How Grandparents Can Avoid The Biggest DCF Mistake

Hello. Thank you for joining me here today. My name is Kevin Seaver. I am a trusted lawyer since 1991, recognized expert, successfully specializing in fighting the Department of Children and Families, more commonly referred to as DCF. I turn DCF negatives into positives throughout the entire state of Massachusetts, in and out of court.

I want to talk about grandparents. My grandmother was from Ireland she came over to this great country as an immigrant third class via steerage, seasick the entire trip to Ellis Island in New York, and then came to Massachusetts because she had a distant cousin living here.

In Massachusetts, she worked as a scrub lady and a cook. There were signs that said, “Irish need not apply.” She used to tell me how she worked a half a day and it was a great day cause a half day meant she only worked 12 hours when she was used to working 14, 16, 18 hours a day, always with a smile on her face. She had an attitude of gratitude. There was never a day that wasn’t partly sunny out or the glass was half full. But the philosophy that she gave me that I thought was most important was that she never went back to Ireland because in America, today is better than yesterday, tomorrow is better than today, and next week will be better than tomorrow, next month will be better than next week, and next year will be better than next month. She believed in the greatness of this great country of ours.

My grandmother would never have done anything to hurt or harm any of her grandchildren, but she may have done the same mistake that I’ve had clients come into my office make that are grandparents, and that is ignorance of the law and ignorance of the law is no defense.

A grandparent came in to see me. The story began on a happy note with the goal of unification by DCF of the parents with the grandchild. So, the grandparents said to themselves, “I don’t need to do anything. I don’t need to spend any time, money, or energy on a lawyer. What for? The goal of reunification is the child is going back to the parents, we will get to see the child when its with the parents, and we’re good.” As time went on, however, they were unaware that they are time deadlines, that DCF must make pursuant to federal law a decision within a year for children in foster care what the permanent plan will be. And the parents did not make enough progress towards their goal of reunification.

After a year, the goal was changed to adoption. All of a sudden, the grandparents are scrambling. Adoption by who? They come to find out adoption was going to be by the foster parents, who had bonded with the grandchild. And then the grandparents are all upset. And all of a sudden, they are playing catch-up They don’t know what to do. They go to DCF, they fill out all the types of paperwork, which they’re not sure what it is or what it was they signed or filled out. And they’re really worried. Because they had waited so long, it is going to be hard to move the child who has bonded with the foster parents and there is perhaps not a judge nor DCF who is going to move that child.

Now the grandparents are devastated. “How are we going to see the grandchildren?”

They’re probably not going to. And that’s the sad, sad, sad tale and moral of today’s video. The grandparents have done nothing wrong. The grandchild has done nothing wrong. Yet they’re never ever going to see each other, enjoy each other, love each other in the future or any other family member cause the rights flow through the parents. And that’s the awful part of termination of parental rights and the biggest mistake sometimes grandparents can make.

So what can you do? If you’re a grandparent, a parent, family member, a neighbor, or friend, and you’ve got a child you know is in foster care, immediately get the child out of foster care.

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