Child Protection Failed to Protect Holly Collins' Children

Hennepin County Child Protection Failed to Protect Us!

My abusive father, Mark Collins and his supporters, Glenn Sacks and other Father’s Rights Organizations have boasted that child protection investigated our case several times and consistently found no indications of child abuse. During my investigation of the court process, I was distressed to find that Child Protection failed to carry out their responsibilities to properly investigate and protect me and my brother from abuse.

In September 1987 Hennepin County Child Protection became involved in our lives because they received several reports of child abuse after my father fractured my brother’s skull. My mother, a 22 year old battered woman, was too afraid to leave her abusive husband. Child protection threatened her that if she did not leave my father and take us children with her, she could faces charges of “Failure to Protect” her children. Once my mother left my father, the case was remanded from juvenile court to family court. Child Protection turned their investigation over to the Hennepin County Family Court Services.

There were several more reports made to child protection by various doctors, including our own pediatrician. However, Child Protection continually refused to become involved with our case stating that they had limited resources, and since the family court services were already involved with our case, they could not offer anything to the situation.

Hennepin County, Minnesota Child Protection Report to my mother, Holly Collins, April 26 1991:

Dear Ms. Collins,

This is to inform you that I have completed my Child Protection Assessment and no finding of maltreatment is being made. That does not mean that maltreatment did not occur. It does mean that I have not found maltreatment. As a parent, it is your responsibility to be vigilant in protecting and guarding your children from maltreatment. Any effort directed honestly and sincerely to that end is your responsibility… I wish to thank you for your concern and encourage you to continue to be vigilant in your children’s interest.

Denis O’Rourke
Child Protection

Transcripts of taped phone conversation between a Hennepin County Child Protection case worker, Greg Gardner and my mother Holly Collins, August 17 1992:

Child Protection: Child Protection is not going to be involving itself in this situation because of the involvement that I had in, like talking to the people in Court Services… So you are going to be getting a form letter that talks about the recently completed assessment and that the outcome of that assessment is the finding of no finding of abuse… The assessment was basically my review of the report and my meeting with the court services people…

Mother: You people haven’t even interviewed with the children!

Child Protection: No but the children have been interviewed by a number of other professionals and on reviewing the report that’s what I’m referring to.

Mother: So just blankly that you… that… (audible sigh) What is going on with the system here? I mean there’s something going on that is just not right and I can not believe what I am hearing. So first you tell me that you’re not getting involved. Now you’re telling me you were involved but you didn’t find any mistreatment of any child abuse.

Child Protection: Well technically speaking the involvement that I had in reviewing the files and so forth is considered a typed of assessment.

Mother: Why can’t someone talk to the children?

Child Protection: The children have been talked to by any number of people.

Mother: But not the people that are assessing whether or not they’ve been abused. Dr. Newberger, Dr. Reimherr, Fred Emilianowicz, the people that have been dealing with the children believe that they’ve been abused. Eli Newberger is one of the best in the nation dealing with child abuse.

Child Protection: Unfortunately he did not have the opportunity to talk to the other party. All he has was the children’s version of what happened… There are any number of professionals already involved in this situation and that there’s nothing unique that child protection can bring to the situation at this time.

Hennepin County Child Protection Letter to my mother Holly Collins, August 16 1992:

Dear Ms. Collins,

I am writing as a follow up to our recent telephone conversation and to clarify the attached letter.

As I stated during our telephone conversation , the “Assessment “ referred to in the attached letter was an assessment completed by myself, consisting of my review of the written materials made available to me, and discussions and meeting I had wit Hennepin County Family Court personnel.

The determination of no finding of maltreatment is based primarily on the fact that these incident occurred some time ago…The decision that protection services are not needed at this time is based on the fact that there are a number of mandated reporting professionals already involved in this situation. There are currently no services that could be provided by Child Protection Services that are not already being provided by one or more of the already involved professionals. As stated above, all of these professionals are mandated reporters, who are aware of child protection services area of responsibility…

Sincerely,
Greg Gardner,
Child Protection Services

Upon trying to attain further records from child protection, I have found that my father, as the suspected abuser, had the right to have the records be destroyed. Why would he have done this if he didn’t have anything to hide?

Why do abusers appear to have more rights then the victims?

How can Glenn Sacks and his followers consider this an adequate investigation?