Help KaSaundra Get Her Baby Back

Help KaSaundra Get Her Baby Back

 

Thank you so much for reading my friend’s story!

 

Content Warning; this story contains sensitive material regarding children and social services.

 

On January 13th, my dear friend, KaSaundra had one of the worst things happen that any parent could experience. Her 2-year-old daughter, Hermione, was taken away by social services.

 

What happened that night

 

The previous night, police came to KaSaundra’s home and arrested her daughter’s father on charges of creating child pornography. The officers inrrogated KaSaundra, who answered them with honesty, telling them that she had no knowledge of what Hermione’s father had been doing. The Police searched KaSaundra’s house and took her computer to conduct an investigation on her to determine if she had any knowledge of what had happened. They found nothing that indicated she had any knowledge or part in what the father had been doing. KaSaundra was released and the police took Hermione’s father to jail.

 

The Day Hermione was Taken Away

 

The next day, KaSaundra immediately went to the courthouse to claim permanent custody of Hermione and file restraining orders against the father for both Hermione and herself. Around 7 in the evening, Social Services came to her house and took Hermione into custody.

 

Conclusion of the Investigation

 

The District Attorney’s office conducted an investigation on KaSaundra and concluded that she had no knowledge or part in what Hermione’s sperm doner did.

 

Visitation

 

Since January, KaSaundra has seen her daughter a grand total of 5 times. . Once, for only an hour in January, 2 times in March then two times in April. 2 of those were for 2 hours and the other 2 were only an hour each. KaSaundra was not allowed to see her daughter on her 3rd birthday. She doesn’t know how long it will be until she will get to see Hermione again.

 

Social Services

 

The official recommendation of Social Services is to terminate KaSaundra’s parental rights and put Hermione up for adoption. The agency recommends this despite the fact that they have done no investigation on KaSaundra to determine if she was complicit in what happened, nor have they offered KaSaundra services or resources to reunify with her daughter.

 

Before That Day

 

I got to know KaSaundra in 2005 when we both were attending a week-long college program for youth with visual impairments. We have been very close friends ever since. When KaSaundra had Hermione, she stayed home and took care of her baby by herself with very little support for her visual impairment. The father held down a job at a restaurant that combined with KaSaundra’s Supplemental Social Security income, let them get by. In the almost 3 years Hermione was in KaSaundra’s care, she grew up healthy meeting typical developmental guidelines. She was a happy, healthy, super sweet little girl who loves cheese and playing with her stuffed animals.

 

What Led Up to the Night of January 12th

 

When the pandemic hit, Hermione’s father lost his job and did not get another one. KaSaundra found a job and worked nights full-time 6 days a week to support her family. This kept them in their home with their bills paid but it meant she did not get to be with her daughter nearly as much as she wanted and had to leave her in the father’s care. KaSaundra and everyone, including me, who knew Hermione’s father,, trusted him to be a responsible parent. So, we all thought Hermione was safe with him.

 

What KaSaundra Has Done to Get Her Baby Back

 

KaSaundra has done everything she can think of, everything anyone has recommended to her, anything social services say might help, to get her little girl back! She has;

 

deep cleaned and reorganized her house to make it a more suitable home for a child

 

gotten rid of anything that the father owned, completely purging him from their home and their lives

 

hired a cleaning service to come in and deep clean her counters and floor space.

 

participated in 3 different parenting classes and has selected a 4th to enroll in

 

sought counseling and is seeing a court-appointed therapist

 

completed a course on Child Sexual Abuse Awareness And Prevention

 

when court-ordered to attend a 12 step program, KaSaundra began attending meetings for both Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, despite having no history or proof of addiction to substance use

 

she has completed every task given to her and is seeking a sponsor

 

KaSaundra has emptied her savings account to hire a defense attorney to represent her in court.

 

KaSaundra attends a Mom’s group 3 times a week to receive further teaching on being a parent and to seek support from other mothers fighting to get their children back

 

What Can I Do to Get My Child Back

 

When KaSaundra has asked what else she can do to get her daughter back home, her social worker tells her to; ‘Keep doing what she’s doing,’, with no direct answer about what she can do to get them to change their recommendation to bypass reunification services and put Hermione up for adoption.

 

Direct Service Providers

 

While the Social Worker communicates inconsistently and is hard to get a hold of, those who has provided KaSaundra with direct service is of the professional opinion that she should be granted reunification services. The teachers of the parenting classes she has attended, the counselor she works with at the Mom’s group and the Victims Witness Advocate. Many of them have expressed surprise that Hermione was taken away at all and on how Social Services is handling her case.

 

The Toll This Has Taken On My Friend

 

The toll this has taken on my friend is staggering.

 

She feels hopeless, like nothing she does will stop the court from terminating her parental rights

 

She feels angry but has to remain civil towards the people threatening to take her daughter away to do the things they tell her

 

She is terrified that her 3-year-old daughter will forget who she is because she hasn’t seen her in so long

 

Thank you so much if you have read this far

 

What KaSaundra Needs in Order to Reunify with her Daughter

 

The goal in her next court hearing on May 3rd is to get the judge to rule that KaSaundra receive reunification services from CPS that will allow her to get Hermione back. In order to give KaSaundra the best chance possible of having the court rule to grant her reunification, KaSaundra needs professionals from the services she has engaged in to come and speak for her before the court. For this to happen, KaSaundra needs to pay her lawyer to prepare witnesses to testify on her behalf.

 

The Fees of the Defense Attorney

 

KaSaundra needs to pay her lawyer for the time she takes to;

 

research and prepare for KaSaundra’s case

 

any contact KaSaundra has with her to collaborate on her case

 

to prepare witnesses to speak on her behalf in court

 

travel and lodging on court days

 

appear in court

 

As mentioned above, KaSaundra has already emptied her savings account to pay for her lawyer’s time so far. Any help you can give is very much appreciated!

 

If you’re able to donate, it would mean the world to my friend and myself

 

If you do not have the means to donate, that’s ok too, any positive vibes or advice is deeply meaningful

 

Either way, if you could please share my friend’s story so that she can get as much help as possible, I would be deeply humbled and grateful

 

Cory