July 9, 2003
When DSS comes a Knocking, beware
Cathy Tullys story
On April 11,2002 my daughter and I were going over a good touch bad touch coloring book, given to me by my therapist. In these first few sentences, people may ask well why did she have this book in the first place.
The answer is because my daughter Victoria was in Ballet classes. Out of the blue one day she told me that she did not want to go to this dance class any longer. When I asked why, she told me that the dance instructor made her spread her legs.
I was very concerned with her statement because she was only 4 at the time. I asked if the other instructors were in the room and she said yes. I asked if there were other children in the room and she said yes. I did not let her return to this dance class.
While attending therapy I mentioned my daughters statement about the dance instructor. My therapist said that it was unusual for a 4-year-old to even question this. She gave me this coloring book telling me that there was nothing wrong with my daughter knowing good from bad, and explained that this was what being a good parent was all about.
Now you may ask why is this woman in therapy. Well because I gave up drinking after many years and when I quit I was struggling with my feelings that I hadn’t felt for years and decided this was the route I wanted to take. I wanted a more personal recovery than AA or any of the other programs. I do not write this to tell my whole life story, Just so there are no unanswered questions.
The next day I got this coloring book out and my daughter and I sat down to color. While coloring this book she said that she saw gooey stuff near her dads bum. She did not seem stressed or anything, she seemed her normal self. I was very concerned- forgetting about the gooey cream my husband used for his hands due to eczema. I had in my mind the fact that my therapist mentioned my daughter shouldn’t even be thinking about this type of thing at her age. I had in my mind the dance instructor.
I tried to call my therapist and she was not in. I was panicked thinking someone had hurt my child I was not going to allow this no matter what. I made a promise to my child the day she was born that I would always protect her to the best of my ability.
When my therapist was not in, I decided to call women’s crisis center. I was very distraught with all these thoughts going through my head. I asked the woman if there was someone that could speak with Victoria because I wasn’t sure if I was overreacting. She told me that if I didn’t call DSS she would have to, and it would be best if I made the call, If I didn’t she said I would risk them removing my daughter.
I made this call, feeling I had no other choice.
My husband and I have had our problems like any other couple; the only thing that we are guilty of is lack of communication. I had no reason in this world to think that my husband had hurt our child. Like I have said- my main goal is to protect Victoria so I decided it was best to be safe and not sorry.
This turned out to be a very naive way of thinking.
Shortly after making this call to DSS a women came to my house with a few pamphlets. Her name was Susan Griffin. She seemed very nice and concerned. I told Susan from the start that I thought I was overreacting to my daughter’s statements. She explained that they would have Victoria go through a SAIN interview within 10 days.
Susan told me that this would be an interview with the DA, DSS and investigators from our local police dept.
This upset me. I could not believe that this was happening. I asked my husband to move from our home until this interview was over. I asked for my brother to let him stay with him. My husband was very understanding, I'm not making light of this- he was not happy but said he would expect me to look out for our daughters safety, explaining that he would never hurt our baby. We were both very distraught.
I was so naive when it came to this system. I had no clue what I was in for. I thought all I was doing was my job and that was being a mother.
April 12th Susan Griffin came again to our house, this time she sat with Victoria, She was very shy as Victoria always is. I have made sure my daughter knows not to speak with strangers unless her dad or myself is present. Also my daughter was wondering who this woman was and why her dad was not coming home.
Victoria was speaking very quiet and her words were muffled. Susan asked if she was getting speech therapy, I told Susan that Victoria did not need speech therapy that she was just speaking this way because she did not know her.
Of course in the reports I have from Bradford MA DSS, it is stated that my daughter regressed after her dad leaving the home. I'm not sure what this was supposed to prove in these reports, but I knew it was for the good of our family. My daughter did not regress. If anything, she was confused at what was happening. She is a well-adjusted little girl and always well spoken.
Susan, before leaving gave me her direct line to call and also told me that she would be on the hotline that weekend if I needed her. I still till this day have this piece of paper.
I knew that my husband had not hurt our child but knew at this point that if I did not do what DSS wanted- there was a chance they would take my child.
A couple days later Susan Griffin called to tell me that the SAIN interview would be held on the 23rd of April and would be held at the Newburyport MA police dept. I asked Susan what I should tell Victoria, Susan Griffin told me not to worry that it would not be traumatic for her. Susan said the women doing the interview was the best in the business but I would not be allowed in the room, while they did this interview.
I was completely devastated. I did not want Victoria to go through this but knew I had no choice. Susan Griffin called me a few days before this interview to tell me that the woman she wanted was not going to be able to do this interview and a woman named Pam would do it instead I agreed and we hung up.
I was very overwhelmed by this situation and waiting this 10 days for this interview was a horrible experience.
When the day of the interview arrived I explained to my daughter that we were going to the police dept. and that a nice woman was going to ask her questions. I told Victoria that this lady wanted to see how smart she was and that she was very lucky because not all children get to see inside of a police station.
There were many people around 5 sitting in a room with a window and a woman came out and took Victoria in a separate room. I was told to sit in the hall. The door to where Victoria sat was ajar so I could hear a little. I heard Victoria tell this lady about her dad's Diabetes and how he has to drink juice sometimes. This made me smile because she had just turned 4 and knew all about her dad’s disease.
It seemed that this was taking hours. I was dying inside. I heard this woman keep asking Victoria if she remembered telling mommy about the gooey stuff. This bothered me because Susan Griffin said there would be no leading questions. I was told also that this interview would be videotaped, I watched the people sitting in the room and they were watching Victoria on a TV screen.
Finally the interview was over. Susan came to me and said "Your daughter did a great job". She said as far as they could see is that Victoria and her dad just liked to play and we could go home. I broke down at this point and asked again are you sure that everything is OK?
Susan said yes you can go back to normal now.
I told Susan I didn’t think that things would ever be normal again and told Susan this may be just what my husband and I needed to work harder on our marriage and start learning to communicate. Susan wished us Luck and we left.
Oddly enough Susan Griffin is missing from all reports 51A 51B ETC. Susan Griffin's name is not mentioned anywhere throughout a year's worth of hell with this agency. Her name is replaced with a man's name that I have never met and hopefully never will meet.
When Victoria and I returned home after this interview I received a call from Ann- an investigator with the Salisbury MA police Dept. She asked for me to get in touch with my husband and have him call her. I did just that and my husband went straight to the police station.
After a while my husband came to our home and stood in the kitchen sobbing. My husband said to me he would never hurt our baby. He then told me that the investigator and a Sgt. from the police dept. had asked him a few questions, he offered to take a polygraph and the police told him there was no need. My husband told the police all he wanted to do was go home and be with his family, they told him there was no reason he couldn’t.
Ann then told my husband if I had any questions that I could contact her. I contacted Ann on April 25th to confirm what my husband told me. Ann told me that there was no reason my husband could not return home and said she hoped we could find a way to get past this. She told me that my husband loved Victoria very much and Victoria loved him very much. Ann told me I did the right thing by making this call to the women’s crisis center and wished us all luck.
April 26,2002 my husband had come back home, and he had already left for work. Victoria and I got up and got ready to meet with her teacher Jane for a parent- teacher conference. I was looking forward to the day because I knew the mess with DSS was over. I was tired from the stress but relieved. I knew my husband and I had a long road ahead to get past this and to try and work our marriage out.
When we arrived at the school I sat with Jane and Victoria played while we talked. Susan Griffin had mentioned previously that she would be speaking to Victoria’s teacher, so I brought it up to Jane. I told Jane that this was an awful experience and she said she would tell me exactly what she said to Susan Griffin,
Jane told Susan that she was shocked that they were even talking about Victoria. She said that Victoria is always well taken care of and very well adjusted. Jane said that I was always very invested in Victoria’s Life. Jane told Susan that Victoria is a bright very polite caring little girl. Jane said this was the extent of their conversation.
I told Jane that everything was OK and that DSS was done with our family. I explained to her that Victoria was interviewed and the police and DSS found no reason to look any further. Jane was as relieved as I was.
Victoria and I returned home this day, we weren’t home long when the phone rang. It was a lady by the name of Pamela Gray from the Bradford MA DSS office. Pamela Gray said that they had changed their minds and wanted to look into our case further.
I felt like a Mack Truck had hit me. I told Ms. Gray I didn’t understand I told her that the Salisbury Police had spoken with my husband and did not see any reason for this to be looked into any further. I told Ms. Gray that I had already let my husband return home. Pamela said "Well that’s not your fault", and left it at that.
I asked if I had to agree to this and she said it was in Victoria’s best interest. I then told Pamela I needed to think this through and I would get back to her. Ms. Gray told me to make sure I called her back. Like a fool I called Susan Griffin, at the time I felt she was trustworthy. I spoke with Susan shortly after hanging up with Ms. Gray.
Susan was shocked that I had received such a call from Ms. Gray. Susan knew I was very upset and confused. She told me that they would most likely do a 45-day assessment and this was no big deal. I asked if my husband was going to be arrested and she stated no, nothing like that. I asked should I contact an attorney and she said it would be best if I just go along with it. She assured me it was not a big deal. I thanked her and hung up.
I called Pamela Gray back, I told her I didn’t understand but to do what they had to do. I asked her what other choice I had.
Knowing what I know now, I would have not trusted anyone from this agency and contacted an attorney right away.
Its too late for that now but maybe it will help one other person know what to do.
At this point I felt I had complied with everything DSS asked. I was afraid to contact an attorney. I was afraid to not do what DSS said. I was afraid to breath. I did not want this agency to take my child from us.
Pamela Gray then told me to write and request my transcripts and after I was done reading them to burn them because it was not something I would want lying around.. I did not do this right away I did not feel the need. The police and even one of their own social workers felt there was no reason for concern.
Right around May 3rd 2002, I received a call from a girl Amy Omalley from Bradford MA DSS. She informed me she was the new caseworker. I asked her what happened to Susan Griffin and Amy said she was demoted and would no longer be working with my family. Ms. Omalley asked if we could meet. I asked if Victoria needed to be present and she said she wanted to meet with me alone to gather information. I told Amy we could meet on May 8th because Victoria would be in school. Our appointment was for 1:00 PM. I asked how long this would take because I needed to pick up Victoria at school, Ms. Omalley said it would not take long.
One of the luckiest moves I ever made was to record all my appointments on my calendar. This way nothing is ever forgotten.
Ms. Omalley showed up for this appointment on May 8th. After all, this was our first meeting. I guess she wanted to make a good impression before destroying our lives.
You can only imagine the shock when I had a 20-year-old child standing at my door. Not that I think all 20 year olds are children, but I could tell that this one was. I wasn’t sure if she was here from the DSS or looking for donations for her cheerleading outfits.
I asked are you Ms. Omalley and she said yes. I thought how on earth is this little girl supposed to know anything about life at all? I would bet my bottom dollar that she had never been without a meal or even ever changed a diaper unless it was her own.
I invited her in and she started to ask me questions. I just kept thinking about Susan Griffin telling me this is no big deal. Ms. Omalley asked limited questions, was I on drugs, did I drink was there sexual abuse in my family did I get along with my family. My answers were very brief, No I don’t do drugs I quit drinking no sexual abuse and yes I get along with my family, or at least I did till DSS entered my life. This visit lasted 15 minutes we made an appointment for May 20th and then it was off to the beach or something for Amy.
May 20th came around and low and behold Ms. Omalley made it to another appointment, this time she got to meet Victoria. Right away Victoria thought that this young girl was coming over to play with her. Victoria showed Amy her room and all her CD ROM games. Victoria then took Amy into my husband and I room and showed her the toys she was playing with. It is stated in the reports that Victoria liked playing in our room better then her own. I guess this is another sign of sexual abuse per Amy Omalley.
I asked Amy during this visit if it was OK for my husband to be here she said it was completely up to me. I asked if it was OK for me to leave my husband alone with Victoria she said that was fine. I then told her that sometimes I sleep with Victoria it was a bad habit that we got into, but we were trying to break this habit. I told her my reason for telling her this was because I didn’t want it coming and haunting me later on. Ms. Omalley said this is OK most kids sleep with their parents till they're 7 or 8.
I was chuckling inside still not knowing how dangerous this agency was. This was another 15-minute visit and she left telling me she had an appointment to meet with my husband on May 23rd. She asked if I would be here during this visit, I asked if she wanted me to be. She said it was up to me. Then she told me how clean my house was and left.
May 23rd came my husband's appointment with Ms. Omalley was at 4PM, My husband left work early in order to make this appointment. 4PM came and went No Amy; an hour went by still no Amy. We went outside to let Victoria ride her bike. I heard the phone ring so I ran to get it; no one was there but my caller ID said it was Ms. Omalley who called. I called right back and Ms. Omalley did not answer so I left her a message to see if she was still coming. My husband checked his voice mail on his cell phone to see if Amy had called .We waited for hours to see if she would show, Of course she didn’t, never calling or leaving a message. I guess she had more important things to do this day.
Our life to her was a joke.
By this time we were very frustrated with this whole mess, still not knowing how powerful this agency was.
Of course in the reports it is stated that Amy did not want to show for this appointment because she was in fear for the safety of Victoria and myself, I guess without ever meeting my husband she decided he was a danger to society.
We had done everything that DSS asked we kept appointments ETC. I was growing very tired of this agency interfering in our lives when I knew there was no reason for it.
Our next appointment with Amy Omalley was June 13th; Ms. Omalley made this appointment. This day she acted a bit different looking at my computer to see what I was up to and searching the house for dust I guess. She started to ask me questions. The first question was "What do you do with Victoria when you take a shower?"
I thought to myself, give me a break little girl.
I told her either Victoria is asleep or sometimes she comes in the bathroom and talks to me while I shower. She asked if there was violence in the house and I told her of an incident that happened 3 years before. I told her my husband ripped the phone from the wall and grabbed my arm. I told her Victoria and I stayed with my mother that night and my husband knows never to let this happen again.
Why did I tell her this? Because I was so afraid that somehow she would find out and then it would come back and bite me. She asked if Victoria was present during this fight. I said she was and was about 1 ½ at the most. I told Amy at this point I needed to try and work this out with my husband for the sake of our family, and assured Ms. Omalley that this would not happen again. I joked that my husband would not dare do this again.
In the reports it is stated that my husband beat me and ripped the phone from the wall on a daily basis.
I have four apartments surrounding me and it is funny how not one of the neighbors ever complained of the fights going on here, because there weren’t any fights. There never was another incident after that one time.
During this visit my daughter acted up a bit. She was playing and hit me in the side of the head by accident. In the report written by Amy said that my daughter kept hitting me in the face. Also my daughter likes to tell people about her broken leg when she was 2 and also that she had a tic in her neck and had it removed at the hospital. Her way of telling Amy about this was by complaining her leg and neck hurt, in hopes that Amy would ask why she had these aches and pains. Amy did not ask and wrote a report stating my daughter had signs of sexual abuse because her leg hurt and also pains in the neck is a sign of sexual abuse.
Amy asked if I was afraid of my husband I said no and I know in my heart that he never hurt Victoria sexually or emotionally. I told her that my husband was a good dad and he always took the time to take Victoria to the park or read her books at bedtime. I said to her that my husband goes out of his way to make Victoria happy, and how lucky Victoria was to have this kind of a dad. I mentioned that not all dads do this with their kids.
It is said in the reports that Ms. Omalley gave me pamphlets for the women’s crisis center and other hotline numbers in case my husband got out of hand. I have every little piece of paper given from this case and I am yet to find these things she said she gave me. Amy Omalley never gave me as much as her phone numbers.
Ms. Omalley asked if I had read the transcripts from my case I said I hadn’t, she did give me the Area Director Nancy Fagan address to write and request these papers, telling me if I read them I may start to believe that my husband hurt our daughter. Ms. Omalley went on to tell me she had watched the video tape of Victoria and it was "chilling".
My husband’s brother and wife were coming from California starting this day, so I asked Amy if we could wait till the 20th of June till our next appointment. She told us to enjoy our company and that was fine. I write this because Ms. Omalley in her reports makes it out that she did not know my husband was living with us. In other parts of the reports she said she knew my husband was here with us. When in fact I never kept it a secret I did not feel the need. No one from DSS told me to remove my husband and I knew he wasn’t hurting anyone so why would I remove him?
Amy then asked if I would like her to make a referral for Victoria to go to therapy. I asked why she had to do this, She said it would be a lot quicker if she did it. I knew at this point that I had to put Victoria into therapy or this would call for more trouble with this agency.
I told Amy where I wanted Victoria to go and what the woman’s name was that I wanted her to see. My therapist had suggested this woman in case it got to this point.
On June 19th 2002, I met with my therapist she asked me why I hadn’t called her with Ms. Omalley number like I had told her I would. I told my therapist that during my last visit with Amy, she said she would be calling my therapist that day so I said to Amy "That’s good because I was supposed to call and give her your number but I guess I don’t have to because you will call her today".
At this point my therapist had called Bradford DSS and left many messages for Amy and still no call back. You know how these kids are- they're not sure were their priorities are.
My therapists asked what was going on with this case I told her I had no clue and that I felt I was on the roller coaster from hell.
My therapist asked if I received a service plan I asked what a service plan was and told her no I had not.
I told my therapist that Ms. Omalley doesn’t even show up when she makes appointments with us and that I had asked if our case was open or closed and she said she didn’t know.
I then told my therapist how Amy had told me that most kids sleep with their parents till they are 7 or 8. We both got a little chuckle out of this. My therapist was leaving for vacation that day and told me when she got back we would work on making some sense out of this mess.
On June 20th I decided to write to Nancy Fagan and ask for my reports. I received these reports within days of asking. Knowing now that this is unusual to receive anything from this agency so quickly is very questionable.
After reading these reports, I was so distraught I could barely think straight. There were words said by my therapist that I was just completely devastated by. My therapist made statements like I told her I had been raped and we were in the middle of exploring the possibility that I had been molested when I was a child.
I was sick. I knew this was not the case and could not believe that my therapist would do this. Then there were statements made by my daughter’s teacher how my daughter went to school so sick that the teacher had to tell me to take her to the doctors and on and on. It said during my daughters SAIN interview that my daughter said she touched gooey stuff on her dads bum and that he told her not to tell, it said My daughter said his butt looked like a boat and that they had a big secret. I was sick I didn’t know which way to turn. I lost my trust for my therapist and did not want to send my daughter to school any longer and Istarted to question my husband. I also thought "Why did the police not arrest my husband if my daughter said these things?" I stuck these papers in a closet and did not burn them like Pamela Gray suggested that I do. I guess I thought I could ignore what was in them. This turned out not to be the case.
After weeks of having these reports hidden and realizing no matter how hard I tried that the words that were said were haunting me on a daily basis. My next appointment with my therapist was on July 2nd. My intention was to go to this appointment and say good bye to my therapist. I had lost my trust and I didn’t think there was any way to get it back. My therapist knew I was acting different. I was having a hard time speaking with her. She seemed very concerned with my behavior finally I told her what was in the reports.
She became very upset telling me she did not say this and asked if I could get the reports to let her see. Now I was feeling like what the hell is going on? I tried to do my job as a parent. I had people I had trusted for years. I allowed DSS into my life and I was in more chaos then when I drank every day of my life.
I was confused and angry at this point and I was hiding in a shell because it seemed after all the work I had done to become a decent human being, I was being toyed with. My therapist was extremely upset and knew that my trust had been broken, she was in shock that I had sat on these papers knowing I was dying inside.
I told her I would bring her the report the next day. My therapist told me she wanted to give this report to the companies’ attorney so to make a copy. She then told me again she had left many messages for Ms. Omalley- whom till this date had not returned the call.
I told my therapist I did not know what was going on because I hadn’t heard from DSS for weeks. I promised I would bring the report the next day and left.
Still feeling completely blind-sided, not knowing what end was up. I started to think if these statements were not true then what else was not true.
I went to my daughter’s schoolteacher and again found that she had never said these things.
I started to look through these reports more closely and found many many lies. One of the lies said that I observed an incident of sexual abuse. I was so disgusted by now. Then there are statements made by me that said I confessed to being raped at age 16, This was not the case. I did not say these words.
The only one I had been raped by was DSS.
This is when I finally woke up and knew that this agency that was supposedly looking out for my child’s best interest was not doing this at all. I realized that this agency was far from trustworthy and had their own agenda. I became very angry that I had allowed myself to fall into this trap. I always thought of myself as a very strong woman and not easily tricked. I had been through a lot in my life and had overcome the bad things one way or another.
I felt like an idiot that had allowed such destruction back into my life., I had worked so hard to become a good mother and person.
This agency took it away at the blink of an eye.
The day after the appointment with my therapist I made copies of only her statements not knowing if I could begin to trust her again. I dropped them off as I promised. I went home and tried to contact Ms. Omalley. This was July 3rd, seeing that it was the day before a holiday I was having a hard time contacting anyone from this agency. I'm sure they were all off enjoying their long weekend at the expense of the taxpayers.
I hadn’t heard a word from DSS since right around the 19th of June. Knowing that the 45-day assessment had come and gone. I was praying this agency be done with my family. I did not know how this worked but assumed I would have got something in the mail or at least a phone call saying they were done.
This did not happen.
On July 8th Amy Omalley contacted me. I was very upset when I heard her voice and knew at this point I was not going to be agreeing to her every word any longer. I was in fear of what would take place, but knew that this agency had screwed me and broken all trust with people that had meant so much to me.
Ms. Omalley asked if we could make an appointment to go over the service plan. I asked WHAT SERVICE PLAN? She then asked me if I had received the transcripts, I said YES. I was very distraught from the hell this agency had put us through for the last 3 ½ months.
I told Ms. Omalley that this transcript were nothing more than lies. I told her I did not know whom to believe anymore. She told me at this point she did not know if our case was opened or closed.
I asked Ms. Omalley what this meant and she did not give me a straight answer.
I brought up the fact that Ms. Omalley said she would make a referral for my daughter to receive therapy, to date this had not happened, reminding her of her own words that it would be quicker if she made the referral.
Ms. Omalley went on to tell me that they were going to have Victoria go for a sexual abuse evaluation. I asked her what exactly is this, she said she didn’t know but the supervisors were in an office arguing about whether to have this done or not.
Not being able to get a straight answer from Ms. Omalley, I told her I thought she was a nice young lady and that I was very upset at this situation but had to go and take care of a few things. Knowing that any minute this agency was going to have my daughter attending sexual abuse evaluation I knew I had to do something and quick.
I called the agency were I had suggested to Ms. Omalley that my daughter go for therapy. The intake person asked what the problem was with my daughter. I said I didn’t know but DSS was involved and they were planning to set my daughter up for a sexual abuse evaluation and I did not feel this should be this agency's decision.
I told this woman I did not know what this evaluation consisted of. I told this woman that DSS was supposed to have made a referral for my daughter a while back and I hadn’t heard from anyone. This woman told me that a referral was never made. I had an appointment set for July 15th.
After making the appointment for Victoria with a therapist I contacted my therapist and told her that DSS was planning on setting Victoria up for a sexual abuse evaluation. I was so upset and she knew this. She was concerned for my well being and took it upon herself to contact Amy Omalley's supervisor.
After her conversation with this supervisor, my therapist contacted me and told me to give this supervisor a call. Her words were "She is a more seasoned social worker" and told me her name was Sharlene Foox. My therapist thought if I contacted Ms. Foox it would shed some light on our situation.
I made this call. I spoke with Ms. Foox from the beginning of our conversation. She kept telling me that Victoria was at risk. I asked her why the police and DA did not think that my daughter was at risk for anything. Ms. Foox told me that the police and DA did things differently then DSS.
Her words were that "DSS has higher standards"!
Now I was even more confused. Ms. Foox kept pushing for me to admit sexual abuse. I told this woman that I knew in my heart and in my head that there has never been any sexual abuse. Ms. Foox then said "You know, Cathy in your heart that your husband did hurt your child".
I asked if he had hurt our child why he wasn’t arrested? I told her that my family had done everything to cooperate with this agency and it had turned into nothing more than a roller coaster ride. This agency never gave facts, just lots of words that made no sense.
Ms. Foox asked what would have made this situation easier to understand.
Ms. Foox asked me; "Because you found a few statements not to be true does this make the rest of the reports lies?"
I told her this made it all very questionable and mentioned I had already spoke to the schoolteacher who also confirmed that the statements attributed to her in the reports were false.
I then asked me Foox what happened to the 45-day assessment? I told her at this point we were up to 65 days and I had no clue as to what was going on.
Her answer was she had till July 19th to finish up. I said well on my calendar this is way more than 45 days and asked what kind of calendar she had.
After Ms. Foox last attempt to get me to admit to wrong doing and her telling me I was in denial we got off the phone.
Ms. Omalley called shortly after this call with Ms. Foox she asked if we could make an appointment. I asked Ms. Omalley why we needed another visit. She said to go over the service plan. Our appointment was made for July 19th at 11Am.
This day arrived I had Amy coming at 11AM and had to be to work at noon. I knew from all our visits that she would be here maybe 10 minutes.
11am came and went no Amy, I waited and waited no Amy. At 11:45 I put a note on the door telling her I waited but had to go to work and would be back around 3PM.
When I returned later that day the note was still hanging and there was no sign of Amy. I was angry she made me late for work and never as much as called to cancel. I called DSS and asked to speak with Amy's Supervisor.
The woman said "Sharlene Simpson is not in".
Now I ask myself who is Sharlene Simpson? This was a name I hadn’t heard up until now.
I told the woman on the phone that Amy was supposed to be at my home at 11AM and never showed and that I was a bit upset. This woman was very rude and said "And you are just calling now?". I told the woman "Well gee, I'm sorry about that but I had to leave late for work because of my wait for Amy and I had just got in".
I was so tired of be treated like the scum of the earth by this agency. She put Amy on the phone, I asked "Where were you Amy? I waited and waited".
She said "Why did we have an appointment?
Then she shuffled through her appointment book and said "OH! I crossed your name out of my book".
After telling her how I felt, she said "How about if I come now?" I said "No thank you I have other things to do" and hung up.
Of course in the reports it is stated that I was very angry and yelling at her and I hung up on her.
From April till now (July) no one had interviewed my husband. DSS claimed that he was a dangerous sexual predator and Ms. Omalley interviewed him for a total of 5 minutes.
From July 19th 2002 till July 31st we did not hear a word from Bradford DSS.
All these months they were pushing to get me to admit to wrongdoing on my husband’s part but only interviewed him for 5 minutes. At this point this was not my main concern but the more I dealt with this agency, I started to wonder why this whole case turned on me and never asking my husband any questions.
On July 31st there was a message from Ms. Foox telling us to get in touch with her and " it was important". I told my husband I could not deal with this any longer and that he would have to return her call. I was worn out and we hadn’t heard from them in so long I just wanted to forget they existed. My husband called there was no answer so he left a message.
August 1st 2002 at 8:45AM the phone rang it was Ms. Foox, She told me my husband and I needed to get to the office and as soon as possible. Ms. Foox told me to get a hold of my husband and to get there and now. I asked Ms. Foox why I hadn’t heard from anyone in weeks and she was calling me telling me to get there right now.
She told me "This was too important to discuss over the phone". I called my husband who had a very busy day at work. He said he would be able to get there by 5PM. I called Ms. Foox back and while I was talking to her my husband called her. She put me on hold and came back on and said she had to go because my husband was on the other line and he wanted to bring his lawyer. I said OK I would see her at 5PM.
I went to my mothers after this phone call to ask if she would watch Victoria while I went to this meeting,
When I arrived at her house my mother was upset. I asked what was wrong and she said that Ms. Foox had been calling her looking for me. My mother’s words were "They are on a witch-hunt".
I wasn’t there long when Ms. Foox called again. I talked to her asking what she wanted. She said she wanted me up at the Bradford office by myself.
I told her I couldn’t. My mother was standing behind me telling me not to talk to her.
I asked why Ms. Foox wanted to see me alone. She said because she knew I was afraid of my husband and I needed to tell her about the domestic violence.
I started yelling "WHAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?"
Then Ms. Foox told me I was afraid of my husband and needed to admit it.
I was so angry I told her I was not afraid of him or anyone else and that I was a very strong human being and she was not going to do this to me.
She then threatened to take my daughter if I did not do what she said.
She told me my daughter was in grave danger.
I said "Of what?"
She said "Of your husband".
I said "Oh you mean the man you haven’t even interviewed? You mean that one?"
She told me my husband had to move out of our home and Victoria had to go for a sexual abuse evaluation. I asked what this was and she told me it was a type of play therapy and on and on.
This was a very heated conversation.
I asked what would happen if this evaluation came out negative? She said that DSS would be out of our lives. I told her that all I wanted was these people to leave us alone.
I hung up and called my husband. He knew how upset I was and left work early to go to this meeting.
We arrived at the Bradford DSS at 2:30PM. Sharlene Foox came out to meet us and was very rude at the fact that we showed up early, after begging us to get there.
She took us in a room and pointed at my husband told him he was guilty and to move out of our home.
He asked why she told him earlier in the day that we did not need a lawyer present?
Ms. Foox said because there was no time.
My husband said "I will take my wife and daughter and you will never see us again".
In the reports it is stated that my husband said only god could take my family. This was not what was said at all.
I had called the investigator at the Salisbury police dept. earlier this day asking her for help. The investigator told me that there was no reason that DSS should be in our lives now unless someone had filed another 51A against us.
I told the investigator I did not think this was the case. The investigator told me to have Ms. Foox call her. I told Sharlene this during our meeting.
Ms. Foox said "I don’t have to call anyone".
This meeting was getting very heated. I said please everyone calm down.
My husband asked again why she told us no lawyer. Ms. Foox said would you like to call one now? My husband said yes, she brought us a phone and left the room. My husband used his cell phone and the attorney was not in but the legal secretary told him for us not to sign anything and we moved our appointment up a couple of days.
In the reports it is stated my husband did not feel it was important enough to contact an attorney.
Well that’s funny because I have the cell phone bill to prove we indeed tried to contact the attorney, so yes we knew we were in Deep Shit.
Ms. Foox came back in the room and gave us both service plans. I looked at these papers and I was sick. There were things like Cathy promises not to let her husband sexually abuse her daughter any longer, and I needed psychological evaluation AA domestic violence so and so and on and on.
My husband's plan was just as bad.
We each had about 25 things each to accomplish.
Ms. Foox told my husband to leave the room she needed to talk to me alone.
I sat there sobbing and thinking do not sign anything. Ms. Foox tried extremely hard for me to sign these papers and to get me to admit to wrongdoing.
I told her I would not sign until I had a lawyer present. I left the room and went to the car, sitting there in disbelief.
After a while my husband came out and said "Sharlene wants to give you the service plan". My husband told Sharlene he would move out of our home until we spoke with our attorney. I walked to Sharlene who was standing outside and she whispered to me "Make plans for the weekend".
I just walked away in shock not knowing what she meant. We went home my husband packed up a few things and went to my brothers.
August 2nd 2002 the day after this awful meeting. My daughter and I got ready to go do deliveries for a friend of mine. We were out of the house by 11AM. I was so distraught at what had taken place. I had called my therapist earlier and told her what had happened. She suggested that I call DSS and tell them my husband had moved out. I took her advice and called 3 different people at the agency and let them know he was gone.
I went to my friends to pick some things up and while I was there I received a call from a friend. He told me that the police and DSS were at my house,
I started to hyperventilate and my friends tried to calm me down. At this point my friends had no idea what was going on so I let them in on my story a bit. My friends knew that Victoria was a very well taken care of little girl. They suggested that I let another friend of mine take Victoria to her home while I thought about what to do. They allowed this woman to leave work in order to take care of my daughter. My friend suggested I call my mother and at this point I didn’t know what else to do, I thought maybe she could call her lawyer friend or something.
So I made this call to my mother, she picked up the phone and just as I started to talk I heard my mother say "Give back that phone this is my house that’s my phone".
I said hello and this woman I had never spoke to before was speaking to me telling me to bring my daughter there. I told her she was not getting my daughter I said I did not have my daughter she was with a friend. I could hear my mother in the background crying hysterically.
Next thing I knew there was a police officer on the phone speaking with me. He told me that they were not there to take my child. He was trying to get me to my mothers then I heard my mother say "Get off of my property".
The cop said "Your mom is very upset I have to go and talk with her".
The social worker got back on and tried to get me there telling me they had a court order to take Victoria. I hung up on her.
I waited not knowing what to do thinking of my mother's well being I drove to her house alone. When I arrived there were 2 police cruisers and 2 social workers I had never seen before, standing in the yard.
My brother was there and my mom’s boyfriend of 25 years. I got out of the car and collapsed. My brother got me of the ground and held onto me. My family got me in the house and tried to calm me down. This wasn’t an easy task because they were just as upset as I was.
I told the police officers that this had been going on since April and that I had been talking to the investigator from their dept. through this whole ordeal, telling them I had just spoke with the investigator the day before.
The police seemed a bit puzzled that this had dragged on since April. The police left and one of the officers came back after a while and called me to the car. He told me he tried to contact the investigator and handed me a piece of paper with her number telling me to keep trying to reach her and then he left.
I still have this piece of paper today.
I started making calls to everyone in the state of Mass. It was Friday afternoon so I guess all officials were on the golf course. I was unable to get any help.
I went outside and asked the social workers for ID. She said she did not need to show me any.
At this point I did not know these social workers names. I asked to see the court order. The social worker pulled a piece of crumbled up paper out of her back pocket. It had maybe 3 sentences saying my husband and I were not allowed near our daughter and it was signed by Ms. Omalley.
I told this SW I wanted a copy she said No. I looked in their car and there was no car seat. The social workers said for me to get my daughter, I refused I told them the only way they were getting my daughter is if they let her stay with my brother. This took 4 hours for them to agree.
Finally they said this was OK and tried one last time to get me to allow them to take my daughter to the courthouse to be identified. I told them my daughter was not getting in their car without me. I asked "Are you going to Newburyport courthouse?" They said NO. It was 3:30 Friday afternoon by now. The social workers finally said we waived the identification because you are so upset. I said well gee thanks so much.
The social workers followed me to where my daughter was; I still did not know their names. I asked them to roll their car window down and asked their names once again. The man said Steve Latus and the women said Jeri Fields. I wrote this down on paper that I still have today.
I told my daughter that she needed to stay with her aunt and uncle. My daughter has never stayed over anyone’s house she had never been away from me longer then 12 hours and that was only one time. She was confused but trusted me. The social workers followed me to my brothers and walked around his house. They then made me leave and followed me out of there.
I cannot describe what I was feeling at this point,
I know all I did back in April was make a simple phone call asking that someone speak to my child to make sure she was not hurt.
Now DSS had involved my whole entire family, we all sat on my mother’s porch completely drained and in shock. One of my brothers was taking care of my daughter and my other brother was sitting on the porch crying like a baby, I hadn’t seem him cry since my dad died 25 years before. My sister was angry and my mother was a mess. I was feeling like a terrible human being worried sick about my child, I knew she was safe with my brother but wondered if DSS wanted to take her from him.
I had so much running through my head. The pain I felt was unbearable.
My husband just sat there in shock at what had taken place. All I could see in my head were those miserable social workers and my daughter’s confusion.
I knew we had an appointment Monday morning at 8AM to speak with an attorney but this seemed so long off.
This night I came home and found myself in an empty house. My husband was gone and my daughter was also gone. I asked myself what I had done to deserve this. I was so devastated.
I got on this computer searching for help I didn’t know what I was looking for, because at the time I thought I was the only one in the world who had been through such an ordeal. You can only imagine my surprise when I found that there were many many people going through the same thing.
On this very night sitting in my home all alone wondering why this had happened, Knowing that I had been the perfect mom or at least tried to be wrote my first letter. After reading an article in The MA news about DSS I wrote a letter to a state senator. Then I searched and found groups of people that offered help when dealing with DSS.
Still in shock I joined some of these groups I guess hoping they would tell me why this agency took my daughter. I found out the hard way that this agency is a money making business and not an agency that looks out for the best interest of children.
This weekend without my daughter was a nightmare I found myself sitting in church begging for help, I felt I did not have the strength it took to get through. Finally Monday morning arrived and I was sitting in an attorney office. This was all new to me; I had never been in trouble and had never been in an attorney’s office. The most trouble I had been in was for a speeding ticket.
I was overwhelmed at what had taken place.
I told this attorney my story, and gave him the letter I wrote to the senator and gave him the article I read In MA news. He told me at least you wrote to the right person. I thought well we will get our daughter back today and it will be over. Little did I know it was not going to be that simple. I thought why would anyone keep my child from me I hadn’t done anything and neither had my husband.
This attorney went right to work on our case. My husband and I never received a summons to appear in court. My attorney called and said we were to be in Lawrence Juvenile court on August 8th 2002.
Now we would be without our child for 8 days. All I could think was what was going through my daughter head, that her mom and dad were not coming back for her. I was sick.
I got a call from Jeri Fields the following Wednesday after they took Victoria telling me that they would appoint me an attorney I told Ms. Field that I had hired an attorney, she said that didn’t matter they would appoint one anyway. Then she offered me a visit with my daughter as long as I came to the agency.
I could picture this visit seeing my child and then telling her sorry honey you can not come home with me. I called my attorney and told him what had happened, he chuckled about them appointing the attorney and advised me not to go for this visit, We did not want to traumatize my daughter any more.
This was the longest week of my life, I could not sleep or eat, and I could barely walk by the time our court date arrived. My attorney seemed to be doing his job but then again I was no expert and had no idea what was supposed to take place.
I had found many web sites and different laws about DSS but I was so distraught at this point that no matter what I read it still made no sense to me.
I called the investigator at the police dept. during this week without my daughter. I told her what had taken place. She said she needed to look on the computer for our file, while we were talking she said you need to contact the SGT right away. I did not do that. I contacted my attorney and told him what was said. I know my attorney contacted this Sgt. and spoke with him for over an hour. I have the bill to prove this but I was never told what when on during this conversation.
My attorney like I said seemed to do his job but I felt I was always kept in the dark. I would ask questions and he would lead me down a different path. I was afraid to ask too many things in fear that he would walk away. I had no idea that DSS plan for my family was to terminate our parental rights.
My attorney sent me a letter before court asking that I write my side of the story, included in this envelope was the petition to take my daughter. The minute I read this I knew this was not what was showed to me the day Jeri Field took my child, I called my attorney right away and told him this was not the paper they showed me and that DSS had kidnapped my daughter.
This petition does not have a stamp on it and the judge’s signature is non-existed. It looks as though no one signed this petition, except for Amy Omalley.
After reading this I was sick because it was a copy of the law MGL 119 section 24. All these things said were so far from the truth; my husband and I never neglected to take care of our daughter in any way shape or form.
I met with my attorney the day before court, when I walked in I said to him "The way I see it is I could go get my daughter right now and there would not be a damn thing DSS could do". He agreed with me. Then I said "I am ready to contact the Boston Globe". He said that’s not a bad idea. I looked at him as to say OK that’s what I will do. He said don’t do that just yet.
I always felt this attorney knew that there was something wrong with the way DSS did things in my case but would not tell me what the problem was. When leaving this meeting with my attorney he said to me get some rest before tomorrow. I remember thinking to myself yea right.
I did try and rest this night so I would be ready for court but this was impossible. The night before court was the worse night not knowing what would happen I was scared and worried about my daughter.
I was ready for court by 6AM knowing I didn’t have to be there till 9AM, I was so sick this morning. I knew I had to drive 30 miles to the Lawrence court house, I had no idea how I would drive I was such a mess.
But I am sure DSS knew this and loved every minute of my misery.
My husband and I drove together. I was struggling to drive and we arrived early. When we got there, my therapist and my daughters therapist were there in the parking lot. I walked over to them and they both gave me a hug, They told me that my attorney subpoenaed them. Neither one of them were too happy about it. Their company attorney was also present.
I stood in the hall waiting for what ever was going to take place to happen. I stood right near the door to say good morning to all the friendly social workers. In came Sharlene Foox, I looked her straight in the eyes and said good morning, Then came Amy Omalley I said good morning Amy. She could not look at me and I knew then that she had done something she was not proud of. Susan Griffin came in and Jeri Field. Steve Latus did not show.
There was so much going on, lots of people who all seemed to be attorneys. It seemed that we were the only case that was there that day.
I saw the social workers all sitting in separate room enjoying their morning. A woman asked my husband if he had legal counsel, he said no so she had him fill out a paper to get a court appointed attorney, she said yes you qualify, then said but there isn’t anyone available to help you.
I then met my daughter court appointed attorney. My attorney seemed to know him and told me I was in good hands. My attorney, my daughter’s attorney, my husband and myself went into a room..The attorneys told us that they could get our daughter back if we signed this stipulation. The stipulation was that my husband did not live in our home with us until further order of the court. Then supervised visits by none other then the neglectful mother (ME) and my daughter had to go for a sexual abuse evaluation which was suppose to be scheduled a week from this date.
I was sick and my husband was angry but we agreed to sign in order to get our child back.
My husband had no counsel to help him get through this day.
Finally we were going before the judge. While walking into the court room, my husband and I was handed a piece of paper, we both looked and my husband said "This is the summons we should have got prior to our court date".
The attorneys tried to quiet him because he was upset, we both read this and it said to be in the Newburyport court at 9AM on August 8th and to bring our child.
I was a bit confused because this was the 8th of August and it was 9AM but we were in Lawrence 30 miles from Newburyport and we couldn’t bring our child because DSS had already taken custody.
We went before the judge and my daughter’s attorney took his copy of the summons and said this is evidence loudly and stuck it in his folder. Amy Omalley, Sharlene Foox and Jeri Fields were sitting on the other side.
Ms. Omalley started to giggle like a schoolgirl.
My husband held on to my arm because I was very close to going telling her what I thought, But I knew her giggling in the court had ruined her appearance so she didn’t need any help from me.
The judge returned Custody to me as long as we went by the stipulations. To me this was a no win situation. This day after our appearance before the Judge, Ms. Omalley, Ms. Foox, and Ms. Field took myself and my husband in a room. I asked my attorney to be present. The court order said no unsupervised visits. These Social workers sat with us to make up a visitation schedule. Ms. Foox said to me in front of my attorney "So where is your daughter now?"
I said "What do you mean? You know where my daughter is. You took her from us!"
I was angry and my attorney tried to keep me calm. These social workers told us when my husband could visit but we had nothing in writing. At this point ,.it seemed to me that these social workers did not let anyone know they had already removed my child.
I know this sounds far fetched, but they asked in front of my attorney where my daughter was, knowing right well were she was. The summons said for us to bring our child to court when they had already taken her. The petition I received by my attorney did not have a judge signature on it and my husband and I refused to sign service plans without legal council and the next day DSS took our child.
I believe now that this was a scare tactic to try and get us to sign these plans. I do not think that DSS expected me to hire an attorney as quickly as I did. When we hired an attorney I think this pushed DSS into doing paper work that should have been done before taking my child.
Maybe my theory at the time was wrong but it is the only thing that made sense.
I left court that day and went to get my daughter, the social workers said they would call my brother and tell him it was OK for me to take Victoria.
That phone call was never made. Not even thinking that my own family would think I was kidnapping my child, I ran up the stairs to the room my daughter was in. She was sitting there so sad. She yelled mama when I walked in the room. We both held on to each other for a long while sobbing. I don’t think I ever saw my daughter this sad until this day. She always has a smile and that smile was gone and the confusion in her eyes broke my heart. I got Victoria ready to go home.
My sister was there shaking all over she asked what I was doing, Not even thinking that she thought I was taking my child on the run because DSS didn’t bother to call.
I told my sister that Victoria could come home. I told her it was OK and called my attorney to inform him that DSS did not bother to call. My sister was relieved. I took my daughter home.
Victoria asked were her dad was I told her she could not see him for a couple more days. She was upset and I had never seen her this way. I taped recorder her return home because this was a day I will never forget. She cried and screamed and was very angry with me. I could see in her eyes that the bond we had was different that her trust had been taken. She must have thought for 8 days that I wasn’t coming back.
I held on to my little girl letting her know that I loved her just as much today as I always did. I knew this was going to take time to get her back to normal.
My husband came for his first visit that Sunday My daughter ran to him and held on for dear life.
I stood sobbing at the love she has for him. Still in shock that all this hell was happening to us. Victoria held on to him for the time he was allowed to visit. My husband and I had to explain to her that dad could not stay and it might be a while before he could live with us again. She was heart broken all over again.
At this point I was an emotional mess. I was afraid to sleep thinking someone was going to come and steal my daughter in the night. I was afraid to go out in public thinking someone was going to steal my daughter. I was in emotional melt-down and knew that I needed to find my strength because this is what DSS wanted. They wanted me to fall apart.
I felt dirty as though I had been raped. I told my doctor I felt I was covered in slime when in fact I was. This slime was DSS and what they did to my family was take away every ounce of trust and dignity we had.
At this point my Doctor told me I needed to stay on my Zoloft that had been prescribed a year before due to anxiety. I said OK and went home and threw the medicine in the trash.
I did not want to attend therapy any longer and I did not want my daughter attending therapy. I was completely turned against anything that could alter the mind.
I was afraid of therapy because I thought they all were out to get me. I did not want anyone to have any information about my family, knowing that the court order did not say that we had to attend therapy I canceled all appointments. My daughter and I do not attend therapy and I do not take any form of medicine till this day.
I started to get visits from the very Social worker that stole my child. Jeri Field came for her first home visit with me.
I did not know how I would be able to sit in the same room with her knowing what she did.
During this visit it was not a pleasant experience, I asked her why she did not show me any ID when she came for my daughter. Her answer was "Would you like to see it now?" I was so angry, and then she told me what a good job I did the day that they came for my daughter. I asked her if this was some game they were playing with my family?
This visit went on and on. She tried extremely hard to get me to sign the service plan that I had refused earlier. I told her that this service plan was gone over with my attorney and Jennifer Brown DSS attorney and they both agreed I did not have to do these services.
Jeri Field then told me that Victoria and I needed to attend counseling, I told her this was not in the court order, she told me that it was on the service plan and I needed to do it. I told Jeri but I didn’t sign a service plan. She threatened if we didn’t attend therapy they would take Victoria. We did attend limited meetings at therapy out of fear.
Months went on and the evaluation that was supposed to take place immediately had not even been put into motion.
My husband and I were invited to an FBS meeting at the Bradford DSS office telling us this would be where this evaluation would be discussed. The day was September 13th. My husband took the day off from work so we could attend. We sat in the office this day waiting for the meeting to get under way, Jeri Fields Supervisor came out and told us they needed to cancel this meeting because Jeri fields called in sick.
We were angry but not surprised. The supervisor said to us I am very sorry. I said you should be. He said maybe we should talk I said I think we should. We sat with him for an hour telling him our story. At this point this supervisor had not heard of our case. "How can this be?" I thought. Jeri Fields took my child August 2nd and her supervisor did not know of us? This man was the only one in this office that treated us like human beings. My trust was already broken so it didn’t matter how I felt about this man. I felt that everyone working in this office washed each other’s hands.
From August till November there was no sexual abuse evaluation, with many court dates in between. The judge kept giving DSS more time to turn over our file and to get this evaluation started. There were home visits by Jeri Fields who pressured me each time to sign the service plan-.which I refused each attempt.
By the way each court appearance was held in the Newburyport MA courthouse and not the Lawrence Court like our first appearance. One visit with Jeri and her pressuring me to sign this service plan. I finally called her a liar and told her to leave my home. After this visit she was supposed to be removed from our case but the words from the DSS attorney was if they removed her it would be admitting guilt so this did not happen. I was advised after this visit by my attorney to not meet with her alone any longer.
In November I finally started making calls to get this evaluation started because I knew we could not have our lives back until this was completed. I found a trustworthy person recommended an agency that could do this, It to me. I got the ball rolling and DSS agreed because DSS attorney Jennifer Brown did not want to go before the judge once again and tell him no this has not been done. The evaluation started 2 weeks before Christmas. I pushed to get it done knowing this would be an 8-week ordeal and our trial date was for January 21st.
This evaluation was completed the day after Christmas, which resulted in my husband not be able to see his daughter on Christmas and my daughter spent Christmas eve day in a therapy session. My daughter finished before the 8 weeks, because the women who did the evaluation found no reason for it to go on. The outcome of this evaluation was negative.
Our court date was here January 21st, The report from the evaluation was not complete and I thought for sure this case would be carried on for another year. Our attorneys subpoenaed the women who did the evaluations.
The attorneys all said to me, why do you look so sad? I was so worn out by now of worry, I was sick everyday my daughter went to school and then not sleeping or eating. We were falling into to financial hole, and had no idea how to get out. I could not stand this pressure much longer.
We went before the judge and he asked our side if we were ready for trial, they all said yes. DSS attorney Jennifer Brown was asked if she was ready and she said not without the evaluation report, My attorneys informed her that the women was present. She then said she could not go forward in good faith. It seemed forever for the words to come out of her mouth; it was over just like that. I walked up to Jeri fields and said see ya Jeri.
We walked out of this courthouse as though nothing had taken place over the last year. My husband came home and we were suppose to go on with our lives as thou this hadn’t taken place. This was something I was unable to do.
The minute I walked out of the court house I started mailing letters to anyone and everyone I could think of.
I started pressuring DSS to send me my file, which I did get but not everything, and this took months.
I have been tossed around like a football. No one wants to answer my questions. No one wants to explain to me why Susan Griffin is missing from all reports, or why they never interviewed my husband, if he was such a sexual predator then it seems DSS should have at least asked where he lived.
Or did they not interview him or ask were he was because they were fully aware that he hadn’t done anything?
Why Sharlene Foox goes by 2 names on the same report, her other name is Sharlene Simpson.
Why Jeri Fields did not have a court order or ID to take my child, what they were doing at my mothers house.
Why I have a service plan that is dated February 2003 after our case was closed saying we agreed to services when we did not.
Why the investigator with the police station till this day said there was no disclosure during the SAIN interview and DSS should have never been involved with my family.
Nancy Fagan Bradford MA DSS Area Director does not want to answer all my questions. She does not want to answer any of these questions.
This agency went so far as to make a report about my cat named Secret saying this is an inappropriate name
.Are these people telling me that they can take your child from you because they do not like your cats name?
This is about all they had on my family and this about all it takes for this agency to take your children so beware- If DSS gets in your front door be prepared for the fight of your life.
August 2nd 2003 will be a year since DSS stole my daughter. This day will not go unnoticed even though DSS is gone and my daughter is home safe with her parents.
This has not ended for any other family member or me. I am not the same person I was a year ago. I am harder then ever. I didn’t think this was possible but it is. The aftermath of such an ordeal has lasting effects. My marriage is a wreck. Finances have been destroyed. My relationships with many people have been challenged.
I feel that I have had to start all over again after working for close to 6 years at becoming a whole person and a wonderful mother it was all taken, as though I never spent those years working so hard.
I am not sure were I go from here, if my marriage will survive or the bills will get paid. I do know that I will never stop telling my story and doing what ever I can think of to hold this agency accountable for the misery they tossed upon us.
I am sad at the fact that DSS is allowed to take children from loving homes like they are- nothing more than a number.
One day the pain of what has happened will be gone but the memories and the change will all ways be with me. The only good thing that came from this experience is finding just how much strength I have and knowing that this will be something that I will live and breath the rest of my life.
I sit here with a stack of green receipts from all the letters I have written and know that one day maybe, just maybe one will be answered, until then
I'll keep plugging away at putting a dent into this system.
Cathy Tully
Salsibury MA 01952
978-499-7905