Arabella's Family Awaits Her in New Jersey

**A Grandmother’s Love Knows No Bounds**

Michelle, my mother-in-law, embodies the true meaning of unconditional love. Recently, she traveled all the way to Florida to fight for her newborn granddaughter, Arabella, while her daughter faces incarceration. Despite being a loving mother and grandmother with a safe home and no criminal background and there being a legal notarized Power of Attorney in place granting Michele custody of Arabella and the entire a Martin County Deputy Sheriff/Chaplain on her side, Michele was met with heartbreaking resistance. Instead of allowing Arabella to return to her family in New Jersey, child services placed her in foster care.

This decision feels like a cruel twist of fate. In New Jersey, Arabella has a family ready to surround her with love and stability. But in Florida, the foster care system has troubling ties to human trafficking. Studies reveal that 70% of youth involved in human trafficking had their first allegation during a foster care runaway episode. Florida ranks third in the nation for reported human trafficking cases—a statistic that chills the soul. Florida DCF is also notorious for using deceptive practices to delay custody being turned over to a family. FLORIDA DCF RECEIVES FEDERAL FUNDING FOR EVERY CHILD THAT THEY PLACE IN THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM.

Michelle’s story is a testament to the lengths a grandmother will go to protect her family. It’s also a call to action. Arabella deserves to grow up surrounded by love, not lost in a system that too often fails its most vulnerable.

The funds raised will go directly to a qualified attorney that will fight FL DCF so Arabella can come home.

Thank you so much for your support!