Written by Ex West Virginia caseworker calls for system reform.
Hello, My name is Elise Stewart I use to be a CPS worker and then Supervisor in West Virginia. Since leaving the West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources (WVDHHR) several years ago, I have had a couple experiences with them that I am currently suing them over.
My point of this e-mail concerns the circumstances concerning my adult son and his on again, off again, girlfriend and their child who will soon be one-year-old. The baby was born with drugs in her system. The mom and maternal grandmother hid this information from my son. During the initial investigation by CPS, they failed to contact my son even though they knew who he was. The mom continued to do drugs while living with her mother (an active alcoholic) and this was the reason for the unstable relationship with my son, as he does not use drugs nor did he condone her use of drugs.
In November, after the girlfriend was admitted to the hospital for her drug use, her mother involved CPS. When the girlfriend was released from the hospital, her mother would not let her back into the house or near the baby. Against my better judgment and without knowing all the details, I let her and my son stay here.
Over the next two-weeks I babysat the baby while the girlfriend and her sister (also a heroin addict) attended NA/AA meetings. On the weekend in question, I was informed that the maternal grandmother had left town and left the baby with the heroin addict sister and her boyfriend who she met in rehab.
Seeking Temporary Custody
After lengthy discussion, my son and his girlfriend signed a paper granting me temporary custody of the baby. We went to the house to get the baby. The police were called, who in turn called the prosecuting attorney. I spoke on the phone to the prosecutor whom I had worked with for years. He said that I could take the baby.
CPS workers freaked out and told the police they had filed a petition on the Friday, it was awaiting the signature of a judge. They stated that I could not be near the baby as they had at one time opened a case against me. We were ordered to take the baby to the sheriff’s office and wait for the maternal grandmother who was on her way home.
Note on previous case: (The case they referred to took place when I was in England and they opened the case without my knowledge. The person my almost 18-year-old son was living with, kicked him out. Instead of then going to the place I setup for him, he went to stay with his older brother which CPS didn’t like…another issue altogether. Although I might add here that the person who kicked him out on the street was my best friend and the director of our local CASA)
We waited hours for the maternal grandmother to come staggering in completely intoxicated. She was given a breathalyzer and told she could not take the child due to her being drunk. She then became belligerent to the officers and left.
The girlfriend was told she could take the baby to her great grandmother’s house but due to the age of her great grandmother, the girlfriend had to stay with her.
Foster Care Placement
The next evening, CPS appeared with a custody order and took the baby in to custody, placing her with a foster family. My son was not considered for placement because they said there was no proof he was the father. None of us were allowed to see the baby until after the initial hearing — more than two weeks later.
Since that hearing, they first gave physical custody to the maternal, drunken grandmother while the state kept legal custody. The girlfriend was not allowed to be alone with the baby. My son was permitted one-hour of supervised visitation at the local DHHR each week, and I was told I would have to petition for grandparents rights.
Inadequate Representation
Subsequent hearings led to my son becoming very frustrated with his public defender who would not return his calls and thought proper council was seeing him for five minutes prior to the hearing. The DHHR wanted my son to have a DNA test and would not accept a paternity affidavit from him. They also wanted him to submit to drug testing and other such strictures, normally placed on parents alleged of abuse in these situations.
They alleged he “knowingly allowed” the baby to be abused by not stopping the mother’s drug use. The age old catch all CPS likes to use when they have nothing else to charge the absent father with.
My son had to reschedule the first DNA test. He went to the second one which proved him to be the father. He missed a court hearing due to his ride canceling at the last minute. He left voice mails for both his attorney and the social worker. Then he missed the next hearing as he received no notice from the court or his attorney. He has continued to see the baby at the girlfriend’s house rather than at the DHHR (against my advice).
After finally tracking down his lawyer last week, he received in today’s mail a proposed court order from the prosecutor charging him with abandonment. The hearing is scheduled for June.
Would you consider this ‘good practice’?
- Not conducting a thorough investigation with collateral contacts (ie father);
- Removing a child for ‘imminent danger’ that did not exist;
- Being permitted to place a child in foster care when relative placement is available and more than adequate given kinship placement guidelines;
- Being granted continued custody in foster care without testimony or an evidentiary hearing in court.
The court process is not due process. The guidelines and rules of procedure are not followed. CPS policy is not followed. My son has yet to receive notice of any MDT meetings or the reports that those meetings are meant to generate.
After years working inside this system I would highly recommend never speaking to a CPS worker without an attorney present and a tape recorder running. I have worked with the do gooders who see a cute little baby that deserves a ‘nice’ family, and the power trippers who take custody for their own warped sense of ego feeding….the list goes on.
Someone needs to revamp this system. The damage done to the family is not reversible and even the youngest of children experiencing the foster care system can act out on this ‘memory’ in years to come.
I realize this is a rather lengthy and tangential ramble. My apologies. It just send my mind racing with outrage at a system that is supposed to keep children safe and consider the well being of the child first and foremost.
~Suzie
West Virginia
Dear Suzie,
My situation is slightly different but with many similarities. I am fighting false allegations. I am fighting against forensic examiners who know nothing about interviewing children. My case was taken on by my state attorney general after the county DA refused to do anything about it. The CAC worker interviewed the children at least eight times. The children initially said nothing had happened but after repeated interviews they came up with fantastic stories as well as contradictory stories. The allegations were started after a sister in law fight with me.
DHR decided that I was guilty anyway. They took my kids from me and I am not allowed to have contact with them. I am spending all of my time and money to try and get my kids back and to have supervised visits with them. I pay $100.00/hr for a visit. I see them one time per week. My children want to be back with us.
Also, the person who was the genesis was a psychotherapist working for a DHR contractor. My step-son is ADHD. His medicine is still not working right and I hear that he is acting out even more now because of all of this trauma. My little girls miss me terribly. I love them and miss them so much.
We need to stop this funding of a system which encourages the removal of children from their homes. It has to be done.
Joe
I also have had a very similar situation with my grandchildren. CPS has taken one of them, placing her in a foster home. She is the third of sisters, each with a different mother. One is 10, one 5 and now a 7 month old which CPS (Kathy Deluca) took from the new mother because she did not like my son after he did nothing they said and terminated his rights in the court room of Judge Jennifer Bailey.
I had raised the 5 year old almost daily since birth and after CPS terminated my sons rights they came and took the baby from school because my son had came to my home while the baby was home.
CPS states that I was noncompliant and after having two secret hearings without the parents knowing, they came to get the new baby for foster home placement. I was falsely arrested and now we are not allowed to even see the baby at the mothers visit.
This system and judge is so full of injustices and Joe Manchin said he cannot intervene but sent me a copy of the letter from CPS stating I was noncompliant. Seem to me that he did intervene, also unfairly.
This new mother has passed every drug test they have sent her to, parenting classes, domestic violance classes, etc. for over 4-6 months and CPS still will not give our baby back. Her other two half sisters miss her very much and the way CPS has terminated my sons rights, they now can’t even see each other without me picking them up. The kicker is that because CPS took the 5 year old from me and I have told them what I think, CPS is telling the mothers that these children should not be around me.
I have loved they babies from birth, and there is no way I will ever stop trying to let the world know how dirty this whole system, CPS, court, and the governors response was against my family and these three little sisters that are now seperated from even visiting each other.
My 4 children were taken in West VA, by va cps in 2003 without a court order, search warrant, or without anything but a cps workers false statements. It’s been 7 yrs my children have been kidnapped, my rights illegally taken and falsely accused. I have proof. I am interested in joining a class action against west va cps theres 3 others wanting to join too. They need to be stopped.
August 27 CPS Kathy Deluca in Judge Jennifer Bailey Walkers courtroom terminated the rights of the mother of my granddaughter for no reason. The mother passed all the drug screens, classes, etc..they sent her to. CPS went to her mother’s home two days before the hearing and told that grandmother the baby was definitely being adopted out. When the mother went to the hearing it was postponed. The mother was so upset she no longer went to the drug screens. One month later at the hearing CPS said she did not do everything they said so they terminated her rights. She did and passed drug screens from OCT to August at taxpayers expense. Please let me know any advise that may get my grandchild back.
This scares me because my daughter in law found out that she is pregnant and she is going through drug treatment and CPS says that they will be going in for home visits and supervising them, We are scared that they will make up something and take the baby. I will fight with everything i have if I need to. Hope this does not happen to us
CPS is against me, I am the mother of 2 beautiful girls, one of which has a.l.l. (acutelymphoblasticluekeimia). I did nothing wrong, their father had a substance abuse problem and has been removed from our home, and our lives.
Now cps is fabricating evidence against me, particularly Kathy Deluca. I have done nothing wrong, I have battled an struggled to keep my children safe an healthy. My girls father gave up his rights because they bullied him and us, an he felt he had no choice.
My daughters were left in my custody because of my oldest illness, she is in remission an almost done with chemo, her cancer is the only reason (so says kathy) that my girls remained in my custody. Now she is pushing to keep this case open for 3 more months, right around the time my daughter will be off treatment!
There is so, so much more to tell, but I’ll leave it at this. CPS is supossed to reunify familys, not break them apart. They lie an munipulate the court system with false allegations. They have kept our case open against me, when I did nothing wrong. All I did was protect my girls. I know all this caseworker is trying to do is take my children from me.
I have fought for 2 and a half years for my daughters survival, and they claim that I’m not a protective mother! The first domestic dispute that ever went on in our home resulted in me calling the police and having their father arrested, and yet, they claim I am not a protective mother! (i.e. I find it disturbing that the majority of cps caseworkers dont have children, and claim to know whats best for them.)
Please, if anyone has advice, or know of an lawyer that can help me, because most lawyers won’t try to fight CPS, and why is that?
Reunification is the goal, that is what their little booklet says, and it states at least a half dozen times that CPS’ goal is not the removal of children, but reunification…thats a contradiction in itself is it not?
I still have my girls, but everyday I fear that they are gonna show up with new false allegations against me (it’s not even me that caused this case to be open) and remove my children. I just spent 2 years battling cancer with my daughter, and now I half to battle this!
Please, I need advice, or someone to talk to that can help me. I love my babys soooo much, I live for them!
Please call 304-421-5451
All I am trying to do is to speak with someone that’s knowledged about this kind of thing.
P.S. my court appointed lawyer was picked out by cps…I cherish my days with my girls, just like I always have, but, because of cps’ trickery. I fear those days are running short, my prayers go out to all of you that have wrongfully had your joy ripped from you, please..help me to prevent this from happening to my family (my daughters).
I live in florida, my family and i went to gilmer county wv for thanksgiving.The day we were leaving cps showed up at our hotel door with 2 state cops and took my two girls.my 4 year old and her daddy where playing when she accidently hit his lit cig. they both were burned when the cherry fell off. my daughter told them what happend,without either of us standing there. the cps worker told my daughter he thought she was lieing. after the questioned her for almost 9 hours they said she changed her story. I need help.I never knew the system was this way. after a recent visit with the girls i,noticed what appared to be scares on my oldest daughters legs and my 8 month old had a blister on her upper lip and a diper rash.the said the rash was from her having apple juice. 3 days after the guaridian ad litem was notified, he still has not checked on my girls..PLEASE HELP.
I wish everone good luck fighting the devil that has all his demons — people that are working in all states in the DHHR places and JUDGES in the court house and PUBLIC OFFENDER LAWYERS in the court house and the PROSECUTOR LAWYERS in the court house. They are suppose to do the right thing for our child but they are liars because it is all about money in thier pocket and not what it does to the children’s minds their heart and soul.
Every person that ever came in contact with the DDHR CPS WORKERS should come up with a position to stop those jack asses that thinks of money in their pocket before they think what it does to the children first then what it does to us. I believe that we all should get together and do a live report to all of the news people that work on tv, so we can tell the whole world what they are doing to our children and our self.
They are on a power trip and they need to be knocked down so people can be happy with their children. I personally can not stand the Judge Mark Karl in Marshall County and the prosecuting attorney Ronda Wade and the public offenders John Gainer and Peter Kerlack and David White and child guardian ad litem J. J. K. AND a lady at well spring that did parenting class by the name of Dennis Johnson and a lady at North Wood that was a caseworker by the name of Sharron Triplet and a lady at Northwood that is a therapist by the name Carrie Wetzel and some of the staff that works at Harmony House and the staff that works at Southwood hospital and the CPS workers at the DHHR in Marshall County in Moundsville, West Virginia by the name of Stacey Beale and Dania Schrack and Mr. King and many more that are liars in my book.
They all rip our little angel from us and stoled her since June -02-2006 and they took her dads rights away when he was dying in the hospital and took her birth moms rights why she was getting help in a place and they force and threaten me by sending me to prison by false statment they coerce me into giving up my rights when I had none because I was married to someone else and that scarred me my family told me to not sign but they threaten me to so I did and I regret it second of the day with out her and her dad and mother is missing her.
I wish everone good luck fighting the people that are working in all states that works to rip familys apart and to make up lies to get a bigger pay check and when the children grows up they become mess up in thier mind and that is a shame.When the children are remove from thier home because of some kind of problen the state people are suppose to do the right thing for our child. But they are liars because it is all about money in thier pocket and not what it does to the children’s minds their heart and soul.
I have two little wonderful daughters that the DHHR CPS WORKER that I feel stoled my children and I also feel they are liers and thieves. I remember the time that the DHHR in ohio county came to my and did investigation about my children and said that I abuse my babys and that is a lie then my children was left with me until they took my children from school on march 05 2008 and I had few supervise visit then the morons took my parrent rights away. But they can never take my memorys or my feeling or my children feeling or thier memorys away from us because a parent love is stronger than them ripping them from us.
Our presious little angels will be home soon and we all will help bring everones children home safely if they have not damage our children or hurt them any way and for any children that was place in foster care and died with in the care of the foster parrent or parrents we need to say a prayer for those children and thier family because one day they will never get to come home and if we need to all come together for suport for one onther so we can bring justis for all of our chidren so they can know the truth and so they can come where they belong. I believe my friend we all need to save some money and to get a charter bus so we can go to each county so court house and dhhr place the state capital place and do a report with the news people so that the people every where will know how cricket the dhhr cps workers and the public affender lawers and prosicuting lawers and the children guardian alitement lawers and sic unit workers are money greedy people and not thinking of what it would do to the children in the long run because I know first hand and my friend know also knows what trauma it does to them please pray for all the moron because they are lost soles that the devil got a temperly hold on them by mind control by money greed and lieing greed and other greed and they all goe along with thier superviser to remove children from thier home untill they get the same treatment to them or one of thier love one by a lie.
sincerly,
DOLLY ROSA
queeny said: On March 9, 2011
Every person that ever came in contact with the DDHR CPS WORKERS should come up with a position to stop those jack asses that thinks of money in their pocket before they think what it does to the children first then what it does to us. I believe that we all should get together and do a live report to all of the news people that work on tv, so we can tell the whole world what they are doing to our children and our self.
There must be something we can do to make sure these companies are investigated. In my situation the CPS, found the allegations unsubstanciated, I went to court with that information. The judge told me that doesn’t mean anything. It’s hard to get them to substaniate alligations, because it will go on my record and ruin my chances of working with children in the future.
The threw the law books out the window, and now they are keeping my children from me because my boyfriends mother went to court and said “someone” had told her he was drinking. That’s not admissable in anyother court, but the one I’m dealing with.
I need to know who to turn these people into and fast, my children are failing in school and showing all the textbook behavior, that goes along with placement. I’m afraid they won’t recover.
I would like to know how cps can do this to so many familys & get away with it. I thought it was just us that they did this to but now i know we are not alone they (cps) have done this to a lot of familys, more familys than i have ever thought.
Im a mother of 3 beautiful girls i raised them without cps involvement thank god they are all grown with babys of there own. I told them please value your children cause cps can take them away without reason.
I seen cps do this unbelievable stuff to my sisters 3 kids from the time they were babys & yes cps messed them up so bad. They are grown up now but not without the memories of what cps put them though. Now our case is the parents of my grand daughter both of which are in jail, the mother was addicted to drugs so cps took her 1st son away and then she gave bith to our grand daughter & thats when we became involved we have seen this little girl go thru so many things we have done everthing we could to help our grand daughter.
Well cps took our grand daughter from her mother for drug abuse & neglect called us out of the blue & told us to come & get her & that we needed to get a room for her & we need to take classes & be finger printed & ect. So we complied with there demands to take care of her.
Long story short she lived with us for 9 mos & we done everything for this child. She was in destress when we got her, she wouldn’t eat she had night mares her teeth had bottle rott we got them fixed, we helped her get through all of it & she was a normal kid again.
Until this last monday — cps called us & said we are taken her from our home, you did a great job but we are taken her because of my husbands pass recored of dui & child support from 10 to 20 years ago (that they knew about when they placed her with us for 9 months) they are placing her with an aunt from another state that is (guess a cps worker) And she has moved here to our state and our grand daughter doen’t know or has ever seen before in her life.
We have been there from the start of our grand daughters life and we have never even seen this woman before or heard of this aunt angie ( the cps worker). And to top it off that was all they told us. We can not see her and are not allowed to know anything. We got a call from our 3yr old grand daughter sunday night that came up private cryin & screaming wanting to come home, “i miss u, i love u, i want to come home gram & pap.”
I almost fell apart right there it told her it will be ok, i didnt know what to tell her but that we are here & we love you, it will be ok. Now after reading all of these storys of heart break about cps what are we to do now??????
Please can anyone help us do what is right???????????????? please before they mess up her life she has been through enough all ready…………
I have just visited GoPetition and found the following page very interesting:
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/36943.html
Regards: Please read & sign & pass on, Thank u.
CPS is an absolute joke in WV.
I am asking for my step grandson that lived with me for the first 9 months of his life and I raised. When mom left my home within a month he was taken by CPS. They say I am not blood….well hello…neither is the foster home he is in. But this is a fight..and after 2 months of bull they alleged father says he wants his son…and they must do that.
Are you kidding me? If CPS is concerned about the best interest of the child…why in the world would you give him to a biological dad when the man never had anything to do with his kid. As if this child has not had enough termoil already. There is no such thing as the best interest of the child, it is a control game on the part of CPS. And the damn guardians..please…they just do what the worker wants them to do.
I love my grandson, blood or not. Next week is another court hearing. Just any other day to CPS, do what they want and the judges comply…a freaking mazing….
To the person with the pregnant daughter: Your daughter needs to move out of the county where CPS told her they would be waiting for her baby to come and then supervising her.
Anyone who manages to get their kids back, should promptly move out of the county where they were taken. The new county would then have to have reason to suspect you. And if you ever get a knock on your door again from CPS or anyone in their claws, don’t answer it. Make them get a warrant. Tell them they can send cops and the cops can arrest you if they think you did something wrong.
You stand a much better chance with a jury of your peers. In fact, most of us would not even make it to a criminal charge if CPS had the same rules as the rest of the court system.
My family and I have had the absolute worst year, this will make the third time in a year that cps, has opened a investigation. The past two cases were open and shut with no just cause for investigation.
A family member called and made a personal attack on my character, that had no bearing with anything to do with my childrens best interest or well being at heart, it was a case of revenge and she choose to subject innocent children into this scheme.
I am dealing with my mother being diagnosed with a very deadly breast cancer called inflamatory breast cancer it is at a stage four and was misdiagnosed so by the time they found it was already at stage four.
I am dealing with identity theft – the cpa who did my taxes stole my refund and I have become homeless while dealing with the IRS, on top of this my children who are very loved by their father and I were placed temporarily with grandparents to ensure stability, while we tried to begin the process of building a stable home for the four of us.
What can they absolutely enforce you to cooperate with them on? Do I have the right to see drug tests, home visits, access to medical records, interviewing my children for the third freakin time this year. I feel like I am being targeted, like this is not concern but rather a witchunt. When are they going to realize my girls are perfectly healthy happy children, my oldest gets stomach aches at the mere mention of cps.
And also where do they find these ignorant asses they send to judge my parenting? They should be held to a higher standard if you ask me, after all they have our childrens lifes in their hands!!!!!!!
DHS has been crooked for many years and you being a worker know this is how they operate. Why didn’t you do something about this before they got around to your family? Why didn’t you become a whistle blower when you could have gotten protection? Did you happen to think that this is payback or karma as some call it. Think about it you were a CPS worker and how many people that you dealt with had to go through the same thing that you are going through now and what did you do for them?
i have an open case with cps we have boned everything they have asked daily calling in for drug testing even tho o dont do drugs parenting classes angermanement counselling i gave birth to a healthy breastfed boy 8 weeks later cps petitioned for out of custom care. Well that was fine but we got to court and they lied and accused. Judge ordered baby to stay in the home. A week later my husband asked social worker for marriage counselling and they send emergency worker to take the baby. That night er social worker calls me asking me to feed the baby i go in middle of the night to the office. He tells me if i go to a domestic violence shelter i can keep the baby. He escorts me to the shelter. 4 days later they take the baby again at the shelter. Saying general neglect cuz i told the shelter there was no domestic violence. When we get to court the court papers said i left the shelter then baby was removed. Its a mess. My poor son is in foster care. Judge ordered me to continue breastfeeding but cps lets me see him twice a week for one hour that is if foster mom can make it. I still get up twice a night to pump so i can continue to feed him when i see him and foster mom can give him my milk. Hopefully we can be together again
My heart goes out to everyone that has been hurt by all dhhr cps workers or judges or public affender lawers or prossicuter lawer and any person that has grudges against people and I believe that the dhhr cps workers are money hungry like voltral so I beleve that they all forget about what thier job is all about like protecting and keeping them safe.
The dhhr cps workers and other people in a field that deals with children and they should stop and think of what it does to our child/children when they remove all of our wonderful child/children and place them with complete strangers and I feel that the dhhr workers do not think about when they are ripping our family apart and think the dhhr cps workers only concern is how many child/children they can place in fostercare so they can get the money in thier pockets or hands or bilfolts and purses and I really believe that they do not care about what happens to our child/children mind, safety, wellbeing, that they claim the parents or guardian abuse them in some way and so they can steel from thier familys.
I believe that what they brain wash our children to say or do is more worse to our child/children. Our children are taught to show love, respect, that thier parents or guardian teach them as they grow and the dhhr cps workers or other people that is mad at you will make up lies about you abusing your child/children so they can place them in foster care for no reason just to get a paycheck and make the parson misible and lonely with out thier child/children. If we could give you advice do not trust anyone that they say they want to help you it is usely a lie so run far away and never get your children help from dhhr cps workers or other people if you get that uky feelying about them run because they twist everthing you or child/children around so yo will look so bad and guilty and steal your child/children then make you look bad.
I will let you all know again about my case and my friends cases and this how mine starts around october of 2005 one of my husband so called friend did not like me so they try to harm my husband and that put him the husband for awhile and his doctor gave him a higher mil pain pill as needed and a few weeks went by an I packing stuff up because we was moving and then we were turn into dhhr cps worker an that is where our hell began in december of 2005 to see my family then go back down to the place where was staying but he ask if we could live here and I kelp saying no but he like the state so we move here in the end of december and then on may 31 of 2006 we volunteer to get our child help the by june the 2 of 2006 and I got to see her once after that june the 2 of 2006 and he has not got see her since may the 31 of 2006 and never got asupervice visit because they are liers and thieves and we will never give up on getting you back our CARMENSITA MATIlDIA ROSA SANTIAGO birth day is 12-25-00 if anyone knows where our little miss queeny is tell her we all love her and I we will take our last breath or second here on this until we see her again or she come home.
P.S. we love you so much baby girl and we are sorry that you have and still going through and please if you feel that we did anything to you please excelpt our apligis to you for what ever was bothering you and I thought it was safe to ask dhhr cps workrs for help and I was so wrong and I remember that I told you that I was sorry that my hands was tied because stacey beale had custy of you and you begg me to take you because they were mean to you and I regret not takg you that day because yo needed us. Now we believe that she was adopted but that will not stop us from trying to get her back. I have other friends in the same boat as we are and the the moron took thier children falsely to so I believe we all need to fight harder to get them back . Carmensita where ever you are I want you to know that your daddy robert and your mommy beatriz and my self and all the rest of your family misses you bad and you remember that joy and carl miss you to an I believe by faith that my God and my Jesus will send all our children home to us soon .
I live in canton ohio I have 2 kids my kids are in foster care the worker that was on my case told a lot of lies I had a public defender on my case he did not do nothing on my case he did not file nothing on my case my kids are suffering in foster care I would like for everyone to know I have group meetings here in canton ohio every friday If anyone would like to come let me u can bring friends with u if like to a lot of parents / families are in need of a lot of help / support we have to all come together in all states I would like for anyone to call me 330 249-1541
that’s terrible that cps doesn’t play fair all the time when I pulled out my video camera and let the caseworker know she was being recorded, she said it was against company policy, that lets me know that they have something to hide.
It’s hard to find articles on CPS workers who will admit to the agency’s corruptness. It means so much more to the public to hear it from the “horse’s” mouth.
To all of those who are faced with cps. Fight as hard as you can! Find the money get a court reporter to keep the Judge honest. Don’t speak with cps. Make them prove everything in court. Record everything.
If it’s not decided in your favor, appeal it! You usually have ten days to do this. Don’t sign anything or agree to anything unless they adjudicate you guilty. Even then they can not force anything if you appeal it. It’s on hold while you appeal. They will try to intimidate you don’t let them!
Be sure you object on the record in court to anything that is wrong. If your wimpy court appointed attorney will not defend you. Stand up in Court and ask the Judge if you may speak. State your objection or whatever nicely and tell the Judge you wish to preserve your objection in the record.
If the Judge will not allow you to speak, at least it’s in the record if you retained your own court reporter. Expose them every way you can. File a motion to recuse your prejudicial Judge if needed. File a Judicial complaint. You have to research. You can not file a pro se motion with a court appointed attorney unless he refuses to file your motion. If this is the case state at the beginning of your motion that you are forced to file this motion pro se since your attorney refused to file it on your behalf as you requested him to do.
File complaints with Ombudsman for DSS. Don’t do anything without a signed court order. Don’t speak with child’s Guardian ad Litem unless you absolutely have to. They are not your child’s friend or yours.
Guardian Ad Litems and Casa workers are beholden to DSS and go along with caseworkers. They could care less about your children or you.
Get signed notarized witness statements attesting to facts from anyone who can provide them. Child’s school records, medical whatever will help your case. Visit your child as much as possible. If your child is in foster care with strangers request in court that Judge allow kinship care. The relative providing kinship care usually can just go file petition for temporary custody at clerks office, then the Judge is forced to hear petition and if relative has no criminal record and can provide shelter and food than child can be taken out of foster care and placed with relative.
Try to get the children out of foster care system immediately and with family or relative. This is critical! Children that are with relatives in kinship care are less at risk of being permanently removed or TPRd. The longer your children are in foster care with strangers the greater the risk of losing them.
Wish everyone luck. I’m going to do everything I can to stop them. We need to unite together in mass numbers to change laws and take our children back. I actually have a social worker who is willing to speak out against Franklin County DSS in Virginia here. I am working to locate more parents harmed in Virginia as well. God Bless you all. Don’t give up!!!
Wow, Kathy Deluca, remembering her makes me sick! and yes, Suzie from WV I’m very familiar with her and Charlestons MOB court! They did the exact thing to my son.Your story is almost a duplication of ours..
I see no one has made any more comments on this forum, what has happened to all of you now?
I ready and have been ready for the “lawsuit” Ive been mad for 17 years about them, no one listened then and no one now, still?!
I personally hope Deluca gets run over by a buss! But even if she did, some other subhuman will take her place!