[Nfbc-info] FW: [Cabs-talk] Fighting Discrimination in Missouri

Thu Jul 1 00:06:41 UTC 2010

Dear friends,
	As a blind parent myself, I urge you all to do what you can to help
our comrades in Missouri put right the shameful injustice which is being
done this blind couple by Missouri child protective services. 
With deepest sincerity
Angela

Subject: [Cabs-talk] Fighting Discrimination in Missouri

Dear students,

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 back 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 be 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 Building
Phone: (202) 224-6521
Email: stacy_cervenka at brownback.senate.gov

--
Arielle Silverman
President, National Association of Blind Students
Phone:  602-502-2255
Email:
nabs.president at gmail.com
Website:
www.nabslink.org

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