Complaint Review: Cleveland County DHS Oklahoma - Norman Oklahoma

I understand what you are going through. My experience was similar to yours a few years ago. Workers can say and do what they feel. I was floored at the lies, cover ups and manipulation of the worker and the system for that matter. Don't even get me started on the kinship foster home. The worker was transferred, and the foster father was deported and arrested in England, foster brother has been arrested for pulling a knife on a police officer, and who knows what marriage the foster mother is on this time. Oh, I left out the babysitters were killed in a drug related car accident, just to mention a few. Don't have enough time to keep going.  I still can not believe they were ever placed in a home like this and the last thing the worker said is that "he would place them there again". All I can say is fight and don't give up. If it's wrong, stand up. My attorney told me to go along with it. blah, blah, blah. Wrong is wrong. After the case was closed, my attorney commend me on my fight and for sticking in there. He thought I was crazy at first, but over time he realized how screwed up this worker was. As far as I know he is still out there making the lives of families a living hell and taxpayers are footing the bill. God bless you Grandma.!

I'm going to avoid touching the merits of DHS seizing the kids (obviously not knowing the particulars of this case), but rather concentrate on how to effectively document all correspondence with them so that it can be produced in court. Firstly (and arguably most importantly), I'll urge you to get a good lawyer; they're the only ones who can "play" the system as well as the government can. A good lawyer will usually be the difference in a win or loss in questionable cases, or those against a government agency. Secondly, certified mail with return receipt requested is your best friend when dealing with anything legal. Make sure to do this for _everything_ you send them; don't use email. You might consider doing this with the politicians as well. Thirdly, avoid conversations on the phone or in person unless you can record them (and be sure to check with a lawyer regarding the legal particulars on this...it could vary from state to state). Make sure that you get the person's full name and their position with the department. If you record on digital media, *make* *backups* on several different formats (CD, floppy, flash drive, external HDD, etc.). Finally, be sure to document dates and times of _any_ contact you have with _any_ government employee about this case. Being able to say "I talked with so-and-so on this date at this time and he/she said/did X, Y, and Z" will be a *huge* benefit if it ever needs to go to court. I'm not a lawyer, so I obviously can't give official legal advice (nor should the above be interpreted as such), but nothing prohibits me from giving layman's suggestions. I wish you the best of luck with the case.

Don't take offense to that statement, I mean that in order for you to get your own lawyer, as a grandparent, in court you must file a petition to become an interested party in the case, otherwise the worker or the courts won't care much for anything that you say or do, he has no obligation to what you want. I'm not even sure that the worker would be able or even willing to speak with your lawyer about the case unless you file the petition. Make sure that your lawyer is a juvenile lawyer because juvenile court is a lot different from any other type. Also, what about the parents? Good Luck.

Don't take offense to that statement, I mean that in order for you to get your own lawyer, as a grandparent, in court you must file a petition to become an interested party in the case, otherwise the worker or the courts won't care much for anything that you say or do, he has no obligation to what you want. I'm not even sure that the worker would be able or even willing to speak with your lawyer about the case unless you file the petition. Make sure that your lawyer is a juvenile lawyer because juvenile court is a lot different from any other type. Also, what about the parents? Good Luck.

Thanks Cheyenne for your response. We are not giving up. I talked to the caseworker the other day and he tried telling me what was said in court, when I argued he told me he had the reports right in front of him, I told him I have been at every court date and every visit, and that I know first hand what was said..he changed the subject real quick. I offered him the attorneys name and he refused to except that info. They are impossible to talk to and deal with, always twisting everything said or done. I will continue my fight with a vengeance..i have already e-mailed every state legislator twice, the governor once and am going to keep e-mailing them on a daily basis till i get a response. Thanks again for your concern..I'll keep everyone posted. Anyone out there who can help..please contact me..these babies need to come home.

I've fought the DCS in Oklahoma 3 or 4 times and got my kids back every time because they didn't have a legitimate reason to take them. Now they have my granddaughter and won't give her to me. Yet I let a (several, only one at a time) family live with me who do drugs all the time or neglect the children or even in one case three little girls being sexually abused and call the DCS to help them and am told "go away and leave these nice people alone." I only reported because the kids ask me for help and I don't know how to give it. Now I am taking Psychology courses so I can help those who need it because DCS ignores the kids who need them and destroy the ones who don't. If that isn't evil among us I don't know what is.

I can understand where you are coming from. CPS workers are nasty, lying, miseribly overworked and underpaid people. They see many kids being mistreated that they classify everyone under investigation to be lying, nasty, child abusers. Their motto in Iowa is "When in doubt, take the children out." VERY SCAREY. It is very hard to deal with these people, any assumption that CPS makes about you becomes the truth to the courts and the people around you. They run the court rooms, you are guilty until proven innocent. My best advice would be to pay for your own lawyer. If your daughter is being represented by a court-appointed lawyer, she has a long road ahead of her. The lawyers and CPS workers and judges are all on the same side. It's just so routine in the court rooms. The lawyers will tell you if you agree to the findings of the CPS worker the process will be easier for you and your children and that putting up a fight makes it harder for you to get your kids back. So what do you do, agree? NO. If you believe that you are being wrongly accused or have the means for your children to return home you should put up a fight and never agree to anything that is not true. Although what you do has a lot to do with they way that they look at you. CAUTION- If you do put up a fight they may think that you are crazy, lying and that you are incapible and not accepting responsibilty. It's really a no win situation unless you kiss their a*s, but don't go out without a good lawyer on your side. If your lawyer puts up a good fight on your behalf you have the best chance. Another word of advice, the longer that the kids remain in foster, the harder it will be to get them back. They may try to tell you that the children have bonded with the foster mother and that remaining with her may now be the best interest for the children if the foster mother wants to adopt her children and she very well may considering a lot of people go into foster care as a way to adopt children. Read more ripoff reports on CPS to find more stories about foster parents trying to adopt children in the system. If the parents are really dedicated to get back their kids and I hope they are they should not give up. So many people talk about being victimized by the system while they are leaving out the real truth about what's going on and that makes everyone look bad and deceptive when talking about being victimized by CPS workers. Typing really fast. Please excuse and errors or hard to understand sentences. Michelle Cedar Rapids, Iowa P.S. I have not been a victim of CPS myself but I have done some research and talked with people and heard their stories. I do believe that we need to make changes but remember that changing the system does not change the people employed and we all know how government agency workers can be so... not trying to stereo-type or anything.

the only thing i have left out of my report is more of the crap that dhs has pulled on my family. What you read is only a small part of the hell these people have put us through since May. All because they lived in a one bedroom house. These parents have been accused of all kinds of things they haven't done. Dhs caseworkers are manipulators of the system and twist even the most innocent thing into something horrible. The parents have complied with dhs fully and have even paid for everything out of their own pockets.

DHS isn't going to take kids just because they don't have their own bedrooms. There is nothing illegal about that. And they're not taking kids just because the parents don't have a lot of money. The state has to pay for those kids once they're removed from the parents' custody. The state doesn't want to pay any more than they have to. You're leaving something out of your story.