I was personally involved in one case where the Department of Human Services removed a child from its mother’s care. What I saw appalled me. DHS claimed that if the mother passed a lie detector test, she would have her child back. She passed, but did not get the child back. She was told that if she passed a second lie detector test, she would get her child back. She passed, but did not get her child back. She was told that if she took parenting classes, she would get her child back. She did so, and did not get her child back.
When I went to graduate school in counseling at the University in Orono, I thought my attitude toward DHS would make me an outsider among the many mental health workers who were upgrading their education. Not so. Almost every one of them had a story at least as appalling as mine. The trouble is, no one could name names because of confidentiality.
In addition, I have heard of many mental health people who were afraid of speaking out because they were concerned about their careers. Also, I have heard of several who were threatened by DHS that their own children might be taken from them if they spoke out against DHS.
There are no checks on the power of DHS to take children from their parents. This needs to change. In addition, the financial incentive for DHS to remove children from their families needs to be changed, so that the incentive is to keep the children with their parents or with close relatives.
I take it you've had some bad experiences with Child Welfare (as they're calling themselves here in Oregon now). Fortunately, I have a good working relationship with our DHS here, and that goes a long way when I have the unfortunate task to make a report. Sure, I can gripe about things they do now and then. However, in my five years as a school counselor, I've never known them to remove a child unnecessarily or resort to some of the cheap shots you've noted here in your blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying it never happens, but perhaps we're more fortunate than most.
DHHS is trying to shut my daughter up by taking away her
ReplyDeleteconstitutional right to free speech. They are threatening to keep
her baby away from her and her fiance for as long as they insist on
making their voices heard. My daughter has been continually
harrassed by the department of health and human services for 2
years. My daughter has 2 other children who are also in state
custody due to her ex-husband not wanting to pay her child support
when my daughter told him to take a long walk off a short pier. My
pervert former son in-law now has the older 2 children living with
him at his mommy's house in Raymond. He doesn't support those
children his mother and his step-daddy do with help from the state.
This so called man was allowed to withhold money from my daughter
for 8 years and made her and my older 2 grandchildren basically
starve. He also almost allowed my daughter to die on her livingroom
floor because he refused to bring her to the hospital when she was
pregnant with my grandson, my daughter went into kidney failure and
was hemmorhaging. I was told the story by my daughter as well as her
sisters so I know it's not a lie! My former son in-law chases after
15 year old girls online and he's 30 years of age.......and yet my
daughter is the unfit parent? How fucked up is this state anyway? My
daughter has this fat bitch for a case worker by the name of Karen
Ward and an immature asshole for a guardian ad litem by the name of
Steve Carey.....any of you know of these two bright bulbs? Well my
daughter has been thrown into debt due to empty promises made by the
dept and is running the risk of losing everything without help. The
dept has forced her and her fiance to jump through millions of hoops
(this is no exaggeration) they even forced her into a group home
when she was pregnant with my grand-daughter, and when my daughter
left this so called group home after completing the parenting
program the dept took custody of my grand-daughter from my daughter
and her fiance stating that she was in danger of being put into
harms way. This from a dept that allowed my older grand-daughter to
be sexually molested at the hands of my daughters ex-husband and his
step-father. The judge (Judge Powers)that my daughter has had for
this case always sides with the dept. he never even gave my daughter
a fair chance. My daughter and her fiance had their own apartment
which was approved by the dept for my grand-daughter to be returned
home to and yet it never happened and why? All because one miserable
incompetent case worker has a personal grudge against my family.
Steve Carey and Karen Ward are about to find themselves on the
losing end of a lawsuit by myself and my husband for slander and
defemation of character due to accusations they are throwing around
about our family. My daughter and her fiance are also going to be
suing the dept with help from myself and my husband for violation of
their civil rights and harrassment. I hope the state of Maine is
ready to be dragged through the mud! My family will not stop
fighting until all 3 of my grandbabies come home to their mother
where they belong. If this harrassment continues I'm gonna start
naming names so that people can protest outside of my daughter's
former in-laws places of work as well as their home. The dept and
that family have pushed myself, my husband and my daughter far
enough......we're not gonna sit back and take anymore bullshit,
we're gonna start fighting back and making our voices heard.
Starting HERE.....Starting NOW! It's time to take back the power and
take back our families!