News

Parent group protests family court practices

By NATHAN BRUTTELL Argus-Press Staff Writer

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 10:12 AM EDT

Argus-Press Photo by Nathan Bruttell Joseph Sabin of Lansing, left, and Joel Taylor of Corunna stand outside Corunna City Hall Monday to increase awareness of Parents for Children.

CORUNNA - Protesters representing Parents for Children stood downtown hoping to raise awareness of their organization Monday.

Parents for Children is an organization dedicated to addressing alleged problems of abuse and corruption in family court for parents who have had children taken by the Department of Human Services.

The group also gathered to support one of its own members, Michelle Romine, who was in court hoping to gain custody of her children.

Spokeswoman for the Shiawassee division of Parents for Children, Linda Haddix, said the group gathers every chance it gets to support one of its own members.

“We handed out flyers at (DHS) in April, and we rally at court dates to show our support,” Haddix said. “We also attempt to raise awareness of House Bill 5931, which holds (DHS) workers accountable for their reports.”

The bill, introduced by Rep. Fulton Sheen, R-Plainwell, in March, has not been passed by either the House or the Senate. If passed, the bill would prohibit DHS case workers from submitting false reports and remove all immunity.

Currently, DHS workers have civil immunity from mistakes made during investigations, but not gross negligence immunity. Haddix and Parents for Children would like to see the bill passed in hopes that case workers would be held responsible for reports made to the court.

Many members of the group, including Jane Feldpausch, were mothers who had lost their children to DHS.

“I just want to bring my kids back home,” she said. “I have done what (DHS has) asked and I want them to give me back my kids.”

Susan Fulton, director of DHS for Shiawassee County, said parents hoping to regain custody of their children must follow guidelines set by DHS and the court system.

“Generally if parents can comply with the plan and make the needed changes to rectify the situation, then we can look at reunification,” she said.

Fulton also said that in some cases, meeting the guidelines will not necessarily guarantee custody.

“You could go to a therapist every week, but if you're still displaying the same behaviors, we have to identify that,” she said. “It could be that new issues have been identified or the (completion of the guidelines) has not made an impact or change.”

Fulton also encouraged parents looking for answers from DHS to speak with her to resolve the matter.

Joseph Sabin, a member of Parents for Children, said that many members of the group were not opposed to DHS, but hoped investigations would move faster and more efficiently.

“Some children deserve to be taken away from their families,” he said. “Some have been abused or neglected. No one is arguing against that.”

- Contact Nathan Bruttell at (989) 725-5136 extension 231 or nbruttellarguspress@gmail.com.

Comment on this Story

caringparents wrote on Jun 12, 2008 9:54 AM:

" We were reported to Genesee County CPS for sharply disagreeing with a course of treatment for our minor child. We were kicked out of the program we were participating in because of this disagreement. We were reported for failing to seek necessary medical treatment for our child.

We spent hundreds out of our pocket, along with some insurance, with ongoing weekly follow up before, during, and after this program.

Child is healthy and strong and healed.

The CPS people were very unhappy that they had to waste their resources on a reported case of parental neglect, when in fact, we had weekly medical support and medications that we paid for, and had been utilizing throughout the program time.

Not all CPS are morons. The two CPS investigators we were in contact with apologized to us for the disruptions when they closed their investigation as not valid. "

DJS wrote on Jun 12, 2008 9:43 AM:

" I have to agree there are false accusations from DHS. Without any real evidence they can accuse a parent of things in court and get away with it. DHS also fails to keep children within a family unit when a child is taken from the parental home. Michigan is a so-called "Family First" state, yet I have seen no evidence. DHS has a vendetta against the disabled rather they are good parents or not. If you are poor, you get little support or help from court appointed attornies. It is horrifying the abuses done by the agency that is to protect our children. I know of a child in foster care that has had three broken bones, dog bites, and stitches. Hmm, never suffered this at home with the parents.
Now I am not denying that many children should be taken out of the home, my problem are the lies and false accusations as well as poor visits or services that are supposed to be given to reunite a family. This needs to be changed immediately. "

Robert K wrote on Jun 12, 2008 8:18 AM:

" I don't know Joel, but I know dozens that are just like you describe, it's the typical FOC scenario, Support orders way above what the law allows (support over 50% of income) and any requests for review get summarilly dismissed.
as far as seeing your kids, FOC will do as little as possible to enforce parenting time, as there are no Federal tax dollars going to Parenting time enforcement, while Title IV-D (Federal) sends over a million dollars per month to some counties for support collection.

Maybe, just Maybe, Joel has tried to see his kids but the mother or FOC is preventing him from seeing his kids "

D M B S wrote on Jun 11, 2008 10:12 PM:

" As a former foster parent thru Shiawassee DHS I would like to see DHS held responsible for false accusations and not giving all information about cases to the Foster Parents. I was put on the registry due to false accusations from DHS CPS and the Caseworker. I will not reccommend Shiawassee County for Foster Parenting. "

Sally wrote on Jun 11, 2008 5:08 PM:

" I commend these people. Child Services all over this country is as corrupt as the day is long. They steal children for incentive money from the OUR tax dollars. EVERYONE should be out there protesting. Stark County Ohio Child Services has destroyed my 2 grandkid's lives. It's been 12 years and we're still fighting and feeding the illegal agencies that have grown from these atrocities on innocent families. Hitler would be proud of Child Services. "

kelly m. wrote on Jun 11, 2008 4:12 PM:

" There is a lot of child neglect in Owosso. In my neighborhood, there are frequently little preteen children roaming around unsupervised at 11PM. Who is watching these kids? Where are the parents? "

Me too wrote on Jun 11, 2008 12:32 PM:

" They need to take a closer look at who they allow in this organization.
I see some "bad" examples....
Children need to be protected and not everyone in the organization is taking care of their own children. "

jeannette wrote on Jun 11, 2008 1:31 AM:

" I think this bill should also include adult protective social workers who do the same thing they make false accusations and get away with it and cause trouble with familes with elderly peopple "

Me wrote on Jun 10, 2008 8:02 PM:

" Talk about neglect why don't you ask Joel Taylor (in the picture) about his child? When was the last time he has seen her? Why does he owe thousands of dollars in child support!!! How can he represent a group when he is an offender of what their mission is? "