Utah DCFS nightmare.

My audience is very specific. I am getting back into this blog because I have been written by several people who are going through the same devastating experience I had been through, and want me to continue this blog. In the beginning I felt as though continuing this blog would only force me to hold on to negative feelings that I don’t want to embrace any longer, but as I speak out to family and friends, they encourage me to move past those feelings, and use my experience to help others. I get it. Yes, it still stings, and it has taken me quite some time to get around to the idea of keeping this blog open because there are constant thoughts of, “what happens if the state attempts to retaliate?” because let be honest, they aren’t above it. Then I thought, this is my platform. It might not be much, it might not reach many people, but here is where I begin to help others. I want to begin a podcast essentially. I want to review cases of families that are going through similar situatio...

We have much to catch up on, but first and foremost let me discuss Parental Fitness Exams. Before my husband and I had to have our mental capacity for parenting tested by a psychologist, I did a lot of research on PFE's, and there isn't very much information about what it is, how it work, and the results. Let me start with the process: 1. If the state requires you to complete a parental fitness exam as part of your "safety plan" they will pay for it, which is great because they cost on average about $2500 a piece, the not so great part is that you have to use THEIR psychologist. 2. You make an appointment that you can complete all in one shot, which is what we did, or you can break it up into multiple sections, but you are on their time, so be cautious of deadlines. 3. When you go in for the testing portion it takes around 5 to 6 hours give or take how quickly you can read, comprehend, and circle the little Scranton bubbles. 4. After your completion o...

Hello everyone, My post today is more about resources. Below I will provide some information that I have used to help me better understand the process, and that have helped my husband and I in pointing out discrepancies, and how I have used these. First and foremost I would like to say that I am not an attorney by any means, however, I am a freak in that I love research. My personal mentality no matter where I am, or what I am doing, I have always been the person who asks why? I am always the person who when someone explains a company guideline, policy, procedures, ect. I want to know where I can find that information. DCFS in Utah, and I am pretty sure in all states, has posted their manual for the public. I find this to be a great tool. This manual for Utah is 111 pages long, and I have printed it out, picked it apart, and read every word within the manual. I have provided a link specific to Utah below. I suggest if you are going through this process, that you be aware of all of ...

Hello all, You don't know me, and neither does Utah's DCFS, but I have created this blog in hopes that you will get to know me better than the system has attempted to. My name is Sydney Claxton-Martinez. I have many roles that I play in my life. I am a mother, a wife, a United States Marine, a daughter, a sister, and so forth. A more recent title that has been thrusted upon my husband and I has been child abuser. August 4, 2016 has gone down as one of the worst days of my life. Upon waking up, and attempting to feed my 6 week old child (at the time), I noticed that his right arm and right leg were twitching. I monitored him for about 10 minutes, called my in laws to get my older two, and rushed my son to the hospital. Upon arrival to the hospital a CT scan was done of my son’s head. The doctor came up to me and explained to my surprise that my son had multiple skull fractures and bleeding of the brain. He explained that my son needed to be transferred to a different ho...