Aidpage

Alex came home with me the day he came from the hospital. I was there when my grandson was born and stood beside him as the nurse placed him in the incubator and cleaned him. I held his little hand as she poked him with needles. My daughter had been without medication or treatment for her Bipolar since she turned 18 because her insurance stopped and I couldn't get her connected to Medical Assistants. As a result, she turned to street meds as many without treatment and support do. One month after Alex was born, she moved into her own place again and left Alex behind.  She wrote a long letter to the judge requesting I take over guardianship of Alex as she was not ready to be a parent. Her boyfriend and father wanted nothing to do with the baby and was irate with my daughter for having him and not going through with the abortion. I thank God for that. He had been a blessing to me since day one. After 3 years of raising him, she and the boyfriend offered to let me adopt and take over as legal parent. I was happy but unsure even how to go about it.  I called and asked everyone I knew including social workers who didn't have answers. I asked an attorney who said I could get the paperwork filled out and do it myself. So, I filled out the papers and took them to clerk of courts. They told me it was more of a process then this and refered me to an adoption agency to guide me. I called and asked questions. The lady told me I had to have the state involved in order to take on guardianship when the parents signed over their rights and then the adoption assessment would take place. And within 6 months the adoption should be completed. You know, I trusted her and did as she guided me to do. In the process of adopting my grandson, my daughter (bipolar) caused huge problems. Along with being in and out of jail and in and out of ER, she had episodes that were unbearable to handle. Suddenly she wanted revenge on me and insisted she wanted her child back. She made the worse accusation one could possibly make and my grandson was taken from me. I fought a year and a half to have him returned to me. The battle was horrible. Alex was moved from one spot to the next and back to the first and then moved to a family out of county. I have a large family and the worker would not acknowldege either one's request to take him in. The State Social Worker decided she didn't want him to ever be returned to me and placed him in the pool of adoptive children available. She and her supervisor made the decision it would be better for him to be separated from the entire family. I had to hire an attorney to get him back. Three days before the court hearing, the Worker sent him out of county and into an Adoptive home. The Judge ordered he be returned to the foster home he was taken from. Afterwards she wrote an Affidavit to the judge filled with her lies and it took 1 1/2 years to have him returned to me. The Social Worker fought against me and the GAL. They required psychological tests and assessments and required counseling as a prerequisit to getting him back trying to prove I was not stable enough. And they would be monitoring me on a monthly basis to make sure I was keeping My Alex safe before beginning the Adoption Process all over again. 

 My husband and I started counseling with my pastor two days after Alex was taken from me because of the agony I was feeling.  I couldn't eat, sleep, focus on anything. All I did everyday is cry. I spent my nights beside Alex' bed crying and praying for him.

I was forced to separate from my husband and then she insisted I needed to divorce in order to keep my grandson. They now claim-in report to the judge-I cannot be considered a permanent placement-deamed to adopt-as I am separated from my husband and that makes me unstable. So the battle has just escalated. My husband in defense has asked for them to listen to the taped interview of his arrest and they would hear the truth. I requested it at the beginning and the detective told me it couldn't be released as the case was still pending. A year and a half later, I requested the tapes-to listen to them. No one was calling me back. My husband went in and requested the tapes. He was told they couldn't be released because it was still under investigation. The following day, I received a call from the office-leaving a voicemail, she stated there was no tape or disc attached to the file. So, what's up with that? This I thought only happened in the movies.

Even with payments made, the Attorney bill has become overwhelming.  And more then I can handle right now, but I don't want to give up this battle. My grandson has been my son since he came home from the hospital as my daughter chose to go back to her life of drugs and visit the jail regularly.

There is so much more to this story-it will take a book to explain it.

I struggle with the issue that a licensed social worker is allowed to purge herself to a judge in written and oral communication and get away with it. Why? Because they only listen to her. The others involved don't have a voice. I don't have a voice to share my version. And in the mean time, they are dragging me over the coals financially through Psych after Psych assessments and therapy and required living expectations.  Our bills toward this case keep racking up and they or she can require whatever she wants. She says jump through the hoops or loose your child.

Though my daughter caused this tragedy, I fear every day for her health and safety. The system failed her. Any required treatments which were court ordered never happened. She is lost and who is there to help those with Mental Illness? These are the people that end up on the streets; no place to live, unable to maintain a job, unable to get the needed treatment because there is no insurance to support them, end up in jail as a second home.