Reforming DYFS

by: mommyof8

Fri Jul 10, 2009 at 11:12:07 AM EDT

One of the things that has to change is the way they handle supervised visitation. The state of NJ is swamped. They have so many cases per worker they can't even visit them all. So they sub contract out their supervised visitation. The problem is the companies they contract to don't have to have any trained personnel. So you end up having a dangerous mom visiting a young child or infant in a public place monitored by a college intern. No back up if something goes wrong, no plan in effect to handle dangerous situations nothing.

Here is an example of one of these we had to deal with. We had a one year old we were fostering. His mother was too dangerous for the worker to transport. She was known to carry drugs and got violent. So they set the visits for places she could walk to. This visit was set at the Newark Library in Nj. We took the child and met a twenty one year old college intern who was sent to monitor the visit. I left my cell # and the child with the intern and went outside to wait for the visit to be over. Ten minutes later my cell rang. It was the intern crying and asking me to come get the baby. She said the mom was hitting him.

Now you have to understand the area is prodominately AA and my foster son was AA and of course so was the biological mom. Iam white. Anyway I go back inside and the mom is striking the baby with a book. The intern is crying and asking me to take the baby, she is afraid to as the mom is angry and out weighs us both by about 100lbs. I try to ge the baby back and the mom tucks the baby under her arms and proceeds to run up two flights of cement steps. I follow we get to the library doors and I manage to get hold of the baby before she makes it out. Now it is tug of war with her screaming that Iam trying to abduct her baby. I manage to tumble back in with the baby just before she runs out. All the while screaming Iam his foster mom. The mom jumps in a waiting car outside and drives off. She was going to abduct him. A month later we find out she is incarcerated for trafficking.

If I hadn't been there he would have been abducted. This happens everyday. The interns are not prepared, there is no safety plan in effect and no will help me. We ended up adopting that baby he is my son now. But this system is still endangering other kids. These visits need to be with trained personnel in secure settings. Help me make a difference.

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