What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA
okay, here's the general information first.
i became involved with cys in january. they came to my home, they said, to determine the safety of my daughter. the police had called them after an incident in december during which my boyfriend had taken some of my medication and it reacted badly with his medication. his sister (who lives with us) and i grew alarmed and the paramedics were called. the police and paramedics arrived and were complete ... jerks ... for lack of a better word. my boyfriend was so out of it and sick, he had no idea what was going on. after using much physical force they got my boyfriend to the hospital, where he was stabilized and able to come home much later that night.
a few days later, a cys worker came to our house. the police had called them and reported my boyfriend was "physically combative" and messy. NOT dirty, but we were using the large family room to store alot of stuff. we were not home when cys came, and she notified my boyfriend's sister that she would be back in a month to interview us and and check the state of the house.
so in january she came out and interviewed us. she asked us a bunch of questions, stated she was going to accept our family for services, and said she'd call us the next day to set things up.
the next day she called and said and said his sister and i were to bring our children to the courthouse IMMEDIATELY. my daughters car seat was in my car (which my boyfriend) so i was not able to drive myself. cys said a county worker would be out to pick us up.
i go out to the car and this lady had a booster seat in the back - the kind for 80 lb kid - that uses the sealtbelt as a restraint. my daughter is 18 months old. she weighs 24 lbs. i told the lady my daughter needed a car seat for her size. lady says her one year old granddaughter rides in it all the time and that i must get in the car RIGHT NOW. so i did, i was scared.
we get to the courthouse and are escorted up to cys by a guard. the caseworker brought us up right away. his sister and i were then informed that we would be allowed to keep our children on the condition that our boyfriend moved out of the house and had no contact with them. a few minutes later we were seperated to be questioned seperately. they wanted to know why i was allowing my daughter to have contact with her father when he was obviously violent. they said they had police reports to prove it. i contended that yes, the police had been called to our house over a year ago due to my boyfriend becoming manic and violent. yes, he was, he was sent to the mental hospital, put on lithium, and attending therapy. besides, i was a stay-at-home mom and did the majority of the parenting, and that should things ever get out of control, i would be able to take my daughter and leave. they then informed me that i was placing my daughter in danger and therefore, was a danger to her myself. they immediately got an emergency petition signed and told me to come to court the next day.
i went to court and the judge said that due to my and my boyfriends mental health, our drug use (i had admitted to smoking weed occasionally but not re cently,), and domestic violence concerns, my daughter's life was in immediate danger.
so we were given a list of things to do. the caseworker said if cooperated, chances were "very good" that my daughter could come home by july.
- ordered to attend and pay for random weekly drug tests. my tests have all been negative. my boyfriend's first test was positive for thc, and the rest have been negative.
- ordered to attend a domestic violence evaluation and attend any recommended counseling. we did, and services were not needed.
- ordered to attend drug and alcohol questioning and complete treatment. i was ordered to continue the random drug tests, and warned that if i "continued to use" i would be required to pay for counseling and possible rehab. i smoked weed two times in the past year and i have been labled an addict. um, okay. if you say so.
- i was ordered to obtain and maintain income. i have been a stay-at-home mom since my daughter was born. when i explained that, they said i needed to get a job. welfare would pay for daycare. this would be necessary to get my daughter back, as i will need to GET THIS
- get and maintain stable and appropriate housing without my boyfriend. when i expressed concern about being able to pay for everything as a single mom, they assured me welfare would be happy to give me food stamps and, well, homeless shelters don't charge rent. WTF. i was able to remain in my home on the condition that my boyfriend not ever come there. he has rented a motel room he now lives in.
- ordered to attend supervised visitation four hours a week. i was warned that visitation is a privelege and should i decide attend visitation while under the influence of drugs, it would be suspended. DUH.
- ordered to pay child support (but i was assured that if i went on welfare i could get out of it.) I have never been on welfare in my life aside from medical assistence for me and my daughter and i don't intend to be on welfare now.
- ordered to attend scheduled mental health evaluation and comply with all recommended treatment. but i willl get to that in a minute.
- ordered to sign all releases of medical treatment.
so i had court this week, a status review. i have done everything i have been asked, aside from the mental health review because it is not scheduled until april. the judge expressed concerns about my mental health and said she would need to see proof of progress in my mental health before she could consider sending my daughter home.
i have a permanecy hearing scheduled in april. the mental health eval is not scheduled until a week after that hearing. apparently this place is berks county's dumping ground for everyone in the system, so you have to wait months to get in.
- and this is were it gets interesting. as luck would have it, my psychiatrist had just done a new mental health evaluation on me in december, as his office policy is to do one each year to assess progress and my official diagnosis. (depressive disorder and adult adhd). i have been seeing this doctor and my therapist 2 times a month for the past 3 years. i asked my caseworker if they could use my evaluation from there, which i thought was a great idea because it would show my true mental health issues.
she said no, they are too hold to get ahold of. besides, this is the doctor she always sends people to, and i would need an eval to get treatment from this provider.
so apparently i must now switch from my current provider with whom i trust and respect and go to some medical agency that churns out the criminals in this county.
i have called my caseworker twice since court to tell her my doctor will give her access to my medical records, all she has to do is ask. she has not returned my calls.
so. i have been compliant 100 percent, i am not trying to trick them, i would just like to stay with my current doctor. legally, can they get a court order to specify where i get my treatment? also having a mental health eval with current progress already recorded would get my daughter home much faster.
i was referred to this doctor by the county behavioral health office when i moved here. so he is reputable.
HELP! i am ready to fight this if they continue to insist i change doctors.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
okay, here's the general information first.
i became involved with cys in january. they came to my home, they said, to determine the safety of my daughter. the police had called them after an incident in december during which my boyfriend had taken some of my medication and it reacted badly with his medication. his sister (who lives with us) and i grew alarmed and the paramedics were called. the police and paramedics arrived and were complete ... jerks ... for lack of a better word. my boyfriend was so out of it and sick, he had no idea what was going on. after using much physical force they got my boyfriend to the hospital, where he was stabilized and able to come home much later that night.
a few days later, a cys worker came to our house. the police had called them and reported my boyfriend was "physically combative" and messy. NOT dirty, but we were using the large family room to store alot of stuff. we were not home when cys came, and she notified my boyfriend's sister that she would be back in a month to interview us and and check the state of the house.
so in january she came out and interviewed us. she asked us a bunch of questions, stated she was going to accept our family for services, and said she'd call us the next day to set things up.
the next day she called and said and said his sister and i were to bring our children to the courthouse IMMEDIATELY. my daughters car seat was in my car (which my boyfriend) so i was not able to drive myself. cys said a county worker would be out to pick us up.
i go out to the car and this lady had a booster seat in the back - the kind for 80 lb kid - that uses the sealtbelt as a restraint. my daughter is 18 months old. she weighs 24 lbs. i told the lady my daughter needed a car seat for her size. lady says her one year old granddaughter rides in it all the time and that i must get in the car RIGHT NOW. so i did, i was scared.
we get to the courthouse and are escorted up to cys by a guard. the caseworker brought us up right away. his sister and i were then informed that we would be allowed to keep our children on the condition that our boyfriend moved out of the house and had no contact with them. a few minutes later we were seperated to be questioned seperately. they wanted to know why i was allowing my daughter to have contact with her father when he was obviously violent. they said they had police reports to prove it. i contended that yes, the police had been called to our house over a year ago due to my boyfriend becoming manic and violent. yes, he was, he was sent to the mental hospital, put on lithium, and attending therapy. besides, i was a stay-at-home mom and did the majority of the parenting, and that should things ever get out of control, i would be able to take my daughter and leave. they then informed me that i was placing my daughter in danger and therefore, was a danger to her myself. they immediately got an emergency petition signed and told me to come to court the next day.
i went to court and the judge said that due to my and my boyfriends mental health, our drug use (i had admitted to smoking weed occasionally but not re cently,), and domestic violence concerns, my daughter's life was in immediate danger.
so we were given a list of things to do. the caseworker said if cooperated, chances were "very good" that my daughter could come home by july.
- ordered to attend and pay for random weekly drug tests. my tests have all been negative. my boyfriend's first test was positive for thc, and the rest have been negative.
- ordered to attend a domestic violence evaluation and attend any recommended counseling. we did, and services were not needed.
- ordered to attend drug and alcohol questioning and complete treatment. i was ordered to continue the random drug tests, and warned that if i "continued to use" i would be required to pay for counseling and possible rehab. i smoked weed two times in the past year and i have been labled an addict. um, okay. if you say so.
- i was ordered to obtain and maintain income. i have been a stay-at-home mom since my daughter was born. when i explained that, they said i needed to get a job. welfare would pay for daycare. this would be necessary to get my daughter back, as i will need to GET THIS
- get and maintain stable and appropriate housing without my boyfriend. when i expressed concern about being able to pay for everything as a single mom, they assured me welfare would be happy to give me food stamps and, well, homeless shelters don't charge rent. WTF. i was able to remain in my home on the condition that my boyfriend not ever come there. he has rented a motel room he now lives in.
- ordered to attend supervised visitation four hours a week. i was warned that visitation is a privelege and should i decide attend visitation while under the influence of drugs, it would be suspended. DUH.
- ordered to pay child support (but i was assured that if i went on welfare i could get out of it.) I have never been on welfare in my life aside from medical assistence for me and my daughter and i don't intend to be on welfare now.
- ordered to attend scheduled mental health evaluation and comply with all recommended treatment. but i willl get to that in a minute.
- ordered to sign all releases of medical treatment.
so i had court this week, a status review. i have done everything i have been asked, aside from the mental health review because it is not scheduled until april. the judge expressed concerns about my mental health and said she would need to see proof of progress in my mental health before she could consider sending my daughter home.
i have a permanecy hearing scheduled in april. the mental health eval is not scheduled until a week after that hearing. apparently this place is berks county's dumping ground for everyone in the system, so you have to wait months to get in.
- and this is were it gets interesting. as luck would have it, my psychiatrist had just done a new mental health evaluation on me in december, as his office policy is to do one each year to assess progress and my official diagnosis. (depressive disorder and adult adhd). i have been seeing this doctor and my therapist 2 times a month for the past 3 years. i asked my caseworker if they could use my evaluation from there, which i thought was a great idea because it would show my true mental health issues.
she said no, they are too hold to get ahold of. besides, this is the doctor she always sends people to, and i would need an eval to get treatment from this provider.
so apparently i must now switch from my current provider with whom i trust and respect and go to some medical agency that churns out the criminals in this county.
i have called my caseworker twice since court to tell her my doctor will give her access to my medical records, all she has to do is ask. she has not returned my calls.
so. i have been compliant 100 percent, i am not trying to trick them, i would just like to stay with my current doctor. legally, can they get a court order to specify where i get my treatment? also having a mental health eval with current progress already recorded would get my daughter home much faster.
i was referred to this doctor by the county behavioral health office when i moved here. so he is reputable.
HELP! i am ready to fight this if they continue to insist i change doctors.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
