Today, many American children are being placed with TOTAL STRANGERS only to be sold into the foster care and adoption market. Family preservation is being overlooked by the courts system because of adoption and incentive bonuses.
My name is Sandy Musser, and I am an Adoption Reform Activist and author.
I am empathetic towards the #TAKEN and #CaughtRedHanded Movement because of what my family experienced. It is because of these experiences that I have gained first-hand knowledge of the inner workings of the system.
My passion has driven me to raise awareness and those who know me, know that I speak the truth.
Like many of you, I used to believe that if children were #TAKEN by the State, it meant that the parent or guardian had done something wrong.
As a grandmother, I saw up close and personal what the system is all about and it shook me to my inner core!
I have been raising my great-grandson since he was born (now age 12.) I was 65 when he was born. He started having problems when he was in pre-school, and by the time he was four years old he was on ADHD medication. A few years after that he was placed on bi-polar medication and just recently he was given the diagnosis of “high-functioning” autism.
Nevertheless, the meds didn’t seem to mix well with him and he became increasingly aggressive and angry.
By the time he was 8 he experienced an overload on his poor little body that triggered a severe incident in which he became violent. During this incident I sought to keep my grandson and I both safe.
He began to throw things such as scissors and the remote. He started to aggressively kick me and smash family pictures. Soon the floor became filled with shards of glass. I realized at the time that our situation needed immediate action, so I contained him for his safety and mine. I put my body diagonally across him and held his arms so he couldn’t attack me or hurt himself, and waited for him to calm down. This worked and kept us both safe.
After that incident I sought help for our family.
I found a place called Salus Care where they take children ages 8- 16 for three to seven days at a time. This center’s policy was to help familes out, give them a break and check their childs medications. I visited my great-grandson everyday while he was in there.
On the fourth day, the center called me and expressed that he was ready to come home. They stated to me that they had adjusted his medication. I was hopeful.
One week later, I came home from shopping only to find a DCF worker waiting for me! Needless to say, I was shocked and clueless as to why I recieved a visit from them.
After talking to my great grandson, he confessed that during group therapy at Salus Care he told them about his violent outburst. Instead of receiving support from the other children, they laughed at him. This made him feel awful and he began to cry. He said that the reason he started to cry was because they were laughing at him…. so he told them he couldn’t breathe (which wasn’t true). Then, he said, they felt bad for him.
It was then that I realized that “Salus Care” had called DCF on our family! I couldn’t believe it because I had gone to this center for help. Instead of talking to me about the incident and offering help to our family, they contacted DCF, who in essence had financial incentives to remove children like my grandson from a loving home.
Unbeknownst to me, the worker from the Department of Child and Family had gone to his school FIRST to talk to him, while he was ALONE! No witnesses were present during his interview! That in itself should be illegal for obvious reasons!!!
She then informed me that if they had ONE more call against me, they could potentially remove my grandson from the school or my home at any point.
Then she handed me a piece of paper to sign. By signing it, it meant that I would be in agreement, that I understood and agreed to what she had told me. I handed it back to her and said I wasn’t going to sign anything and that if they came and tried to take my child, it would be over my dead body – or theirs.
She put the unsigned paper back in her briefcase and got up to leave. I asked her how long this case would be open. She said 90 days and that I would receive a paper notifying me when it was closed.
In 90 days, I received a letter telling me our case was closed. Low and behold it had an attachment! Remember that piece of paper that I didn’t sign? Miraculously, it had my signature on it! I was SO ANGRY that I tore it into a million pieces. (Never shread evidence by the way!)
I now understand how easily and quickly they can remove children with such little provocation! I understand it clearly now because of our families experience.
Removing kids from their families of origin – their genetic families – and placing them with STRANGERS has become an epidemic in our country.
WHY? Because it’s extremely profitable for them to remove kids — there are goals which have to be met each year in order to meet the budget! That is the reality! If they don’t meet their goals, then the following year they will get less funds allocated to them. Federal funding actually encourages, (through a series of financial incentives) to remove children and adopt them out.
What do is the solution is then? Well, I feel it is important to put those funds toward Family Preservation, to instead reward the agencies for the number of families they keep together successfully!! As we speak hardly any funding exists for Family Preservation.
If you have young children, this is now what you have to contend with in our country. The fear of raising a child, in today’s society, it is mortifying. This problem has reached epidemic proportions and many families are not fully aware of all the reasons why.
Adoption incentives drive the judicial system now. As a bonus to each state for adopting out a child they are receiving as high as $10,000 per child.
My advice is to become knowledgeable about what’s going on. Be Alert and Aware! The lives of your children are at stake!
Family Preservation is critical to the success of children. The statistics show children do better when they remain with thier own families.
Remaining at home with the only family your child has ever known is essential to their development. Currently there are over 400,000 children in the foster care system in the United States. Over 2 million families a year recieve visits from social workers.
The number of children in foster care is declining….HOWEVER, the number of children placed in the system and adopted out is increasing at alarming rate.
Don’t forget to hold your children close and fight like hell when they come to take them! Once they are gone, you will never be the same, nor will they!!
Written by: Sandy Musser
Edited by TLB Contributing Author: Melissa Diegel
About the Author: Sandy Musser has been an Adoption Reform Activist for 40+ years. She is the Author of 4 books. To learn more about Sandy or to order her book visit: http://www.sandyslastletter.com/
Melissa Diegel is a TLB Contributor, a journalist, a motivational speaker, and a child and family advocate.
#MelissaDiegel @MelissaDiegel You can visit Melissa Diegel on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Tumbler and www.Amiraclefortwosisters.org
Read Angry Americans Part 1:
Angry Americans: The Corrupt Court System Created Us, The Whole ‘Lot’ of Us
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