Great Grandchildren
Donation protected
I am the great grandmother of two wonderful children, ages 2 1\2 and 5, who have been taken away from their parents, Chelsea and Michael Bodine. It has been nearly 3 years since I have seen these precious little ones. The illegal seizure of these children, and the consequent transfer of custody by the courts, was accomplished through a biased and deceitful Guardian Ad Litem report to Cowlitz County Court, despite reports by CPS in both Cowlitz County and Clarke County, their legal residence, that no threat existed to them in their natural parents’ care.
Due to political upheaval and manipulations of due process in the court system of Cowlitz County, the efforts of the parents and we who love them all, to answer the false charges against them long went unheard by the Courts and are still unsubstantiated by the accusers. Time and again, we were told that we must have a trial date, which has been postponed and circumvented repeatedly. The latest such insult was when the accuser, Christina Gray, used upheaval and political instability in the Cowlitz County Court system, to get a new, open-ended cancellation of the March 6 trial date, which we were told (as was Christina) “Is written in stone!”
Over two years, $35,000 for a single attorney, for whom we did most of the paralegal and “grunt” work, went down the drain when our attorney was essentially muzzled and penalized for repeatedly asking for the paperwork necessary to conducting her ongoing defense. Add $160 per week for court-ordered visitation by the parents (subject to manipulation and arbitrary cancellation by the custodial caretakers), fees for professional evaluations that were already done, multiple times, fees for Court-ordered professionals to oversee the arbitrary actions of Christina and her accomplices, and other fees, including child support to these people, -- well, the cost to the parents and we who are trying to help them has been staggering. As of January 2018, we appeared to be back to square one, since Christina (again) approached a new judge with a new attorney, and there again seemed to be no end in sight. And, we were obliged to seek new representation, ourselves.
If we ever want to see these babies again, we must fight this fight, to win the WAR, and worry less about the battles, which never cease. Among our attorneys, one for the babies, one each for Chelsea and Mike, the one who is familiar with the case but unable to speak, a parent coordinator (to field the manipulations of the accusers), a new Guardian Ad Litem (to replace the one who made this farce possible in the first place), and a visitation supervisor (to oversee the transfers for visitation) – all require remuneration. We must pay up front or let the custody transfer by default at a time when the children are finally being reintegrated through unsupervised, in-home visits. The accusers need pay only for whatever delays matters and increases our financial burden.
We’ve been letting this situation milk us like a cash cow, since the baby was born. The psychological damage to these innocents, being used as weapons in a war not of their making, gets compounded daily. As it is, they face years of therapy and suffering.
I am seeking to gather funds in the amount of $5000 before the final disposition in September, a fifth of that before the next hearing in June. If we collect anything more than this, the balance will be applied to ongoing psychiatric care and treatment for the children and their parents.
To those who contributed to this already, we offer our heartfelt thanks! –To those who would hesitate, we understand, but our need grows acute as the situation is prolonged. If you are not moved to contribute financially, we would at least ask for your prayers and blessings, that the best be done, speedily, for the sake of these babies and their embattled parents and great-grand parents.
Due to political upheaval and manipulations of due process in the court system of Cowlitz County, the efforts of the parents and we who love them all, to answer the false charges against them long went unheard by the Courts and are still unsubstantiated by the accusers. Time and again, we were told that we must have a trial date, which has been postponed and circumvented repeatedly. The latest such insult was when the accuser, Christina Gray, used upheaval and political instability in the Cowlitz County Court system, to get a new, open-ended cancellation of the March 6 trial date, which we were told (as was Christina) “Is written in stone!”
Over two years, $35,000 for a single attorney, for whom we did most of the paralegal and “grunt” work, went down the drain when our attorney was essentially muzzled and penalized for repeatedly asking for the paperwork necessary to conducting her ongoing defense. Add $160 per week for court-ordered visitation by the parents (subject to manipulation and arbitrary cancellation by the custodial caretakers), fees for professional evaluations that were already done, multiple times, fees for Court-ordered professionals to oversee the arbitrary actions of Christina and her accomplices, and other fees, including child support to these people, -- well, the cost to the parents and we who are trying to help them has been staggering. As of January 2018, we appeared to be back to square one, since Christina (again) approached a new judge with a new attorney, and there again seemed to be no end in sight. And, we were obliged to seek new representation, ourselves.
If we ever want to see these babies again, we must fight this fight, to win the WAR, and worry less about the battles, which never cease. Among our attorneys, one for the babies, one each for Chelsea and Mike, the one who is familiar with the case but unable to speak, a parent coordinator (to field the manipulations of the accusers), a new Guardian Ad Litem (to replace the one who made this farce possible in the first place), and a visitation supervisor (to oversee the transfers for visitation) – all require remuneration. We must pay up front or let the custody transfer by default at a time when the children are finally being reintegrated through unsupervised, in-home visits. The accusers need pay only for whatever delays matters and increases our financial burden.
We’ve been letting this situation milk us like a cash cow, since the baby was born. The psychological damage to these innocents, being used as weapons in a war not of their making, gets compounded daily. As it is, they face years of therapy and suffering.
I am seeking to gather funds in the amount of $5000 before the final disposition in September, a fifth of that before the next hearing in June. If we collect anything more than this, the balance will be applied to ongoing psychiatric care and treatment for the children and their parents.
To those who contributed to this already, we offer our heartfelt thanks! –To those who would hesitate, we understand, but our need grows acute as the situation is prolonged. If you are not moved to contribute financially, we would at least ask for your prayers and blessings, that the best be done, speedily, for the sake of these babies and their embattled parents and great-grand parents.
Organizer
Nilda Piland
Organizer
Spanaway, WA
