My children were legally kidnapped…by the government body in which we are supposed to trust and follow somewhat “blindly”! I will never claim that my life or situation was perfect, who’s is? However, my children were well taken care of and very happy little boys. I lived with my mother and two brothers in a five bedroom home. We had food, clothing, shelter, and all the basic necessities, as well as some extras. We were far from “well off” or even middle class in some cases, but we were doing okay. I was doing things to improve our situation, such as getting my college degree. Well, apparently I ticked a so called “family friend” off and she decided to use DFCS as her tool of revenge. She called them constantly, making random false allegations that were steadily proven to be unfounded. Yet, month after month caseworkers would come knocking for another silly reason. “You go to the doctor to much”, “You feed your children SPAM for dinner”,”Your mother and brother fight in front of the children” and on it would go. Each time ended with unsubstantied results. Then two months in a row our power bill doubled and we could not cover it. The reason turned out to be a faulty hot water heater, but we had a slumlord landlord that wouldn’t fix it. $1000 later we had no power, so I moved my boys into a friend’s house in December and started gathering up funds. A week into it my youngest was at his dad’s (whom also lived with his mother) and my oldest was visiting this “family friend” that I had no idea was the root of the repeat visits from DFCS at the time. They both offered to hold on to the boys for a week or two so it would be easier for me to work more to save up money. Three weeks into this, I received yet another call from DFCS. This time they just wanted me to come to the office with the boys for a quick visit to see how they were doing…keep in mind there was NO open case against me. So, I went up there the very next day and they said they were taking them into custody immediately. NO reason was given at the time, even though I asked. She simply responded “No one told you why?” and walked out of the office they had me sitting in dumbfounded. I got my answer three days later in court. “Financial instability” and “mental instability” were my reasons…without further clarification. I understood financial instability to a degree, I wasn’t making much for income. However, I had a suitable home and all we needed was to get a huge power bill paid and things would be back to normal. From what I know, other families get regular help with these sort of things but nothing was offered to me. As for the mental instability, I have never been diagnosed with any mental health disorders and still haven’t to this day. I passed two evaluations from doctors chosen by DFCS with above average intelligence and parenting skills. My only fault was a high score in naivety…go figure. I trust people too easily, or I did anyways. I liked to believe that people meant well, but that has since been altered in my mind. So, I did as I was told, but I pleaded that my boys be with someone they knew until they were returned to me. DFCS incredibly agreed, however I wish I’d known what I know now. They should NOT have done this, nor should they have been allowed to do it. There was no questions, no home evaluations or anything to protect my boys while in the other person’s custody. One person was the family friend, because I had no one else to turn to at that crucial moment. It was a moment of sheer panic and I thought at the time that she was trustworthy. Little did I know she caused the whole thing and had serious mental issues herself that would later be revealed. She calculated the entire process, but if DFCS was set up properly she would never have gotten as far as she did.
Back to the beginning, I did all that I was ordered to do. I completed an 8 week parenting class immediately, I obtained my own apartment and a new job. I passed two psychological evaluations which I had to pay out of pocket for and cost over $2000 total. I did the weekend visitations one hour a week under supervision, even though it was not enough time and miserable being treated as if I would hurt my children. Never was I accused of abuse of any kind, nor was I accused of using drugs. Yet, I was only given 1 hour a week for a YEAR with my children, whom before then had never been away from me more than a day if that. We were all traumatized. It only continued to get worse…(part 2 to be continued)