MATTHEW S.

PAPPAS
A T T O R N E Y

E-MAIL:

1719 E. BROADWAY
LONG BEACH, CA 90802

OFFICE@MATTPAPPASLAW.COM

(949) 382-1485
FACSIMILE: (949) 382-1512

PRESS RELEASE
April 4, 2016 Topeka, KS One of five children of Native American descent who were taken
by the Kansas Department of Children and Families last year was recently seriously injured
while in the states custody. Raymond Schwab, who had been on a hunger strike for two weeks
until it was announced that a Native American tribe in Michigan is moving under federal law
for custody of the children, was visibly upset when told of the injuries. According to a friend of
the family, it was reported the child was beaten including being hit in the face and having his
eyeglasses broken.
Commenting on the incident, Jennifer Winn, former Kansas gubernatorial candidate and
advocate for children taken from parents by DCF said, There have been children killed while
in the custody of Kansas DCF. There is a real danger here for these children. You have two
loving parents who are being denied their children by a system designed to reward a private
company with substantial sums of money each time a child is referred into the system. It is
time for members of the Kansas Legislature to step-up and investigate the entire DCF system
including what we believe are nearly 80 child deaths that have taken place while children have
been in DCF custody. Cheryl Shuman of Moms for Marijuana, a California-based non-profit
organization, said the parents may file an emergency motion in state court based on the recent
incident as well as reports that one of the children had been sexually molested while in the
Kansas DCF foster care system.
The Schwab children were taken by the Kansas Department of Children and Families last year
while the children were with their maternal grandmother and the parents were moving the
family to Colorado. Raymond Schwab, a veteran of the U.S. Navy who was then working for
the Department of Veterans Affairs had been transferred from that agencys Topeka facility to
Colorado. Schwab, who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and was deemed
50% disabled by the government, had been recommended medical cannabis by a licensed
Colorado physician. Despite the reported effectiveness of cannabis for people suffering from
PTSD, John Bosch, a state court judge in Riley County, has refused to release the children until
Schwab has stopped using medical cannabis. Raymond Schwab said that Kansas is now seeking
to permanently terminate his and his wifes parental rights. The Schwabs have announced a
press conference regarding the case will be held on April 5, 2016 at the Kansas state capitol in
Topeka at 2 p.m. Central time.

For more information, contact Cheryl Shuman, Moms for Marijuana advocacy
group, (310) 779-4797 or Sergio Sandoval, Law Office of Matthew Pappas, (562)
533-1628.