Almost a year after Robin's safe return, we filed into the courtroom once more to once and for all decide the fate of Lisa, my eldest daughter. DCF and their attorney were all in accord that it had been long enough, and Lisa needed to go home rather than remain in limbo, as I had gone above and beyond the call of duty for WAY too long in order to regain custody. THAT in itself was a huge surprise, given the circumstances of my history with DCF.
So it was DCF, us, "them", and a Guardian Ad Litem. Keep in mind we've been begging for GAL for SO long now.. someone objective to speak on Lisa's behalf. Two weeks before the hearing we were contacted and she came by the house. I got a bad vibe automatically when, even though she hadn't spoken to us before, proceeded to tell me about my "personal agenda" with regaining custody of Lisa (don't ask, I have no idea, but it was obvious she had spoken to Lisa's grandfather prior). The Guardian Ad Litem, AFTER DCF had made their case to bring Lisa home, proceeded to make groundless assumptions and presumptious statements when A. she hadn't even met nor spoken to Lisa and B. when she has only been on the case for two weeks. Her argument was that because we have a baby due and Robin is scheduled for surgery this summer, it isn't the right time. Mike & I were, needless to say, floored. That was when it began to get nasty... and it started between DCF's attorney and the GAL. Then our attorney proceeded to make our case (which was relatively simple and factual), and sure enough, the GAL butted in and interrupted as well as "their" attorney. Their attorney nitpicked and twisted statements, and misconstrued documents in the case as well as what the other attornies had just stated. The ironic part is that the case is technically between US and DCF.... Lisa's grandparents are only temporary custodians in the name of the state. The judge then proceeded to get Lisa's individual therapist on the phone, to have all the attornies ask questions. That was interesting because again, this counselor had never met us, and had only been in contact with Lisa's grandfather, and she seemed VERY reluctant to say anything concrete since she knew Lisa's grandfather was in the room.
So for over a half-hour, we battled it out, pointed and counterpointed, but when the dust settled and the bloodshed subsided, the judge awarded us custody once again, to begin at the conclusion of her school year, approx. June 17th! It's going to be a long, hard road ahead, not only in beginning the healing of the emotional trauma and damage that has been done to my daughter, but also in preventing such a thing from occuring again. If you have been following this case, you know full well that Lisa's grandfather will not stop here. His pursuit for his own gain will only get nastier, bloodier, and uglier. We have told Lisa's father he is more than welcome at any time to see Lisa, but our concern lies with her grandfather, if she ends up with him alone. We have no concrete evidence to obtain a restraining order, and all in all, it IS Lisa's decision if she wants to visit with him. But we are well aware of what will happen if he is left with her alone. More stories, more accusations, more groundless hearsay, but what can we do? We're going to take it one day at a time, and look into our options. The major hurdle has been conquered, so now we can concentrate on rebuilding our family. Thanks so much for all your supoprt through all of this, and Goddess Bless!
We will continue to update you on the effects DCF and this battle has had upon our lives and us as a family. Please educate yourselves with the links that were provided so your family does not suffer the same Fate as ours did for years.
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