This is what has happened today. PLEASE HELP!

[chevyman1223]

My name is Josh. Im 26 and live in Alaska. this is complicated because it has to do with my younger siblings who live with my mother in Oregon. has a long back story. To start, my brother,9 and sister,3, were just taken from my mothers care today by CPS. but let me begin with the backstory as this is a long running issue.

In 2005 my mother had a brain annuerism and has since been considered handicapped because of this. shortly after this, she sent my brother to live with his paternal father. My brother and his father moved to New Mexico. His father left him with a babysitter and went to work. ( before we get too far I dont see his father fit to take care of him because he seems to think that school is not necessary and that playing video games in the bedroom is a great babysitter while he and others party in another room) anyways, the house my brother was being babysat at, had CPS come in to take their children away. since my brother was at the house, the state of new mexico took him into custody as well, which as I'm told is the law??? after a few months his father takes the right actions and gets his full custody back. At that point, he moved to alaska with my brother. while here, police showed up at their house for a domestic disturbance. I was called by a social worker to see if I could come get my brother to keep him out of the situation. This was 1:30 AM. by the time I got there around 2 AM DFYS (Alaska CPS) had taken my brother into custody. this was because his father had an outstanding warrant, which he was arrested for, and his wife was far too intoxicated to care for my brother who was 7 at the time. My grandmother became a temporary Gaurdian for my brother for months.


Now while All of this is going in on AK, My mother is living in oregon, and since the annuerism, has developed a drug problem. When I found out again she was pregnant, I was greatful that hopefully this was what it would take to clean her up. nope, Upon giving birth to my little sister, my mother tested postive for trace amounts of methamphetamine. My sister was immediately taken away from her, which I believed was the correct thing to be done in the situation. well this is exactly what my mother needed to clean up. over the next 10 months, my mother subjected herself to random UA's, Breathalyzers, took parenting classes,(hard for a mother of 5 to do with the 5th child) and had only supervised visitations with my sister in a nuetral setting. after taking every necessary step, and cleaning up her life, she got my sister back, around the same time my brother was taken into protective care in AK.

back to AK, after getting everything in order, and getting the finances in order, my mother then travelled to Alaska to get custody of my brother returned. She had to jump through hoops because she had planned to transport him back to Oregon. after taking every necessary step, and fighting in 2 states for 2 kids, she was awarded full custody of both children, with stipulations. My mother was placed on probation for drug use for 3 years at the birth of my sister. the stipulations outlined that her probation officer, or CPS were to do random UA's, home inspections, and family interviews. whenever they saw fit. If they saw or suspected an unsafe environment, they could take her children again without warning.

It has been 2 years, and I can say that I am proud of my mom. She is still clean of drugs and alcohol, and still attends her NA and AA classes regularly. Today, her Probation Officer decided to do a random home inspection. Upon inspection, he deemed the house was not clean enough and dubbed it 'unsafe'. he contacted CPS and told them they needed to come remove the children. He did not notify my mother of this phone call. Within the hour, CPS was walking into her house, taking my 3 year old sister, and picked up my 9 year old brother from his bus stop. My mother was told if she tried to talk to or see him before they drove away, she would be placed under arrest. The CPS agent then looked at my mom, who was crying hysterically, and asked if there was a family member who could take her to the hospital. When my mother asked why, she wass met with the response, "You seem very upset and I think you need to go to the hospital before you harm someone." - my mother has no history of violence whatsoever.

My oldest sister,21, lives in the same town. she showed up immediately to assess the situation and offer help. they would not let our siblings go with her. they said she needed to be put into the "system" and go through background checks and home inspections before they will approve her as a temporary gaurdian. this can take weeks. with all of this, they said there is no gaurantee that my siblings will be kept together. They are VERY close. I cant imagine what they are going through right now. Do we have any legal options? what can I do to help my family? Im willing to fly to Oregon and offer whatever help I can. I just dont know the direction to go here. can anybody please help?

my family in oregon is very computer illiterate, and will have a hard time finding any help on their own. I am doing this to mainly help my siblings, but also the rest of my family. any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thank you so much.

[perfectly_flawed]

The first thing to do is to help your mother get a good lawyer. NOT court appointed, and not from the same area that the courts are in. You want to avoid friendships within the courtroom, and lawyers from the same area often are friends with cps workers and their lawyers.
Make sure your mother knows not to sign ANYTHING. Doing so will cause her to give up the right to a trial. A trial is the only place CPS must prove their case. Signing their plans is the same as admitting guilt and won't return the kids to her any faster.
Have the lawyer demand that the kids are placed in kinship care. They're required to look at that option before placing kids in the foster care system, but they'll try to get around it when they can. Demand it. It's your mom's right, and it's best for the kids.

[chevyman1223]

thank you!

[chevyman1223]

So come to find out, my little brothers father, who is in AK and a major POS. has put this all into motion and has been in contact with CPS since November. He lives in the same town as I do, and is known as a town loser. He married a woman who is well off due to inheritance. He hasnt held a job in 2 years, and doesnt care to, also he has a drinking/drug problem. He wants custody of my brother back. His home is UNSAFE! his 23 year old stepdaughter still lives at home, and is a diagnosed, violent schizophenic. When my brother was taken from his home, it was due to the police being called to the residence because the schizo daughter had stabbed her mother with a kitchen knife. According to what was said in court, he had taken pictures of all of "his" stuff and sent it in to them to show them how well he has been doing. Everything he has taken pictures of is his wifes, which she received when her late husband passed... 2 weeks before she married my brothers father. he hasnt worked, and claims he does. he claims he has been clean and sober for 2 years, I KNOW he hasnt. My wife is a bartender and sees him in there drinking regularly. but for some reason, CPS is siding with him in this suit. I want to pay him a personal visit so badly, but I know that I cant. this whole situation is confusing and new for me and Im just at loss totally. We are looking into lawyers right now.

[MaggieC]

You may have "sibling" rights. These exist in NY by statute, not sure about Oregon. But please look into it.

[chevyman1223]

That is what I am trying to do now. They denied my sister as a temporary gaurdian because she is too close to my mother. They told her they wont consider my grandmother or I as possibilities because they are not putting this case outside of their county. Is this legal?! can they deny a family member, to send the children to foster homes because they dont live in the same county?! I thought they are supposed to look out for the benefit of the child? how is seperating a young brother and sister beneficial to either? I feel like they just dont want to move the case because they will lose jurisdiction and lose money brought in by the case. My mom has talked to a few lawyers, and they all want a $5,000 retainer, she cant afford that at all. any suggestions or answers would be greatly appreciated! thank you all so much.

[lucy84]

a good lawyer can cost a lot of money. but i do know a court appointed lawyer is no good. a good lawyer will get things going faster. it should not matter what county you live in your siblings should be able to stay with you or your sister. please check in to this. the best interest for the children should not be foster care if there is family willing to take the children. i think one of your moms rights is that she can decide where she wants her children to go. its my understanding your mom has the right for a relative or close friend to get her children until they come home.

[MaggieC]

I have never heard of a county being an issue, heck, I have known some CPS agencies to place children with relatives in other states.

I agree that an atty is expensive but it might be the best money you will ever spend. But make sure you get an attorney skilled in this area of law. Quiz him/her mightily. Also, how close are you to a major University? A University with a law school? Such places usually have legal clinics.

[Daruma]

Maggie, CPS refused to allow DIL's baby to go to relatives of hers in another county. These relatives are already adoptive parents so they've had the whole home-study, background-check routine and are ready to go. But CPS told us that was "too far away". Like Josh, I suspect that they really just wanted to keep the funds in their own local office.

[chevyman1223]

The cheapest attorney in the area thus far wants a $15,000 retainer, and this isnt even his specialty. ridiculous. I live in AK, and they live in Oregon. Im pretty upset at the fact that they told my sister they cant live with her because she is too close to my mother, yet, even though I am blood, they refused to release any information to me without my mom signing permission because I'm not "close enough with that side of the family!" Ive been in contact with CPS with state of Alaska, they were actually very helpful when my brother was taken from his father. They assured us that his father will not get him back, and I have also contacted an advocate who is now in communication with my mom, educating her to the best of his abilities as well. My sisters 3rd birthday was this week, and they granted my mom a 1 hour supervised visit. the foster parents showed up a half hour late, and my mom only got a half hour visit because of the time alottment. they said they cant extend it. this is so frustrating!!!! they are telling my mom that her crying when the kids leave is not good for them and she needs to seek help for this issue... what is that?! on top of it all, the caseworker in charge of this case REFUSES to call me back. everyone else involved has returned my calls minus her. I have started leaving her 3 voicemails a day.