My question involves a child custody case from the State of: WV
I am posting this about a situation that my brother is going through.
Two years ago, his ex was arrested for DUI and because her two children were in the car with her, child neglect. One daughter is my brother's biological child, the other isn't, but we love her just the same. My brother was in the Army stationed in Texas at the time and not in the position to take two children in, so while his ex was in jail and then rehab, my parents took the girls in (kinship care for their bio granddaughter/foster care for their non bio). The father of the non-biological daughter signed his rights away when everything started.
About 15 months later, his ex had completed most of the parenting classes and rehab. My brother was given a medical discharge from the Army at that time. Everything was okay... the girls do love their mother, and the visitation schedule for my brother and his daughter was actually better than ever before. He moved back home and had one visit with his daughter before things went crazy.
His ex had moved with the girls to a different country with her fiancé. Less than 3 weeks after the girls went back, she was arrested again, this time on two felony charges related to a minor (not her daughters). The girls were once again removed from her custody and placed in the care of my parents and also my brother (the judge found favor with him because he never missed a meeting or hearing, even though he lived in Texas during the ordeal). The thing is, they were removed by CPS from the PREVIOUS county. (when my brother found out she had been arrested, he contact the guardian ad litem from before and told her what happened. she had agreed to stay on for 90 days after their final hearing, so she arranged the CPS pick up/drop off).
This started the whole matter again. She is still awaiting trial in the new county. But in the previous county, the one where she was given her girls back, the judge brought in all of the witnesses/evidence to see if she could possibly be guilty of new felonies. A lot of stuff came out in court and ultimately, the judge stripped her of all her parental rights... no visits, no contact until the girls are 18.
The CPS worker who recommended that she get her girls back the first time was taken off the case because she didn't follow protocol for drug testing and supervised visits.
Not only did the judge give my brother custody of his daughter, but they also offered adoption of her younger sister because she has no other relatives and they didn't want to split the girls up. My brother is now going through home studies and parenting classes in order to complete this adoption. This is not an ideal situation, obviously, but they're all making the best of it. They're going to individual/family counseling and it seems to be working out fine. (We attribute all of this to my brother's fantastic lawyer. he couldn't afford a good lawyer for all of the previous stuff, and I think that would have made all the difference)
If you have read this far, thank you. Their mother is appealing this verdict. Her lawyer claims that because they lived in the second county at the time of her arrest, the first county had no right to be involved in removing the girls from her custody and that the first court shouldn't have been involved at all with the second crime.
Is this reason enough to have this verdict thrown out and the girls placed back in her care?
I am so worried that this appeal will go through and the girls will go back to their mother and this will start over. Her felony trial was scheduled for January, but was postponed, so we really don't know the outcome of that yet.
I realize some of this doesn't make sense. There are many things in this ordeal that were done unlawfully, especially where CPS was involved.
I am posting this about a situation that my brother is going through.
Two years ago, his ex was arrested for DUI and because her two children were in the car with her, child neglect. One daughter is my brother's biological child, the other isn't, but we love her just the same. My brother was in the Army stationed in Texas at the time and not in the position to take two children in, so while his ex was in jail and then rehab, my parents took the girls in (kinship care for their bio granddaughter/foster care for their non bio). The father of the non-biological daughter signed his rights away when everything started.
About 15 months later, his ex had completed most of the parenting classes and rehab. My brother was given a medical discharge from the Army at that time. Everything was okay... the girls do love their mother, and the visitation schedule for my brother and his daughter was actually better than ever before. He moved back home and had one visit with his daughter before things went crazy.
His ex had moved with the girls to a different country with her fiancé. Less than 3 weeks after the girls went back, she was arrested again, this time on two felony charges related to a minor (not her daughters). The girls were once again removed from her custody and placed in the care of my parents and also my brother (the judge found favor with him because he never missed a meeting or hearing, even though he lived in Texas during the ordeal). The thing is, they were removed by CPS from the PREVIOUS county. (when my brother found out she had been arrested, he contact the guardian ad litem from before and told her what happened. she had agreed to stay on for 90 days after their final hearing, so she arranged the CPS pick up/drop off).
This started the whole matter again. She is still awaiting trial in the new county. But in the previous county, the one where she was given her girls back, the judge brought in all of the witnesses/evidence to see if she could possibly be guilty of new felonies. A lot of stuff came out in court and ultimately, the judge stripped her of all her parental rights... no visits, no contact until the girls are 18.
The CPS worker who recommended that she get her girls back the first time was taken off the case because she didn't follow protocol for drug testing and supervised visits.
Not only did the judge give my brother custody of his daughter, but they also offered adoption of her younger sister because she has no other relatives and they didn't want to split the girls up. My brother is now going through home studies and parenting classes in order to complete this adoption. This is not an ideal situation, obviously, but they're all making the best of it. They're going to individual/family counseling and it seems to be working out fine. (We attribute all of this to my brother's fantastic lawyer. he couldn't afford a good lawyer for all of the previous stuff, and I think that would have made all the difference)
If you have read this far, thank you. Their mother is appealing this verdict. Her lawyer claims that because they lived in the second county at the time of her arrest, the first county had no right to be involved in removing the girls from her custody and that the first court shouldn't have been involved at all with the second crime.
Is this reason enough to have this verdict thrown out and the girls placed back in her care?
I am so worried that this appeal will go through and the girls will go back to their mother and this will start over. Her felony trial was scheduled for January, but was postponed, so we really don't know the outcome of that yet.
I realize some of this doesn't make sense. There are many things in this ordeal that were done unlawfully, especially where CPS was involved.
Modification of Custody: Will an Appeal of a Change of Custody Succeed
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