I want to get help

[hls94137]

Hello!
I go to court tomorrow for the first time since they took the children (its been 6 days). Right now, and this is something i dont understand, the only "charges" they have in court are about the domestic violence. This is stemming from an incident 6 months ago that i was the victim. There have been allegations of drug use and they are mentioned in the affidavit that got the children but i guess there hasnt been a case filed yet nor a supplement to the domestic. I have no criminal charges at all. Prior to all this happening I had already made a decision that I was ready to go to treatment, my appointments were already set up. I know this is what i need to do so we are trying to see if i voluntarily go to treatment if they wont file anything else. What do you think? I keep doing things that i think are best though only to look back and regret. I wish the police never would have gotten involved when the assault took place. Makes ya think twice, just like the protection order, who is that really going to help? Because I feel that the only ones punished for the assault are me and my children as he had the charge of child abuse dropped (i was holding my baby went he started to hit me) was on parole and parole not even revoked. He is back in prison now but only because of new drug charge. Also i was going to get my drug and alcohol evaluation only to realize the only reason my case worker was so eager to pay for it was so she could get a copy for more "evidence" on the possibilty of the new case. realized this after i got to my appointment and before i saw my attorney who told me to hold off for the time being till she sees if they agree not to file.

I only want what is best for myself and my children but they are making it difficult. I want to get help and was in the process before they stepped in and took the children. Now because of legal reasons im at a stand still. Somebody please tell me this is all a nightmare and i am going to wake up and my children will be home. I am not a bad mom but they seem to be doing all they can to make me believe i am.

[RKeyser]

hls94137,, hun I wish I could hug you and tell you all will be ok, however, the real thing about it is after these people still your babies it's hard to win. How old are your kids? What state are you in? Did you have other charges against you for any other crime or case? Listen to your lawyer, do not do anything that gives the caser a chance to look into your personal medical file, it's against the law for her/him to do that without your concent. Never and I mean NEVER see or talk to a case worker without your lawyer or without your lawyer knowing all about it, carry a tape recorder and record all conversations with any case worker. God bless you hun, the road is long, trust in God, He will see you through.

[daddyanddede]

his94137 would like to wish you all the luck in the world. will agree with RKEYSER NEVER NEVER talk to any of them with out your laywer there or a whole room full of people you can trust to tell the truth

[hls94137]

My children are 21 months and 4 1/2. I am in nebraska. No i do not have any charges against me in criminal court. I did have some drug charges back in 1997. Heres what they are basing it on-My babies grandma, his dad and his sister. Now they are trying to get my baby which would separate the two. They treat my daughter (4 1/2) terrible and have had to in the past when she was at their house call me to come get her. It will break my heart even more if they are separated. They need each other, they are so close. I had also made a statement to a cop a while back when AGAIN grandma had called them. Get this, she called because my son had the flu and wouldnt eat!! had taken him to the family doctor day before and told just the stomach flu. I called her at work and asked if she had done this and her response was " I'm not going to stop until i have him" anyways my statement to the cop when he asked how i was doing with my addiction (same cop from the assault) and i told him it had been over 30 days. I now see i shouldnt have answered because its worded in affidavit "admited to recent drug use" Anyways my mom and step dad are trying to get BOTH the kids but i am scared that since she (his mom) is the one that has made all the complaints that she is probably in good with cps. She is the one causing all this why should she get them? And she is definiatly not anyone to be calling anybody else bad mom. 2 went to prison and the 3rd almost did. but thats not what i am trying to focus on-the name calling and mud slinging. I am just so frustrated and i know this should never have happened I AM A GOOD MOM!

[Dazeemay]

Have you filed any paper work? Such as dec of facts and objections corrections?

[Dazeemay]

You need to get this notarized; any UPS store will do it, but check to see where they have a notary on duty. The cost is $5.00 here in my state.

You won't be able to get one filed at the court house so take it to court with you and hand one to the judge, their lawyer, Gal lawyer if there is one, your lawyer if you have one, Gal person.

They may object to this, but by law they have to take it. Make sure you give only the facts.

Objections and corrections would be for the case records cps has and if you don't have them then it will not do any good. If you have the petition they filed then take it and do an objections and corrections on it. Anything they have said that you know about put it in this letter. Hand it to the same people.



SAMPLE DECLARATION / AFFIDAVIT

Double-space everything from the first number, down to the end, and indent paragraphs by ten spaces.






Name:

Address:

Phone:

Email:









Declaration of Facts






I, ______________________________, state:
(Your Name)




1. I am the mother/father of three children: (Names of kids.)




2. This declaration is being written (state reason for writing the declaration of facts - for example, "in support of a motion to return children to mother" or "in support of a national class action lawsuit" or "to let the public know about the injustice done to us in (name of county) Superior Court".




3. This is in reference to (Case Name, Case Number, Date Filed and the name of the court.)




4. (Just state facts one at a time... I'll give some examples.) On June 2, 2002 I let my children go to school as usual and while they were there a CPS employee interviewed them without letting me know first.




5. My children were detained by the CPS employee and I was not notified by the school so by 4:30 when they didn't come home from school I was worried about them and called the school to find out if they knew anything.




6. When I called the school nobody wanted to talk to me and they handed the phone to three different people and put me on hold for fifteen minutes.




7. When the principal got on the line he told me that CPS took my three kids because my son, Johnny, had a bruise on his arm and said I did it.




8. The bruise happened because he climbed the apple tree and then got scared and couldn't get down. I climbed up there and grabbed him and had to lower him down by his arm and that's how he got bruised.




9. By the time I got off the phone with the principal of the school, it was only a few minutes before five PM so I called CPS but only got a recording and nobody would answer. It was Friday and I couldn't get through to them all weekend and even went to the office twice but it was closed. That was why I didn't check on them for two days - not because I didn't care which is what the worker, Judy Jones, made it sound like in court on Wednesday.




10. I haven't seen my children in three weeks because they say I'm a danger to them. This is not true. In fact most of what they say about me is not true which is why I'm contesting the charges and asking for a full trial to make them try to prove their untrue statements.




11. The CPS employees I talk to on the phone are extremely rude to me. They are Judy Jones and her supervisor, Mr. Smith. Judy Jones said very sarcastically: "You should never have had kids if you were going to hurt them. People like you make me sick." This woman, Judy Jones, won't believe this happened in the apple tree.




12. I am requesting a court order for the return of my children immediately.




[NOTE: This last part should state the exact words used, just change the date and place to match your circumstance.]




Executed June 28, 2002 at Yreka, California.




I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.




_________________________________
(Your Name)



Objections and Corrections : This form is for Objections And Corrections . Anyt thing that isnt true or you object to put it in here and any mistakes made in your paperwork put it in here also .


NOTES:

Everything in brackets [ ] will need to be deleted and/or replaced with your information.

Number each page at bottom center: "Page 2 of 5" for example.

Put a header on each page stating "Objections and Corrections to the Report of the Child Welfare Caseworker" and underline that plus leave a few spaces to separate the header from the body of the document.


--- document starts here ---


[Parent's Name]
[Street Address]
[City, State Zip Code]
[Phone #]

[Change this next part to match the header information for your court case. You should be able to get this information from other paperwork already filed in your case. Try to make the header match what they have already done.]

[Center the next four lines and type in all caps:]

IN THE [SUPERIOR] COURT OF THE STATE OF [CALIFORNIA]
IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF [LOS ANGELES]

SITTING IN THE EXERCISE OF ITS JURISDICTION
AS THE JUVENILE COURT




IN THE MATTER OF: ) OBJECTIONS AND CORRECTIONS
) TO THE REPORT OF THE
) CHILD WELFARE CASEWORKER
)
) Clerk No.
JOHNNY DOE, JR (DOB 4-5-1992) ) 33933 (get numbers from YOUR paperwork)
JANIE DOE (DOB 2-3-1996) ) 33637
------------------------------)
Persons alleged to come ) Detention Date: March 21, 2000
within the provision of ) Disposition Date: June 2, 2000
the Juvenile Court Law ) Review Date: December 15, 2001
______________________________)


To the Honorable INSERT JUDGE'S NAME HERE IN CAPS, Judge of the [Superior] Court of the State of [California], in and for the County of [Los Angeles]:

[Double space the rest of the text. Indent paragraphs ten spaces.]

The Honorable Court above-named is hereby advised that the REPORT OF THE CHILD WELFARE CASEWORKER herein, as prepared and typed is ERRONEOUS AND INCORRECT in the following particulars, to wit:


[Here's where you get to be creative. Go through your caseworker's court paperwork and find every error, no matter how trivial. Even trivial errors show how incompetent the person is. You will list each error separately with corrections as in the sample. This sample is derived from an actual case I worked on in 1991. The names, dates, and some details were changed. The case I worked on was dismissed after similar paperwork was given to the judge. Remember to double space everything below. -- Linda]


1. Page One: JOHNNY DOE is not 8 years old. He was 10 as of April 5, 2002.

2. Page One: Mother's name is ELIZABETH SMITH, not Doe. Address given by caseworker is incorrect.

3. Page Two: COUNT 1: "On or about March 21, 2000, minors were found to be dirty." Minors were out playing in the yard, climbing trees to get fruit, and doing what most kids do when playing outside, getting dirty. There was nothing abnormal about their being dirty.

4. Page Two: COUNT 2: The caseworker erroneously stated, "Mother has recurrent mental problems that periodically render her unable to care for children." Mother's mental problem was temporary due to stress from her husband's deportation, her father's death, and the detention of her children by CPS. The problem is not recurrent and does not "periodically render her unable to care for the children" as suggested by the caseworker.

5. Page Three: "November 15, 2000" court date given by the caseworker is incorrect. The correct date is November 12, 2000.

6. Page Three: The Doe children were not taken after the mother was admitted to Bellview Mental Hospital. A caseworker arrived to detain the children from their grandmother's house and then advised the mother to allow herself to be admitted to Bellview because she was grieving and upset.

7. Page Three: On March 21, 2000 when Janie and Johnny were detained from their grandmother's home they were not injured, neglected, or abused in any way.

8. Page Three: Problems with police officer on November 1, 1999 occurred when police arrived to arrest Mr. John Doe, Sr. for deportation and the mother was cuffed and beaten by the arresting officer. This arrest does not affect or reflect on the stability of her current home life with her new husband, Mr. Thomas Smith.

9. Page Three: Mother quit her job on June 20, 2001, not "shortly after her marriage" as stated by the caseworker. The job is no longer needed for support of the family as her new husband is earning enough to support them and is willing to do so. Mother is needed at home to care for the children.

10. Page Three: Date of marriage to Thomas Smith is incorrect. The correct date is November 29, 2000.

11. Page Three: "Mrs.", not "Ms." - The caseworker knows that Mrs. Smith is not separated from her husband, but throughout the report she implies that Mr. and Mrs. Smith are not together.

12. Page Three: While her husband was visiting family in Nevada, Mrs. Smith called Dr. Hoar only twice for advice during a two week period, not "frequently" as stated by the caseworker, and those calls were only about Johnny's behavior, not about both children.

13. Page Three: Mrs. Smith has not only "largely complied" with the Reunification Plan, she has completely complied with all aspects of the plan.

14. Page Three: Mrs. Smith never told Dr. Hoar that she "couldn't handle Johnny anymore and wanted to give him up," as stated by the caseworker. What actually happened is that Dr. Hoar tried to talk Mrs. Smith into giving him up and putting him in a mental hospital. Mrs. Smith did not want to do that. During the session Mrs. Smith did not state that she had been upset.

15. Page Four: Janie does not have "sporadic behavior problems" in her home or at school as suggested by the caseworker. At home the mother has never seen indications of such problems and has received no such reports from Headstart. Attached please find "Exhibit A" - a letter from Headstart stating they have not observed or complained of any "sporadic behavior problems" from Janie.

16. Page Four: Johnny's behavior problems are only occasional and not a "continuous problem" as stated by the caseworker in her report. Attached please find "Exhibit B" - an evaluation of Johnny's behavior by Dr. Goodman in San Francisco, dated November 3, 2001.

17. Page Four: The improvement in Mrs. Smith's parenting has been going on for years, not just for the last few months. Attached please find "Exhibit C" and "Exhibit D" - certificates of completion provided by parenting class instructors in January 1997 and November 2000.

18. Page Four: There has been no "substantial, recent regression" due to a separation from Mr. Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are still living together; he simply took a two week vacation to Nevada to visit his sick mother. Therefore this should not be used as a basis for the caseworker's request for another six months of services at taxpayers' expense.

19. Page Four: Dr. Hoar wants the case prolonged for another six months because once the case is dismissed the mother will find a different therapist, and Dr. Hoar will no longer be receiving CPS money for seeing her and her children. Therefore, Dr. Hoar's report should not be considered by the court. Mrs. Smith intends to find another therapist for the children when the case is dismissed as the children do not like seeing Dr. Hoar as therapist, and are even afraid to tell this to him. Under these circumstances, it is unlikely the children will progress adequately in therapy. For these reasons, Mrs. Smith's request to have Dr. Hoar removed from the case can hardly be called "an indication of poor judgement" as stated by the caseworker. She did so solely for the benefit of the children and with concerned regard for their psychological functioning.

20. Page Four: Recommendation that the minors be readjudged dependents of the Juvenile Court is inappropriate as the family has been functioning well during the last six months that they have been together. The case should be closed at this time.

21. Pages Four and Five: Recommendations 2, 4, and 5 are also inappropriate as the case should be closed.

22. Pages Six and Seven: Service Plan for mother and caseworker is inappropriate as the case should be closed.

Executed 10 December 2001 at Los Angeles, California.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.




_________________________________________
Elizabeth Smith





They will give your children to the grandmother and then turn on her in about six months or so and that way they can adopt the children out. Make sure that you show that the grandmother has two sons in prison.

Do not get angry in court. Make sure you are dressed nice. And always be courteous to the judge even if he makes you mad. You get mad it will go against you.

[hls94137]

The only paperwork i have so far is the affidavit that the caseworker did. I saw my attorney for the first time last Friday and we have court on Wednesday. She said she has requested other things but had not received them yet but she would get me copies when she did. Are you saying you think my mom will get them (i hope) or his mom? His mom also was just recently ticketed for lieing to a police officer when they were looking for my boyfriend for the assault. Thank you so much for the help and taking the time to read this. I feel so alone and scared right now and cant even begin to imagine how confused the kids are. I do get a supervised visit everyday during the week and am so thankful that they are still in the shelter vs. a foster home so its kinda just like daycare. I so so so understand the "keeping my cool" part, i dont think this would have ever gotten this far except the first couple times cps was here i did get angry. I only did what i thought i had a right to do like refuse to let them search my home and sign a safety plan. I knew my children were not neglected or abused and i didnt question my parenting ability. I now see how my attitude played into this. I felt under attack and that i needed to protect my children (what the heck had i done?) At this point its a lessoned learned though, I will bite my tongue no matter how hard it is and smile. I never imagined the power that these people had and still dont understand why.

[Dazeemay]

http://forum.fightcps.com/viewtopic.php?t=1870

Copy from this link your constitutional rights to be a parent.

I am going to say one thing here and it will be harsh. You better decide these children are more valuable than your drugs.

Keep copies for your self on everything and have them in court with you and refer to them.

[Dazeemay]

Are you saying you think my mom will get them (i hope).

If I understand it correctly you are having your first hearing. You could, if your lawyer is smart enough, get your children back yourself. This hearing is for the judge to decide whether you do or not. If your lawyer presents your case correctly then there is a possiblity of you getting your children. However, if you have a judge that is against drugs then your mother needs to fight for the children and they should not even have to go to foster care at all.

You must give the ASFA law to your lawyer. You need to do these things because they are the only fighting tools you have right now. Everything depends on the judge, cps worker, lawyer, state laws etc.

click on this link http://www.grandparentsforchildren.org/

and scroll down until you get to this part. It is the grandparents rights law. Be sure you lawyer gets this because it is crucial.

So many grandparents are losing grandchildren to the foster care system and they are not aware of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), which mandates that suitable relatives be found before placement of children into foster care. Please make the children’s case worker aware of this law and your knowledge of it and share with your attorney as well. Children have a right to be placed with family members and the law demands it. This following is the ASFA law:

From this point print the law out and give it to everyone again.

I need to read what else you have posted.

[Dazeemay]

You must convince the judge that this is a wake up call for you as a parent. You must be very repentant and tell him you are going to do all that is required in getting drug rehabiltation. S/he must see this in you.

[hls94137]

As harsh as it is its the truth. My babies are more important than anything in this world to me. I dont want to start justifying or making excuses because like i said i know what i need to do and I had started to do them. Yes i should have done this along time ago. But i can honestly say my home and the way my children were taken care of was not the "meth home" as you would see it on tv at all. I am in a rut and I want more out of life for my children and myself than what I have accomplished. I know my life needs improvements. Who's life doesnt have room for improvement? My children and i always said "we are a team" and i let them down. God knows my children and i are suffering and how angry i am, even more than at cps, at myself.

[hls94137]

So much has happened so quickly. I had one hearing before the kids were taken. it was continued until i got an attorney. The following week (last week) they removed the kids. so this is the first hearing since then. Its so hard to keep it all straight. so much is going on. i should never have crossed this womens path and for sure not on bad terms. She seems very cold to me.

[Dazeemay]

Another thing your mother does not want to sign any papers for cps. According to the AFSA law she is to have these children. If she signs something with cps they will turn on her and accuse her. She must understand and so must your lawyer.

You are at the most crucial part of your case which is the beginning. The grandparents rights law must be stressed emphatically. Because your mother can have the children without cps being involved with her and the children.

I hope and pray your lawyer can stand her ground on this issue. As you read the law you will see where it states all of this.

[Dazeemay]

I am signing off. It is 5 a m where I live and need to get back to bed.

I hope and pray it goes well with you.

[MNNaNa]

As a gramma who did have her gandkids under foster care, I can tell you, they do not listen or adhere to the AFSA law.

They took the kids from us and now the kids are in a preadoptive home.

CPS made up lies about me and husband and while these lies have been proven to be lies, we still have no kids with us.

They have ALL the power.

[Dazeemay]

MNNaNa did you cite the law in the courtroom in front of the judge?

Did your lawyer say, "according to ASFA and read the law?"

[MNNaNa]

Dazee I do not beleive my lawyer did.

In the second case with the baby who has not been terminated I did tell the judge it was federal law but did not cite the law verbatim. I do not have a lawyer for this second case, trying to get one.

[Dazeemay]

Bob_Lynn would probably know more about this, but it seems to me that if your lawyer did not cite these laws then how can you be made accountable for them not being cited.

I would think that somehow this could be brought up in your appeal.
Bob_Lynn stated this on the Roundtable forum:

I'm not saying mnnana's daughter didn't assert her rights but if she didn't, she will have a tough challenge on appeal, if she did, this will be taken into serious consideration on appeal and may help her overturn the TPR either in the higher court or one beyond that.

http://forum.fightcps.com/viewtopic.php?t=3374&start=25

Somehow we have to make these lawyers more accoutable for their actions.

[Dazeemay]

hls94137 I am assuming things did not go well with your hearing.

I was so hoping things would have went your way. One can still do the steps to getting your children back.

[hls94137]

I had my hearing today and things didnt go bad but i sit here at home without my children still. The judge didnt decide on the temporary custody or placement but said she is taking it under advisement and would get back to us either before or at our next hearing. My lawyer was awesome and everyone else was for the state to keep physical custody until i get some treatment so i guess the judge not automactically following the GALs, cw that did investigation, my cw and the county attorney recommendation is a good thing. I am hoping to be in treatment by next hearing which is the 28th. so the kids will be at moms anyways.

[Dazeemay]

This sounds promising to have the judge defer making a decision right now.

Can you post what your lawyer did in helping you. Details help and encourage the rest of the posters as to how to go about things in their hearings.

Did your lawyer cite the ASFA law?

Did the judge place the children with your mom?