Removing children from Grandma

[Sarah79]

Okay so this is what happened when our kids were taken. Husband hit adopted adult son over the head for being sexually aggressive to family. I ran out of the house with all the kids to take them to a safe place before I planned to call the cops. I drove them to my mother in laws and sent a friend of mine who is also a child protection worker and his wife over to my mil's to sit with my kids. My husbands brother also was there. None of those people have criminal records.

Cops came to our house arrested me on adopted son's false alllegations. Next they drove to my mil's house and loaded up all our kids in paddy wagons tearing them away from each other while they screamed and cried. All the people there 3 different families represented all fought with the cops and wanted to take my kids but the police refused.

They removed them from my mil's home. MN state law states that they MUST consider family and close family friends first when removing children.

They broke the law. Here and in other areas but what do you think of them taking the kids from MIL and CPS worker friend without even a stitch of evidence (against me) or any investigation (regarding me?)

[Eljay]

It is *ALWAYS* in the best interest of the child to stay in the home, first priority with both non-offending/suspected parents, second with one non-offending/suspected parent, third with a family member (i.e. grandma comes to stay with them, mom and dad go to grandma's). Fourth best would be in the home of a family member; fifth with family friend; sixth with foster care and last in a group home/shelter/orphanage. Last resort is on the couch at the police station or CPS office. When they come and rip the children away from everything they know and love, it is just as often a power ploy to force the parents into a submissive position as it is a move to protect the children.

They had no legal standing to take the children AT ALL because there was no imminent risk of harm and they had no warrant (right?). But to remove them from a home where they were safe? To not even examine the situation before taking action? Wrong... just wrong. It's against their own code:

Reasonable Efforts to Preserve or Reunify Families and Achieve Permanency for Children:

What Are Reasonable Efforts
Citation: Ann. Stat. § 48.355
Reasonable efforts shall include but not be limited to:
A comprehensive assessment of the family's situation
Financial assistance to the family, if applicable
Provision of services, including in-home support and intensive treatment services, community support services, or specialized services for family members with special needs


When Reasonable Efforts Are Required
Citation: Ann. Stat. § 48.355
Reasonable efforts must be made:
To prevent the removal of the child from the home
To return the child safely to the child's home
To achieve the goal of the child's permanency plan

[monkette31]

Try and bring the family to court. What exactly did the ADULT son allege? Was you husband arrested too? How old are the other kids?

It sounds like adopted adult son is alleging sexual something on you? who was the family he was aggressive to?

[Sarah79]

Adult son became sexually aggressive towards me almost immediately when he came to the States. Then he started in on my girls. When my husband would get involved son would take knives after me and try to kill me for telling on him. He threatened always to tell the law that I was doing it to him.

We moved him in with my mil as she has no children in the home and didn't think he would be interested in her. Wrong! She got scared he started to make moves on her and we went to see an adoption disruption attorney. Lawyer told us if police/cps got involved it would go bad as they would want to make it out like it was our fault and find a way to manage him until on paper he was 18. We were lied to by his paternal grandmother and the country regarding his age as when we finally got him here he had a Liberian drivers license that says he was 19. And a doctor told us he was at least 18.

Anyway after he became aggressive to mil we moved him back home and put him in school and did different things to try to manage him however then the family started sending us extortion letters. Saying give us 3 years rent money by x and x date.

My husband basically lost it and picked up a toy off the floor and cracked him over the head with it. Our son then got out the shotgun tried to load it and grabbed knives stabbed them into the wall saying he was going to kill me. He beat my husband horribly with a crecent wrench and punched my oldest son so hard he flew across the yard and then again down the stairs. Both of them had marks. Adopted son had a cut that needed two stitches and was bleeding my husband had bruises the size of his hand from adopted son beating him with crecent wrench and other son had marks from adopted son as well.

I got my kids in the car and drove them to mother in laws. Called my CPS friend and wife and kids uncle to go to the house and sit with the kids while mother in law and I went back to my house to call the cops.

When we got there 6 squad cars were in the driveway and I got out of the car and the police were nasty. They already had their minds made up what had happened. They said your son is making some serious allegations about you. I said "I know that and I want to talk to my lawyer." Adopted son told COPS I was trying to force him to have sex with me.

They arrested me on the spot for 2nd degree criminal sexual misconduct. And I was taken to jail. They say probable cause was his allegation and me saying I know he is making allegations.

They never questioned my mother in law who was at the scene. Then they drove to her house and rounded all the kids up and took them away in paddy wagons. Despite the yelling protests from family and friends and the expressed wishes of my 17 year old, 15 year old, 13, 12,10,9,7,6,4 and 1 year old.

I was acquitted of my charges in March of this year. They put us through absolute hell and just terrorized the kids. They never even asked my children anything about the allegations regarding my charges they only asked the kids about their dads assault.
No further investigation was ever done in my case and they ignored all evidence we proved that proved otherwise and brought this to trial.

[noroses4u2c]

The abusive 'son' needs to be kept from your family.

[Sarah79]

He is gone a long time ago when this happened we voluntarily terminated our parental rights of him. We do care about him but were so happy to have him gone. Now we try to heal.