help a local baby was taken away for having a uc! - Page 9

[Tuckersmom]

Originally Posted by aisraeltax

your bank should be able to help you. they do this all the time for victims of catastrophy, etc.

i think someone else should probably do it then. there is no way for me to go to town until the weekend and then maybe not even then.

[Mamid]

Start a paypal account for them? I'd give you all my pennies I currently have in there.

[rainbowmoon]

too bad Mothering couldn't do an article on this story to inform parents of their rights..sigh

[CaliMommie]

Great comic Hathor! That illustrates how I feel every time I think of this poor family! I too will donate to any fund that is set up. I think a PP account is a great idea!

[Hathor]

Okay, here's an idea

Some one should start a webblog/organization in support of the family in their fight with cps. You can sign up with paypal and have a donation button, most of them take about an hour to set up-even if they just use it for groceries it's something, you know? Everyone could post their letters on it, to share and the addresses to mail them to...

One thing I've heard about is targeted letters to the editor.
An organization picks 3 newspapers a week (especially ones that have run articles that are unfriendly to alterna-families) posts the editors name and address. Then everyone targets them with a letter. The cool part is once you write your letter(s) you can use them over and over, so it's not that time consuming and with an onslaught they are sure to print at least one of them.

We really need to start an education campaign-homebirth, vaccinations, breastfeeding, homeschooling, co-sleeping...we need to speak about them loud and clear.

And of course, if we expose CPS for their lying, cheating and stealing...it can only protect everyone in the long run.

I'm feeling kind of busy to take on this project, but will gladly support anyone who has the ability to do one or both of them.

Peace,
Heather

[Milkymommi]

Beautimus comic Hathor! I set it as my desktop theme...

[Mamid]

The problem with that is that there are children who really need to be taken from their parents for blatant signs of abuse, not just because they aren't raising them according to state legislated values. So, in the eyes of the masses, CPS is a good thing. It rescues poor abused children from dangerous parents and gives them over to caring foster parents.

What people forget is more often than not, those parents are poor to begin with, the foster parents get paid twice as much as the parents had been to raise this foundlings (that's just to start - add in "special needs" and watch the foster parents rake in thousands) and even adoptive parents get bonuses for adopting the kids that were in care.

What is really sickening about CPS is that in many states (and some provinces) these kids are also put on adoption sites with the parental status listed counting the days down until the kids are available to be adopted. They are listed with their picture, the names of their siblings - sometimes its a pseudonym - and what their "special needs" are.

The sickest thing is the parental status. Kids listed before their parents' rights are terminated, often months if not years. I don't think any of these parents were ever told that there was a time limit that they had to adhere to in order to get their children back. In BC, a child under five can not be in foster care for more than 365 days and every day, or portion thereof, is counted towards that. Over five, its two years. But other provinces and states have similar legislation.

This is what happened...

The psychologist took offence that his client was going to have a birth at home against medical advice - after all, home births aren't safe.

Or the hospital had called. After all, she did come in with a yeast infection and sought medical advice for that why wouldn't she not for the birth itself? She must be an unstable mother!

So the call to CPS is made to warn them about this family and the danger they pose to their unborn child. They come. They inspect. Baby isn't born yet. They threaten to come back. If the baby hadn't been born on their second visit, they would have come back again and again until it had.

Baby is born. Baby is seized by coersion by CPS to make sure the baby is "healthy" because mom hasn't seen a doctor yet to do a well baby check. Or at least that's the assumption by CPS. She has a yeast infection and that's just so dangerous....

So they take the baby for "medical care" with the parent's consent because the parents have been told to "trust us." Instead of being returned, the baby is placed in foster care and immediately, the process of permanent removal starts.

Yes, it started immediately.

Forcing the parents to sign that paper under duress was wrong. I'm sure it also includes consent to random visits by CPS until the kid turns 18. If not in so many words, then in the fact that they signed it.

And the honus is on the parents to prove they are good parents. It doesn't matter if the allegations are made up, exaggerated or down right bogus. Anyone can call for any reason. The way the CPS propaganda machine is worked is that if the call is made, the parents must be guilty. In schools, kids are taught to call on parents for any reason. I've heard of too many horror stories of the kids calling in because they disagree with a punishment that was given and decide to punish the parents for it. So the entire process starts. Even when kids have been caught in multiple lies, they are believed, as stated by one social worker "kids have a need to be believed." Obviously they have completely forgotten what little liars kids can be.

Be very careful when you try to help this family. The wrong step could destroy them. Get a lawyer and force CPS to talk to them through the lawyer. That should add a smidge of protection.

[Hathor]

Hi Mamid,

Originally Posted by Mamid

Be very careful when you try to help this family. The wrong step could destroy them. Get a lawyer and force CPS to talk to them through the lawyer. That should add a smidge of protection.

So true. We don't want to force this family into being the poster child of a movement, there are definitely ways to talk about CPS and natural parenting without having to talk about specific cases. Or dragging a family into the spotlight. I think that is one of the most incriminating points about CPS, that they can (and have) hold your children from you if you fight them.

I read in a cps reform site that the goal would be something like this...completely dismantle the CPS system. Arrest child abusers based on existing law, with search warrants only, have a system of temporary foster homes for the cases where they are needed. Whenever possible release the children to their extended family.

Like I said though, this is just amateur research...but I liken it to the illegal wiretaps or searches of US citizens, they might occassionally find a criminal but the law is there to protect citizens. CPS circumvents the law and should be held accountable for it.

[Mamid]

i've been dealing with CPS one way or another for 13 years. I have my file from before DS was born. I really should FOI my file from DS and DD.

What pissed me off the most about CPS is that they'd get called. They'd investigate. They'd find some things needed fixing. (So I'm not fragging June Cleaver nor the cleanest housewife) We'd fix said things. They'd make demands that we both keep it up and do other things. When asked for funding to pay for it, we were told time and again that the funding wasn't available. No funding, no way to help us, no way to justify their jobs to stay involved with us even though DS is "special needs" according to their criteria, so the file is "closed." Not even when I had a newborn, a hyperactive toddler, DP's heart attack and my being post partum. Nope. All I got from all of that was extra daycare time for DS (woopee) and a light bulb changed.

But its never really closed. Any time our name comes up, we get a visit within two weeks at the most. I can't wait for the "you don't have prenatal care????" visit that I know is going to happen...

I think that's the reason why we haven't been pestered like I had been when it came to ODD. I was lied to (vaccines were mandatory, they told me) and bullied because I didn't know what I know now. They also had far more funds then too. But CPS, no matter what district, acts the same. Take the kids, justify in hindsight the reason why the kids are taken, work towards removing parental rights, and adopt out.

The US system is bad for that. The BC system, the funds that foster parents get starts at 600$. For a "second level special needs" the financial benefit could be over 4000$/month just to the foster parents. Do they give that money to the parents to care for the kids? Nope. Just foster parents. I have read too many horror stories where families have willingly given up their children because that was the only way they could get adequate care for them! They weren't going to help the families and keep them together because that was far cheaper than foster care since it didn't justify their jobs.

Once a child is in foster care, there is a whole machine that comes into play. Foster parents. Councellors for the kids (if they are old enough), respite care for the foster parents (after all, they are paid to take care of other people's children), councellors for parents, psychologists, lawyers, court costs and more. Parents are often bankrupted in order to fight to try to get their children back. If they are low income to begin with, they are also probably low education which can be used against them as well. Foster parents are often higher educated, white, and well off.

Its a scam started because bleeding hearts years ago were upset that animals had more rights than children. Yes, child abuse exists, but the way CPS is now, it is out of control! Instead of helping families and children that need the help, they punish those that don't and ignore those that really do.

[Mamid]

Child Protection Reform <= They have a petition to sign!

I'll see if I can find more links...

[Mama Dragon]

It makes me sick to think they won't help poor parents fix the things they say need fixing (much of which are because the family is poor and without knowledge of their resources), but they'll give foster parents all that money. I almost became a foster mom last year but got pregnant and didn't want to over extend myself...and now I'm grateful I never got that application in.

Mamid, I had to deal with CPS as well, thanks to my ex-SIL hitting her DD and blaming it on me. I almost had my kids taken away by an overzealous drug addict CPS working who "just knew" I was doing and dealing drugs, and she wanted her share. Thankfully my DH (boyfriend at the time)'s family is very influencial in that town and that worker was eventually fired and run from town before anything happened to my kids.

DH said last night he'll be on baord with a UC...but ya know, it's kinda scaring me. But I won't let the system win, I am NOT going to a hospital just because someone else wants to control my life.

[fremontmama]

Originally Posted by Hathor

Some one should start a webblog/organization in support of the family in their fight with cps. You can sign up with paypal and have a donation button, most of them take about an hour to set up-even if they just use it for groceries it's something, you know? Everyone could post their letters on it, to share and the addresses to mail them to...

One thing I've heard about is targeted letters to the editor.
An organization picks 3 newspapers a week (especially ones that have run articles that are unfriendly to alterna-families) posts the editors name and address. Then everyone targets them with a letter. The cool part is once you write your letter(s) you can use them over and over, so it's not that time consuming and with an onslaught they are sure to print at least one of them.

We really need to start an education campaign-homebirth, vaccinations, breastfeeding, homeschooling, co-sleeping...we need to speak about them loud and clear.

And of course, if we expose CPS for their lying, cheating and stealing...it can only protect everyone in the long run.

I'm feeling kind of busy to take on this project, but will gladly support anyone who has the ability to do one or both of them.

Peace,
Heather

These are great ideas Heather. I dont think I am able to get the ball rolling, but I would participate if someone were able to get it started.

[Mamid]

Well, we had "resources" which were laughable. All the resources flaked after 2 weeks when DP had his heart attack. Okay, he went into Atrial Fibrillation for 4 callendar months, but its still a heart attack. We could have used resources like respite care for DS, homemaker and more.

Nope. No funds. ARGH! The worst part of that was the social worker kept me hanging for 3 months before he told me that! We had worked with the guy for 9 months to get resources for DS and the only thing they could guarantee us was a letter about how he required daycare. yeah, the daycare wasn't me, but we needed him to be in a place where he could just play so I could care for DP.

The problem with organizing a webblog or something like that is that, once again, the public's perception of any parent dealing with CPS is that they are at fault. Damned if you do and damned if you don't, kwim? We have to tread lightly if we're going to do anything to help them.

[mlleoiseau]

okay, so she can't breastfeed her daughter. What about feeding her donated breastmilk? Or would that be too hard for cps to believe that it was donated and not her own?
I wouldn't be able to help out cause I'm no longer lactating, but I'm sure there would be moms in the area who would be glad to pump and donate.
Just a thought.

[Mamid]

That's not the point. The baby has a right to breastfeed. CPS not allowing that beneficial resource to be used is just setting the child up for sickness later in life.

I'd have screwed the medicine and nursed the baby. If the drugs are for thrush, they should have been through her system by now. If they are for "depression" there are others that can be taken while nursing and she should be on those instead.

The question is - does she really need the drugs in the first place? I'd get a second if not a third opinion before having her on them.

CPS is interfeering with the child's right to health. That is child abuse at its worse!

[ErinBird]

Originally Posted by Hathor

Some one should start a webblog/organization in support of the family in their fight with cps. You can sign up with paypal and have a donation button, most of them take about an hour to set up-even if they just use it for groceries it's something, you know? Everyone could post their letters on it, to share and the addresses to mail them to...

One thing I've heard about is targeted letters to the editor.
An organization picks 3 newspapers a week (especially ones that have run articles that are unfriendly to alterna-families) posts the editors name and address. Then everyone targets them with a letter. The cool part is once you write your letter(s) you can use them over and over, so it's not that time consuming and with an onslaught they are sure to print at least one of them.

We really need to start an education campaign-homebirth, vaccinations, breastfeeding, homeschooling, co-sleeping...we need to speak about them loud and clear.

And of course, if we expose CPS for their lying, cheating and stealing...it can only protect everyone in the long run.

I'm feeling kind of busy to take on this project, but will gladly support anyone who has the ability to do one or both of them.

Peace,
Heather

Would a website, perhaps along the lines of breastfeedingisnormal.org, be appropriate? I feel like there are sites specifically to support women interested in pursuing unassisted birth, but we need to realize that most women aren't such hardcore birth warriers

I'm imagining a place linking together the info we all know about the safety of doing our own prenatal care, the philosophy behind unassisted birth, and some of the other choices commonly seen as "weird" or even "dangerous" and helping "outsiders" to understand that our choices are safe, valid choices that work for our families. Maybe a place like this exists already and I haven't found it.

Let me ponder the idea for a while and get a better idea of what is involved before I throw myself into something

[Mamid]

okay.. Mainstream Opinion: Birth is in the hospital. Its the nutjobs that have births with midwives or at home. Unnassisted? Are you insane! No, wait - you are! You don't want your baby to die! Go to the hospital you insane woman! You could need a cesarean. Your baby could die! What if something happened!!!

We need to talk with their lawyer - a good one not the moron that got them to sign that form - and find out where he wants to go and how he wants to attack this head on.

For right now, write letters of support and send them to Tuckersmom(?) so she can give them to the family. Get data together that proves homebirth is safe. Etc etc etc

If you wanted to start the website on your own, go for it. Allow them the use of it if they choose. But remember, they have to take tiny steps because they don't want this to backfire on them. CPS has already kidnapped their child once. There is nothing that will prevent them from doing it again if the CPS worker decides its in the "child's best interest.":

[kaylee18]

Originally Posted by Mamid

...But remember, they have to take tiny steps because they don't want this to backfire on them. CPS has already kidnapped their child once. There is nothing that will prevent them from doing it again if the CPS worker decides its in the "child's best interest.":

My perspective is that this^ is the mentality that allows CPS to keep doing blatantly illegal things. No one ever calls them on it, because they are afraid CPS will take the child for good (or for years).

Wake-up call: CPS may be majorly screwed up, but we do still have a Constitution in this country. CPS is BS'ing its way through and doing things that are illegal. Parents need to stand up to CPS and tell them, No, I am not signing your forms; and No, I don't believe your threats; and No, I am not shutting up; and (most importantly) We are taking you to court until you admit to YOUR wrongdoing, return our children, and pay restitution for your illegal actions.

When you play along with CPS, you are fueling their screwed-up system. You are not only permitting CPS to torture your family over an 18+ year period, but also dooming other families to the same coercive treatment.

The answer is not to skip town.
Not to play along.
Not to shut up.

The answer is to fight for your rights. Even when it means waiting longer to regain custody. It will be worth it in the end, both for the parents courageous and informed enough to do it and for the families down the road that CPS will think twice before harassing.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

[Mamid]

Time limits. "Taking longer" can and has resulted in parents loosing custody because of arbitrary time limits. If you can't prove your case while your child is in care by the time the time limit ends, they will terminate your parental rights.

Right now, they have the baby. They have to be careful. If they aren't, they could loose their child for good.

[mamaofthree]

Ok, so I am thick, but I don't see how CPS can retake their child if the get out there and make noise. If they fight them tooth and nail if they go to the media or get a new lawyer or both. I don't understand.
AND I don't understand what med is she taking?? Something for thrush... because the baby would need that med too or something for depression. And how would CPS know if she nursed the baby or not? I mean if they had a can of formula and a couple bottles in the house how would they know how the baby was fed unless someone stayed at the house 24/7 or if they had someone sit at the house for hours at a time waiting for the baby to need to eat. Plus, once they have the baby back, do they have to let CPS in evertime? Can't they say no? And if that is not the case, why the hell are they not getting noisy about it?
Like I said before CPS bugs people how are OK and leaves sh*t parents with their kids. I don't get it. What kind of time limit is there? A week a month??
Like I said I am thick about this....:

H