ACS has different schemes in order to entrap parents. One of their favorite tactics is to allege that the parent has mental health issues and demand that they do a mental health evaluation. They demand that the parents go to the ACS office and do a CSAC assessment.
"There are many diagnoses that get used liberally to describe stress and poverty," says Jessica Marcus, a supervising attorney with the Brooklyn Family Defense Project of Legal Services NYC. "Somebody is angry and they are classified as hostile. Well, who wouldn't be angry or hostile if somebody had removed their child from them or threatened to remove their child? It's a way of basically taking someone's poverty and powerlessness and treating it like it's a diagnosis and a disease, when it's really a natural response to a difficult situation."
This is the problem. If a parent is upset at ACS, they will claim the parent has anger management problems. You you need a mental heath evaluation, go to a private doctor not connected in any way to ACS,
BROOKLYNACSATTORNEY.COM
"There are many diagnoses that get used liberally to describe stress and poverty," says Jessica Marcus, a supervising attorney with the Brooklyn Family Defense Project of Legal Services NYC. "Somebody is angry and they are classified as hostile. Well, who wouldn't be angry or hostile if somebody had removed their child from them or threatened to remove their child? It's a way of basically taking someone's poverty and powerlessness and treating it like it's a diagnosis and a disease, when it's really a natural response to a difficult situation."
This is the problem. If a parent is upset at ACS, they will claim the parent has anger management problems. You you need a mental heath evaluation, go to a private doctor not connected in any way to ACS,
BROOKLYNACSATTORNEY.COM
I have a child that was put into foster care (NY Foundling) and have an open ACS case do to Domestic Violence. I left my abuser because we were fighting in front of our newborn baby and went to a shelter. At that time I was experiencing some post-partum depression and ACS was investigating my Domestic violence issue with my child’s father. I was told by the case worker to put my baby in NY Foundling crisis nursery and I would have to get some rest then get her back on Tuesday. I tried to get my child that Tuesday and was told that I had to stay for a conference, from the conference I was told to go to court. At court the judge ordered that my child be removed. My child was not harmed, hurt, neglected and had plenty of diapers, wipes, clothing, and baby materials. This case started in September of 2016 and I still haven’t gotten my baby back. I was told to have a mental health evaluation, go to a therapist, and take medication. When I went to Bellevue I was placed on meds because I told the doctors there that that’s what ACS wanted me on. I got a job at Burns and Harris Attorneys at Law in October and my medical insurance was cut off therefore could no longer go to my doctor’s appointments at Bellevue anymore. I continued to do well off of the meds and started to pay for my medical out of pocket by early January 2017. I then moved out of the shelter without help from the city due to my salary, found a place of my own, and saw a psychiatrist in Queens who said that since I was doing well without the medication I should see her again in March for a follow up. I work from 9 to 5 Monday through Friday and see my child after work every time I have visits. I haven’t missed one and she loves seeing me every time. I have been on supervised visits since September because ACS refused to except 3 of my mental health evaluations and NEVER referred me to a mental health facility but used it against me in court. All of them say the same thing, no medication is needed and ACS will not except that from the doctors. I go to therapy every week, like the service plans says but can’t get unsupervised visits due to ACS not approving them. They want me on medication that a doctor isn’t willing to give me and they made me take a drug/ alcohol test twice and both times I was negative for ALL drugs and alcohol. They took my child for fear that I will hurt her and had no proof of that, and are now trying to stall my case so that I give up on my baby. She will be 1 on the 29th of this month and I have new medical records, housing, income, and live a healthy lifestyle to get my child back with no results. They fight my attorney hard in the court room and the judge agrees with them even though there is no evidence on their end to support it. They have medical records from 2015 (hospitalized 3 days) and 2006 (hospitalized 7 days) but I knew I needed the help those times and volunteered myself. No one was hurt or harmed or threatened, I was just paranoid at those times.
ReplyDeleteI need help getting this information out there, if ACS kid naps children based on old medical history and get away with it then they will continue to do it to a lot of other innocent parents. If a parent knows that they are not well why can’t they seek help without their children being taken from them and placed into a foster home without being monitored by them first to see if they refuse to continue to get help. What type of message does this send to parents who may feel post-partum or have slight mental issues and have children that they love, but can’t have because ACS feels as though they will hurt their child but did nothing to them? These people are NOT doctors but play doctor to the parents, how is this fair? Most importantly, has ACS taken children from parents who have not harmed their children before, had good income, housing, and lived healthy lifestyles but those parents just gave up because they couldn’t afford a good attorney and felt they couldn’t win? How many children are in foster care or have been adopted because ACS ABUSED their POWER and just took them?