April 27, 2016

Utter, Eerie Silence

I'm appalled and heartbroken. A lot has happened since my last post. Please read on. (This post is taken from my Facebook page.)

COURT ORDER APRIL 13TH:
I'd like to back up for just a second. There was a TRO signed by the 4th District Court at the end of March, a short time after the Juvenile Court ordered them to Kansas. In this TRO, my father had asked for no contact for 90 days between my mom, me and any other family here in Utah. It had also asked for them to be placed in a reunification program or an "educational process" that is extremely controversial; the Pruter program that we've talked about before. This is what the following hearing was about:
In court on Wednesday the 13th, the 4th District Court dismissed the TRO that was previously signed, and ordered the girls to immediately be placed in the care of a different home and immediately be taken out of the Dorcy Pruter program. The TRO was dismissed on the grounds that the court was not given proper information by my father when it was filed (information such as the fact that he has a recent DCFS finding of abuse). Additionally, my father did not follow the plan that was meant to be followed through Utah and Kansas DCFS with the determination in the ICJ case in Juvenile Court and this was also noted.
As I stated before, the court ordered that Sydney and Dani be immediately removed from our father's unsupervised home and placed with a neutral home that has been background checked. The court also ordered that the girls should be removed from this controversial program right away and meet with an agreed upon, legitimate therapist in order to determine if they even need alienation therapy (which should have happened in the beginning). It was ordered that my mom and I should have supervised supervision/phone calls. I was grateful for this order because it showed that the court was looking out for the best interests of the children.

WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE:
Complete and total silence on our end. We haven't heard one word from my sisters, and my dad is fighting extremely hard to keep it that way. I'm not trying to talk badly about him; the facts speak for themselves:
There was a supervised phone call organized last week for my mom to talk to Syd and Dani, in which my dad's attorney filed a motion to intervene and wouldn't allow it.
My dad is in contempt of court. He has kept them in the Pruter program, refuses to allow the GAL access to my sisters, won't let us talked to them supervised, and has filed a motion to remove the GAL.
Additionally, Sydney and Dani had left certain belongings at Slate Canyon which they specifically informed the workers they wanted to give to my mom. Under no circumstances did they want these items to go to my dad (they included sensitive journal entries). My dad's attorney picked them up and they are in his possession.
Why are children treated as possessions, and not people?? Sydney and Dani are being silenced by their abuser right now. They are 15 and nearly 17. Sometimes I cannot believe how much their voices have been stripped.

3 comments:

  1. You are a true inspiration.

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  2. I am sorry to hear about GAL. I hope some day you and your sisters will found happiness.

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  3. Dear Brittany
    My family have long history with abuse,but I can`t imagine any of us speak about it publicly. I think it`s amazing what you are doing.Your blog make huge difference. My mom can`t forgive my granma, if she speaks about her she`s always angry. Ihat`s why I think it`s really impressive you try not to speak about your father bad and I think it`s moving you still care about your stepmom. When I try speak with my mom about past she can never forgive people who let her down when she was a child and people who let her down when she left my father.

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