Father arrested for abandoning his son

[Reba]

I've seen families in cheap apartments where four children sleep on the floor in the living room. If family service knew of that, buh bye. Then in order to have the children back, each child must have his/her own bedroom. It is a rotten system, but that is the way it goes.

Are you sure that each child has to have its own bedroom? I don't think that's a hard and fast rule. I'm sure it depends on age and sex. That is, an infant boy and a three-year-old girl sharing a room is no big deal but a 17-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl sharing a room might be a problem.

 

[Beowulf]

Are you sure that each child has to have its own bedroom? I don't think that's a hard and fast rule. I'm sure it depends on age and sex. That is, an infant boy and a three-year-old girl sharing a room is no big deal but a 17-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl sharing a room might be a problem.

I am not sure about NOW, but I remember being friends with this deaf couple (ten years ago) who had two children, ages seven and four, and the wife was pregnant. Because they became suddenly homeless, the children were taken away by family services. The parents were told that they needed a three bedroom dwelling. To make a long story short, their parental rights were terminated. They even had the infant taken away after it was born. No kidding.

 

[rockin'robin]

I am not sure about NOW, but I remember being friends with this deaf couple (ten years ago) who had two children, ages seven and four, and the wife was pregnant. Because they became suddenly homeless, the children were taken away by family services. The parents were told that they needed a three bedroom dwelling. To make a long story short, their parental rights were terminated. They even had the infant taken away after it was born. No kidding.

That is sad...but the couple became "homeless"...so what are their children suppose to do? Was the father working..or receiving SSI/SSDI?...Were they living in a low-income apartment/house?...There must be more to the story...and the infant...how was it suppose to survive if the parents had no home?....Did the couple have any family they could leave their children with while they worked to get back on their feet and acquire housing?

Taking the children away seemed to be the only way to insure of their (children's) survival at that time. Giving the parents' time to find employment or services to help them get back on their feet....Why their parental rights were stripped from them is something else involved. I'm sure Legal Aide could have been involved to help the parents get back their children if they asked for it....And if they applied for a 3BR low income apartment, and were waiting for one to become available...then I'm sure the children would have been returned to them when that happened....the Parent(s) have to work "with" the system, not against it.

 

[Reba]

I am not sure about NOW, but I remember being friends with this deaf couple (ten years ago) who had two children, ages seven and four, and the wife was pregnant. Because they became suddenly homeless, the children were taken away by family services. The parents were told that they needed a three bedroom dwelling. To make a long story short, their parental rights were terminated. They even had the infant taken away after it was born. No kidding.

I'm not doubting you but there must have been more to the case than just not enough bedrooms.

 

[KristinaB]

Someone reported us for having my daughter sleeping on the floor in our room. There is no space for a bed. She does not want to sleep in the living room due to car lights on the road coming in through the vertical blind and MIL has no curtains. Daughter chose to sleep on the floor. Yes, she's tired of it now. When the investigators came out, they interviewed everyone in the house and inspected every room. After seeing how MIL was, they agreed we were doing the best for now and they are aware of the plans for the garage conversion we are starting next month.

More and more, in this area, families are living together with other relatives or friends. We were told that since daughter is as old as she is (17) that it wasn't as much a problem, than if she was younger (2-12). The family behind us, has a 2 bedroom house. A retired older couple is living there. A year ago, their son and his 3 kids had to move in since the son got a divorce and lost his house. The kids are his from a previous marriage and their mother has died. This was a major problem since the kids are 9,12 & 14 and there was no bedroom or beds for them. they got to sleep in sleeping bags on the back screened, enclosed porch with a hot tub. Now, the man that owns the house (the grandfather) has had to go back to work to help support. The father of the kids would never look for a job, so his parent threw him out. Because the kids are all boys, they now have the 2nd bedroom with a bunk bed and another twin bed. The father of the kids is renting a room from another neighbor and has gotten a job and McD's. Not sure what he did before.

 

[deafbajagal]

I rather him abandon the child than beat or kill him. I wish there was a safe place to leave children if the parents feel they can no longer care for them.

 

[DeafTim]

Hey, I agree with y'all. Scary and very sad.

I dont know if you realize this but the boy is traumatized.

 

[whatdidyousay!]

Try white families here in my own town and in yours.

Try families living in tent cities after losing their homes to foreclose! I called the White House and asked why aren't they fixing up the trailers that where used for Hurricane Katrina so the families that lost their homes can live in them. The woman said that is was not an emergency! That was the White House saying babies living in tents with no running water is not an emergency ! Now who should go to jail!!

 

[Beowulf]

I'm not doubting you but there must have been more to the case than just not enough bedrooms.

Well, yeah, but they were basically railroaded. I think it is different today, though, thank God.

 

[Beowulf]

That is sad...but the couple became "homeless"...so what are their children suppose to do? Was the father working..or receiving SSI/SSDI?...Were they living in a low-income apartment/house?...There must be more to the story...and the infant...how was it suppose to survive if the parents had no home?....Did the couple have any family they could leave their children with while they worked to get back on their feet and acquire housing?

Taking the children away seemed to be the only way to insure of their (children's) survival at that time. Giving the parents' time to find employment or services to help them get back on their feet....Why their parental rights were stripped from them is something else involved. I'm sure Legal Aide could have been involved to help the parents get back their children if they asked for it....And if they applied for a 3BR low income apartment, and were waiting for one to become available...then I'm sure the children would have been returned to them when that happened....the Parent(s) have to work "with" the system, not against it.

You seem to think the world of family services. I know they can be scum.

 

[whatdidyousay!]

You seem to think the world of family services. I know they can be scum.

I know a woman that removed from her home as a child because she was being sexual abuses. She was send to a foster home by family services and both foster parents sexual abused ! Family service does not do a very good job at screening people to be fix to care for kids.

 

[Dixie]

Not all social workers are scum, that's why there are CASAs to ensure that the child has a voice in the process and that the child's interests are also considered.

In this bad economy, judges really have to go on a case by case basis.

Parents that don't have a job because they live in a small town where there are no jobs vs. parents who don't have a job because they have a drug problem.

Parents who lost their home in foreclosure and are sharing a two bedroom apartment with another family until they can get back on their feet vs. parents who won't pay their rent and instead gamble their money off and they get evicted from every place they go to.

Parents who are living with their parents because of a bad economy vs. parents living with their parents simply because they don't want to work and refuse to get a job.

As for the requirement for each child to have it's own bedroom, especially for single-parent families and those with low-incomes, that seems a bit far fetched.

I have however seen the requirement of:
In order to receive custody of the child, both parents must have full-time jobs with adequate benefits and must be able to care for the child without the need for government assistance of any kind. If the parents do not have an adequate income to care for the child upon evaluation and findings of the case worker, then the parental rights and custody will be permanently revoked and terminated by the state.

Its basically telling the parents they need to get their act together and start looking for work, even if it means working in a poultry processing plant. I know the parents involved, and neither of them have any business having a child in the first place. Both are drug addicts and have replaced their illegal narcotics with copious amounts of methadone - daily doses of methadone. Both make up excuses as to why they can't or won't work and refuse to go look for work. The judge wants to see what the parents are made of. Are the parents willing to set aside their own pleasures and desires for the sake of their child, or are they? Right now, it looks like they will lose permanent custody of their child. From what I've seen, this would be the best thing as the child is now in the custody of my uncle who is the grandfather of the child and is doing a far better job than the parents were.