Save Jackson Bortz!

Dear Friends,

I am so sorry it has taken so long to update you all on how we are doing. Hehe, let’s just say, life with twins is crazy. The twins are now almost 16 months old. Both of them are walking (or running) in opposite directions. They are both very sweet, but have very different personalities too.

Chapin is cuddly, and a flirt. He loves animals, and is often found using the dog as his pillow while drinking his bottle. He communicates in grunts, although is starting to pick up a few words.

Talen is more independent, and is the joker of the family. He reminds us a lot of Jackson at his age. He is very verbal, and while you can’t understand all he says, his vocabulary is rapidly expanding. Both boys love their brother, especially when playing.

Jackson is doing wonderfully too. He is working hard on his school work, and at age 5 is reading, and doing 2nd grade math. His favorite things to do include playing outside with his friends or playing with his Lego Bionicle toys, collecting pokeman cards and of course, playing with his brothers.

Don and I are both continuing to work in the business we started, and we recently bought a house. We love having 3 ½ acres and a cul’de’sac for the kids to play! We are also hoping to reintroduce the bill we were working on last year. Hopefully it will pass this year. Anyhow we hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and wish everyone a safe and happy 2008!

-Don, Rachel, Jackson, Chapin and Talen Bortz

Hello,

You will probably remember us. Last year, after the crib death of our grandson, Dylan, and subsequent, unwarranted removal of his brother Jackson from his grandparent’s home, we mounted a campaign to save Jackson from DFCS custody. Thanks to so many people in the news media, Jackson was safely returned in April to his parents, Don and Rachel Bortz. Experiencing the trauma of the Georgia DFCS and seeing the misery and arbitrary persecution of so many parents, we decided to mount a campaign to change our Georgia Code in very significant ways. A small rag tag group of parents and students has been quietly meeting and studying the laws with a vision and purpose of securing relief and due process for hundreds of thousands of parents and children around Georgia. http://www.savejacksonbortz.com

After a year of meeting together and talking about our Georgia DFCS concerns, we are now ready to testify Thursday March 15, 2007 to the Judiciary Committee.

We are proposing that Georgia begin to lead the way protecting parents and children’s rights. By opening the deprivation juvenile court hearings, parents, relatives, friends and news media will have access to the court proceedings. These vulnerable families will no longer be hidden behind the secret veil. Georgia will make a landmark decision to open the court through passage of SB278.

We propose to make significant changes to the Georgia Code regarding families; by opening the court, by restricting the state from immediately offering a child for adoption on the day they are removed from the home without due process, and by allowing a jury trial for termination of parental rights

When we spoke with you, we were asked, “Are you willing to stay in this after your case is over?” And we enthusiastically answered, “Yes”. True to our word, we are now facing the public and political part of our journey. We are pressing on, hoping to rally legislators to pass legislation that the entire United States will recognize as definitive, groundbreaking law in the right to protect families. Please join us on Thursday morning, March 15th as we testify to the Judiciary Committee.

Randi St.Denis
Home Educators Encouragement Alliance
GeorgiaHomeschool.com
Email: ExpoHeea@aol.com
Phone: 770-594-1266
Fax: 404-745-0742
Cell: 770-714-5772
“Get Wisdom, Get Knowledge, Forget It Not”
“Get Knowledge and in all your getting, Get Wisdom”

I wanted to take a minute and update everyone on life here at the St.Denis/Bortz household.

The Bortz BoysAs we approach the holidays and the first anniversary of Dylan’s death, we are especially aware of the precious gifts that God has given us. Our beautiful twin boys are doing wonderful and are smiling and cooing up a storm. Every time they do, I remember Dylan and his precious smiles. He was always such a happy baby and loved to be held.

The twins are also very happy babies and I find it amazing that they are so much like Dylan in so many ways. Dylan used to wrinkle his forehead as he watched everything around him. The twins both do this and both boys are always very intent on making sure they are not missing anything… constantly looking around and watching. Jackson adores his little brothers and is always begging to hold them and playing with them so he can see them smile.

While this time of year is going to be tough, we are blessed to have so many friends and family around to support us. We are still working on what we can do to get DFCS turned around and our hope for the new year is that this agency is cleaned up of the corrupt practices and caseworkers, and that they actually begin to help the families that they state that they are there for. I read the news earlier today and noticed that the federal government has fined Georgia DFCS for failing to comply with federal standards. This does not come as any surprise as they have been so busy going after innocent families that I do not see how they would have time to actually get any work done. There are still many families that are being needlessly tortured by this agency daily and we continue to get calls from these families in need. I pray that these families find peace very soon and know that we will continue to do whatever we can to help them.

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We will continue to update the site. Thank you to everyone and I will write again soon.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Bortz/St.Denis Families

Hello everyone,

I am sorry it has taken me so long to get the update posted, but we have been waiting to hear what was going on with our case.

While I still have yet to receive anything in writing regarding this, our caseworker Annette called and left a voice message stating that our case has been closed. I will be contacting DFCS and asking for written conformation of this, but I think we are finally able to say that while a long time coming, we are finally free. I still cannot believe that this ridiculousness took almost a year to finalize, but we are extremely happy to be able to finally focus on what this case has taken so much time away from… our children.

We are also very excited to be able to announce the birth of the newest additions to the Bortz family…….

Twin boys, Talen Alexander, and Chapin Tyler, were born September 28th at 7:20 and 7:21pm. They weighed 5lbs, 14oz and 6lbs, 10z and were 19 1/2 and 19 inches long. Both boys are home and doing great! We are staying very busy, but both of the boys are very easy going and are absolutely adorable.  Jackson is so much in love with both of them, and wears his “I’m a big brother” t-shirt with pride.

While this year has been incredibly tough on everyone, we cannot help but know how truly blessed we are. God has given us so much; wonderful friends and family who have helped us in so many ways, sweet 4 year old Jackson who is always bringing a smile to our face with his ever-entertaining personality, and now we are even doubly blessed with two more beautiful sons. We would like to thank all of you for your prayers and support over the past ten months, and to also remind everyone that this is a fight that will not end until changes are made in the system. This is a fact that we are constantly reminded of by phone calls and emails from other parents who are in similar situations. This year has opened our eyes to flaws in a system which should be there to protect, and we have much work to do.

Thank you again to each and every one of you.

Sincerely,
Don, Rachel, Jackson, Talen and Chapin Bortz
and the entire St.Denis family

Rachel asked me to just let everyone know that we are still waiting for DFCS to close this case. Waiting, waiting and more waiting….

We have not heard from them since the last update.