We are currently seeking legal recourse against the Department of Social Services in Rowan County for their decision to remove our children from our care. We believe that the basis for their actions was unfounded allegations and previous concerns we had raised about our son’s behavior, which were used to fabricate a case of abuse and neglect. Tragically, this resulted in unnecessary trauma for our children and exacerbated their pre-existing mental and behavioral difficulties. We firmly believe that this situation could have been avoided had DSS provided adequate mental health support when we first requested it.
Throughout the proceedings, there were multiple instances where Cynthia Dry, the attorney for DSS RC, expressed uncertainty about how to proceed with the case. DSS became involved on October 28th, 2021, and removed our children from our care on March 4th, 2022. Our daughter was returned to us on June 3rd, 2022, and custody was fully restored on September 8th, 2022. DSS initially intended to reunite us with our son on the same day, but due to certain administrative procedures, he was placed with us on a trial home placement for a minimum of 60 days. The custody of our son was eventually reinstated on December 8th, 2022.
As a prerequisite for the restoration of our daughter’s custody, we were mandated to sign a release of information form for all our medical providers, including our therapist. Despite having a comprehensive, well-documented five-inch binder that substantiated our innocence, we felt obligated to concede neglecting our children. The Department of Social Services (DSS) endeavored to construct a case against us, but their efforts were to no avail as no evidence of drug use, alcohol abuse, or domestic violence was found in our household. The pandemic’s limitations prevented our son from attending virtual sessions for his severe ODD/ADHD, and when in-person sessions were permitted, we discovered that the insurance company was delaying therapy sessions when DSS became involved.
During the case, DSS mandated that Cameron, the biological father of both children, complete an Adult Holistic Assessment and two parenting classes (one virtual and one in-person). DSS also required me to complete an Adult Holistic Assessment, two parenting classes (one virtual and one in-person), three comprehensive clinical assessments, a psychological assessment, and a parenting capacity assessment (which was later withdrawn because DSS had to pay for it). My assessments were consistent with one another. DSS subjected me to numerous drug tests, but every test was negative, and we followed up with a drug test at our family physician within an hour.
We were deeply concerned about the welfare of our children under the care of their kinship providers, who happen to be their paternal grandparents and former Guardians at Litem for Rowan County (circa 2016-2019). During their stay, our children were exposed to abusive situations and teasing, which DSS and Guardians at Litem Rowan County overlooked. Our daughter endured sexual abuse during her time there, which we reported to RC DSS, but it was dismissed swiftly. We requested outside agencies to investigate, but RC DSS also denied this request.
We have filed official complaints regarding the conduct of Rowan County DSS with the main offices of Health and Human Services in Raleigh, as well as the Guardian of Litem in Raleigh, who withdrew Guardians at Litem Rowan County from the case citing a “Conflict of Interest.”
Later in the case, we discovered that the Department of Social Services stated to an outside agency that they should never have taken our children from our care or placed them with their kinship providers. We believe that DSS Rowan County removed our children as a form of retaliation after we sent them a letter on January 28th, 2022, asserting our rights when it comes to disciplining our children. DSS delved into our records where we had reached out several times for assistance with our son’s behavior (severe ADHD and severe Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)) to fabricate a case.
We are optimistic that this situation can be resolved peacefully and amicably, and we appreciate your assistance in this matter.