help

collapse

Press one of the expand buttons to see the full text of an article. Later press collapse to revert to the original form. The buttons below expand or collapse all articles.

expand

collapse

Voice of DCF Victims

August 9, 2006 permalink

A Florida father, Greg Pound, has assembled an hour and a half of video of parents recounting their experiences with Pinellas County (St Petersburg) DCF.

Among the reasons cited for taking children from their parents:

  • a neighbor's dog bit a child
  • prescription drugs mimicked illegal drugs on a test
  • a vindictive neighbor's complaint
  • a dad tripped on a cord, accidentally breaking his son's leg
  • spanking
  • A Christian mother kept her eighth grade daughter from last chance dance
  • a young mom left six-month-old twins with her sister, treated as abandonment
  • a dad had a heart attack, after recovery DCF wants to keep his child
  • refrigerator under repair

Some of the stories included:

  • A lawyer told his client not to go court because of a postponement. The client was criminally charged for failure to appear.
  • A parent was required to prove that he taught a six-year-old child about lesbian and gay sex.
  • A mother said all evidence against her family was lies, except the names.
  • A mother requesting how to get her children back was told by the DCF lawyer in court: "She knows she has a problem, so she should know what to do".
  • A mother in the maternity ward was told to sign adoption papers for her newborn, or her other children would be taken. The workers told her: "They both had blond hair and blue eyes, and they would go quick".
  • A six-year-old boy remembered his grandmother's phone number, now contrives to get into the hospital, the only place he can make a call.
  • A mother reported her daughter was taken into state care, got pregnant, was denied pre-natal care, the baby boy was premature, and died shortly after birth.
  • A father reported seeing his baby son in a nursery with dozens of other babies, cared for by teenagers. The boy was soaking wet from poor care. Police would not rescue the baby.
  • Therapists reported on a grandmother, before seeing her.
  • A mother spent years jumping though hoops to get her children, but they were not returned.
  • A mother reported her previous criminal history was limited to an expired dog tag. Her husband was forced out of the house, and eventually driven to suicide. (a real shotgun divorce).
  • A mother spent six months in jail, then charges were dropped.
  • A 17-year-old boy was before a juvenile court judge for a half hour, subjected to such abuse that he passed out and had to be carried away from the courthouse by ambulance.
  • Foster parents who were addicted to drugs sent the foster kids out to steal in support of their habit.
  • Several parents reported abuse of their children while in foster care. Older kids run away from the foster homes.
  • A boy was charged with felony possession of a toy gun.

sequential