Abuse Allegations Five Years Later

I have blogged on here often that abuse allegations have a long lasting effect on a family. We are living proof of that, and another reminder came in the mail today.

We thought our home study for Hannah had been approved, but it appears there are some “details” yet to be ironed out. We received a letter stating that based on the records that our county sent to the adoption agency, the agency needs to speak to the state to get “Any report of any substantiated child abuse or neglect.”

To say I am a little hot under the collar is an understatement. Prior to Hannah’s placement in our home, we had gone through a home study to adopt from foster care. We were approved, and the home study was done through the state. What exactly did the records from the county say?

One thing the investigation taught me was how to document things. I pulled out my files and pulled out two letters. One was from our attorney saying that the abuse substantiation had been rescinded and the second was from our county stating the same thing.

Let me give you a little background here. Our last court date in regards to the investigation was November 12, 2003. The date is burned into my memory. At that time we received the psychologist’s report stating that he could not substantiate any abuse. We also discovered that Sammy was witnessing domestic violence in the home he was placed in, which was also a relative placement. My cousin was beating his wife in front of my son. The county elected not to go to trial, and instead asked us to sign a consent decree. After discussion with our attorney, we chose to go this route, even though we knew we would win in trial. We agreed to this primarily to get Sammy out of the placement rather than having to wait for the trial.

A consent decree does not admit fault and does not result in a substantiated finding, or at least it shouldn’t. What it means is that you consent to having your home monitored by a social worker. My husband and I had no issue with this, and actually elected to extend the period of monitoring when Sammy’s issues began to escalate during the initial period.

However, apparently the county entered into their records that our allegations were substantiated, which was completely incorrect. Even more apparently, they have not corrected their paperwork. I have my paperwork to cover myself but it should not have to come to this. Our criminal record is clear, if you do a court records check nothing appears, which is correct, but the county has yet to correct its records, so we will fight another battle.

All of this comes at a time that is difficult to handle in the first place. This month marks the five year anniversary of two horrible days in our life. The day our children were removed and the day we held Kory and Mackenzie for the last time. To have this come up now and to have to prove our innocence yet again is a slap in the face and one we should never have had to deal with.

We are not the only family to deal with issues like this. It happens to parents often. You continue to prove your innocence long after the “event” is over. The irony in all of this is that the adoption agency has been sending families to me to help them find resources. I also spoke to a group of social workers that place children for special needs adoption as was requested by a state worker and the supervisor of the special needs adoption program for Northeast Wisconsin.

The investigation may be over, but the ghost still remains.

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