My sister passed away on Aug. 21 last year. Her 11 year old son, Matthew*, was in DCS custody when she passed away. My mother tried to get custody, but DCS told her that they were trying to adopt him out instead of placing him back with his family.
Our family is working with a lawyer and trying every avenue to get Matthew back. My mom drives to Memphis every two weeks to visit him in the behavior health clinic where they placed him. The last time she visited, she said Matthew physically attached himself to her leg and begged for her to take him home. They only let her visit in person for one hour, so she talks to him on the phone as much as she can. Even his counselor at the facility knows that he needs to be home with us. It seems like everyone feels that way besides the DCS casework and the lawyer.
We’ve had custody hearings where the judge didn’t even understand the situation. The judge said my mom had to fight it out with DCS and DCS said she had no rights at all so they couldn’t return him to her. She feels like the lawyers are just playing games with her. We have another hearing at the end of May and are hoping for a different outcome.
My mom has contacted the news, the mayor and even the governor for help with this, but nobody seems to do anything. Matthew has been away from home for a year now. He’s dealing with puberty, the loss of his mom and his dad has never been in his life.
My mom has been in Matthew’s life since the day he was born. When he was taken from my sister’s home, DCS told us they could place him with a family member, but they always found something wrong with each family member that offered to take him. I have no criminal history and I’m in stable housing, but because I lived in the same building as my sister, I wasn’t approved. She has an aunt that lives in a different building who said she’d take Matthew, but she was deemed “too old” by DCS. Even when family passed background checks, DCS would find a reason why they were disqualified.
I lost my own son for a year to DCS by being homeless. Within a week of that happening, I found a place to live, but they still sent him to a boys home and it changed him completely. I see the same thing happening to Matthew. It affects these kids.
*Named changed to protect privacy.