We the disabled parents A proud member of phenomenal women I am a 35 year old disabled mother with 3 ADHD ,wonderful, children.We live in the Comox Valley in BC,Canada. I have a tracheotomy,which is a tube in my throat which helps me breathe at night,and ataxia which effects my balance.I and my children have been harassed by the Ministry for Children and Family Development for years.My children were formally apprehended March 28 2000. I was told by social services that they felt I was unfit to care for my children. I do not drink nor do I take drugs, I don't even smoke. Since my first child was born, I have been dealing with the Ministry for Children and Family Development.I have had many rude interruptions and ubrupte cruel actions done to my family by MCFD over the years.I have had a 48 page parental accessment done by a psychologist,who is also a ex-social worker.The psychlogist was frustrated by the wrongly created situation created by the MCFD.The accessment was argumentative and comparatively opposite to the 2 short accessments done by a MCFD psychologist. The accessments done by the MCFD psychologist were very untrue and basically said I was very unfit.I have had 3 lawyers that have agreed that this was a case of harassment and descrimination.The MCFD will never admit to that and will always justify themselves.I have seen and talked with other disabled parents,who are and have been treated just as badly by MCFD. I am not only trying to help myself,but other disabled parents. I have been fighting this fight since April of 2000,in the courts. Last time I was in court,during November 26 to 28 of 2001, the judge seemed sympathetic to my case. My custody case is probably going to hopefully finnish up on Febuary 26,27 of 2002.I went to court on those fore mentioned dates.I regained custody of my twins, under a 6 month supervision order.Unfortunately I did not regain custody of my oldest son.But the judge did say I could appeal next year. Even though I regained custody Febuary 27,02 the boys weren't returned home, by MCFD, till March 18,02.My mother died March 17,02. I had to move us to a better location,closer to a new school, on April 5,02. I recieved NO help,from MCFD till April 12,02. Even though it was ordered that assistances started upon the twins return home,by the judge and MCFD Febuary 27,02.The courts decided to put my children's father and grandfather on the stand so they could have a chance to speak. This did further help my case against the MCFD.We as disabled parents need to be heard and respected by government and society.SO PLEASE SPEAK UP! Well it happened again. the boys got apprehended again last night,June 1,2002.After the social worker and police officer did a search on a loving,clean,safe,secure home and even though I and a friend looked for them,after which I phoned 911, 40-45 minutes later. 911 told me they were found them a couple blocks from my house.They got out a chain locked door,which isnt that obvious to see, around 8:30 pm,I and a friend started searching not long after and I had call for other friends for help ,and I also phoned 911 when I returned after searching, around 9:10-9:15 pm. Well back to court I go on June 18,2002.I went to a meeting,June 5,2002, at MCFD in hopes of getting the boys back.Only to realize it was a waste of tax payer's money,all involved person's time and a emotional abusive game.I will be and have put in a alarm system and safety devices in my home to keep the boys safely in the home. I went to court and the hearing has been postponed till July 2,02. To be heard, again, by the original judge!Well it wasn't the original judge. I went in thinking I had it made,only to be confronted by lies and twisted truths presented by affidavits by the social worker and family service worker.Now I go back to court, again July 26,02 to set a date for a case conference.The case conference has been set for August 9,02 at 3 pm.Now I and the children's father and grabdfathers go back to a pretrial on Sept 19 at 9 am.Then the 2 day trials Oct 29&30 at 9:30.Again my witnesses will testify,buy this time I will have advocates for disabled parents.IF YOU ARE A ADVOCATE FOR DISABLED PARENTS,I COULD CERTAINLY USE YOUR ASSISTANCE.YOUR ASSISTANCE WILL BE A ADDED BENIFIT TO THE ASSISTANCE I ALREADY HAVE.Thank you. THIS DELAY IS NOT JUSTICE TO MY CHILDREN. My links of interest: Child Rescue My business TLG My story My Info: Name: Laurie Edberg Email: poet94@hotmail.com A Bobby friendly site The Fight CAS/CFS SiteRing

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-- Anonymous, August 26, 2002

Answers

Hey Laurie, I know how and what your going through because we r going throught the same thing right now. Only except the mcfd wants to put my kids in another province with native band in Alberta, and I'm fighting it, we see our social worker on Oct.7th/03. My husband & I are on disability pension I have F.A.S and he has epilepsy, and they want to take our kids away. They said that we are a threat to the kids which we aren't at all, we love our kids very much and want to be with us all the time. So I understand where u're coming from. Janet Maher.

-- Anonymous, September 28, 2003

I'm a 14 year old homeschool student who is doing research on descrimination against parents with disabilities. My Mom used to be a legal aid lawyer and had this one case where a mildly developmentally delayed woman was trying to regain custody of her son. She had been in a relationship with an abusive boyfriend who left her when she became pregnant and then came back and got her to give him all her money. She had been on Welfare and now she was starving so she entered a maternity clinic. She gave birth to her son in the maternity clinic and the maternity clinic was on her case to put him up for adoption but she loved him and didn't want to. Social Services took custody away from her but allowed her to continue caring for the child as long as they stayed in the maternity clinic. She was being harrassed by the workers and the other mothers in the clinic and they were claiming she was neglecting him because she wasn't bathing him every single day(it's actually bad for a babies skin to do that, it dries their skin out) and feeding him on a clock. They were also claiming that she wasn't properly able to care for herself. During her pregnancy she remembered being abused by her older brother which was why she wasn't taking very good care of herself due to depression. My Mom pointed this out to her social worker and asked the social worker to refer this woman to a treatment program for recovery from abuse and the social worker suggested a children's clinic. Now, this woman was 24 and she was only mildly developmentally delayed, the kind of delay that only shows up upon entering school. She was not a child, neither physically nor developmentally. She was trying to get them to let her go with her son to live with her parents and they were OK with that as long as she had 24 hour supervision with her son. They didn't mention anything about surpervising her brother's access to the boy or her, only her access to him. Also there'd be a 2 or 3 hour period when neither parent could supervise and they didn't offer to have someone else help with supervising those 2 or 3 hours. One factor in this case was that her boy was a healthy white male infant which is the favorite choice for adoption. It might have been better if they'd been native because then he wouldn't have made as good of a candidate for adoption. So anyway, I feel for you. There's a lot of descrimination and it's just awful.

-- Anonymous, February 23, 2004