Danielle's Law

Thank God for good attorneys and people who care. We have learned a lot throughout the course of preparing our lawsuits against Rainbow Of Hope/Cape Counseling Services. Within a matter of a few weeks the suits will be filed and all parties notified. The Kevin Cook Comedy Show is almost over.

We were very surprised to learn about Danielle's Law (click here to review it) and how Rainbow Of Hope management is either unaware of this statute or blatantly chose to ignore the law by not offering its "managers" and employees orientation and training regarding it. It would seem that Danielle's Law is another State requirement that fell by the wayside at Rainbow Of Hope. Perhaps Cook, Totora and Polite hoped we wouldn't find out about Danielle's Law since at least two distinct violations of it took place under Cook's direction. Fortunately both violations are well documented and multiple witnesses are willing to testify.

The first violation involves a child-resident's telephone call to a parent wherein the child stated suicidal urges. The parent called the former Rainbow Of Hope Nurse who in turn directed staff to call 911. Cook threw a childish fit because he somehow felt qualified to handle this situation from home. Keep in mind he wasn't on site nor did he have any distinct personal assessment of the situation. The violation exists in his intent to delay and circumvent proper medical care in the midst of a crisis.

The above violation will be easier to prove once the second violation comes to light in court. On another occasion, Cook's sleeping, texting, game-playing, internet-surfing staff was negligent in its supervision of the child-residents. This provided opportunity for a male and female child to engage in sexual contact. Upon learning about this, the Nurse immediately ordered both children to undergo medical examinations at the Emergency Room. Cook made an outright attempt to prevent the medical examinations. He insisted neither child needed to be examined by a doctor. A number of documented telephone calls prove this. We have no idea why Cook tried to prevent the child-residents from receiving appropriate medical care but we look forward to hearing his answer in court. The Cape Counseling Services agency psychiatrist was astute enough to recognize the need for the medical examinations and overruled Cook's amateur decision.

Again, we're left to wonder what Cook is doing at Rainbow Of Hope. We see his amateur and childish insensitivity in his words and actions. Certified documentation exists from numerous witnesses that will prove Cook is not capable of managing a childrens residential facility. On another instance, a medical examination proved a female child has a severe and potentially life threatening ailment. Cook's sarcastic reply to this was, "Yeah well, at least she's not pregnant!"

A court will decide who is personally liable for these violations. We're told that it could be decided in numerous ways. The agency shares culpability, that's for certain. But after managers and staff members finish taking the stand, a judge will decide who is responsible for the negligence, abuse and violations. Personally, we're looking forward to hearing the various defenses in light of the evidence. Attorneys wouldn't have taken our cases if they didn't believe we'd be victorious. Attorneys are in business to make money, not lead crusades. The burden of proof is upon us and we have met it in order to satisfy our lawyers. Our attorneys have reviewed the evidence and feel certain it will satisfy a court.

Sadly, the current situation at Rainbow Of Hope is the result of what happens when you put an inexperienced person in control of a project that requires skills and knowledge. We've been left shaking our heads when Cook prefers to talk to us about haunted houses, video games and rock concerts rather than the progress our children are making. Rainbow Of Hope has the potential to do a lot of good. But that isn't going to happen when Cook and Polite are permitted to remain complacent in their ineptitude. The place needs to be held accountable for its numerous violations and it needs new managers and staff who are committed to professional care rather than enjoying the luxury of doing nothing all day long. We've got our dustbins and brooms. We're here to clean up Cook's and Polite's mess.