Title
Cynthia Kirby Families Story
Cynthia Kirby Families Story
Olmstead
Cynthia Kirby
Cara Scribner
Family
DCFS
5 yrs ago September 21 I sat in a court room with who was then my grandchildren’s youth pastor John Hails and my youngest daughter Mary Cooley as Champaign County Lutheran Social Services and CASA teamed up and lied to the courts to remove my 3 grandchildren from my care... Kimberly Needham took the stand and told Judge Olmstead I was with holding medications from my grandson and I had not taken action to have a IEP completed on him... Praise God the youth pastor was very involved in our case and knew first hand that was a lie... the truth was insurance wouldn’t pay for a full month of his medication so on months that had 31 days he missed a dose. I had offered to pay for that one dose and was told if I were to pay for the one they would expect me to pay for the full script at $20 a pill for which he took the medication twice a day. I had repeatedly informed the agencies of this including in meetings that our youth pastor and my friend who was also a special needs teacher were present due to being part of the kids care plan. These agencies never brought in a single witness other than this case worker who had never spent more than 3 min with my grandchildren.
When the kids were placed in my care the middle child a 4 yr old girl had never spent any time with her biological father other than brief supervised time... very brief. She had no idea who he was. Because the agencies had manipulated my daughter who has a severe learning disability, suffers ptsd, bi-polar and a personality disorder into giving up her rights they wanted to give this man custody of my granddaughter. I had no issue with this but asked that they please do this in a way that the kids would still have a relationship with each other and with myself... I also asked that they take her mental health into consideration.... shortly after my daughter gave up her rights.. they gave the father unsupervised visits... in just a week or two my granddaughter started asked me questions like “Moemoe we are family right?” I would tell her yes... these questions became regular and one day I asked her why she was asking me this.... she replied that her dad told her we were not... then just a short time later she started telling myself and her teacher that he was telling her she was never going to see us again. This was very concerning to me and her teacher. The teacher wrote the judge concerning it. Then one day she came home and told me her dad had spanked her very hard. I knew since she was a ward of the state this wasn’t aloud or at least that is what I had been told. That night as I was giving her a shower I found bruises never told her I found them but then later asked her where he spanked her and she pointed right at the bruises on her lower outer back thigh area... I reported it to the case worker and she instructed me to make a hot line report. After my report there were 2 other reports of abuse made one by her therapist and one from a Choices worker...
On Aug11 2016 I strongly believe this is where the plan of removing my grandchildren began. We had a review of the case on this date. When the case manager walked into the room she asked me and my granddaughters dad to leave the room. I walked out and took a seat directly across from the conference room at the DCFS building in Urbana Illinois. I couldn’t hardly believe what I over heard.
1. She informed everyone in this room from Lutheran Social Services and Choices that she had instructed the investigator to unfind the case against my granddaughters dad up to this point there had been no investigation done. Ironically CASA was not at this meeting but was always at other meetings... today I believe that was by design.
2. She reprimanded the Choices worker who made a hot line report asking why she would have done that?
After the meeting I told Barb McDaniels from Choices what I had over heard and she told me she was livid and told me to get a lawyer and get one now. She had an appointment in Hoopston Illinois and would call later. She called me multiple times from her home and in one of these conversations she told me had she not been off work so much due to two car accidents she was in she would give me $3000 herself the amount I needed to retain a lawyer. Barb McDaniels also told me on multiple occasions that she feared for my granddaughter in her dads care. She told me she didn’t know why they were doing this to us. She would also tell me not to tell anyone how much she was telling me as she would lose her job. She said someone else she had tried to help got mad at her and told on her before. I was so scared for my grands I set up and gofundme. The dad realized it and they said I was trying to interfere with him and his daughters relationship. That wasn’t true I was being told by Barb she feared for her and as her grandma I l loved her and felt I had to protect her. After speaking to Barb the next day she had informed me that she had contacted Robin from CASA and didn’t feel she was all that worried about it. So I called Robin myself and let her know what I had over heard. After that call things began to happen that seemed odd.
We had a Choices meeting I believe was on September 6 where suddenly my grandsons IEP became my job it had always been said this was the job of the case worker. I was also reprimanded for the gofundme. I should have spilled my guts on Barb but I thought if I did I would harm my case more than help me.
On September 16 we had a regular court date. Again I was reprimanded for the gofundme. The kids were all left in my care. Court was very intense and I left immediately after and had been instructed to talk to the case worker Kimberly Needham regarding a issue that had occurred the day before court. When I realized what I did it was to late to turn around. I really did need to stay and talk to her but I was upset and left without a thinking. I was wrong. The Kimberly Needham showed up at my home shortly after and I told her what had happened the day before. She was another fairly new case worker on this case and during the conversation about the issue the day before his medication came up again and I told her about the insurance not paying for one day of his meds. She told me that my granddaughters dad was picking her up after school that Friday at 3:15. I told her that my granddaughter got out of school at 5 till and that was a long time for her to be there alone waiting for him. So she told me she would let him know to pick her up there. I didn’t have this in writing so I can’t prove this... but it’s what happened. When he wasn’t there by 3:20 or so it hit me that he maybe at the school and then it hit me that I maybe being set up. I ran with her and the two boys all the way to the school cause it was faster than loading them in the car. When I got there her dad told me to go back home with them he had called Kimberly... I told him no I would wait right there. That was the last time I saw my granddaughter.
I got a call from Kimberly Needham either the 19th or 20th that there was an emergency hearing on the 21 and she had no idea what it was about. That I didn’t really need to be there. I had been at every hearing and I wasn’t going to start missing them then.
September 21, 2016 court hearing. As stated earlier Kimberly took the stand and lied. I was lied to about the hearing. I wasn’t given the opportunity to even defend myself. The youth pastor was trying to be noticed to speak as much as I was. After the hearing the Pastor approached the case workers and told them “They knew he knew they lied”....They removed my grandchildren that day without even allowing us to say goodbye. They were picked up from school.
I was able to retain a lawyer by the grace of God I was able to get back in court I had multiple witnesses including the pastor, my special needs teacher friend and the principal of my grandsons school all testified on my behalf. Judge Olmstead Vacated his order of wrongful placement and told the agencies they could return the kids and that they were to allow contact immediately that they had barricaded us from each other!! Instead they quickly placed the boys in adoptive care. I had spent $10,000 fighting this and I didn’t have anything else to fight with. I had recently lost my job when my employer closed their business.
You never get over this. To this day I have flash backs of this court hearing, of when they came and got a few items for the kids... it’s easier to lose someone in death cause you can explain it. But when they are taken unjustly there is no explanation. The only explanation is these agencies retaliated when I spoke out regarding over hearing this women say she had instructed the investigator to unfind the case... how does a case worker do that.
These lies were not the only lies from a case worker in this case that ended in harming the kids. But no one has time for us. It’s not a case that can help someone’s political carrier. I did talk to the Carol Amos in person and tried to reach her multiple times... the pastor wrote to the Attorney Generals office... I’m not rich so I seems since it won’t further a political career it wasn’t important.
I would happily pay for their lie detector test if they can pass one. I would happily submit one as well. This isn’t even all of it!! Another case worker lied and mislead my youngest daughter who had been caring for the oldest for almost 2 yrs. this lie led to my grandsons removal from her care.
Judges Comments
Judge Olmstead states that they (Lutheran family Service, DCFS and CASA) had barricaded us from each other, that my home was to be considered in the event the children were moved (they were moved multiple times). He also stated that they were to allow contact immediately. He vacated the wrongful placement order.