February 19, 2016

Detention Hearing and Recent Updates

Detention hearing 2/12/16 and other updates: My father, Brian, is in Utah. Sydney and Dani have been in detention for 48 days.

The morning of Friday, February 12th, my mom submitted signed paperwork from the GAL giving her consent for Sydney and Dani to participate in therapy, and my dad was ordered to have his therapy papers for my sisters signed by Tuesday so that the girls could begin working with a therapist from Slate Canyon. We waited to hear if the papers were submitted on time, because the next hearing would be one of two different days, dependent on when he completed them. We heard back Tuesday night that he finished them, so court would be held regular time tomorrow (Friday).
Continuing with updates from the 12th: the GAL had not yet seen any requisition paperwork and stated that it should have been turned in long ago. The attorney representing my dad stated that the requisition had been started/filed and that he was still trying to obtain counsel, however the GAL responded saying that it is "aggravating to their office" that the father's updates on the requisition process haven't been given at all. It was stated by another attorney that if the father has been moving with this process "as fast as he can", it is absolutely ridiculous that the girls have been in jail for 41 days with zero updates.
Dani spoke at the end of her hearing and briefly stated that she doesn't feel like a criminal in Slate Canyon, and although Sydney didn't say anything in court that day, they've both expressed to me how much they appreciate the wonderful teachers and leaders working with them there in our visits together. Our family is very grateful that they are with such a kind and supportive staff there. Although I still believe the girls need treatment in a different type of environment than a detention center, I feel that is a tremendous blessing.
My dad is in Utah and will be (to the best of my knowledge) attending court tomorrow. This was recently discovered as we have spent the last two weeks unable to serve him with the petition in Kansas, due to him being here beyond our knowledge. I'm not sure quite what to expect for tomorrow. I do believe that my father has intentionally withheld updates on the requisition process as some kind of tactic, because if he had truly finished them as he has stated, there is no reason the GAL's office and court had absolutely no word from him. I also believe he may try to show up in court tomorrow with an order from a Kansas judge, even without following proper Utah laws for the requisition process, and try to get my sisters sent to him as soon as this weekend. As I said, I don't know what to expect.
I will keep you all informed as quickly as possible. Not knowing what time court would be for part of this week threw me off a bit. Thank you so much for your support and prayers on the girls' behalf! Please let me know if you have any additional questions I may be able to answer about current happenings, or anything in specific. You can follow my/their Facebook page by clicking here. Please, please keep sharing the blog and their Gofundme for donations to help them have the voice they deserve.

No comments:

Post a Comment