[blparent] Need advice on advocacy level

[Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter]

Hina,

While this has come up in several custody cases, it's not a given that your
child will be taken away because of blindness. You can contact the National
Federation of the Blind's lawyers and have a consultation to see where you
can go, possible resources and contacts and what your rights are. You can
also find divorce lawyers in your area. Some may even have experience
dealing with custody cases with disabled parents.

Your husband had no problem having a child with you and letting you care for
your child while married, so it's interesting he would suddenly have a
problem with it if you separated or divorced. Especially if you work, I
would think you have a particularly strong case.

Custody hearings are brutal. I went through it during my sister's custody
hearing, and it was not fun. Even those who split amicably can have hiccups
when it comes to custody. And when one person is already making threats
before anything has happened, it's not a great prospect for settling things
reasonably. So it could be a battle in general, but your blindness is not a
reason to be used against you in a custody agreement.

I would definitely begin researching divorce and custody lawyers where you
live. Find someone you are comfortable with and who believes you capable.
And also contact the NFBs lawyers to see what info they can provide.

Good luck.

Bridgit

Message: 1
Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2016 15:45:34 -0500
From: hina altaf <hinaaltaf1983 at gmail.com>
To: Blind Parents Mailing List <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [blparent] need advise on advocacy level
Message-ID:
	<CAODq+AegvcfS5VZRfwLRVnr5bsP7PtSZJARCMrmKEiA-hUmF9Q at mail.gmail.com>
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Hi blind parents
In the past, when my son was born and hospital staff made it difficult to
release the premature baby to a single blind mother, NFB blind parents in
Illinois helped me a lot. Now my question is, on what grounds DCSF will not
give a child to a blind parent compare to a sighted parent and the child is
4 years old? My son's father always threats me that if we separate, DCSF
will not let a blind parent take care of a 4 years old. Who do I need to get
involved in the situation like this and what are the chance that DCSF will
not let me have my child in the situation like this? I am the sole provider
in the family, and he has no job. Is there a lawyer who works on cases like
this or any feedback you guys have? Any help is much appreciated. I am very
scared that he may take my child if I decide to get separated from him. I
have no intension of having out of his son's life completely, but he makes
me think that if we separate, he will take the child from me.  Please send
emails directly to me at:
hinaaltaf1983 at gmail.com
or call at 815-980-9699\
Hina.