story1

(Editor's note: This is the first of several articles we're publishing about Cape May County families who have dealt for good or for worse, with the Division of Youth and Family Services. )

Have you ever thought of yourself as a child abuser or neglector? If you ever had a rough morning and sent your son or daughter to school looking rumpled and disheveled -- maybe needing a haircut, someone may indeed stick you in that category.

It is possible that a teacher in your child's school could make a referral to the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) to have you, as a parent, investigated for neglect because of a wrinkled outfit or tangled hair.

"We do get many school district referrals regarding a child coming in unkempt. School personnel are given a lot of discretion. We try not to second-guess," said DYFS spokesman, Joseph Delmar, from his Trenton office.

In fact, according to the DYFS report, "Child Abuse and Neglect in New Jersey 1997-1998," the classifications of neglect and psychological/emotional abuse account for most of the reported cases. There is a lot of room for value judgments, both personal and cultural, by school employees and anonymous tipsters.

The stated goal of DYFS seems straightforward: "To protect vulnerable children, support family preservation and prevent family violence and disruption. Most parents do not intend to harm their children or place them at risk of harm. However, the stress of personal, work-related or family problems, or lack of knowledge about parenting may compromise the well-being of families and put children at risk of harm."

Here's where it becomes murky. One of the criteria for substantiating a finding of neglect states, "Homelessness - a family is currently or about to become homeless, or a family lives in housing that is grossly inadequate or that is in disrepair."

Karen Jones (a pseudonym), a mother of three, left her husband and their father when he became abusive. She was employed and moved into a one-bedroom apartment in an upscale neighborhood in Avalon because of the quality of its schools. It was more expensive than a two-or three-bedroom apartment in a terrible neighborhood, but she wanted a safe haven for her children.

Her three daughters slept in the bedroom and she slept on a pullout couch in the living room. A disapproving neighbor called DYFS anonymously and reported child abuse.

DYFS sent out an investigator who listed the abuse allegation as unfounded but decided the "housing was not adequate to the needs of the family." Her children were taken from her until "adequate housing could be obtained," according to the report Karen received from DYFS. The children were placed under foster care.

"Partially," said Karen, "I got two of my kids back. But they said I (had) to get a bigger place if I want my whole family together. If I knew this was going to happen (with DYFS) I'd have stayed with my drunken husband."

Another reason for referral as listed in the official handbook is perhaps the one that lends itself to the most judgmental discretion: Emotional Abuse.

It is defined by DYFS as "a child's behavior is causing a disturbance or disruption in the home, school or community." The DYFS book states that the abuse can be "Parent Related," where a parent's actions may be the result of being "overwhelmed due to life stresses such as marital problems, care of several children, lack of social support" or that the parent "is unable to provide consistent child care or maintain needed relationships with other adults."

It was under this "Emotional Abuse" category that the story of Jerry and Debbie Hall, of North Cape May, falls. The nightmare for the Halls started in February 2000 with a simple school hall fight between one of their two daughters (to protect her privacy she will be called Suzy in this article) and another girl, both of whom attended the Richard M. Teitelman School in Lower Township.

The school has a zero tolerance policy toward any kind of violence, however minor or non-injurious. The incident was witnessed by an adult employee of the school, Derrick McQueen, according to Suzy. He told her to go to the principal's office, which she did.

According to Debbie Hall, the problem escalated when she complained that the other girl involved in the ruckus was not suspended, contrary to the school's own policy.

"I felt that my daughter was not being treated fairly. 1 told (Vice Principal Joanne) Goodman that (Suzy) was the victim here. The other girl was allowed to stay in school." Hall said Goodman told her that the other girl was allowed to remain in school because she (the other girl in the fight) "will be moving in two weeks."

At that point Debbie Hall became incensed."It's either zero tolerance or it's not, I told her," said Hall of her conversation with Goodman. (Goodman declined to comment on anything for this story.)

Debbie Hall called the school every day of her daughter's suspension to continue to ask why the other girl was not punished. It was her persistence - Debbie admitted to being a nuisance, but she said she pestered Goodman because she felt the punishment was unfair - that she believes led to the involvement of DYFS.

"I feel like Anne Frank," said Debbie, sitting in the living room of her small frame house. "I have a new sympathy for the people who lived under Hitler - scared by a knock at the door or a car you don't recognize in the driveway."

She's lost her health; she and her husband lost their savings and their sense of security and nearly lost their minds in their dealings with DYFS, but most terrifying of all, they almost lost their family.

Her husband, a street-wise Philadelphian, believes he knows exactly where it began and how, although he still has trouble accepting that it happened in America. "It was the ones at the school not liking my wife's attitude. She is very protective of our daughter, both our daughters," Jerry Hall said.

According to Debbie, shortly after Suzy returned to school she was taken out of class and questioned by Gail Tweed, a school district employee who acted as a follow-up counselor for anger management matters, and Gail Schmidtchen, a Teitelman guidance counselor. According to I tall, Schmidtchen is "tight with Goodman". (Goodman was given business cards to distribute to Tweed and Schmidtchen so they could comment on the facts of this story, but they never called this newspaper.)

It was a referral from Schmidtchen that triggered DYFS involvement. Schmidtchen filed a complaint stating that in a conversation, which she had alone with Suzy, who is a special education student, the girl, "reports that her father is a heavy drinker and that he is verbally abusive to her when Mom isn't home".

Prior to filing the complaint that switched on the state's bureaucratic DYFS machinery, Schmidtchen did not attempt to talk to Jerry or Debbie about the alleged allegations, the Balls said.

In addition to the "verbal abuse allegations," Schmidtchen also stated that Jerry had hit their other daughter "with a belt one months ago," and she noted that Suzy "was referred for anger management."

Suzy has consistently denied ever making these staternents. She denied it to the DYFS investigator. She denied it to the family's attorney. She denied it to the Superior Court judge. She denied it to this newspaper.

After speaking to Suzy, Schmidtchen sent for her sister (referred to here as Jane) and questioned her, again alone. According to Jane, Schmidtchen asked why her father had hit her. Jane said her father never hit her. She's repeated the same answer to anyone who has ever asked her if Jerry has hit her, including the DYFS investigator and the judge. The DYFS complaint that was eventually filed against the Halls is for "Emotional Abuse."

Once a referral is made, DYFS staffers have steps they are required to follow. The division assigned an investigator to look into the allegations against the Halls. On March 2, 2000, DYFS worker Dena Zorzi Roldolfo interviewed the children at their school. According to her report, she heard a vastly different story from Jane than she did from Suzy, the one who had been in trouble with the school for the fight that resulted in her suspension.

Jane denied that any physical violence went on at home or that her father was in any way abusive. She did admit that "he would yell." Roldolfo's report said Suzy, however, told her "that her father became angry at least two times a week and that she was afraid when he was drinking and throwing things." Roldolfo chose to discount what Jane had told her and believe unquestioningly what Suzy had said.

The average DYFS worker has a caseload of 40 cases at any one time and is not given the luxury of getting to know situations in minute detail, said DYFS spokesman Delmar. The heavy workload can create a hurried atmosphere in which decision can sometimes be called rash.

Suzy denies most of the allegations in the Roldolfo report and insists that others were taken out of context. Since the interrogations were conducted without anyone else present, there is no independent method of verification.

As a result of her school interview with the girls, Roldolfo went to the Halls' home. Debbie Hall now says that she did not know what was going on when the DYFS worker showed up. A few minutes earlier she had heard a jumbled and terrified account of what had taken place in school from her two adolescent daughters. She was confused, she said. When the DYFS worker showed up at the door the girls became "almost hysterical". "I never saw them act like that", said their mother.

She said that despite her daughters' terror, she spoke openly with Roldolfo, who seemed genuinely concerned for her family's welfare. She told her of marital problems she and Jerry had had in the recent past. She said the problems were caused by the disruptive presence of a stepchild who had since moved, but that she had gone so far as to retain a lawyer and initiate divorce proceedings. However things were working out now and her family was healing and everything was pretty normal.

Debbie said when she mentioned the prior marital problem, Roldolfo's "eyes lit up like she had something." Court documents state that Roldolfo explained to Debbie Hall that DYFS was "concerned about Mr. Hall's temper and drinking issues, particularly since both girls had reported these things were occurring when Mrs. Hall was not at home. Ms. Roldolfo told Mrs. Hall she was recommending that Mr. Hall seek counseling. Ms Roldolfo advised Mrs. Hall that the children should not be left alone with Mr. I fall."

All these conclusions were arrived at by the DYFS worker prior to ever having spoken to Jerry Hall and without any reports from mental health professionals as to the state of mind of the children at the time of their interrogation at school by a stranger with apparent authority over them. According to Debbie. Roldolfo advised her in subsequent conversations that, among other things, she should make her husband move out and that she should continue with the divorce.

Court documents state: "On March 10, 2000 Ms. Roldolfo met with Mr. Hall at home. Mr. Hall was extremely angry that DYFS was involved with the family. asserting that people were "setting him up" and that DYFS should investigate the persons who make referrals to the agency. Mr. Hall denied any problems with drinking and/or anger management. Ms. Roldolfo advised Mr. Hall that he needed counseling. This was Roldolfo's first meeting with Jerry Hall who told her he did not believe he needed their services. At that point. Ms. Roldolfo indicated that due to the seriousness of the situation, DYFS was contemplating filing a court action."

Jerry also asserts that Roldolfo told him his wife was divorcing him, that his marriage was over and he should leave. "You must face it now," Jerry alleges Roldolfo told him. Roldolfo would not comment for this story, directing all inquiries to spokesman Delmar.

The "cards," sarcastic notes written by Jerry on index cards mocking DYFS's criticisms of the Halls' parenting skills, are important because Roldolfo based her finding of emotional abuse in her investigative summary substantially on their existence.

She writes, in part, "The ease is going to be opened for services. Physical abuse is Unsubstantiated. Emotional abuse was substantiated due to Mr. Hall leaving the children cards with (social worker's) name/number telling them to call her when they need something and leaving the trophy (World's Worst Mother) out for them to see. This behavior by Mr. Hall is an ongoing problem that has caused emotional harm to the children since he fails to see how his behavior negatively impacts his children."

Then to make everybody happy, Jerry moved out into a rundown property he was refurbishing, the Halls said. Debbie told Roldolfo, who congratulated her and offered support.

Jerry had also been in contact with Roldolfo and told her that he was not opposed to counseling (he and his wife had gone previously to a marriage counselor), but that he believed it was more the meddling of strangers that had exacerbated any normal problems that might exist in their home.

"We have the same problems and tensions any home has raising teenagers," Jerry said in one of several interviews with this newspaper. "These strangers came into our home and made all kinds of judgments and gave all kinds of advice before they even talked to me, just like the school. Then Mrs. Roldolfo kept telling my wife one thing and me another, playing us against each other. She kept saying that my wife didn't love me anymore and was filing for divorce, and I better accept that and get help for my 'problem.' That did make me angry," Jerry admits.

However, he maintains that the card-leaving and trophy stunt was the worst of his behavior, and the other accusations made by Roldolfo are "just not true."

Asked why he would accept what the DYES worker said about his wife at face value, he answered, "Well, I thought she was the expert and that she was supposed to help. Why would she lie about what my wife was saying?"

"She (Roldolfo) said she just wanted to help me and my girls. Just like (Teitelman Vice Principal Joanne) Goodman and the school people do until you tell them you don't like something they did or question them about what they did or complain about their treatment of your own child," said Debbie, visibly recoiling at the memory. After just one week. Jerry could no longer stand being away from his family and moved back in. Debbie telephoned Roldolfo to tell her the news. She left a message with Rosemarie Sandberg, the supervisor. The message was relayed to Roldolfo. Then, according to Debbie's written statement for her attorney, "About 20 minutes later, Mrs. Roldolfo called me screaming."

"Mrs. Roldolfo was very angry, and yelling at me over the phone," Debbie said. Debbie said she became ill as a result of the phone call and required medical treatment.

Coincidentally or otherwise, her health deteriorated badly throughout this entire experience. After the school incident but before DYFS first showed up at her home, Debbie was diagnosed as having ovarian cancer. This past March and again in May, she underwent surgery at Shore Memorial Hospital. Her treatment continues today.

"The doctor says I'm not supposed to get stressed, but these people terrify me and I live in fear every day that they will take my children away. I cry a lot," Debbie said

In the meantime, DYFS, represented by attorney Tara Catanese, of the office of the New Jersey Attorney General, went to court against the Halls, charging both of them with "Emotional Abuse."

After selling a rental property to pay their attorney's fees (to date they've paid approximately $18,000 in legal fees), they hired Michael Sorensen to defend them against these charges.

Sorensen declined to comment specifically for this story because the case is ongoing, but he left it to the Halls to make their own decisions. He did say that under the adversarial system of courts, these kinds of cases were costly because they were so time consuming and the state has almost unlimited resources paid for by the taxpayer. He also explained that since these types of cases were not criminal, the defendants were not given the same Constitutional protections as criminal defendants, such as a right to counsel.

Additionally, he said, because most of these cases are brought under the civil law rather than the criminal, the standard of proof is different than for someone accused of a crime. It is much easier for the state to prove its case under the civil standard, which is known as preponderance of evidence. That means the judge only has to be 51 percent sure that the allegations occurred instead of 80 percent sure under the more stringent, "beyond a reasonable doubt," in criminal complaints.

On Jan. 4, 2001, a fact-finding hearing was held before Judge Valerie Armstrong. At the end of it, she declined to enter the relief asked for by DYFS: a Title 9 judgment, stating in part, "The conflict and tension were not so severe that the children needed to be removed in order to be protected, and the issues were not so extreme that the entry of a Title 9 judgment would serve a valid purpose. Consequently, the court concludes that the Hall family `was in need of services' at the time the complaint was filed. N.J.S.A. 30:4c-12. No finding is made pursuant to Title 9."

As some legal experts see it, this is a problem with the law as it is written, and the courts must follow the law. Attorney Andrew Jackson, a criminal defense lawyer in Philadelphia who is a recognized expert in Constitutional law, told this newspaper, "The theory behind the law is clear. It was to allow for resolution without stigmatization because of the involvement of children. However that is not how it ends up working. What really happens is that you have all the police powers of the state, in this matter DYFS, brought to bear against the average citizen in a matter that is critical in their lives, the custody of their own children," he said

"And because it is not technically a criminal matter the powerful protections of the United States Constitution are not granted to them. And the do-gooders get to make a lot of personal judgement calls because the law is so vague. Plus, they (bureaucrats) suffer no consequences for making bad, incomplete or inaccurate (decisions). The only thing you can hope is that the people accused are really guilty because, if not, they are ruined, even if they are later exonerated." Jackson Concluded.

According to DYFS spokesman Delmar, under NJSA, the division is required to send local and state police agencies certain identifying information regarding all substantiated incidents of child abuse and neglect in their jurisdictions. These accusations are then placed into three categories: 1) substantiated, 2) unsubstantiated, 3) unfounded. This is more information than is found on most criminal defendants. If the court renders a Title 9 judgment the defendant's name is then placed on a Central Registry of Abuse and Neglect, which is what DYFS wanted done to the Halls.

The judge declined but that was not the end of DYFS's involvement with the Halls, who continue a desperate and costly fight to keep their children.

After their most recent appearance before Superior Court Judge Kyran Connor on Thursday, Aug. 9, Jerry Hall again sat down and wrote about his frustration.

"The fact that our children (could) be taken away and even put up for adoption ... as my wife and I discuss this, it is impossible to keep in the anger and heartbreak caused by someone else for no reason."

"We have done nothing wrong (and) we are not bothered by the thought of going to jail (for doing what we believe is right). But to even consider the thought of our children (being) taken and possibly given away (to adoption)... this is bribery in the highest sense of the word. This is certainly not justice."

Part 1	Part 2	Part 3	Part 4	Part 5	Part 6	Part 7	Part 8	Part 9	Part 10
Part 11	Part 12	Part 13	Part 14	Part 15	Part 16	Part 17	Part 18	Part 19	Part 20