[sirenity9]

I was diagnosed schizoaffective around 3 years ago. My exs family called dhss and made up a ton of fake alligations agains me ridiculous stuff. Dhss came over saw no signs of abuse or neglect but "recommended" he be placed with his father until I finsh their service plan. They then found domestic abuse issues with his dad so then allowed my son to be sent all the way to flordia and did not tell me until a month after that was done. We had and still have a pending custody case at the time. It was been five months and i have not seen or even heard from my son. I have done everyting dhss has asked me to do like keep up with me doc apts which i was already doing do mental assessment take a court class take a parenting class for about 3 months now they say ohh were closing your class but we need you to do this one thing first i do that thing talk to them again and they ysay i need to do something else. They also told my ex that my son doesnt need to be around gay stuff.we volunteer at pride festivals. and my son doesnt need to be exposed to witchcraft and that i do black magic. SHe also told him i was crazy. I ve made complaints everywehre but no one is helping and i dont have money for a lawyer. I have custody court against his dad on tuesday with no lawyer and he does have one. WHtr do i do? Ive never ever had any problem with anyone regarding dhss abuse or neglect.if my doctors had ever thought there was a problem they wqould have called. My son has lived souly with me for the past 2 years with his dad only having him over night times in those two years and never paid child support.

[Victoria'smom]

Ask the court for a lawyer.

[sirenity9]

Originally Posted by Miguel'smom

Ask the court for a lawyer.

they wont give legal aid unless there was abuse in he relationshp which i have no proof of

This is so sad. Do you think this was started by the father so he could get out of paying child support?

There are legal aide groups and other advocacy groups you could contact. Usually the court can give you contact information.

I hope your son is doing ok.

[Nammu]

(((((( sirenity))))))
I'm sorry that's happening, I have no advice but wanted to give you a bit of support and welcome to to PC

[Yoda]

Home

[Lost_in_the_woods]

(((HUGS)))
So sorry this is happening to your family.
Social Services seems to be exempt from any laws or regulations...it's just plain awful, esp. when so many good parents who have some issues but nothing that should warrant a child removed from custody are put under attack. ...I look around and see so many awful parents doing terrible thing to and around their kids and it make me want to cry, bc I will never understand how ppl like that manage to avoid DCF, yet decent loving people who do their best daily to love and raise their children are persecuted
Hope it get resolved soon and your little one is returned safely home to you :

Originally Posted by sirenity9

they wont give legal aid unless there was abuse in he relationshp which i have no proof of

Double check on that. You should be entitled to a court-appointed attorney in this type of case. Ask the judge. Good luck.

[amandalouise]

did some checking on this. in all 50 states when a child is removed from the home and there is a DHS case going on, if the parents can not afford a lawyer the court appoints one due to maranda rights that any one accused of a crime has the right to a lawyer and if they can not afford one, one will be appointed to them.

my suggestion is look at all your paperwork and court papers that have to do with dhs removing your child and placing your child in care, those papers will list who your court appointed lawyer is. if you cant find the lawyers name you call the court house and they will tell you who your lawyer is, if one has not been appointed to you yet you tell the courthouse clerk and they will tell you what you need to bring in as proof that you can not afford your own lawyer, then when all the paperwork is done the court will appoint you a lawyer.

[mugwort2]

I believe raindyday107 is right. Good luck to you. Your local American Bar Assoc. may be able to help you.

The oppression and stigma people with mental illness have to live with is the most disgusting and unfair thing in the world. Because we have these disorders we didn't choose, it's okay for us to have our rights stolen?!! What happened SHOULD be considered DISCRIMINATION and ILLEGAL. Would they remove a child only because of your race or religion? No, so why should they be able to do it based on a DISABILITY??

Many parents who do neglect or abuse their children do NOT have a history of mental illness. I don't understand AT ALL how those two are even related. One day, I can only hope this type of injustice will be outlawed and those scumbags will have to pay for KIDNAPPING your son and taking him to another state to be raised by a family who has no business in his life. Children's services doesn't seem to care about children one bit, all that matters to them is the money they can make from stealing them.

I'm sorry I don't have actual advice for you, but this just hurts me so much that it can happen. You did nothing wrong and you deserve to have your child. I hope very much that you will have him back soon and this system can pay for what it has done!

PS-Actually, I do have advice for you. Go to the news and tell your story. Expose them for what they've done and maybe you can get more support from others that way since they'll see what's going on.

Originally Posted by Lost_in_the_woods

Social Services seems to be exempt from any laws or regulations...

That needs to END. NOW. And every worker who wrongfully removed a child needs to be charged with kidnapping and put in jail.

Okay, I'm adding 1 more thing. I just read something about this and it said that social workers have to go by "instinct". That made me sick. So basically anyone with that degree can walk in, decide they don't like you for whatever reason, and it's legal for them to take your kids and destroy your family. I'm ashamed to be human.

Logic and facts exist for a reason. When they go into a home, there is 1 simple, yes or no question. Is there abuse or not? If not, meaning, 0 evidence, they aren't above the law..removing the children is a crime. And anytime a child needs to be removed, if they are being abused, the parent should also be arrested.

If you don't have something you can arrest the parent for, you cannot take the child. Sometimes black and white thinking is a good thing.

[Gus1234U]

by all means, seek emotional and legal support~!
you might qualify for Legal Aid. and there are organizations that help, like the Cross Disabilities Coalition and N.A.M.I.

i hope you find help, because the system is rigged against anyone with a Psych Dx. do not feel all alone~~

[Mygrandjourney]

Love em or hate em, this may be a case that the ACLA would consider. It sounds wrong on many levels. Removal of custody requires a "preponderance of evidence" to support the contention that the child is being abused and/or neglected. This would include: signs of physical abuse (evidence such as scars, marks on skin, records of Emergency Dept visits with unexplained injuries, etc), obvious signs of substance abuse in the home, obvious violence in the home, lack of adequate food, clothing, shelter, inability of a parent to get children to school, medical appointments, etc. The caseworkers need documented evidence that this is happening, not just "instincts". The laws, some of which are federal, require that the family unit be kept intact and every reasonable effort be made to keep the children in contact with the parents unless there are obvious and overwhelming safety concerns related to the respective parents. DSS would need to make every effort to place a child within the biological family unit (including aunts/uncles, grandparents, cousins, adult siblings) BEFORE going outside the family for placement. All told, permanency decisions should not be made in less than 18 months. Unless I'm missing something, it doesn't sound like DSS is following the rules and regulations. Good luck getting help and support.

Originally Posted by rainyday107

Double check on that. You should be entitled to a court-appointed attorney in this type of case. Ask the judge. Good luck.

exactly, you are guaranteed access to a lawyer

[-jimi-]

It's really backwards if helping at a gay parade is seen as a BAD thing and being a BAD role model. Do they want kids growing up around people who DON'T want to try to make this world a better place?

Crazy.

[amandalouise]

just a bit of information on how the child protective services works here in the USA...

Each State has their own standards of what is and isnt considered to be abuse. many states now do consider things like practicing withcraft/black magic and taking an underaged child to gay pride week festivals\events. these laws are due to the fact that many witchcraft\black magic sects perform rituals that may be mentally or physically harmful for children to witness

gay pride parades and other gay pride festival events are in the law books now for child abuse in some states because its known for riot situations where a child can be emotionally and physically harmed. in short a persons sexual life is not for a child and many gay pride events have sexually charged \sexually based topics like the vagina monologues, floats and other parade items that depict sex, sexualized items and such. example here in NY one of the last parade floats included blow up dolls, vibrators and a semi borderline porn video of two women in bed engaging in sexual activity, one of the speakers\events here in NY during one gay pride week was an open stage with a local comedian re enacting the vagina monologues (for anyone that does not know what this is you can google it on youtube.)

child protective services gets a call of possible abuse/neglect of a child. they assign the call to a caseworker who when ever possible goes to the childs school and talks with the child with out the parents knowledge so that the child is not influenced by the parents on what to say, then the caseworker goes and interviews the parents. if the childs story and parents story conflicts they for the childs safely remove the child so that more indept investigation can be done. childrens services has a certain amount of time to complete their investigation and meet with the parents to discuss any problem areas that were found. if problem areas were found the child is not returned. a plan is set up with the parents and the courts on what the parents must do with in a certain time limit. if every thing is done with in the time limit that the state allows for the child to remain in care and still able to reunite the child with their parents, there is a reuniting plan to work. once the reuniting plan is complete the child is returned to parent. if at any point the parents in question have not completed the courts mandates with in the time allowed or there is more to be done and the states time limit for how long that child can remain in care with the possibility of being returned runs out the permanency plan begins where the child is placed out of the reach of the parent the case is about while the courts decide on final \permanent custody or termination of parental rights and the child adopted out of the parents home.

now rereading the posts in this thread Im guessing this case is in the permanency planning phase. by the posters own post they stated the child was removed due to accusations of mental illness, practicing witchraft\black magic and taking a child to gay pride events. then they were told things that needed to be done on their end which means to me that some part of the allegations were proven, then the child was moved to another state where they could not see the child. now there is a custody hearing of whether the father or mother will be getting custody.

my opinion if this poster was here in my location it sounds to me that dhs is doing its job of protecting the child and making sure the parents homes are the right way it should be for the child to either come home to the mother or permanently reside with the father.

my suggestion to the original poster is contact DHS they will tell you why your child was removed from your home and why they wanted you to complete the things they asked you to and why even now when you feel you have completed everything asked of you your child isnt home with you yet, it may just be a formality of needing to finalize in court by way of a custody hearing to return the child to your or the childs fathers custody. they will also tell you who your lawyer is on the case and how to contact that lawyer.

[BLUEDOVE]

God Bless.

If you follow your case plan, you'll be reunited with your child.

The court appointed attorneys are very experienced- they will advocate for your rights. They are good lawyers. Get one. Ask the judge.

Good luck. I think this will work out.