U.s. Almost Kept The Clinton Regime In Power With Nov. Election Fiasco

106th Congress Was An Unattractive Cross Between Miss Piggy And Scrooge

By ROBIN HUIRAS rhuiras@leader.net
 Monday, December 25, 2000 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





When 11-year-old Dustin saw his mother drinking from what looked like a
beer bottle, he became worried. So he told his child welfare caseworker. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Unknowingly, he helped to stamp out his only Christmas wish - to spend the
day at home with his real family. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On Dec. 15, Luzerne County Children and Youth Services and a county judge
ended Dustin's unsupervised visits, including holidays, with his mother,
Michelle Eckrote. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Michelle and her attorney believe the move came in part because Dustin
thought Michelle, an alcoholic, was drinking again during the first week of
December. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But the bottle contained non-alcoholic beer, say Michelle and her husband,
Calvin Eckrote. Her attorney, John Hakim, also believes her because she is
tested randomly for alcohol as part of her probation for drunken driving
convictions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``If she tested positive, she would be immediately incarcerated,'' Hakim
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Michelle said she is saddened, confused and upset with the court's
decision. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It's perplexing,'' Hakim said. ``It doesn't make a lot of sense.''
Michelle and Calvin were doing everything needed to get Dustin back into the
home, he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Although Eugene Caprio, director of Luzerne County Children and Youth, said
he cannot comment specifically on Dustin's case, he said every agency decision
is made with the child's best interest in mind. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The slightest hint of impropriety is grounds enough to compel the court
into rethinking a child's plan, Hakim said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It would be irresponsible not to,'' act on an allegation. Caprio said.
``If the agency has erred, the court can compensate for that.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For the nine years, Dustin and his two sisters, ages 15 and 19, bounced
from one foster home to another while their mother struggled with alcoholism
and abuse. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dustin is fully aware of his mother's problems. But only in her home and
care does he feel safe, he said, adding: ``That's where I belong.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Michelle acknowledges her flaws. But the 40-year-old said she has turned
her life around. She said she is doing everything possible to achieve the
consistency the court requires, and she must prove she will not relapse. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``The bottom line, what hurts this case is its long history,'' Hakim said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Since 1991, Michelle, whose surname at the time was Yokavonis, has been
arrested six times on driving under the influence of alcohol. Her children
were removed several months later. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At the time, she was a single mom struggling to raise three small children
and coping with the deaths of her parents. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 She said youth workers took her children not because she lacked parenting
abilities or neglected the children - it was the drinking. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 These problems landed Michelle in jail in October 1999. After serving a
year, she was released to home confinement until her sentence expires in
October 2001. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I got what I deserved,'' she said. ``Judge Cappellini saved my life and
the life of somebody else.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Michelle also has endured domestic problems. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 According to Luzerne County court records, from April 1990 to March 1999
Michelle filed four protection-from-abuse orders against three husbands and a
boyfriend. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But finding Calvin, whom she married in March 2000, focused her on
recovery, she said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Michelle has attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings several times a week
since her incarceration, said her AA sponsor, who declined to give her full
name. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In September, Michelle was granted temporary weekend furloughs from prison
to visit her children, and since her October release into home confinement,
her unsupervised visits with Dustin had been steadily increasing. She had
hoped to continue moving toward reunification with her boy, a goal she says
Children and Youth Services supported. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But now, because she is not allowed to see Dustin unless a caseworker is
present, she must leave their home anytime Dustin is permitted an unsupervised
visit with Calvin. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To complicate her situation, she needs permission from a probation officer
every time she leaves her home. And because of her many DUIs, she cannot
drive. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Until Children and Youth decides her home is safe, Michelle said she will
take advantage of supervised visits and phone calls to try to bond with
Dustin. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``Dustin says to me, `Mom, I love you as far as the world can go and a
million miles longer,' and I say to him, `I love you three million times more
than that.' '' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Robin Huiras, a Times Leader staff writer, can be reached at 829-7139. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

A Mom Struggles To Live Down Her Past 
A Hoped-for Christmas Reunion With Her Son Fails To Materialize. Child Welfare
Officials Say They Have No Choice But To Act.

A Mom Struggles To Live Down Her Past A Hoped-for Christmas Reunion With Her Son Fails To Materialize. Child Welfare Officials Say They Have No Choice But To Act.