But soon their family was completely torn apart when CPS came in and took all 5 of their children away, after the baby was found with fractured bones. Being now listed as “child abusers,” Rebecca would later learn that she had Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, with low vitamin D levels for both her and her baby.
Rebecca started to feel her daughter’s rib cage popping and cracking at 3 weeks of age, so she made an appointment with their pediatrician. She expressed her concern to the doctor, and the pediatrician said “keep doing what you are doing, she seems fine.” Rebecca went home as advised, and trusted the doctors with their examination.
But by February 24th there was discomfort in her daughter’s right arm, and it seemed to be bothering her. Again she made an appointment with the pediatrician. Unfortunately, this time their normal pediatrician was unavailable. Rebecca was concerned, but she took who was available to have her daughter checked out again.
This appointment was different...
Sadly, all 5 children were removed from the home immediately. According to Rebecca, they were placed in a home with 11 other children and only one adult!
There was no “family preservation screening” done which should have been done within 72 hours. The children could have been placed with other family members, but Rebecca said no one was contacted. There was also a 17 year old in the house where their children were placed. Rebecca felt that there should have been a background check done to ensure the children’s safety, but procedures allegedly were not followed...
Rebecca was a very disciplined researcher long before this happened. She was not only a hard-working mother of 5, but also working on a dual bachelor’s degree in psychology and human services. She has since switched to criminal justice, pursing law school...
Rebecca’s instincts proved to be correct, and after testing, she was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome type 3, Hypermobile form. She was severely vitamin D deficient with a level of 5 at ten weeks post-partum.The doctors refused to listen to Rebecca, however, and they allegedly did not believe that her vitamin D levels had anything to do with her daughter’s bones.
Still being accused of abuse, this threatens not only her not getting their children back, but her husband’s job working in the military as well...
Now as their visits are supervised in an unnatural setting, she talks about medical kidnapping.
“Many people think that medical kidnapping is made up and think it doesn’t happen, the truth is that it is very real.”Rebecca wants people to know this has been a life altering, traumatic experience. Their baby has severe vitamin D deficiency and every one of the stated doctors she has come in contact with has claimed it doesn’t matter in regards to her bone health. She wants people to know this is a long road that no parent should have to travel.
- See more at: http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/05/26/5-children-kidnapped-from-family-in-missouri-when-baby-with-low-vitamin-d-found-with-broken-bones/#sthash.a3gvoNT8.dpuf
Rebecca Wanosik said she believes that her child-rearing style — home birthing and delayed vaccinations, her appearance and the family's low-income status — prejudiced doctors.
ReplyDelete"I am covered in tattoos and have a nose pierced," she said. "They probably look at me as though the kids are stupid and I am no better.
"But we have never had child services here. We have never had any domestic disputes, not even a 911 call. We are squeaky clean."
Wanosik said she and her husband work hard to ensure that their children are well cared for.
"I am a stay-at-home mom," she said. "My husband made $27,000 last year, but we make it work. We don't have food stamps, we have insurance and I coupon like nobody's business." ...
Zeydn was born Dec. 21, 2014. Her mother said she had regular prenatal care and the home birth supervised by a midwife was uneventful...
Wanosik said her doctor did not mention vitamin D supplements, which are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics...
In April, (Michael F.)Holick, a professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Boston University School of Medicine, examined Wanosik and found her vitamin D levels were 5 nanograms (ng) per milliliter (ml) of blood, "almost undetectable" and "low enough for rickets." A healthy vitamin D level is between 20 and 30 ng/ml.
Zeydn's vitamin D levels were even lower than her mother's, 4.3 ng/ml, according to Wanosik. The baby has since been taking vitamin supplements.
Holick said Zeydn's bone scans, which prompted the child abuse charges, probably showed older "healing fractures," perhaps from birth.
"Child abuse experts are not experienced in metabolic disease," he told NBC News.
Holick also diagnosed both Wanosik and Zeydn with a form of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome that is genetic and can cause joint hypermobility. Wanosik has later learned that her mother, grandmother and one of her other children have the disease...
http://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/mom-who-lost-kids-says-babys-medical-condition-mistaken-abuse-n390121
ReplyDeleteAfter half a year of battling for the custody of their children, Rebecca and Tony Wanosik will soon be reunited with them in the family home.
“We are elated, honestly. We’re ready for it to be over, but this is a small victory that we can live with,” Rebecca Wanosik said Monday following a court hearing in her family’s case.
The Wanosik family has been separated since February when a doctor discovered that then 2-month-old Zeydn had broken bones. All five of the children were removed from the parents while a child abuse investigation was conducted. Last week, the family was happy to find that they were awarded four hours a week of unsupervised visitation with their children, so Monday’s ruling that they could be getting custody back came as a complete surprise.
“We walked into the courthouse today not expecting anything at all, so it was a very pleasant surprise,” Rebecca Wanosik said.
http://www.lebanondailyrecord.com/article_2112c396-452d-11e5-b1b1-cbb72083c5fa.html
Just recently, however, an endocrinologist assured it was vitamin D deficiency and rickets and that the parents imposing harm on their children is yet to be proven, NBC News reports.
ReplyDeleteZeydn first experienced cracking and popping in the ribs during her first 3 weeks. Having consulted her physician, Rebecca was told that it was a normal occurrence among newborn babies.
It was when Zeydn cried last Feb. 24, after her mother lifted her arm to wave goodbye to her brother, that the baby was once again bought to the hospital. A new pediatrician looked at her and then called the authorities in conclusion that the child suffered physical abuse from her father. Zeydn and her four other siblings were put to foster care.
"Not only did they say that I hurt the baby, but they also said my wife was aware of it. There is no way I hurt this baby. I have been waiting a long time to have a child of my own, and I even cried when she was born," said Anthony Wanosik, a combat engineer serving in the military, NBC News reports.
With diagnosis of baby Zeydn's sickness, the couple is now battling the Missouri Department of Social Services to regain custody of their five children.
Rebecca, a researcher and a law student, told NBC News that the authorities may have thought of her to be "stupid and no better" since she had tattoos and piercings, and her husband earns not so much for an income.
The mother subjected herself to testing and proved to have "almost undetectable" levels of vitamin D of 5 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL); healthy levels of vitamin D range between 20 to 30 ng/mL. As reported by Medical Kidnap, after Baby Zeydn was subjected to bone scan, the child was diagnosed of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which is believed to be genetic and have caused musculoskeletal complications.
Aside from this, experts believe that the illness may also be caused by injuries acquired during the birthing process and that moving the child may have unlikely caused the said fractures.
The Wanosiks are certain to win the case, having experts as witnesses to baby Zeydn's sickness to eventually disprove the allegations of child abuse.
Read more: http://www.parentherald.com/articles/7726/20150713/parents-who-lost-kids-over-child-abuse-find-out-complicated.htm#ixzz3jk90LjHs
Karina is a severely-ill ME patient who has been held in a hospital against her will for 2 ½ years. Her parents are still not allowed to see her. Her condition is worse now than when she was forcibly removed in 2013.
ReplyDeleteShe can no longer speak in full sentences. She sits in a wheelchair and mumbles to herself. She is allowed to wear her earplugs as she becomes very distressed when the nurses try to take them from her.
When she was first taken, she actively resisted treatment and was therefore given the diagnosis of Pervasive Refusal Syndrome. This is the same diagnosis as Joanne (a German girl with severe ME) was given. Now Karina no longer resists treatment and the psychiatrists claim that this is improvement.
Karina has never resisted eating, which is a core symptom of PRS, so of course this diagnosis is completely ridiculous. Also, Karina is a young adult and PRS is exclusively a pediatric diagnosis.
Although it does not look good for Karina at the moment, the fact that “Joanne” has been released gives us hope.
http://www.prohealth.com/library/showarticle.cfm?libid=21118
See Myalgic encephalomyelitis 7/20/15
A young English couple cleared of child-abuse charges is unlikely to ever see their child again regardless, the Independent reports. Karissa Cox and Richard Carter took their six-week-old baby to the emergency room three years ago after finding it bleeding from the mouth. The couple was accused of child abuse, and their baby was put into foster care. "I was destroyed," Carter tells the Daily Mirror. "Every part of my body felt like it was being ripped away from this earth.” This week, criminal charges were dropped after new medical evidence showed that the child's bruising and apparent fractures were caused by a blood disease and vitamin D deficiency. Unfortunately for Cox and Carter, their child's adoption had been finalized earlier this year, notes the Independent.
ReplyDeleteThe couple's lawyer, Michael Turner, says he presented medical evidence to the family court within moments of the final adoption being ordered, but the court didn't review it, the Guardian reports. And a legal expert tells the Mirror it's "almost impossible" to reverse a family court's adoption ruling, though the couple plans to try. “These innocent parents have been spared a criminal conviction and a prison sentence for a crime they never committed," Turner says in a statement. “Their life sentence is that they are likely never to see their baby again.” Cox tells the Independent if she can't get her child back, she plans on fighting for changes to the law so that something like this never happens again. “We took our child to the hospital seeking help and they stole our baby from us,” she says.
http://www.newser.com/story/214212/couple-cleared-of-abuse-likely-wont-get-child-back.html
The couple were in the process of relocating from their home in Massachusetts to Alabama, to be near Jonathon’s family. Complications from the pregnancy made it necessary for them to stay where they were in Alabama. Annabella Grace made her appearance 6 weeks early, on January 17, 2014, near Mobile, Alabama.
ReplyDeleteBecause she was premature, she spent time in the NICU. Like many moms, Christina tried to pump her breastmilk to be given to Bella. This scenario is challenging at best, and through no fault of their own, many mothers find it difficult to develop an adequate milk supply, and switch to formula feeding. However, Bella had a severe case of reflux from the beginning.
For her first 72 hours of life, she was unable to hold down any fluids, and was fed intravenously. After discharge from the NICU, the quest to find the right formula that Bella could keep down continued. There were several hospitalizations due to the severity of the reflux. They finally found that Bella could tolerate Similac Total Comfort, and she began gaining weight. They took baby Bella home in Alabama.
Meanwhile, the Hinotes traveled back home to Massachusetts to get more of their belongings and spend some time with Christina’s family. They could not find the formula there that Bella was thriving on, and thus switched to Gentlease, which she was also able to tolerate. Then, they visited the WIC office and a pediatrician in Massachusetts who decided to switch to Nutramigen formula. He allegedly told them that the other formula could upset her GI tract and constipate her. This change resulted in an increase in the reflux, as well as a “great decline” in her weight.
When Bella’s parents pleaded with the pediatrician to switch her back to the Gentlease, he refused. He allegedly told them that “he was the one who held a medical degree, and she was a first-time mother.” However, they report that Bella continued to decline. The Hinotes didn’t know that the doctor had contacted DCF, allegedly saying that he had grave concerns about Bella’s weight. It would later come out that he told DCF that he believed that the parents meant well, but were simply “not feeding their child,” leaving out the part about his actions in prescribing a formula she couldn’t tolerate. (continued)
(continued) Not surprisingly, Christina and Jonathon decided to complete the relocation to Alabama, where they had the support of Jon’s parents, as well as a pediatrician willing to prescribe a formula that Bella could tolerate. But Massachusetts DCF decided to chase them down. They allegedly contacted Alabama DHR to check on the family. A social worker came out and saw a baby who was growing and cleared the Alabama home in a home study. Unsatisfied, Kellie Perrault, an investigator for Massachusetts DCF, allegedly contacted the Hinotes, stating that they were concerned about Bella’s declining weight. Despite the fact that they were almost 1500 miles away, the investigator demanded that they meet with her to “clear the air.” Using a tactic that tends to be quite effective with innocent people, she insisted that “if they have nothing to hide,” they should have no problem meeting with her.
ReplyDeleteShe then allegedly threatened them, saying that if they refused to meet, criminal charges would be filed against them.
The frightened parents felt that they had no choice, and made the long trek back to Massachusetts.
While Bella was left in the care of Christina’s mother, Christina and Jonathon met with the investigator in a different county. A Salem caseworker was sent to “put eyes on the baby.” The caseworker recommended that the case be closed and stated her findings to family members: “Bella is understandably small due to prematurity, but her color is good and there is no concern for her well-being.”
This was apparently not good enough for Perrault, who reportedly demanded that Bella be brought to the emergency room for medical clearance. They took her to Beverly Hospital, where the formula was switched back to Gentlease, and switched from Zantac to Prilosec for the reflux, resulting in immediate improvement. Tests were performed, and the diagnosis was Failure to Thrive due to lack of calories. She gained 3 ounces in the first 24 hours after switching back to the formula that she could tolerate, and she was medically cleared by Beverly Hospital.
Undeterred by the good reports, DCF allegedly demanded that Bella be transferred to Boston Children’s Hospital for “further testing,” instead of discharge.
When the parents requested Tufts hospital instead, they were again threatened with removal if they did not comply with the DCF demands. Bella was sent to Boston Children’s Hospital, the same hospital that was holding Justina Pelletier at the time. (continued)
(continued)...Christina was permitted to leave the hospital twice, briefly. Once it was for a shower and a nap at a nearby relative’s home, and the other time it was to visit another family member who was hospitalized while they were there. Those visits would come back to haunt her, when she was accused of leaving her baby twice, though nurses were supposed to be watching her and had told her she could leave.
ReplyDeleteOne time, a nurse arrived 10 minutes ahead of time with a bottle for Christina to feed Bella. She was very kind, and told the exhausted mom that she would leave a note to ensure that the formula was delivered early to avoid any late feedings. Any late feedings resulted in chastisement for Christina.
Either the next nurse didn’t see it the same way, or there was a failure to communicate between the nurses, which, according to Christina, “it fell back on me.” When the formula still hadn’t arrived 10 minutes past the time for the feeding, Christina called the nurses station. She was rebuked for not doing her job as a mother in calling ahead for the bottle.
Despite all this, Bella continued to thrive, because she was receiving a formula that agreed with her. Then, Christina overheard a social worker condemning her when she went to get someone to get a bottle for feeding time. (The nursing station had not responded to her calls.) The social worker was allegedly in the hallway telling a nurse that the baby was gaining weight, but that “she foresaw a great decline if she was to be discharged home with her mother.”
Not a single test was performed on Bella at Boston Children’s Hospital.
It was later that very day that the hospital team informed her that they were concerned, and that DCF was on their way to take Bella. They changed the diagnosis to failure to thrive with no medical cause, even though she was rapidly gaining weight. It was May 2, 2014. Bella was 3 1/2 months old.
This was the day after Reverend Patrick Mahoney led a national prayer meeting for Justina Pelletier, and just weeks before Chuck Norris wrote his powerful Townhall piece.
- See more at: http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/04/24/another-medical-kidnapping-at-boston-childrens-hospital-baby-seized-over-formula-disagreement/#sthash.lplfsfxB.dpuf
(Bella remains in custody. See Bring Baby Bella Home https://www.facebook.com/FightForBella/)
Here, in one sentence, Massachusetts notified Baby Bella’s parents that they were changing their goal from re-unification to ADOPTION!!! Does the Governor and his Lt. Governor really know what their names are attached to? Do they have a clue of the evil already over-burdened tax-payers are funding?
ReplyDeleteFor obvious reasons, Christina tried to keep her pregnancy a secret as long as possible, but within a week of her finding out she was pregnant, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, (DCF), blatantly said “a little birdy” had told them she was pregnant and they were trying to confirm the rumor. This only increased the terror the Hinotes would have throughout the pregnancy with Braelynn despite DCF continuously insisting they “had no interest” in removing another baby from them. Why should they not be skeptical after the lies and deception by this department from the start? ...
Moreover, if they could go to the drastic measures of adopting the Hinotes’ only child away from them, on what basis were they doing so if they were “allowed” to keep their second child? None of this makes sense, but fighting the government over the right to even “see” your child had become the Hinotes’ worst nightmare. There seemed no end in sight to the antics DCF would take to deny the Hinotes access to their only child, whether it was cancelling the 1 hour a week visits that Christina had in the oppressive DCF office in Lynn, MA after coming up from Alabama expressly for this precious hour, or cutting short the even rarer father’s visits after he had made the long trip. Rarely would the parents be allowed to see their child TOGETHER!
https://amiracleforus.wordpress.com/2015/05/26/baby-bellas-sister-has-arrived/
May 5th, 2014. First visit after removal. Bella’s mother sees her baby 1 hour per week if she’s lucky, and the father once a month, when the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, (DCF), deems it appropriate. Not a day goes by that Bella’s parents aren’t acutely aware of what both they and their baby are missing in bonding, and cuddling, let alone first crawls, steps, and so much more in Bella’s first year of life, and in their first year of parenting...
ReplyDeleteI see other families out in public. Smiling, laughing, or even fighting with their children and I just think to myself, “why can’t that be us?” As a first time mother, I was robbed of one of the most critical, irreplaceable times in my daughters life. These are days I’ll never get back. I watched her first laugh through a video that had been posted on Facebook. Her first time standing with the support of her crib rails, I saw through a picture message on my cell phone.
In 9 months, I’ve held her in my arms maybe 33 hours at best. I can’t help but wonder, what do they want from me?!? I’m doing what they ask and they keep raising the bar.
There are kids out there who need you because their parents TRULY starve them. They need you because Daddy puts his cigarettes out on their bodies, because Mommy locks them in a closet for days or because Mommy’s new boyfriend beat them for crying. The only time we hear about these children is when their faces flash across the screen on the 6 o’clock news because nobody helped them. But you choose to take MY daughter, who was loved, fed and clothed. A PREEMIE who needed nothing more than a higher calorie formula – which she was put on and thriving before you stole her from my arms with security outside that meeting room – – – as if I were some type of criminal!
You can set up the most impossible obstacles to keep me from her, but just know I will never stop trying.
https://amiracleforus.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/medical-kidnap-calculated-heartache-and-destruction-of-families/
Although the state has let the Wanosiks have their children back, at least temporarily, the two who have insisted on their innocence from the beginning are still labeled as child abusers.
ReplyDeleteRebecca and Tony Wanosik are still fighting the state in court, hoping that two recently filed motions will get their names removed from the state's child abuse registry and get the case reopened for new evidence to be presented.
The Wanosiks' five children were removed from their care in February after it was discovered that their baby, Zeydn, had multiple bone fractures. Since then, the baby has been diagnosed with a genetic disorder that can lead to increased risks of bone fractures from normal handling of the infant — a diagnosis that the Missouri Department of Social Services has not accepted.
In August, the family achieved a small victory when the children were placed back in their care. The family is still waiting on a decision as to whether they will regain full custody of their children.
"Anthony and I both feel let down by a system that was put into place to support families instead of tear them apart," Rebecca Wanosik said.
http://www.lebanondailyrecord.com/news/local/article_caed7c50-7cee-11e5-9083-4f3da1afc606.html
When child protective services separated Melissa and Anthony Geers from their five sons last spring, Melissa says, the pain was staggering. The worst part was watching the effects on their children: the 9-year-old’s full-blown panic attack, the 8-year-old’s holding his mom “so tight I couldn’t breathe,” the sudden interruption of breast-feeding for the 4-month-old twins (Melissa pumped throughout their foster placement).
ReplyDeleteThe state filed to terminate the Geers’ parental rights just weeks after x-rays revealed rib fractures in both twins—but withdrew the suit 10 weeks later, after the Geers submitted opinions from eight outside experts who attributed the fractures to fragile bones, citing two underlying causes: First, the boys had a metabolic disorder that impedes bone formation. Second, like most twins, the youngest Geers had arrived early, 7 weeks early in their case. Because the rate of bone mineralization ramps up during the final trimester of gestation, premature infants in general are prone to weak bones.
But those explanations entered the record only because the Geers did their own research and called in their own experts. The state tore her sons’ lives apart, Melissa says, based on the opinion of one child abuse doctor “who never met me, my husband, or our kids.”
“We have two sons, now 10 and 8, who were traumatized by this experience,” she points out. “They don’t do the things they used to do. They are afraid. The child abuse experts need to understand what they are doing to children.”
Since their story hit the news, Melissa says, they have been contacted by an astonishing number of families with their own stories of ill-considered abuse diagnoses—most of them with far less happy outcomes. “How are the child abuse doctors not aware of all these other things?” Melissa asks. “That’s the part that bothers me the most. Why are they not doing their due diligence?”
http://onsbs.com/2015/10/22/innocent-family-petition-hits-a-nerve/
(Geer family) Sadly, people are convicted criminally of this crime with no evidence other than a child abuse pediatrician claiming child abuse, and many other families lose their children for months or years as they try to prove their innocence.
ReplyDeleteHow does a system set up to protect children not take into consideration the fact that what they are doing potentially causes an irreversible emotional damage that nothing could repair?
Why do we think “better safe than sorry” when innocent families are being torn apart so we can be “safe”? The truth is we were in a voluntary safety plan and we complied and understood. In fact we wanted to help. Was it necessary to show up at my house with 3 police officers unannounced and traumatize my kids forever?
We acknowledge CPS workers have a difficult job and they have a lot of responsibility. This is an unbelievable weight on their shoulders. But why do we jump? Why can’t we look at the whole picture? Why is what they do more important than what our family went through – unjustly?
- See more at: http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/07/19/michigan-family-traumatized-by-cps-in-medical-kidnapping-of-twins/#sthash.2dEInceI.dpuf
The Burns family and the Geers family found each other, and they also found the Protecting Innocent Families (PIF) petition, which calls for an objective, scientific review of the evidence base underlying today’s guidelines for diagnosing child abuse. The petition form includes an optional field where signers can identify the name of a defendant or family they are supporting. Of about 2,700 people who have signed the petition so far, slightly more than 1,000 have filled in the support field. The signers have named 338 individuals and families. The most frequently named case, with 270 signatures, is the Burns family, the subject of the Torn Family web site, which includes a link to the petition. The Geers family is the second most-often named, with 96 signers, presumably from their Facebook site...
ReplyDeleteIn addition to calling for a review of the scientific literature, the petition objects to the suppressive tactics used by the state and by professional organizations. Both families and professionals feel extraordinary pressure, the petition argues:
Even when charges are dismissed, caretakers acquitted, or verdicts overturned, families are emotionally and financially devastated, with many unwilling to speak out because they are still traumatized or they fear stigma or retaliation. Doctors and other experts who question or criticize these diagnoses also suffer retaliation, including threats against their jobs and licenses...
Still, instead of considering the reasoned objections of their critics, some proponents of shaken baby theory demonize defense experts at conferences and in the press. After charges were dropped against Irish nanny Aisling Brady McCarthy earlier this fall, for example, Kevin Cullen at The Boston Globe quotes Dr. Eli Newberger calling shaken baby critics “defense whores”:
Newberger is dismissive of the revisionist views that defense attorneys are increasingly tapping.
“On the clinical testifying roster are a whole lot of people who will cut their consciences for money,” Newberger said. “They’re hired out as defense whores. I just find this vile.”
The Protecting Innocent Families petition is an effort to bring together the many people who are affected by misguided diagnoses of child abuse, including the accused families, their extended communities, and the medical and legal professionals who defend them.
http://onsbs.com/2015/10/22/innocent-family-petition-hits-a-nerve/
(see entries above 11/19 and 11/29)
ReplyDeleteUPDATE:
These next couple of weeks are going to be BUSY BUSY BUSY for the Hinote family!
Chrissi met with the local DFCS office today (at the request of Massachusetts DCF) with the intention of seeking out the Parenting Courses that Massachusetts DCF has requested. (They had previously completed ONLINE courses at the request of the Department, which are no longer being honored).
Chrissi was told that the local DFCS office cannot assist them with parenting courses. The reason stated was that Parenting Courses are only offered if A) There is an open case on your family in that state AND B) There must be Domestic Violence OR Drug Use in your home. Neither of these apply, so she was referred BACK to Massachusetts for further guidance.
She was also informed that a Home Study was initiated, but DFCS was unable to reach the family on the phone number provided. Upon pulling up the phone number, it was confirmed that, again, Massachusetts has provided a phone number that has not been in service in almost TWO YEARS. Yet, somehow, they always seem to be able to contact Chrissi and Jonathon with the ACTIVE NUMBERS they have in their file.
The deadline Massachusetts gave for the home study is January 29, 2016. They have been trying to contact the family since December 21, 2015. Had they been given the accurate number from the start, this process could very well have been completed at this point.
The Home Study consists of Drug Testing, Criminal Background Check, and THREE home visits a week apart.
The current visit schedule this month requires the parents to be in Massachusetts January 20 and 28, with the report being due on the 29. Should they cancel the visit to comply with the Home Study, it will be entered into record that they are showing inconsistency with the visits. If they leave to travel for the visits, yet another home study will be sent back to Massachusetts as "incomplete".
One can't help but wonder WHY Massachusetts has provided non working numbers for the family THREE times now, but keep up to date numbers on record for themselves. In the summer of 2014, the same issue took place where an agency in Alabama was given a non working phone number, despite Massachusetts having active numbers. The home study itself passed, but the fingerprinting process did not make it back to the case worker conducting the home study before the deadline set forth by Massachusetts. This resulted in a report being sent back as "incomplete". Massachusetts entered this into their file as DENIED.
It has been said by DCF that an "Approved" Home Study and consistency with visitation is all that is needed to POTENTIALLY get this case back on track to head towards REUNIFICATION. But will yet another "miscommunication" in regards to contact information and tight deadlines have any effect on completion of THIS home study?
https://www.facebook.com/#!/FightForBella/
It is certainly difficult to wrap one's head around what is going on here.
ReplyDeleteUPDATE: Chrissi was just notified via email of the upcoming Foster Care Review on April 20. The goal very well could have been changed BACK to reunification with the documentation of the Approved Home Study. Without it, the goal will likely remain the same....ADOPTION.
Also, they were informed LAST MINUTE of a change in Social Workers as the current worker, Kristen Beisheim has reportedly accepted another position within the department. This will be the 4th Social Worker overseeing the case in 2 years. The first being Kellie Perrault from Pittsfield who used lies, threats and coercion to lure the family back into the state and did not rest until she achieved removal of Bella.
As the family had no current ties to the state, once Bella entered kinship placement with an estranged family member, the entire case was transferred to Essex County (when it should have been transferred to Bella's home state of Alabama). This is where Lisa Joyce was assigned the case. If you remember, Lisa was caught spying on Bella's grandmother's home where visits previously took place. Lisa also mandates visits to take place in the office following a Department allegation that Chrissi allegedly assaulted her then-pregnant estranged sister during a visit. The whole family, including said sister, provided statements proving this false as sister never took part in visits at Grandmother's home. DCF never did identify a source and never attempted to claim an "anonymous" source either. After filing a grievance, Lisa Joyce was taken off the case and Kristen Beisheim was assigned.
This is when the case took even more of a spiral with the goal being changed to adoption, the family being told important meeting dates were changed (only to be held on the same day and documented the family as no-shows).
NOW, with minimal notice and only one sentence of an email explaining Kristen was accepting a different position within the department, a new Caseworker is yet again being assigned to the case. With 3 weeks left until this next Foster Care Review and undoubtedly a number of other cases for this new Caseworker to be briefed on, we are unsure of what effect this will have on the family's case. If it follows the same pattern that previous Caseworkers have followed, it will mean nothing good for the family!
Please keep them in your thoughts at this time while yet another transition plays out!
https://www.facebook.com/FightForBella/ March 31, 2016