My child was stolen from me by Pasco County, FL child welfare system. I am humbly asking for the help of anyone who wants to fight the injustice of children being kidnapped from their families. Help me get Teigan to her family to her home. #BringTeiganHome

 

My name is Brittany Budlove. I currently reside in New Port Richey, FL. I am a 32-year-old African American woman from the south suburbs of Chicago. I grew up middle class and was encouraged by my parents to strive for greatness. I graduated from Alabama Agricultural & Mechanical University in 2013 with a B.S in Chemistry. I then attended Howard University and studied Chemical Engineering. Now I attend the University of Florida working on a M.S in Pharmaceutical Science with a concentration in Forensic Science. I am an accomplished and success scientist but the thing I cherish the most in life is being a mother to a beautiful daughter named Teigan. She is the light of my life....my pride and joy....the reason why I live.

I have been searching for almost 2 years for a way to get justice and have fallen short. When we talk about injustice, most often we think of the killing of unarmed people or the incarceration of innocent people. Injustice is not only about the actions but more often is about the disparities between the different groups of people. Another exceptionally large injustice we face is the removal of minority children from their parents.

 

THE GOVERNMENT IS LEGALLY KIDNAPPING OUR CHILDREN!!!!

I was a breastfeeding mother who decided to take on the responsibility of my ex-husband's niece (at the time we were married). After fighting for almost a year, his niece was only in our custody for a few short months until she was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. That day I lost everything and still cannot understand why. My child was removed from me, my rights terminated, and my world shattered. My daughter was placed with a family who lied to me to get me to give their names to DCF. The family ad DCF used Covid-19 as an excuse to limit my interaction with my daughter yet allowed her to travel across state lines for "vacation".

I was completely railroaded in court. My trial was held in the middle of a global pandemic. As a result, the majority of medical experts available were on the forefront and not able to be present. The court continued despite that fact and ruled against me using pure speculation. They denied me every right to be a mother to my child. I am writing you today to get justice. The actions of these individuals from beginning to end have violated my First Amendment Rights (Right to Familial Association) and Fourteenth Amendment Rights (Right to Due Process). I was also questioned by police for 13 hours straight and was awake for almost 48 hours. During that time I was not allowed to eat, drink, go to the bathroom, or breastfeed/pump. I suffered extreme duress. They have defamed my character and everything I have worked so hard for, on top of that I have been profiled and racially discriminated against. They have refused to put my child with her family. I believe with all my heart they are using my daughter as a pawn to punish me for what happened to my ex-husband’s niece.

The state even to this day has not presented definite and articulatable evidence giving rise to a reasonable suspicion that my daughter or any child has been abused or is in imminent danger of abuse by me. They have stated their feelings over and over but refuse to submit any actual proof. To make matters worse, the entire Youth and Family Alternatives team that is currently on my daughter’s case was on my case for the adoption of his niece including the judge, which ultimately shows biased. I was never charged with anything. At a minimum they must establish that there is substantial and credible evidence supporting their allegations which they have not. They shifted the burden of proof. Instead of proving I am guilty of something, I had to prove I was innocent which was not right. I do know that when the state breaks up a natural family without proof of parental unfitness and goes solely by a “best interest” basis it is a process violation.

Too often DCF takes children from their parents with no legal basis and after the family goes through hell they turn and say, “I was just doing my job”. Unless their job is to alienate parents/families, they are not in fact doing their jobs. They are supposed to work in the best interest of the families as well as the children who are in fact a part of the family. They take healthy and happy children (usually of color) and try to sell them off to the highest bidder or keep them in the system so that they can continue to receive billions of dollars in funding. My story is so common that it is scary. I am fighting with everything that I have while having the benefits of education and career. I can only imagine what they do to more less fortunate people. These people need to be held accountable for their systematic disruption of a family. Insult to injury, I was sexually assaulted by a male Youth and Family Alternatives case manager and the judge presiding over the injunction refused to give me an order of protection. They swept it under the rug and accused me of lying despite there being and active police report.

 

TEIGAN DENISE

My daughter is a beautiful soul. She lights up the life of every person she encounters. She is a social butterfly and loves being the center of attention. She is also the sweetest little girl any person could ever ask for. As of today she is 2 and a half years old. She was taken from me at 9 months old and I have remained active in her life. DCF continuously interfered with my time because they felt she was "too bonded to me". She loves music just like me. She also loves being outside with the dirt between her toes. Every great quality that God saw in me he gave to her and for that she is an absolute blessing on this earth.

 

RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN PASCO COUNTY

Racial discrimination is no secret in Pasco County. There a constant clashes between groups even recently. To make matters worse, there is a Nation of White Disciples only 15 minutes from my residence. During each court hearing I am rarely addressed by name. I am either "that woman" or "ma'am". The people involved in this case continuously called me aggressive despite the fact I had never displayed any such behavior. As of today, so many of our children have fallen through the cracks since the focus of racial discrimination has been focused on police brutality. Parents are constantly told to follow the rules despite the state not following any. Attorneys make us afraid to speak out due to retaliation when the goal was to never give you your child back in the first place. Our kids are paychecks to the system and I am so tired of being told that my love for my daughter does not matter.

 

WAYS TO SUPPORT

I am calling on all the people who love their children and family!! I have decided to no longer be silent about the injustices that have taken place. I DEMAND TO BE HEARD! I was not given a fair trial and I am petitioning for a retrial and demanding they take my family seriously. I will get every media outlet involved until something is done about this injustice. I will not stop fighting for my daughter. Please help me get new council and experts for a retrial. I deserve to get a fair shot.

Please donate if you can and share it with your friends and family. I have already spent over $75,000 in legal fees and they are continuously rising. It is only me. I have one job and i still take care of all my regular expenses. I need to seek more experienced council and experts. Please help me bring awareness to my case that plagues so many people in this state. Please share my post and videos. Connect with me if you have any resources that you think may be useful.

 

PLEASE HELP ME BRING TEIGAN HOME!!!

Please visit my other social media platforms as I divulge the details of the entire situation. It's has been almost 2 years since I have been able to put my baby to sleep or make her breakfast. I have missed every birthday and almost every holiday for 2 years. No parent should ever experience the heartache and brokenness it feels to be separated from their child. Especially forcefully. I believe with all my heart that Teigan is protected by the most High. Like me she is strong and gain so much of mine through her. This is a time sensitive situation as I am trying to stop an unjust adoption that is trying to take place by excluding any family. These people need to be held accountable for their false statements, bias, and discrimination. Our families can no longer withstand the trauma caused by the Child Welfare System.

 

I appreciate all the love and support. Thank you.

Brittany