I AM POSTING THIS INFORMATION FOR MY AUNT. THE TEXT BELOW IS HER STORY. I HOPE THAT SOMEONE CAN OFFER HER SOME VALUABLE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT SHE CAN DO TO GET THE BALL BACK INTO HER COURT. THANKS! AllForThisSite
I lost my kids twice to DSS custody because of my father aiding DSS in removing them from me. He claimed because I asked him to babysit and to help me purchase things for the kids as I was a single mother living on welfare and disabled, that I could not adequately care for my children so he made repeated phone calls to DSS saying I didn't need my kids. After 22 phone calls, DSS removed my children. I jumped through all their service plan hoops to get them back. I kept them 2 months and my father was back at it again calling DSS and trying to convince everyone that DSS should have never let me have them back. If I had known that asking him to help me buy school clothes, loaning me money to fix my car when it tore up, or helping me pay a phone bill would have caused so much trouble, I would have NEVER asked his help. Nevertheless, it happened that DSS took my children and placed them into their father's custody. My youngest son was placed with his father and his father's new wife claimed that he was the reason they fought all the time and that she wasn't ready to be the mother that she thought she could be. She convinced my ex to call DSS to come and get my son. He has been in DSS custody for 8 years now. When I found out that DSS had taken him back, I phoned them to set up something to where I could get my son back. I have my other two kids back and living with me. I've went through all sorts of counseling, seminars, classes, meetings, interviews, and court proceedings just to satisfy DSS and the courts to get my son back. DSS is telling me that I do not have any parental rights over my son. My rights as a parent were not terminated. I never signed any TPR agreement. How do they get that I have no rights as a parent? They've even tried to adopt my son out until I stepped it up a notch and fought back even harder showing the courts how I've went through all this work for 8 years to get him back only to have DSS say that it was effortless because they had planned to adopt him out. They've changed their mind and aren't going to adopt him out now; now they've just tacked on more classes and counseling. So what are my rights as the non-custodial parent? What can I do? All I have is a court appointed attorney and he's no good. Matter of fact, DSS and the courts changed my attorney on me a few weeks ago and now I have a new attorney. They didn't contact me and tell me they had changed my attorney or anything!! I found out a week before court that my attorney had been changed by the Clerk of Court. Is that fair!??[/quote]