Please help a mother fight DCFS and the Court System

Please help a mother fight DCFS and the Court System.

Here’s a brief background story to give more depth.

In 2020 DCFS arrived at Katie’s residence to investigate allegations on child neglect abuse due to domestic violence between her and her partner. Katie was compliant with DCFS protocol and allowed them to thoroughly examine her two children and perform a routine check-up. The investigation came back unfounded. A few days after receiving the unfounded report DCFS returned back to her residence with the police to remove her children from the home. Their reason stating was that she visited Puerto Rico for an extended period of time prior (40 days) to visit family during the pandemic and was considered a “flea risk” meaning the state was able to take immediate custody until a shelter care hearing was placed in front of a judge. During this time Katie had full custody of her daughter, won several parent teacher awards through the school district, and was full time breastfeeding her 7th month old son.

Both children have separate dads so her daughter was placed with her father. Her son was placed with his father’s grandparents.

When the shelter care trial arrived Katie was given a public defender. Already in incredible turmoil and distress from trying to regulate her hormones after not having her dependent breastfed son and losing her daughter to a dangerous man she was advised that the quickest way to reunification would be to to waive her rights to a trial and ask for “in-tact” services; meaning the children would immediately return home with a case worker that would provide services and support to make sure the house was safe. Leaving court she was promised DCFS would reach out shortly after to accommodate this. However until this occurred the court order placed stated she was to have no contact with her children until. Nobody reached out after court so the following day she called DCFS, her public defender, and the courthouse, asking for updates with no luck. A few days later the investigator assigned to her case reached out to inform DCFS had too many cases so hers would be handed over to a local partnering agency called Lutheran Social Services (LSSI) and that a case worker would be in touch shortly. After another week of no contact with her children or this agency she finally received a call from an assigned caseworker to set up a time to meet and review said service plan. The worker made it clear that she still couldn’t have contact with her kids until reviewed and wasn’t available until later in the month. When they finally met, she explained that the kids were going to remain where they were placed, and that until the service plan was completed or progress was made it was in the best interest for the children to remain separated and visits be supervised. Confused and heartbroken Katie realized that the promises she was made at court were not the case and this was just the beginning of a terrible and difficult uphill battle. Weeks later a case-aid was set for visits but due to limited resources and availability within the agency she was only allowed bi-weekly visits for a maximum of two hours.

Her service plan consisted of counseling, domestic violence classes, parenting classes, psychological evaluation, random drug screenings, drug and alcohol evaluation, mental health assessment, and a parenting assessment all in which all were completed and graduated from with outstanding reports of completion. All og these government services and in-depth psychological evaluation she was deemed fit, willing, and able to care for young children. Some of these classes were 27 week long courses and throughout this time no progress on reunification was made and the supervised visits which were often canceled with no makeup. With fight and determination to make a difference not only for her family but other women she met through services that were experiencing the same turmoil and trauma Katie signed up to speak at City Hall at a gathering for domestic violence survivors held by the Judicial Court System. Katie not only spoke on behalf of domestic violence survivors but how DCFS and partnering agencies use the same abuse techniques on the families. The Judge ruling on her case was at her speech and since then, every decision the judge has ruled has been against her rights as a mother or towards reunification. With no reasons other than “court reports” written by LSSI they began to create a narrative aligned with adoption or termination of rights to be the best option for the children. Discontinued sibling visits because the kids are too upset when leaving each other, and are now planning to discontinue Katie’s visits because the children cant regulate after seeing her. Her daughter is in an unsafe situation still and several people have brought to the courts attention. Recently there have been over 15 police reports in the last 90 days and hotline calls made by her daughters school, grandparents, neighbors, and family concerning the well-being of Maddi that are all being dismissed. We are currently working with limited resources and the weight of an impending trial on March 5, 2025. This is a bench trail in which the presiding Judge that is asking for termination of rights is the sole person who decides the outcome. We were not only denied the right to a jury or new judge but the right to subpoena witnesses or documents that could help show her ability to be presented as fit.

We are asking the community, friends, and family to help raise funds for an attorney that can help bring awareness and new eyes into this trial by reaching out to the Judicial Inquiry Board, OIG, and other organizations that can help understand the injustice happening in this court room and help protect Katie’s rights and her children. In the face of all this Katie is determined to give her child a future filled with love, stability, and security. While the journey here has been difficult, Katie continued to navigate the complexities of parenting while overcoming past trauma. She has always believed that every child deserves the support and care of their mother, especially her own. The funds raised will be used to secure a lawyer who is confident in their ability to protect these children, Katie's rights as a parent, and prove her capacity to provide the environment necessary for her child to thrive. Although raising money for legal fees can be a significant hurdle, we remain hopeful. Please help this mother to help her children and her rights as a mother are protected.

Any attorney even considering the case is asking for 5,000 to 7,500 minimum to fight the trail and reach out to other organizations to create awareness and as many people to investigate this case and ruling.

Every contribution counts.