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what are the chances of getting my daughter back at court?

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needhelpnow123

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? missouri

i have a child who was placed in state custody because i was found unable to care for her special needs. this was a year and a half ago. im still working toward getting her back but had problems with my social worker so i moved two hours away and got a new social worker. now i just had a perfectly healthy baby two days ago in my hometown so family could be present and my old social worker showed up the next day and removed her because my disabled child is still in custody in their jurisdiction and she said she had concerns i wouldnt be able to care for my newborn. i have always babysat and cared for other peoples kids as a source of income and it was never a concern to her or the court before. it was only found in court im not able to care for a disabled child not a normal child. my new social worker had no intent on taking the baby but my old social worker put her foot in the door. now i gotta drive 2 hours away to go to court and shes not even my social worker anymore and again i dont even live anywhere close to her county. is there a chance i can get her back at court? i havent harmed the child or done anything to put her in danger, i was still in the hospital with the baby when she was removed, and it specifically says on the court report that she was removed because i have a disabled child that is in care. i dont have a lawyer cause its the weekend and nothing is open. i have court monday december 3rd and really need answers now!
 


stealth2

Under the Radar Member
I don't think anyone can tell you what your chances are. But we will all tell you to make sure that you make it to court.

I suspect that moving and finding a more sympathetic social worker will not help you.
 

sandyclaus

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? missouri

i have a child who was placed in state custody because i was found unable to care for her special needs. this was a year and a half ago. im still working toward getting her back but had problems with my social worker so i moved two hours away and got a new social worker. now i just had a perfectly healthy baby two days ago in my hometown so family could be present and my old social worker showed up the next day and removed her because my disabled child is still in custody in their jurisdiction and she said she had concerns i wouldnt be able to care for my newborn. i have always babysat and cared for other peoples kids as a source of income and it was never a concern to her or the court before. it was only found in court im not able to care for a disabled child not a normal child. my new social worker had no intent on taking the baby but my old social worker put her foot in the door. now i gotta drive 2 hours away to go to court and shes not even my social worker anymore and again i dont even live anywhere close to her county. is there a chance i can get her back at court? i havent harmed the child or done anything to put her in danger, i was still in the hospital with the baby when she was removed, and it specifically says on the court report that she was removed because i have a disabled child that is in care. i dont have a lawyer cause its the weekend and nothing is open. i have court monday december 3rd and really need answers now!
Your story isn't making much sense.

The state would first offer assistance in helping you to care for your own child with special needs before outright taking the child away from the mother. The only thing that makes any sense is that you were neglecting to provide the care required for your special needs child. That also makes a lot more sense in explaining why they would come and take away the newborn child - the the same reasons they didn't feel you were fit to raise the first child (which took a lot more time and effort), they had similar concerns that you would show the same neglect to your newborn.

Why did it take you so long to start thinking about what's going to happen at your upcoming hearing? Why did you not make efforts sooner to obtain legal assistance in your court hearing? Honestly, it's a little late now to be trying to find an attorney - especially when it's the weekend and your hearing is on Monday. Without one at your hearing, with everything that's stacked against you, I wouldn't count on being able to get your child back from them very quickly.
 

needhelpnow123

Junior Member
the reason i moved is cause there was a conflict with my caseworker, she was handling a case of someone i know and was sharing our case information to each other so me and the person i know both filed a complaint and got a change of social worker as our cases are suppose to be confidential. and this all happened at the hospital and just got discharged from the hospital last night so it was impossible for me to contact a lawyer as they are not open after 5pm and not open on weekends.
 

stealth2

Under the Radar Member
the reason i moved is cause there was a conflict with my caseworker, she was handling a case of someone i know and was sharing our case information to each other so me and the person i know both filed a complaint and got a change of social worker as our cases are suppose to be confidential. and this all happened at the hospital and just got discharged from the hospital last night so it was impossible for me to contact a lawyer as they are not open after 5pm and not open on weekends.
So there was only one case worker w/in a two hour drive?
 

needhelpnow123

Junior Member
no i have two houses the one im staying at now and the one i used to live at when everything started...i was gonna move eventually but that situation motivated me to do it as soon as possible. it just really made me not trust the social workers in that office. me and my new caseworker get along great and havent had any problems. visits with my daughter are going really good too. ive almost completed all services requested as well i jut have one more to do and thats voc rehab but was waiting to start it till after i had the baby so that will be done soon too. im really hoping my new caseworker can get things sorted out cause we had other arrangments with the new baby. the arrangment being that i would get to keep her since she wasnt disabled. but again this weekend thing is killing me cause i cant get ahold of her to let her know what happened. i mean i left her a voicemail but she isnt gonna get it till she gets to her desk monday and at that point ill already be driving 2 hours away on my way to court.
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
Your story isn't making much sense.

The state would first offer assistance in helping you to care for your own child with special needs before outright taking the child away from the mother. The only thing that makes any sense is that you were neglecting to provide the care required for your special needs child. That also makes a lot more sense in explaining why they would come and take away the newborn child - the the same reasons they didn't feel you were fit to raise the first child (which took a lot more time and effort), they had similar concerns that you would show the same neglect to your newborn.

Why did it take you so long to start thinking about what's going to happen at your upcoming hearing? Why did you not make efforts sooner to obtain legal assistance in your court hearing? Honestly, it's a little late now to be trying to find an attorney - especially when it's the weekend and your hearing is on Monday. Without one at your hearing, with everything that's stacked against you, I wouldn't count on being able to get your child back from them very quickly.
You would think the state would first offer assistance but that doesn't always happen. Trust me on this. The way things SHOULD work and the way things do work is often two very different things.

Though it sounds like OP either stipulated to the findings last time around or didn't appeal after a trial.

OP, fight this on the fact that this court is NOT the proper venue for this case. This baby has NO TIES to that county due to the fact that the child was not born in that county and you and the child did not live in the county at the time of the birth. It is very much a procedural argument but it might help you. You really need an attorney however.
 
Last edited:

Just Blue

Senior Member
This isn't really the same thing as you wrote on another forum.

http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151074
11-29-2012, 11:39 PM #1 ashleyordiway
View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message

Junior Member Join Date:Nov 2012
Posts:4 Can My Old Social Worker Go Behind My New Social Workers Back and Take My Baby
My question involves a child custody case from the State of: missouri

ok so i need to know what can be done about my situation. i have a 3 year old with special needs, she was born with a partial chromosome deletion and is now in state custody because i missed her doctor appointment which is cause for immediate hotline from the doctors in her condition so i own up to my mistake of not taking her to her appointment. anyway she was removed october of last year and ive been butting heads with my social worker ever since about her getting on the ball and getting services set up so i can get my 3 year old back. after a year of not having progress with her as my social worker i moved 2 and a half hours away to get away from this women and got a new social worker assigned to me a couple months ago and things have been going good. now the twist i got pregnant in march of this year and just had my baby yesterday in my hometown so the whole family could be there. i called my social worker and let her know i couldnt meet with her and that i was in labor and would see her when i got back home. she said ok we set up a day so she could meet the new baby. now not even 24 hours after i had my baby and before i even turned in the birth certificate form, a social worker hands me a paper saying that my baby is being placed in their custody. i grabbed the paper and quickly clarified that i didnt live at the address stated on the paper (which was my old address) and that i infact live hours away from there and that cathy wasnt my social worker anymore. the social worker said that she was told i lived at the residence on the paper also said i had been hotlined and that cathy had concerns because my special needs child was in custody and that that was their reason for my new baby's removal. i asked her if she took that up with my social worker and she said no she dont have to that my social worker has no say over it and that i will be attending court in their jurisdiction on monday. i just emailed and called and left a voicemail to my social worker explaining that my old social worker is trying to do her job but its late so probably wont hear from her till tomorrow. so my question is can my old social worker just go behind my new social workers back and take over even though i dont live anywhere near that area. this women is a nightmare. i moved, sold my car to buy a new one so she wouldnt know what i drove, i changed my number, and apparently gonna have to change my name for this women to leave me alone which probably still wouldnt work. this just seems wrong to me. can something be done? ive already contacted my new social worker and let her know what was going on but office was closed so am now awaiting a response and am trying to find a last minute lawyer in the area that she was taken from since thats where ill have to go to court at.
Oh, Dear GOD!!
 

needhelpnow123

Junior Member
it is the same thing i just worded it different and made it shorter. i couldnt remember the site or i would have just copied and pasted it on this forum but thanks you for sharing that link im looking for all the answers i can get and joining every forum i can.
 

needhelpnow123

Junior Member
You would think the state would first offer assistance but that doesn't always happen. Trust me on this. The way things SHOULD work and the way things do work is often two very different things.

Though it sounds like OP either stipulated to the findings last time around or didn't appeal after a trial.

OP, fight this on the fact that this court is NOT the proper venue for this case. This baby has NO TIES to that county due to the fact that the child was not born in that county and you and the child did not live in the county at the time of the birth. It is very much a procedural argument but it might help you. You really need an attorney however.
this is what i thought as well but someone said that this wont hold up in court because they are state workers so they go by state not county?
 

needhelpnow123

Junior Member
I'm not really sure...I'm reading the paper they gave me and it says "I (social workers name) a Childrens services worker of the Linn/Sullivan/Chariton county childrens division of social services, state the following to be true to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief. I request that the juvenile division of the circuit division grant to the childrens division of social services protective custody of the above named juvenile. As grounds I am submitting a statement that there is preponderance evidence that the juvenile is subject to the jurisdiction of the court and should be retained in protective custody"

So after reading this on the paper I'm assuming they do have boundaries as to where they can.have say over a case. I'm not sure what evidence they think they have that I live in their area but I went through HUD to get my home and my caseworker was just at my house Tuesday for a home visit but I was having contractions when she got there so I went to the hospital and she told me to give her a call to.reschedule another day....not sure if it will help but I think I will bring some mail or utility bill as proof of address with me to court tomorrow.
 

Silverplum

Senior Member
I'm not really sure...I'm reading the paper they gave me and it says "I (social workers name) a Childrens services worker of the Linn/Sullivan/Chariton county childrens division of social services, state the following to be true to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief. I request that the juvenile division of the circuit division grant to the childrens division of social services protective custody of the above named juvenile. As grounds I am submitting a statement that there is preponderance evidence that the juvenile is subject to the jurisdiction of the court and should be retained in protective custody"

So after reading this on the paper I'm assuming they do have boundaries as to where they can.have say over a case. I'm not sure what evidence they think they have that I live in their area but I went through HUD to get my home and my caseworker was just at my house Tuesday for a home visit but I was having contractions when she got there so I went to the hospital and she told me to give her a call to.reschedule another day....not sure if it will help but I think I will bring some mail or utility bill as proof of address with me to court tomorrow.
I was looking up your state's social services and saw a link for those needing help in tough times: http://dss.mo.gov/famhelp.htm and figured it could be of use to you.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
The baby was born in the same jurisdiction as the one that removed your other child, right?
 

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