Mom Beats the Bureau

Mother Warriors Voice interviewed Shacarius Wright in Milwaukee after her bitter, but successful, battle to reunite her family.

 MWV: The Bureau of Child Welfare arrived at your home with police on March 26. How did it all start?

Shacarius:  MPS (Milwaukee Public Schools) was the start. I’d been fighting them for three years. So they made false anonymous calls to the Bureau. They claimed that the kids were abused and I had a nervous breakdown. I only found this out when I pulled the paperwork later.

Three police came with two squad cars and one paddy wagon. They threatened to break in my door. They said they had an order to take kids. Said I couldn’t pick up my phone to call anyone.

They put my oldest son, 8-years old, in handcuffs! He was scared and running behind furniture. He didn’t want to be taken from his mom.  I had to calm him down to stop the police from manhandling him. I calmed down the younger kids who were hysterical. They put my handcuffed child in the back of their squad car. They said they were taking him to the mental hospital.

Bureau worker John Pertusuich put the other kids in his car. I told the kids I loved them and will find them and get them back. I asked Pertusuich to place them with relatives. He said no.

MWV: The Wisconsin Statute requires the Bureau worker to tell you why he is taking the children and that you have a right to a jury trial in 30 days. Did he tell you that?

Shacarius: No! Bureau worker John Pertusuich  said "This ought to teach you a lesson to mess with MPS and BMCW (Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare)."

MWV: Had you been messing with MPS and the Bureau?

Shacarius: No. They were messing with me. MPS had done six fraudulent IEP’s on my oldest son. (That’s an evaluation of a child with learning, behavioral or emotional disorders).  I was never present. I didn’t now they were being done. And I never saw a copy. I never found out the in depth information about the IEP’s until I put my kids in another school.

As a parent I was angry. They claimed my son needed to wear a helmet, and needed a person with him with a walky talky. But they never contacted me to tell me this! Once they suspended him and claimed he was banging his head. But the principal wouldn’t let me talk to the person who witnessed this.

I took lots of actions to stop MPS. I called school board members. I went to NAACP, Wisconsin FACET, my kids pediatrician, Disability Rights, and State Representative Jason Fields. MPS told Disability Rights that they were going to take out the fraudulent stuff from my son’s folder. But they didn’t. I even called the police after the principal physically assaulted my son. They wouldn’t do anything because the school said my son had behavior problems and showed them the false IEP.

The school problems got worse and the cycle continued. They would make complaints, but never notify me. One night after a bitter argument with the Congress school principal, two squad cars cornered me outside my house. The principal claimed I had physically attacked her! I spent a week in jail. That criminal case is still pending. 

MWV: How did the Bureau get involved?

Shacarius: My kids started telling me that school staff were pulling them out and asking them about me. Do I whup them, feed them etc. I told the principal they were wrong to question my children when there was no evidence of harm, or request by the children.

Then Safety Services showed up offering "voluntary" services. But the worker acted like it was not voluntary and was bullying me.  I called her supervisor and got a new worker. When MPS kept up with problems, I went up the chain of command in Safety Services asking for help.  Eventually they wrote me to say my case was closed.

I contacted the Bureau again after a school official assaulted my child in Nov 08. They said they don’t get involved with MPS. John Petersuich sent a letter saying I should contact DPI and the school board. Then he said they had gotten anonymous calls about me. Now he wanted to meet with me!

Neighbors told me that they saw Bureau workers looking in my windows. I demanded a meeting with the Bureau Supervisor. I complained to both the Milwaukee and Madison Bureau Directors. I also got the Bureau Ombudsman to issue a finding that the Bureau had failed to investigate the school within 24 hours after my son was physically abused.

In January Petersuich and Carolyn Lee, his supervisor questioned me for hours. They said they would give me copies of the anonymous calls from the last three years! I asked why they never investigated them before. Carolyn Lee said they screen out calls that seem untrue. I had no indication that they wanted to take my children.

MWV: When the Bureau took the kids, did they keep them in school?

Shacarius: They took them out of Holy Redeemer in March and never returned them for the rest of the school year! When I asked why, a Bureau mediator said that that is the least of their concerns.

MWV: How long did the Bureau keep your son at the mental hospital?

Shacarius: After a day or two later they put him at St. Amelian’s. I questioned why he was there. I did get a call from the hospital doctor who said my son’s reaction to the forced separation was a normal.

I didn’t see my three children again for two weeks. Then we had a two-hour visit supervised by Children’s Service Society, the adoption agency. The other kids told me they were placed in two different foster homes.

MWV: Didn’t St. Amelian’s get the 12 million Bureau contract after La Causa closed?

Shacarius: Yea. It’s also some type of treatment center for behaviorally disturbed.

MWV: What happened in court?

Shacarius: I knew to ask for a trial because you had given me that Welfare Warriors’ packet. About 25 family and friend went with me to court. John Petersuich told my friends and an advocate from Justice 2000 that I pissed people off "in high places." He said he didn’t want to take my kids but he had to.

I kept demanding a trial. They still never said why my kids were taken. Petersuich mentioned the school/ police problems. But he admitted he had no proof of anything.

MWV: Did you tell the judge you wanted a jury trial?

Shacarius:. Judge Rosa asked if I wanted a lawyer. I said, "Yes I want an attorney and a jury trial."  No one gave me the CHIPS petition. So I still never knew what was going on. The judge did order them to place the kids together. But he only gave me two hours supervised visits twice a week!   

In Between court appearances the Bureau tried to gang-bang me at meetings with eight workers. But I brought 15 people with me. I still never saw the CHIPS Petition. The Bureau said I was suicidal, unfit, mentally ill, not taking care of my kids’ medical needs and schooling. They tried to get me to sign a bunch of blank forms. I refused to sign them since that is entrapment.

MWV: Did you agree to meet any conditions?

Shacarius: I never agreed to conditions. I just insisted they give the kids back or PROVE my guilt.

I finally got the CHIPS a month later. (The law says I was supposed to get it at the first appearance.) It was about 15 pages long!  It talked about anonymous calls and mental illness. It included a call from the Mayor’s office--the same day they took my kids!.

I had gone to the mayor’s office about the school problems. Michael Miller said that he would talk to the school as a neutral party. The CHIPs position said Miller called them saying I was mentally ill and jeopardizing the kids’ schooling. But most of the stuff on the CHIPS were lies. So I don’t know what he said. At the trial his secretary said she called the Bureau because the school told her to!

MWV: Ah HA! One of the people in high place you offended. What did you do to get your kids back home? How long did it take you?

Shacarius: The Bureau kept refusing to place my kids with relatives. It took about five appearances before Judge Rosa finally made them follow his order. They put two kids with my mom and one with his father’s great aunt.

Bureau worker Alesha White lied to the judge all the time. She told him that I refused to sign their forms. Never said they were blank. And she said I only gave my kids junk food--because I brought them birthday treats! She even accused me of not properly talking to my kids.

To stop the Bureau I contacted CPAC (Citizens Protecting Abused Children).  CPAC listened on three-way calls and heard Alesha White’s lies and threats. We went to her supervisor with the tapes to show how Alesha violated their own rules. The Bureau removed Alesha White due to her unethical, fraudulent behavior.

For awhile I was without visits. They accused me of threatening a visitation supervisor.  But since I had taped all my visits and calls, we could prove their lies.

MWV: How Long before you got longer visits? When were the kids returned?

Shacarius: It took several months.  By July I had extended visits with all three children. Within another month I had unsupervised and then overnight visits. The new Bureau worker, Deb Guillermo, was not hassling me like Alesha White did.

            Finally before school started I was keeping two kids at home all week. After school began I got my third son back. So after five months we were finally all back together!

MWV: Was your lawyer helpful?

Shacarius: NO. Put that in bold. I had to fire my first lawyer, David Lang. He did nothing to help me get my trial in the 30 days required.  In the courtroom he announced, "My client thinks she can beat the Bureau." I frantically told him "Dismiss yourself right now. You’re fired."

Judge Rosa agreed to appoint one more attorney only. He gave me Kari Cleghorn. I thought I could find a private attorney. But they wanted a $50,000 retainer! They said I had too many witnesses and trials are expensive.

At first Kari Cleghorn seemed okay.  But when I asked about my trial in 30 days, she claimed that was a statute from another state!  She never did anything she said. She refused to file a dismissal—said there is no such thing. She never answered my calls or my advocates’ calls. She said she had no problem with the Bureau lying. She failed to appear at meetings with the DA, GAL and the Bureau.

Kari Cleghorn never looked at my list of witnesses. When I accused her of having poor ethics, she said she would not discuss her ethics. She never talked to me or any witnesses before the trial.

MWV: When was the trial? What happened?

Shacarius: The trial was at the end of September. The DA offered me a deal—a six month extension and we could forget about the trial. They asked for my counter offer. I said I wanted the Bureau to keep out of my life for 6 months… and then for the rest of my life.

So we went to trial. The DA finally provided a list of the their witnesses. My lawyer did nothing. She refused to talk to my witnesses, even the three advocates who were in court with me for all hearings.

MWV: How did the trial go?

Shacarius: It was another gang bang ! The state had witnesses from schools, the mayor’s office, a neighbor, Rogers Memorial Hospital, Children’s Hospital. They presented NO evidence. Lots of "he-said. she-said." Cleghorn never objected. The DA questioned me for two days. Robert Rondini, the lawyer for my son, antagonized me, interrupted me continuously, accused me, mocked me and my advocates. Yet his client never appeared.

MWV: Did your lawyer call your witnesses?

Shacarius: NO. Even the three advocates who waited for three days were sent home. She called one witness only, my advocate from Wraparound Reach, by telephone! She asked her about three questions. The court lawyers mocked her English accent and pretended they couldn’t understand her.

Kari Cleghorn closed the trial without calling any of my rebuttal witnesses. She called no police from the school episode or the police liason I dealt with. She called no advocates from Justice 2000, or Disability Rights or CPAK; no Bureau Ombudsmen; no Alderman or State Representative. She called no relative; no godmother; no doctor; no therapist; no pediatrician; no daycare owners or staff; no friends; no school board member.

MWV: Do you think your family received  justice in Children’s Court?

Shacarius: No. It was biased from the start. It took 6 months to get my trial that was supposed to take place in 30 days! Despite only hearing one side of the story, Judge Rosa found for the state, which I am appealing. He believed everything the other side said. He even complemented my lawyer! He said it was a very close case. Had the trial been about evidence, and if my witnesses had been called, and the truth been told, me and my family would have won.

MWV: What do you think about Milwaukee’s Child Welfare Bureau?

Shacarius: They are government mafia, murderers, rapists and terrorists.  They do everything that they say they are fighting against, everything they accuse terrorists of doing. If they can’t get the person they should, they go after anyone they can get. They murder kids in foster care and place kids in homes where they are raped. No mother and no child asks to go through this. They rape families by stealing mothers and children of our innocence.

This is an extreme systematic problem. Something has to have gone wrong in their lives to think they are doing a good job. They milk the kids and the moms for money by putting them through mandatory therapies, AODA etc. They keep money circulating in their communities.