 Contact Information: Catherine Schuller, President NYC Branch International Size Acceptance Association Phone: 917.375.0731 E-mail: cschuller@size-acceptance.org WWW: http://www.size-acceptance.org/dakota
PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE! Size Acceptance Organization Advocates Indiana CPS “Free Dakota!” NEW YORK CITY - The International Size Acceptance Association (ISAA) has begun an advocacy campaign to help secure the release of an 8-year old boy who was removed from his mother’s care by Child Protective Services in Valparaiso, Indiana because of his weight (he is 4 feet tall and 175 pounds.). On August 4, 2004, Dakota Main was taken from his mother, Sara Main, without a home visit or any warning. At the first hearing of this case, Main’s lawyer proved there was no medical neglect or abuse of Dakota, yet the Porter County Division of Family & Children is retaining custody of the child. Dakota has been placed with a foster family that has placed him in harm’s way by giving him age-inappropriate chores such as mowing lawns and chopping wood with an axe. "ISAA has intervened on behalf of Dakota because we believe this is a clear case of weight-based discrimination,” ISAA NYC President Catherine Schuller said. “We don’t know why CPS is keeping this child when he was not endangered in any way in his own home with his family." ISAA is also alarmed because of the similarities between this case and that of Anamarie Martinez-Regino, who was taken from her parents in Albuquerque, New Mexico in August 2000 when she was 3 and a half years old. Anamarie was also 3 and a half feet tall and weighed 120 pounds. By November 2000, Anamarie was returned to her parents’ custody and all charges were dropped against her parents. Then, ISAA and others launched a public awareness campaign which included letter-writing, phone calls, faxing and candlelight vigils around the world.
ISAA has planned similar activism in their “Free Dakota” campaign at: ISAA’s mission is to promote size acceptance and to help end size-based discrimination throughout the world by means of advocacy and visible, lawful actions. ISAA also promotes self-respect, fitness and healthy food choices for people of all sizes. ISAA was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas. For interviews, please contact ISAA NYC Branch President Catherine Schuller at 917.375.0731 or cschuller@size-acceptance.org
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