Werme Tricks - Secret Proceedings
September 2, 2005
Attorney Werme claims that “case proceedings are secret”. She is correct, they are. In fact, any information about a family involved with DCYF is confidential. If you were to call me up and ask about the Jones family, I would be required to tell you that I cannot confirm or deny involvement with any family. I will listen to your concerns, and probably suggest that you call Central Intake if you would like to report your concerns. We do this to protect a family’s privacy. Most families find it embarassing to be involved with DCYF. So, we do not release any of that information to the general public. We will not even discuss their cases with family members, unless given permission (usually in writing) by the family. The secrecy surrounding DCYF’s involvement with a family is not designed to keep families less informed in case of future involvement with DCYF, as Attorney Werme would have you think. I am happy to discuss practice or policy with anyone - right down to the “first contact” as Attorney Werme calls it, to Court proceedings. I can discuss these issues in generalities, but I cannot give case specifics to anyone. In fact, anyone with questions such as these is welcome to call their local DCYF office and ask a social worker. Each office generally has someone known as a “Cover Worker” in the office from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday. This worker is available to answer questions over the phone or in person, whether they are actually involved with DCYF, or if they simply have questions. You can find the phone numbers for the local offices here
I feel that most families find it embarrassing to be involved with DCYF because a good portion of the time, it usually involves a false or vengeful complaint.
I, as a parent, would like to think that I am capable of raising my children without permission from DCYF as to what I should and should not do to or with them.
What I would like to know is why you would say that you would talk to family members usually with written permission. I happen to know that this is not the case. I was one of those family members given written permission and DCYF still refused to talk to me.
I do believe that secrecy is perpetrated by DCYF in that if you do not get your child back in a year, he/she/they are more than likely going to be placed on the “adoption block” pursuant to DCYF’s own procedures manual. Sounds to me like a tort waiting to happen.
Why don’t you tell the public what happens with an ex-parte petition. Do you still want to deny that there are no secret proceedings. An ex-parte petition if filed with the court behind parents’ back when DCYF decides that you have neglected or abused your child/children. The judge then enters an Order for Protection without your knowing it until the police show up on your doorstep to take your child away. That is if they did not get to them through the school first. Can you just imagine coming home from work to learn that your children are living in some total stranger’s home of a group home.
Greetings and Hello to everybody! My name is Carole, from Ocala, Florida. Your Blog was easy to navigate, most informative, and it contained the information I needed for my college research paper, Have a nice day, and many thanks!
Oh? Is that why the schools, the police, the new mental health providers, the new PCP, the all new folks have to be educated and prejudiced by the “information” DCYF chooses to tell them? They are quite adept at getting others to lie in court, file false charges, and generally do their bidding…DCYF does control the funding and is able to reward accordingly…..
my familys involvement with ct. dcf revealed little care for my grandson’s welfare, total disregard for his mental health, abuse and harassment from dcf. this agency needs a total overhaul. The distrust and lies we were told is unbelievable. Do not let them in if they come knocking. They are evil, self-serving people who have childrens interest as the least thing on theur “agenda”. Run, if you see them coming.
Hi Jo, I can’t speak for DCY in Connecticut. They’re policy and procedure could be entirely different from the NH policy and procedure. I will say that working in child protection is often a thankless job. Most of your clients hate you, you get sworn and yell at on a regular basis, and sometimes threatened. For all of this, you get low pay and nearly impossible standards that you have to adhere to. No one who does this work does it to get rich. Most people who work in this field truly care about children and families. There are plenty of other jobs they could have for much less abuse and a whole lot more pay, but they choose to protect children instead. I’m sorry that you had such a bad experience with the DCF agency in CT, but I hope that not everyone has similar experiences, particularly with DCYF in NH.
It seems that dcfs/cps violates every law that there is. I know case workers that think they are above the law. they do go after parents that are low income and do not care one bit about the kids they rip from families! most of the kids they do remove are not abused by their parents. Instead of keeping families together the state seems to rip them apart. The federal money is the clue here. States are paid for adopting the kids out and there are times where they are paid more than once for the same child. Due to the adopters screaming wrongfull adoption!
There are also the kids that are labled specail needs and the state recieve more money for that too.
I have never yet seen a decent cas worker. The case workers in Illinois are not even licensed by the state!
Most of them just take a civil service test and they pass they get the job!
I think they may take a crash course in how to steal a child.
Families are being destroyed every day due to cps and a corrupt court system. We as parents need to protect our children. We are their only hope in this unjust system.
Hearings are being held in different states to revamp the Child protective agencies.
Case workers and the courts need to be held responsible for what they have done to our families. To many children have been removed for little or no reason except abuse or neglect. What you think is neglect is completly different than what cps calls neglect.
They will twist your words and say things that you have never even said
I am a single mom and also a family rights coordinator. I have seen the department of children and family services destroy families. The court system will not do anything to help the people that need it. Parents are told they have no rights and the social wreckers lie and get away with it. Parents have been told that if they cooperate they will get their children back. But the truth of the matter is that they will not. The courts will terminate their rights. DCFS is very corrupt and the goverment is doing nothing to stop it. Parents are protesting and trying to get laws passed that would make them be held accountable for their actions. To many children are removed without court orders and false accusations are made on the parents. This site will help parents that need a place to find information to fight these monsters In the state of Tennessee the Child protection office has been under investigation. In Oregon parents have proved the system is corrupt and nothing is done. This is wide spread. Not only in the United States but in Canada too. Parents rights are being terminated and for little or no reason at all. Courts refuse to return children to their parents and put the children on the auction block for adoption.
childrens pictures are on the internet for adoption even before the parents rights are severed. Parental rights mean nothing to the courts any more. Adoptive parents are paid when they adopt a child until that child is 18. Each state gets paid federal money for adoptions. And almost every state is not in compliance with the feds.
I have learned a lot since I have started fighting dcfs and one of the things I do know is how they lie and twist their words and your words to their content.
I also have seen the public pretenders tell most parents if you do what DCFS says your kids will come home. well this is not true they make aprents jump through more hoops and still no kids.
In Illinois parents have only 15 months to get the kids back once they are removed. If they fail the courts will terminate parental rights. most other states have the same limit.
Gee, Sara, if I got treated so badly in my profession, I would wonder if I was in the wrong profession. People usually get angry for a reason and if you have never been angry before CPS got involved in your life, you would be angry then.
You talk about “secret courts”. Are you aware that the courts belong to the people, that we pay to support them and vote to elect those who serve in them? Every court should be open to the general public, what is there to hide? I have been in a court where a person was being tried for murder and I was not asked to leave. How come Juvenile Court is so secretive? Oh, yeah, now I remember, nobody is sworn in so they can say anything they want, that is the judge, caseworkers , and anybody else, but the defendent. Nobody takes notes. Why is it like this? Because then the judge and DCS/CPS can’t be held accoountable for what they say, for the lies they tell, and the plans they make, but if you try to speak you are threatened with contempt of court and possible jail time. HOW DARE THE COURTS OF MY COUNTRY TRY TO KEEP ME FROM FREELY SPEAKING AND DEMANDING MY RIGHTS ?! HOW DARE CPS DRAG MY GOOD NAME THROUGH THE MUCK AND MIRE WITHOUT GIVING ME THE RIGHT TO SPEAK AND DEFEND MYSELF? HOW DARE THE COURT NOT ALLOW ME TO HAVE A JURY TRIAL? OH, I FORGOT, MY DAUGHTER WASN’T CHARGED WITH A CRIME! SO HOW DARE YOU TAKE AWAY THE ONE THING MOST PRECIOUS TO ME, MY GRANDCHILDREN, IF YOU CAN’T EVEN FIND ANYTHING WORTHY ENOUGH TO CONVICT ANYBODY OF A CRIME? CONTRARY TO WHAT ONE PERSON STATED ON HERE, THERE IS NO EMBARRASSMENT IN BEING IN JUVENILE COURT , ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE INNOCENT OF WHAT DCS IS TAKING YOUR CHILDREN AWAY FOR.
ARE THEY TAKING THEM AWAY BECAUSE YOUR HOUSE WAS DIRTY? HOW MANY TIMES HAVE THEY BEEN IN YOUR HOME AND SEEN IT DIRTY? OH, YOU SAY THIS IS THE FIRST TIME? DID THEY KNOW YOU HAD BEEN ILL AND YOU DID WHAT WAS MOST IMPORTANT, GOT YOUR KIDS OFF TO SCHOOL, TOOK CARE OF THE BABY AT HOME, AND COOKED DINNER? DEFINE “DIRTY”. DCS STATES YOUR CHILDREN ARE “NEGLECTED”. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? THERE IS SOMEBODY WITH THESE CHILDEN 2/7, MEETING THEIR NEEDS, LOVING THEM, KEEPING THEM SAFE, FEEDING THEM. DCS IS NOT IN THEIR HOME 24/7, HOW CAN THEY JUDGE MY DAUGHTER FOR SOMETHING THEY HAVEN’T WITNESSED? THE ANNONYMOUS PHONE CALLER IS WHAT DCS RELIES ON AS GOSPEL AND BASED ON THE COMPLAINT, YOUR CHILDREN ARE GONE. HOPEFULLY THE CALLER WILL NO LONGER BE ANNONYMOUS AND THE NUMBER OF CHILDEN GOING INTO FOSTER CARE WILL DROP CONSIDERABLY, BECAUSE ABOUT 85% OF THESE CALLS ARE FALSE. THEY ARE MADE BY PEOPLE WHO WANT TO CAUSE TROUBLE, THEY ARE EVIL, THEY EVEN MAY BE A FAMILY MEMBER WHO IS ACTUALLY JEALOUS OF YOUR PARENTING SKILLS! IT WILL EVENTUALLY COME ABOUT, THE TRUTH ALWAYS WINS, ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. I PRAY, SARA, THAT YOU WOULD BEGIN TO WORK GOOD FROM THE INSIDE OUT. I AM A 62 YEAR OLD GRANDMOTHER WHO LOVES HER GRANDCHILDREN TOO MUCH! BECAUSE I COULDN’T HAVE CHILDREN AND THEIR MOTHER IS ADOPTED. A PRIVATE ADOPTION FROM OUR CHURCH. MY DAUGHTER HAD BEEN IN AND OUT OF FOSTER CARE FOR THE FIRST 9 YEARS OF HER LIFE. LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH GOOD DCS DID FOR HER AND HER 2 SIBLINGS. SHE WAS RAPED BY AN UNCLE AND SEVERAL OF THE MOTHER’S BOYFRIENDS WHILE THE MOTHER WAS LAYING IN BED WITH THEM. SOME OF THE BOYFRIENDS MADE FILMS OF THESE THINGS HAPPENING. AND YET THEY WERE TAKEN AWAY AND BROUGHT BACK, TAKEN AWAY, AND BROUGHT BACK. SHE IS ONE WHO SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN BROOUGHT BACK AND MY GRANDCHILDREN SHOULD NEVER HAVE GONE INTO FOSTER CARE. I GUESS IT’S TOUGH PLAYING GOD WITH OTHER PEOPLE’S LIVES, SOMETIMES YOU JUST DON’T GET IT RIGHT. AND NOW MY DAUGHTER IS BI-POLAR LIKE HER MOM, WON’T TAKE HER MEDICINE, AND SINCE I AM NOT THE BLOOD KIN GRANDMOTHER, I CAN’T GET CUSTODY, ACCORDING TO DCS IN 2004! A JUDGE DENIED MY CIVIL RIGHTS AND MY GRANDCHILDREN SUFFERED BY BEING IN FOSTER CARE. THEY TELL ME THEY CRIED AND ASKED FOR ME TO COME GET THEM, BUT NOBODY TOLD ME. I HAVE NO RESPECT FOR ANYONE WHO WORKS FOR CPS OR DCS BECAUSE THEY REFUSED TO WORK WITH THESE BABY’S FAMILY AND IF THEY HAD I COULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF THEM UNTIL MY DAUGHTER GOT HER ACT TOGETHER. BUT NOW THEY SUFFER BECAUSE OF THE ALIENATION OF BEING IN FOSTER CARE AND NOT FULLY UNDERSTANDING WHY THEIR FAMILY DIDN’T COME AND GET THEM, THEY ARE TOO RESLIENT TO BE SO YOUNG, THEY ARE LIKE ZOMBIES AND ARE DRUGGED DUE TO “ADHD”. ONLY ONE IS TRULY ADHD BUT THEY DRUGGED ALL 3, JUST TO KEEP THEM FROM BECOMING OVERLY EMOTIONAL WHEN THEY CRIED FOR THEIR DAD OR MOM OR ME. THEY HAVE LEARNED TO RELY ON THEMSELVES BECAUSE NOBODY WAS THERE FOR THEM. DO YOU WONDER WHY I HATE DCS, DO YOU WONDER WHY I CAN’T SLEEP, DO YOU WONDER WHY I PRAY THAT DCS WILL NEVER COME BACK INTO OUR LIVES, AND I ALWAYS PRAY THAT MY DAUGHTER CAN BE THE MOTHER THEY NEED. THEY ARE GETTING OLDER AND I WON’T ALWAYS BE HERE AND I AM SO TRAUMATIZED BY THEM HAVING BEEN GONE FOR 19 MONTHS AND I ONLY SAW THEM 2 TIMES. I AM DISABLED AND THEY ARE MY LIFE AND MY ONLY JOY! HOW DARE DCS AND CPS COME IN AND MAKE OUR VULNERABILITIES MORE VULNERABLE, BY SEPERATING US FROM ONE ANOTHER AND KEEPING US FROM DOING WHAT A FAMILY DOES, PULL TOGETHER. THAT’S WHAT WE DID, WE ALL WORKED TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THE CHILDREN. SOMEBODY TOOK UP THE SLACK WHEN THERE WAS ONE SO THE CHILDREN GOT THE VERY BEST CARE AND LOVE AND THEIR NEEDS WERE MET, NO THEIR NEEDS WERE MORE THAN MET, THEY WERE SPOILED ROTTEN, JUST LIKE
I WANTED THEM TO BE AND ENJOYED SPOILING THEM. THEY ARE WONDERFUL KIDS, BUT WE DIDN’T NEED THE FOSTER MOMS TO TELL US THAT BY WANTING TO ADOPT THEM, WE ALREADY KNEW THEY WERE SPECIAL! AND IF CPS AND DCS WILL STAY AWAY FROM US, MAYBE THE WORLD WILL KNOW HOW SPECIAL THE ARE. WE LOVE THEM SO MUCH THEY THINK THEY ARE SPECIAL TOO AND THAT LEADS TO GREATNESS AND BELIEVING IN THEMSELVES. WORK FOR THE CHILDREN, SARA, DO WHAT IS TRULY BEST FOR THEM.
People who so adamantly criticize child protection agencies and claim the states are stealing kids for money are hurting children.
Obviously the truth even when told and proven will be denied by many.
Fact is 2000 children a year in the USA alone are killed by child abuse and neglect of their parents and caregivers. This is fact.
Check out the facts, Go to adoptuskids.com and see the children that child protection agencies remove from their parents home. In my opinion too many cps workers do to little.
Parents who abuse always claim they are falsely accused. Well, cps does not drive down a street and just knock on doors, they follow complaints and follow through with them.
I have little use for abusive parents and even less for those who claim false allegations.
The reason people do not put on thanks here for CPS is probably because they are not searching for issues such as this for dcyf resolved their issues and don’t even know this site exists.
After all, Sara is not advertising,
I have had dealing with dcyf and found them to be overly cautius in making a founded report.
Yes, the courts have the say. DCYF would not make the foolish remarks I’ve seen here. Of cause Paula, could have people respond here.