[Jayhawk-chapter] CPS Takes Newborn From Blind Parents in Missouri Just Because They are Blind

[Susan Tabor]

I guess I shouldn't be but I am always astounded when I hear about things
like this still happening! It's shameful! Read on!

Susan

 


On the eve of our 70th anniversary as an organization, I am deeply 
saddened to distribute the below message, about a blind couple in 
Missouri whose newborn daughter was taken away from them by CPS, 
merely because they are blind. This situation affects all of us, 
especially since many of us are current or future blind parents, and 
it's a shocking reminder of how much work remains ahead of us as an 
organization. I urge you to read the below and to consider donating to 
this cause, either directly or by helping to babysit at convention to 
raise money for this family. 
>From the NFB of Missouri: 
Erica and Blake, a young couple were awaiting the birth of their first 
child with joy and happiness. Baby Mikaela was born at 12:45pm, May 21. Not 
unlike many new mothers, Erica experienced some difficulty in her 
first breast feeding 
of Mikaela; she called the nurse for some advice. By 6:00pm child 
protective services arrived at the hospital to say the parents could not 
take Mikaela home, unless they had a sighted person to live with them. 
In all the investigations, blindness is the only reason sited for the 
parents not being allowed to leave with their new baby girl. 
The Missouri affiliate has hired an attorney at $250 per hour, and 
her assistant at $85 per hour to bring Mikaela home where she belongs! 
Please help with any donations possible to unite this family. You may 
stop by the Missouri table, B 114 in the exhibit hall, or come by our 
delegation. 
We, the National Federation of the Blind can bring Mikaela home to 
her parents where she belongs! Thank you for any help you can give. 
And a more recent update: 
   I just spoke with NFB of Missouri President Gary Wunder. Here is the
latest: 

   The parents initially thought that if they played by the rules, 
surely the judge would give them ba ck their daughter at the first 
hearing. However, this did not happen, so a second hearing was 
scheduled for June 16. At this point, the parents realized that they 
needed an advocate and contacted the NFB of Missouri. After visiting 
with the couple in their home and determining that there were no 
extenuating circumstances and that blindness was the only concern CPS 
had about these parents, the NFB hired an attorney to assist them. The 
cost of this attorney is $250 an hour, and $85 for the services of the 
attorney's assistant. 

   About two weeks ago, on June 16, the parents had their second 
hearing. The judge seemed outraged that the hospital had taken the 
child from this couple with so little cause and was further astounded 
that the hospital had never dealt with blind parents before. 
Unfortunately, this was not an evidentiary hearing, so no decisions 
were made and it was announced that there would need to b e a third 
hearing. The problem is that this judge is going on vacation, so the 
earliest they could get a hearing with her was on July 20. The parents 
could have chosen to get an earlier hearing date with a different 
judge, but their attorney advised them to wait for this judge to 
return from vacation, because she had seemed so sympathetic and on 
their side at the second hearing. 

   So, the situation as it now stands is that the parents are 
awaiting their third hearing on July 20, with this hopefully 
sympathetic judge. Meanwhile, the NFB of Missouri is paying for the 
parents to receive voc rehab training, to get letters from the state 
VR agency saying that these parents can indeed perform the tasks that 
were of concern to CPS. The NFB realizes that we shouldn't have to get 
a permission slip from the state VR agency to have kids, but their 
main focus at this time is to address the ridiculous "But, how does a 
blind person do that?" concerns of the hospital and CPS and get baby 
Micaela back with her parents where she belongs. So, the NFB of 
Missouri is incurring additional costs, as they are paying out of 
pocket for these voc rehab services for the couple. 

   Gary asked me to pass along that the NFB of Missouri welcomes 
donations to help defray the sky-rocketing legal expenses and the cost 
of getting letters from VR professionals asserting that these parents 
have received training in the skills of parenting and can perform the 
required tasks. They are setting up a specific fund for these 
donations. You can make a contribution at the NFB of Missouri's 
affiliate table in the Exhibit Hall or by visiting Gary in the 
Missouri delegation during General Session. 

   If you can't make a monetary donation or if you'd like to help 
further, I'm collecting names and contact info of Federationists who 
would be willing to baby-sit during Convention for parents who want to 
get out for an evening or even just attend a few Convention events 
without their children, and donate the proceeds to the NFB of Missouri 
to help with the legal costs of returning Micaela to her parents. 

   If you'd like to volunteer your time, please contact me at 
stacy_cervenka at brownback.senate.gov or on my cell at 708-359-3301. 
Please let me know the best way to contact you at Convention, a little 
bit about your experience with kids (this might include being a parent 
yourself, having worked as a counselor at a summer program, etc.), and 
which times you would be available. 

   Furthermore, feel free to share my contact info with any parents 
who might be interested in this service during Convention. 

Thanks, 

Stacy Leigh Cervenka 
Legislative Assistant 
Office of Senator Sam Brownback (KS) 
303 Hart Senate Office Bui lding 
Phone: (202) 224-6521 
Email: stacy_cervenka at brownback.senate.gov 

QQ

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/jayhawk-chapter_nfbnet.org/attachments/20100630/b7700224/attachment.html>