{"id":18219,"date":"2020-06-27T18:44:26","date_gmt":"2020-06-27T22:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=18219"},"modified":"2020-06-27T18:44:26","modified_gmt":"2020-06-27T22:44:26","slug":"it-finally-happened-child-taken-due-to-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=18219","title":{"rendered":"It Finally Happened: Child Taken Due to COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n
\n

ParentalRights.org<\/p>\n

Well, they\u2019ve finally done it.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been watching for it all along, hoping against hope that the System would prove us wrong and somehow behave itself. But\u00a0we kept watching, because we know what the System is made of.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sure enough, it finally happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday in dependency court madness, LA County Dept. of Children and Family Services (DCFS) recommended that\u00a0the court remove my client\u2019s child from their physical custody after the parent tested positive for COVID-19.<\/strong>\u00a0This is a non-offending parent. The judge ruled in favor of DCFS and detained.\u201d (emphasis added)<\/p>\n

So says a Los Angeles-area attorney\u00a0in a post on Facebook last week.<\/a>\u00a0(We have not yet been able to confirm the case, but the lawyer\u2019s account remains live on Facebook.)<\/p>\n

He continues, \u201cLet that sink in . . . DCFS is asking for children to [be] removed from their parents\u2019 custody due to COVID-19\u00a0despite the parent making the appropriate arrangements for their child.<\/em>\u201d (emphasis added)<\/p>\n

To be clear, right now we are talking about one child in one courtroom. The family, who we understand are working on filing a writ of habeas corpus to have their child returned, hasn\u2019t had time yet to finish that writ, let alone file for a full appeal.<\/p>\n

However,\u00a0once there is one rotten ruling, it becomes easier for others to follow.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of you have been sounding alarms ever since reports came out that child welfare forms were changed to indicate COVID-19 was present in the home at the time of the child\u2019s removal.<\/p>\n

Our analysis at the time was, and remains, that the change in the form was not intended to make COVID-19 an excuse for separating families. It was intended as a means to warn a potential foster family or group home that an in-coming child has been exposed to the virus.<\/p>\n

But, like so many of you, we also saw the potential for danger, and we have kept our ear to the ground. Sure enough, now an LA County judge has taken the plunge down the rabbit hole.<\/p>\n

To state the matter plainly,\u00a0the government has no authority to remove a child from their private home simply because the child or a parent has contracted COVID-19.<\/strong>\u00a0 This is especially true if, as indicated by this family\u2019s lawyer,\u00a0the parents have made appropriate arrangements<\/em>\u00a0to see to it the child can be taken care of somewhere away from the infected parent.<\/p>\n

In such instances, there is absolutely no need for the court to even be involved.<\/p>\n

This is not\u2014this\u00a0will not be<\/em>\u2014the new normal.<\/strong>\u00a0Under no circumstances will we stand by while innocent families suffer the humiliating and life-shattering trauma of unnecessary, unconstitutional,\u00a0unconscionable<\/em>\u00a0separation.<\/p>\n

We are working to know more about this situation, and we will certainly stay vigilant in watching for more instances, and for tracking what happens in this case.<\/p>\n

Thank you for joining us in this fight.\u00a0Standing together, we will make sure this does not become \u201cthe new normal.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0Families have a right to be together; let\u2019s make sure\u00a0that right is protected<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

Michael Ramey
\nExecutive Director<\/p>\n

Note (June 18):<\/b>\u00a0Today we added to this page a link to the Facebook post so you can see for yourselves. As mentioned earlier, we have not yet been able to verify this beyond Facebook. But there are two additional points to consider regarding its reliability:<\/p>\n

First, there is an attorney database by which attorneys can look each other up. We checked that database and verified that the original Facebook author, who claims to be an L.A.-area attorney,\u00a0is in fact an L.A.-area attorney.<\/b>\u00a0This alone adds a lot of credibility.<\/p>\n

Second,\u00a0multiple other attorneys have weighed in among the comments<\/b>\u00a0on his post, saying they\u2019re facing similar challenges. Now that you can access that through the link above, you\u2019ll be able to see some of those comments for yourself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18219\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}