Buffalo Beat

An Amherst couple, who had 10 of their 12 children removed by Erie County Child Protection Services (CPS) last May -- their removal upheld by Family Court Judge Marjorie Mix -- are now going to the court of public opinion to try to get their children back.

They have enlisted a powerful ally, Family-rights activist, Barbara Lyn Lapp, of Casadaga, NY

The couple, Nikolai and Tatyana Prokoshev, are Russian immigrants, who came to America in 1990, seeking "religious freedom." Today, ten of their twelve sons and daughters, including one year old Susanna, are now in foster care or youth detention.

It was the Prokoshev’s two oldest boys, Pavel and Peter, aged 18 and 16, and not the parents directly, who were the cause of their younger sibling’s removal. Still, in spite of the fact that both older brothers were removed by the parents from home, the younger children are still in foster homes, six months after their removal by CPS.

EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE REMOVAL

CPS first became involved with the family, in the mid 1990's, when father, Nikolai, administered a "whipping" to eldest son, Pavel, for "speaking disrespectfully" to a school teacher. CPS workers informed the immigrant parents that this type of discipline, although acceptable in Russia, is illegal in America. Afterwards, and partly, because of the special needs of David, a child with cerebral palsy, CPS involvement with the family was continuous from 1993. But trouble escalated in the final months of 1999, when rough behavior by Pavel and Peter left bruises on two of the younger boys. The parents were charged with neglect for failing to protect them..

Attorney Denis Kitchen represented Tatyana. He said he is surprised the younger children haven’t been returned yet. "There is no evidence that they are at risk now that the two older children are no longer living there, he said. "...There may have been a big mistake made in this case. There have been no allegations that these parents actually abused any of their children. The problem was that they had a large number of children and they just couldn’t supervise all of them adequately."

According to court documents, however, there was a pattern of abuse by the older brothers:

**on 5-21-99 Yakov, age 10, was observed with two black eyes, scratches on his neck, and bruises on both ears.

** 11-1-99 Yakov was observed to have multiple bruises on his back torso. It was believed to be inflicted by older brother Peter.

** 12-13 99 Sergei, age 8, was observed with a black eye, inflicted by Pavel.

Soon afterward, Sergei "sustained cigarette burns on his left hand,"inflicted by Peter

** 12-15-99 Sergei had "severe scratches" on his left cheek, inflicted by Pavel.

** 12-17-99 a person with the Child Advocacy Center, a counseling center, discovered "a deep burn mark on (Segei’s) buttock which Sergei said was inflicted by Peter."

Nikolai admits 16 year old Peter burned two of the children with a piece of plastic. "He did do this." said

Nikolai, "...This is not first time I hear bad things about him. The Detective tell me you press charge against him or you lose all the children. I no believe this. Now I very sorry for what happen. But, now Peter no live here now for one year. He living in Jamestown (in a detention home) . Pavel too no live here. He too make Social Services worker mad. Yell, make threats. Now he no live here! So now why children no come back?"

Supporters feel the children should be immediately returned. Lapp, a Mennonite dairy farmer, and president of VOCAL (Victims of Child Abuse Laws) entered the picture about a month ago at the request of the parents. Lapp became a national figure in the family rights movement after she went to jail in 1996 for 8 months, rather than surrender 15 year old Billy Stefan to Child Protection Services. She is organizing protests, garnering supporters, and explaining the details of the Prokoshev case to the media.

Calling the situation "heart-wrenching." Lapp said, "these 10 (younger) children are now spread amongst four different foster homes and two youth institutions. This includes 11 month old Suzanna who was still nursing at the time she was taken."

CPS officials said they are not permitted to comment on individual cases. However, officials said Section 1027 (b) (I) of the Family Court Act provides authority to remove children from home, if the officials decide they "are in imminent danger" Within 8 days, a hearing is held on whether to place children in a foster home on a "temporary basis". Only in extreme cases are children removed, according to CPS officials.

"There are many safeguards in the law designed to limit instances in which kids are taken away from parents," said Robert Deisz, Erie County Director of CPS. "We have to present a lot of justifications, and we have to have our proposals approved by a family court judge."

According to Diesz, removals are down in Erie County, the department often opting for alternatives like parenting classes, and monitoring. In 1996, Diesaz said, there were 1018 removals. In 1997: 814. 1998: 778. 1999: 684.

SOME QUESTION THE TIMING OF THE REMOVAL

Lapp thinks the removal was precipitated when Pavel yelled at a Social Service worker and refused her admittance in the house, noting that there was a five month gap between the physical abuse of the older brothers, and the children’s removal, but only a few day after the "yelling" incident with Pavel and a Social Service worker. Lapp, who said the parent’s problem is "partly cultural" said, "number one the parents never hurt their children. They made an immediate provision to remedy the problem by having the older children not live there."

Still people familiar with the case ask why Judge Mix directed the removal of all ten younger children, even though only two had injuries, and there were no allegations of injuries to any of the other eight.

CHILDREN REMOVED IN HANDCUFFS IN FRONT TO NEIGHBORS

The way CPS and Police effected the removal of the Proshekev children also drew criticism. On May 5, 2000, the parents were summoned to Family Court where Judge Mix ordered the removal of all the Prokoshev children from the home "to protect the children from injury or mistreatment." Arrest warrants were issued for the two oldest boys, and according to the parents, Judge Mix told the them that the 10 younger children would be returned as soon as Peter and Pavel were in custody.

Nikolai and Tatyana had not returned from court, when police and CPS authorities arrived. The children were at home, in the care of an elderly Russian couple.

Lauren Sadler, a neighbor, described a scene of screaming, and crying children being dragged from the front lawn of their Amherst home. "I never thought I would see (this) happen in the United States, " Sadler wrote in a sworn affidavit, which described a scene of terror, and what Lapp argues is "worse child abuse than any the children ever experienced."

Twelve-year-old Aleksey, struggling to get to the house, was taken in handcuffs. Andrey and Timofei were taken --youngsters who had been playing with the neighbors children minutes before. The lady caring for the children stood on the Prokoshev’’s front porch moaning, wailing, pleading for mercy. Some of the children left in police cars, the younger ones in a van. An ambulance came to pick up David, who needed special equipment because he cannot sit or walk.

"My 13 year old daughter (watched and) was horrified and in tears," said Sadler "and more than a dozen neighborhood children were watching (as their friends) were handcuffed and taken way by police."

Lapp argued that the children’s "brutal removal" was not necessary; the Prokoeshev’s had always cooperated with authorities, still, when Nikolai and Tatyana arrived home from court it was just in time to see Maria, age four, evading police. The child ran for her mother and held on -- first to her mother’s leg, then to a porch banister.

Police pried loose her hands, as a man from child protective services clamped his arms around her waist and carried her to the van, arms and legs flailing, screaming in protest. Only 7-year-old David, a cerebral palsy victim, remained in the house. The disabled boy was carried out in tears. It was Friday evening, and law offices were closed for the weekend. They were not to know where their children were for at least three days. Ironically, the children have been injured while in the care of the County. On June 30, 2000, David came to a visit with a badly scraped elbow, and Aleksey age 12 came to a visit "with the broken lip."

WHEN WILL THEY BE RETURNED?

Nikolai told Beat, "We want our children back. Every day my wife just sit down and cry over this. What can we do?

We don’t understand how they can make the little ones suffer for the wrongs of the older ones."

But CPS official, Deborah Collins defends the department. She said the Child Protection Hotline received 8,209 calls in 1999. It made 684 foster home placements, over 90% of which were involuntary placements. "We only take children away from their parents as a last resort, if it is needed for us to comply with the law and to protect children." she said, "...we make these decisions on the basis of all the information we have at hand, in the best interests of the children."

But Pavel Prokoshev, the eldest son, and at the center of much of the controversy, now 18, was arrested and jailed–– though never charged -- for threatening the CPS case worker who was trying to enter their home. He now lives away from home. Pavel, born in Russia, said he remembers the KGB. "It’’s the exact same system here, just a different name," he said.

A review hearing is set for November 29, before Judge Mix..

Meanwhile, Lapp is organizing a larger support network trying to raise money, She can be reached at 595-3210