priyatequila t1_jdbjviu wrote
oh my God. I remember coming across this story around August or so on Twitter. the mon or a close relative had taken to sharing the story of their children being taken from them by DCFS and took to Twitter after they got nowhere through normal channels. hearing how the kids were taken so quickly, without legitimate reason, WERE NOT CARED FOR in state custody, and how the welfare of the kids and the truth of the story were both pushed aside due to the mess that is our public health system was saddening and maddening.
quote from the article in Reason: "It seems everything was deliberately timed to avoid having to get a court order and avoid proving to a judge that the children were in imminent danger," Perkins later wrote"
the end of that quote links to one of the original Twitter threads. I remember following it for a month or so and not knowing what happened (I think I eventually had to stop checking for updates due to my own sanity).
also, iirc, the mom (or maybe a close friend/relative?) worked in a field that made them semi more familiar with the court system, or they knew someone that had 1st hand knowledge and could help them through. and even then it was a literal nightmare, and their kids could've been in custody for 1 year and there was nothing they could do about it. it's significantly more difficult for the majority of people who get unfairly pulled into the system, as they don't have assistance with first hand knowledge.
how do you fix it? there's so many children who are mistreated by their families who don't get on the radar. and the problems with dcfs, being in "the system", being in foster care.... I can't even get started with that.
dazzlingupstairz OP t1_jdbkt8e wrote
>How do you fix it?
You make it illegal to take children out of homes with no due process. You establish criteria DCF must meet, and DCF must meet it. Unless DCF has firsthand knowledge that child will imminently be harmed, then none of the emergency bullshit. They clearly have gotten used to playing by their own rules.
You have a Judge available 24/7 365 to review warrants. And as often as possible, they are reviewed in person, and recorded for future reference.
priyatequila t1_jdbm4ty wrote
I wasn't talking about fixing this specific case or instances like this, I was referring to the whole children & family services system. there's so many kids in harmful situations, but by taking them away from their families, wherever they end up isn't necessarily better.
I hope you could tell by the first few paragraphs I wrote that this case infuriated me and should not have happened. there are not enough checks and balances in place for sure.
dazzlingupstairz OP t1_jdbmnqu wrote
>I was referring to the whole children & family services system. there's so many kids in harmful situations, but by taking them away from their families, wherever they end up isn't necessarily better
I have no solutions to that deep seated societal issue. This is a societal issue that I can't even begin to solve :(
Most DCF employees are fine people trying to work to make it so that the lives of neglected and abused children are not forgotten. I wish I had an answer.
dazzlingupstairz OP t1_jdbmdgw wrote
Also this part stuck out to me.
>DCF said it doesn’t track how often it removes children from their homes without an order.
Most likely, they almost never get an order and operate totally outside of any legal framework. This is just the way they operate. It's hard for some people to feel bad for parents who may be abusing their kids, but this is beyond the pale shit. They're operating totally extrajudicially.
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