Unjust

[drfky1216]

about a month ago my 1 year old came home from her father's house with bruising on her face and leg.When asked about the bruising he simply replied they were there when i picked her up.however i know for a fact that that baby had absolutely no marks on her whatsoever when he picked her up the day before.so i took her home called the police and was informed to take her out to the children's hospital to have it documented.so i did.two days later cps contacted me and informed me that they would be removing my children from my custody.my youngest was placed with one of my family members, and since my oldest has a different father she was placed with him and his wife.The father of my youngest has not been contacted.They have only attempted to call him, they have not tried to go to his residence.HE failed to show up for the first court date, and had nothing done to him.however i am being ordered to take counseling and parenting classes. I feel i am being treated unfairly. I did what i was supposed to do. I did what i thought was right in order to protect my child, and now i am being punished. my kids are everything to me, they are my world, and the reason i wake up every day. being away from them is tearing me apart. can cps do this??? i need some help fighting them on this one. it doesn't seem right that nothing is being done to the father. and everything is being done to me. i am the one who called the police, i took her to the hospital,i spoke up when i felt my child had been hurt by someone.HELP ME PLEASE

[angelheart83]

What you're experiencing is fairly common. In CPS' eyes, you "failed to protect" your child from the other parent and are therefore just as guilty as he is. Yes, seriously, they really think this way...even when the parent took the child for medical attention.

The best advice is to hire a private attorney. The court-appointed ones are a joke and will not help you. A good attorney is your best chance of getting your children back.

I hope things work out well for you and your children.

[Cheryl]

She has it exactly right. Since YOU are the custodial parent, YOU are to blame for what ever happened that day. Either way, Failure to protect or the abuse itself, they are going to make you responsible. Since the ex does not have custody, it becomes voluntary for him. Of course he is not going to answer the door or phone. He is likely not going to have any contact with them. He may, in fact, have planned this to happen so he could go back to the divorce/family court, and use this against you to get custody. Many ex's do just that so they can out from underneath child support payments by turning the tables. Especially when the custody is temp only until the decree date.

I don't know this to be the case with your ex, but it sounds as if the situation is within the norm for this occurance.

[Daruma]

I'm really sorry this is happening to you. But yes, CPS can do anything they can get away with. Sometimes they violate the law in order to take children, on the assumption that the parents won't know the difference (which is often true). A good attorney is your best option. Look for one who's aggressive and proactive, with a proven track record. You probably can't afford one; CPS tends to prey on low-income victims who don't know their way around the court system. But maybe you can find an attorney who'll let you make payments. Then sell whatever you can to raise the money, and beg or borrow from your friends and relatives. I'm sorry the system is so horribly unfair. You didn't deserve this.

[angelheart83]

Yes, it's terrible what they're able to get away with.

They have a similar line of thinking in domestic abuse cases. When a wife is beaten by her husband (or the other way around), many CPS agents believe that the WIFE is also guilty of "exposing the children to domestic violence". Even if she takes her children and flees, the fact that it happened still makes her guilty in CPS' eyes. This practice was so bad in NYC that it was finally banned after a lawsuit...but it remains common in other court systems not affected by this ruling.

[perfectly_flawed]

My son was taken from me almost 8 years ago because I had run from an abusive relationship and was struggling to start over. It's VERY common for CPS to do this! Any attempts to get help usually end up with them involved and blaming the nonabusive parent. It's taken nearly 8 years of fighting but my son was finally returned to me. A good attorney is an absolute must, no matter what you have to do to get one. Getting one outside of your immediate court area is a good idea too. That way you avoid "friendships" between the attorney and court people. I hope you also find your happy ending without the many years of hell that my son and I endured to get ours.