015.

I do not make laws.

And, once a Superior Court Judge signs a motion/petition from the Attorney General’s Office to place a child into state custody, if the Judge signs the motion/petition to place the child in state custody, then the child is in protective custody of the Judge.

Only a Superior Court Juvenile Judge can close a case and return a child to the parent(s) or sever the child from the parent(s) and decide who adopts.

Once any matter involves a Judge of any type–a City Magistrate, a JP, a Superior Court Judge, a Court of Appeals Judge, a Supreme Court Justice–NO elected official in Arizona at any level–and this includes the Governor, members of the Arizona Legislature, a Mayor, a member of a County Board of Supervisors, etc.–can intervene in, investigate or change a decision made by a Judge.

Our Arizona laws and our Arizona constitution do not allow any intervention of any kind or change of a judicial decision by an elected official–that would be against the law.

I want to advise you on another matter. You are putting in writing statements regarding a current Superior Court Judicial matter–you are in violation of the state law regarding stating confidential matters about a state dependency matter in Superior Court/Juvenile Division. You can be held in contempt of court by the Superior Court Judge and a person doing this can be subject to a fine, jail time and/or a combination of the two.

Maria Hoffman

Ms. Devine’s reply (in part):

With regard to your claim that “You are putting in writing statements regarding a current Superior Court Judicial matter–you are in violation of the state law regarding stating confidential matters about a state dependency matter in Superior Court/Juvenile Division. You can be held in contempt of court by the Superior Court Judge and a person doing this can be subject to a fine, jail time and/or a combination of the two.”, I seek clarification for how I, or others seeking answers and transparency could be found in contempt of court when we are neither under any unconstitutional gag order, or writing statements regarding any particular case currently in Superior Court, but rather, ALL cases where children have been unjustly taken from their loving families.

Others Claim Maria Hoffman Uses Intimidation Tactics

Since launching the MedicalKidnap.com website a few weeks ago, Health Impact News has had many parents and victims contact us regarding the actions of taking children away from parents in Arizona. We asked one of them about Hoffman’s threatening response to Ms. Devine, and this is what they said:

Maria Hoffman is the funnel for all CPS issues. When the new legislature comes in this January, they will be warned and intimidated to funnel “all” CPS issues of any kind through her. She is the buffer to stop these issues.

She is used to taking away our representative form of government. When a Mom goes to her elected officials with anything to do with CPS the elected official immediately sends everything they are given to Maria Hoffman. Then Maria starts to confuse and gain the confidence of the Mom as if she was going to help the Mom.

It is difficult to find who she answers to or what her exact position is. Her contract is under 50k so there is no bidding process. You have to ask for her contract specifically from the Senate. Nothing goes through Arizona procurement.

Health Impact News also contacted someone who formerly worked in the Arizona Legislature and has had dealings with Ms. Hoffman in the past, to ask about some of the allegations made about Ms. Hoffman, and the threatening manner in which she addressed Ms. Devine. Here is what that person, who wishes to remain anonymous, stated:

As a representative of elected officials, she is standing in the way of accountability with elected officials and agencies. Hoffman threatens that Kristi and others who question her and the system are breaking state law and can be held in contempt, without backing it up by citing the law. Where is that “law”?

She is intimidating people with threats of contempt. But we don’t need a lesson in government; we know how it works.

Where is the accountability for Hoffman? She is part of what appears to be a cover-up. She is acting as a barrier to truth and transparency. The system seems to be hiding something, but Hoffman is hindering those trying to learn what it is.

Is the agency being held accountable? Parents can’t fight for themselves in this kangaroo court. Checks and balances are needed, and that IS the job of the legislative branch. The judges aren’t elected.

Why Are These Judges Ordering So Many Children to be Taken into State Custody?

The evidence seems to point to the suggestion that Maria Hoffman is not a true family advocate serving the State Legislature at all, but rather a protector of the Family Court judges removing children from homes.

Why?

We have reported previously that judges have a very large financial motive to put as many children into foster care as they can. A video clip from the Arizona Judicial Branch government website from their Dependency Video Series training Family Court Judges on how to handle Dependency cases in family court, Judge Aimee Anderson and Judge Mark Brain of Maricopa County give a presentation that instructs judges how to handle cases brought to family court by CPS. Watch this 3 minute clip:

It appears from this video that the first concern of the family courts is not justice, but federal funding. Judge Brain makes it clear that if they do not remove the child from the parent immediately, they will lose federal funding. Quote:

If you are removing a child, in a Contrary to the Welfare finding, that order is mandatory. If you do not make that finding whenever you remove that child from a placement, you’re forfeiting federal funds… The federal government says that if you did not make that (decision) right at the outset the first time through, you’re not going to get any federal money for those services, ever… CPS is going to have a kid they cannot pay for.

As we have pointed out in another article (The Medical Kidnap Business: Bilking Medicaid), a child taken into state custody can have all of their medical care billed directly to Medicaid, and this alone represents an industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars nationwide. There are other funds also available for programs like foster care. Obviously, children with medical needs present the greatest amount of federal funds the state can receive per child.

So what if the child was removed unnecessarily? What if the child actually was NOT in danger with the parents? Is it the responsibility of the family court judge to find out?

Apparently not. Here is what Judge Brain said:

What happens then when a majority of the removal team under (section) 8-822 doesn’t agree with the removal? Is the remedy to dismiss the dependency in these kinds of cases? (someone in the classroom can be heard on the video actually saying “Yes it is.”)

My answer is “no.” And the reason is that there are two ways to remove a child. CPS, yes, can go in and grab them… The second way is upon order of the court children can be removed.

Judge Brain makes it clear that his order even supersedes CPS if they are uncomfortable removing the child. If the parents don’t like it, according to Judge Brain, they can fight it out in Civil Court and pay a lot of money.

So is this training video for judges in Arizona designed to carry out their oath and seek justice for protecting families, or to fill their quota of children that need to become wards of the state in order to receive federal funds to pay everyone’s salaries and benefits? Is Maria Hoffman’s job to protect these actions by the judges from inquiring minds in both the Arizona State Legislature and their constituents?

Legislators Need to Represent their Constituents – Oppose Maria Hoffman and the Family Court Judges!

If you live in Arizona, this is a great time to contact your state legislators, particularly those who may have just been elected and have not yet been sworn into office, and tell them to oppose Maria Hoffman and her intimidation techniques, according to the parents and victims who have contacted Health Impact News. MedicalKidnap.com exists as the voice for the parents and alleged victims who claim to have suffered at the hands of CPS/DCS, Family Court judges, and medical professionals who have taken children into custody at a higher rate than any other state in the nation. They are demanding justice. MedicalKidnap.com, and now many other media sources as well, will continue to publish their stories.