Fighting Against DSS or CPSin Massachussetts

Department of Social Services at one time, was an agency that was created to save the lives of children who could not stand up for themselves and stop their perpetrators from continually abusing them. Today DSS/CPS employ unlicensed social workers, with little experience, to push their way into a family unit and cause massive destruction and trauma. They lie, over exaggerate, and manipulate the details of important information to be able to go into court and get a C&P order to remove children from their parents. Sometimes this happens because the caseworker does not get along with the parents, sometimes the parents stick up for themselves and the case worker does not like this, and in rare occasion a C&P order is necessary to keep a child safe. At any rate, almost all of the time, when parents are confronted with several social workers and police officer's at their door, they are intimidated and overwhelmed, and open the door to hell. It is a Constitutional Right, that without a warrant, NO ONE may enter and seize. Of course the police are usually rude and threatening. And why not? They've been just told some elusive story by the DSS worker, who claims to be at the mercy of the child they are about to save.

Definitions of Abuse
Physical Abuse

Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. It may be the result of a deliberate act, but could also be caused through the omission or failure to act to protect.
Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill-treatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child's emotional development. It may involve making a child feel or believe that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of ill-treatment of a child, though it may occur alone.
Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of, or consents to, what is happening. It may involve physical contact, including rape or oral sex, or non-penetrative acts such as fondling. Boys and girls can be sexually abused by males and/or females, and by other young people. It also includes non-contact activities such as involving children in watching or taking part in the making of pornographic material, or encouraging children to behave in inappropriate ways.
Neglect

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child's basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child's health or development. It may involve failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, or failing to ensure that a child gets appropriate medical care or treatment.

If you are guilty of child abuse and neglect, then shame on you. You should seek professional help immediately. Sometimes as a parent, fustration can overwhelm you, but there is never an excuse for child abuse. But if you are reading this out of desperation because you too are falsely accused of abuse and/or neglect, them I suggest that you find and hire a good attorney immediately!

My husband and I have been through hell and back, and to hell again. We hired a great attorney, have another great attorney, and our children were provided an excellent attorney as well. When dealing with DSS/CPS, you must always coperate. If they want you to sign anything, you explain to them that you would love to in the spirit of coperation, but you'd like to have your attorney look it over and make ammendments if needed. Usually when you mention your "attorney", they think twice. Make sure you really have one, because the situation may get sticky from that point on. Whatever you do, DO NOT be rude or speak in an aggressive manner. They have the power to take your precious children. I never dreamed anything like this could have ever happened to my family. Next thing I know, my five year old son was wisked off to some residential treatment center and my two year old spent almost two weeks back and forth in foster care in the Home for Little Wonderer's in Boston being subjected to God knows what kind of people or environment. It took us almost seven months to get our daughter back and my son is still living outside the home. Oh and I forgot to mention that while all this is happening I was eight months pregnant with my fourth child. Because of the trauma that DSS/CPS caused I went into premature labor, that was temporarily stopped for a couple of weeks. But my daughter was still born four weeks early. The social worker claimed to "care" about my children so much that she would risk my already high risk pregnancy, to keep my children "safe". Bullcrap!

In my situation, we didn't know what DSS wanted from us. We had implemented many services for our oldest daughter. My husband and I had safety plans in place for our children, because of our currcumstances, we actually removed one of our children from the home and placed her with a relative. Ay one point I had actually requested voluntary services to assist in providing my eldest daughter with help and DSS told us that they could not help us, that we have done everything a parent could do for a child. When they actually became involved three years later for a supported 51A, even then they did not provide any services to my family. We didn't even have a service plan until a year later, and after they removed my two children from our home. Talk about neglect, huh? Later when our case became involved with the court, we found out that our ongoing social worker wasn't even licensed until four months into our case, and only now holds the lowest form of a social worker. After being able to view some of our records did we start to see the truth. That the social worker had LIED, MANIPULATE, and DISTORT the truth. And whereas, in a C&P hearing, DSS holds the burden of proof. NEVER WAIVE your right to a 72 hour hearing!!!! Unless you are guilty. Your court appointed attorney may advise you to do that, and usually DSS/CPS is not prepared to go through with a 72 hour hearing, because they think the parents are too intimidated by their power. Your attorney works for you, and if you want a 72 hour hearing then they have no choice but to give you one. And because DSS/CPS thinks that your too cowardly, they are not prepared to go through with the hearing, so you be prepared and get them where it counts. Be ready if this is what you are facing. Collect as much documentation as you can, copy it, and have copies ready for yourself, your attorney, DSS/CPS's attorney, your children's attorney, and for the judge. Go in prepared to fight, and you may just walk out of there with your children. Even if you don't, DSS/CPS will know that they will have to work a little harder.

Here is a list of people and one agency that may be able to help you. Because there is such in overload and crisis with DSS/CPS, it may take some time to hear a response. These are people very high up in the system and should be used ONLY if you have gotten no where with 1.) the caseworker assigned to your case, 2.) the caseworker's supervisor, and 3.) the area director. The first agency you should contact is:

Department of Social Services
Office of the Ombudsman
(617) 748-2444

Angelo McClain
Commissioner of The Department of Social Services
24 Farnsworth Street
Boston, MA 02210
(617) 748-2000

Martha Coakley
Office of the Attorney General
One Ashburn Place
Boston, MA 02108

Senate President Therese Murray
State House, Room 332
Boston, MA 02133
(617)772-1500

Chief Justice Martha P. Grace
Administrative Office of the Juvenile Court
Three Center Plaza, suite 520
Boston, MA 02180

On February 16, 2007 at 5:15 pm, three DSS worker's and three police officer's showed up at my door to take my children. I was not home. My husband was. He was getting our two youngest children at the time, ready to go out and get some pizza. I was on my way to spend time with my oldest daughter. I got his frantic call at 5:20 pm, and drove like a maniac straight home to try to figure out why this was happening. The police and DSS had already left my home and were out in the parking lot. My five year old son stood alone off to the side crying and moaning while a man put my two and a half year old in an out-dated car seat that had not been properly adjusted to fit her and had been buckled loosely in the seat belt. As I stopped, the assigned DSS worker was carrying bags of things for my children to her car. It took everything I had not to run over and hurt her. As she smiled in my face telling me that my children would be ok, it was apparent to me that she thought she had won.

DSS brought my two year old to a foster home and my son to a program. The things that were taken with them from our house were never given to them and we still have not received any of those things back.

The feelings that a person goes through, and the anguish- it never goes away. Even though our now three year old is home, there was a two week period that she had been lost in the system. We will never know if she was ok where she was. You always question whether or not someone hurt her? Also, children of this age change so much. Those are months we will never get back. Even though they were months, it felt like eternity to us and them. My son has not come home. It kills me to see the sadness on his face every time we visit and have to leave him at his aunts. He wonders why his mom and dad can't help him. Aren't we his parents? Didn't we give birth to him? Haven't we been the ones comforting and bandaiding his boo-boo's for the past five years? It sucks and it isn't right. There will be consequences for all those involved with the deceit in my case. The hardest part is waiting to change things. It is a very long process that takes forever to heal. You will always be waiting to hear a knock on the door. Looking around every corner and wondering who is watching you. You will never feel safe and comforted knowing that God was the one who gave you the right to have and love your children because the government and their agencies believe that they are your children's parent. All you have to tell yourself is NEVER GIVE UP!!!