In her quest to help foster children, Candy Jeffries experiences shock and betrayal when she has to place her own son in the System, and realizes that safety and stability is not an issue with them. As she becomes aware of the corruption and abuse of power, her heart breaks for those who cannot or are not allowed a voice. As Candy continues to foster, she survives a divorce, marries her childhood sweetheart, sees her own son go to prison, and is exposed to sexual, physical, and emotional behaviors in the children and adults that she has never expected to experience. In her pursuit to hold the System accountable, sadness and fear are balanced with hope and happiness, as the System endeavors to shut her down. Read what can happen in the System, from inspection of facilities, to infractions that would otherwise be questionable, or are often temporarily masked. This book provides both the perspective and insight of a mother and child's experiences with the System; through their lives and the impact it caused.
Fighting the System
A Foster Mother's JournalBy Lilly StarAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2010 Lilly Star
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4520-1283-4Contents
1. The Decision to Foster Children.............................................................12. Austin, Belinda and Foster Children – The Early Years..................................53. Austin, Surgeries and Sammy..................................................................94. Mental Illness and Power Hungry Workers......................................................135. Schools, Law Enforcement and Witchcraft......................................................236. Sex, Alcoholism and Court....................................................................317. Infidelity, a Dream and a Tattoo.............................................................398. From Depression to Anticipation..............................................................459. David, Drugs, and Finding a Placement for Austin.............................................5110. Austin's Removal, Sammy's Regression, and The Agency's Decision..............................7711. Deaths, Thefts and Visitation Danger.........................................................9512. Silver Things, Prison and an Overdose........................................................10513. Group Homes, Molly and Jeff..................................................................12314. A Drunk, Austin's Release and Fighting the System for Caleb..................................12915. Annie........................................................................................13516. Inhalants, Dishonest Power People and Teachers of Confusion..................................14117. Fighting for Sammy's Education and Mr. Andrew's Car..........................................15118. Fighting for Transportation, Education and Adoption..........................................15919. Church Camp, Incompetent Teachers and Injustice to Sammy.....................................16720. The Betrayal Begins, Exposing the Teacher and Investigations.................................18121. New Friends, Fighting to Keep Sammy, Traitors in the Midst and the Trial.....................18922. Accusations..................................................................................20123. Graduation, Manipulation and Clarence........................................................20924. Unqualified Power People, and Inaccurate Reports.............................................22125. Exposing Pearl and Matthew and The Children's Removal........................................22726. Credible Liars, Grandchildren and Clarence's Arrest..........................................237
Chapter One
The Decision to Foster Children
Candy had been raised with a strong sense of family values and convictions. Her grandparents had played a big part in her life. When she was very young, she had a major illness that left her heart weak. For a year, she had to be flat on her back in bed. Because there were other children at her maternal parent's home, and Candy needed to have total quiet bed rest, she was sent to live with her maternal grandparents.
Although the illness was at such a young age, Candy's body never quite completely recovered, and she required continual attention throughout her life. Candy had to undergo several surgeries. Her organs seemed to be weaker than most people, and wore out a lot sooner. Her aunt and uncles gave her lots of attention and she was pretty much raised as a single child with importance put on putting God first, and that nothing was really as bad as it seemed. By the time she started Kindergarten, she was living between her parent's and sibling's home and her grandparent's home. This arrangement continued until Candy graduated from high school.
The family had a lot of humor and always made the best of a bad situation. They were taught to show kindness and respect to everyone, regardless of their social status. There were always extra people for special occasions such as birthdays and holidays and it was common practice to invite those who lived alone. With lots of loving people to be around, Candy was determined to teach her own children to care for and help others less fortunate than themselves.
When Candy first met Ben at her work place and they dated she had convinced herself that she could finally love someone she could spend the rest of her life with. Within six months they were engaged. The following summer they married.
They resided in a small neighborhood in Midwestern Ohio where both sets of their parents lived only a few blocks away. They felt fortunate that their parents were able to play an important part raising their two children, Austin and Belinda. Their family was involved in church, and they sent their kids to a private school.
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The longer they were married, the more Ben seemed to pull away from Candy and the children, paying less and less attention to any of them. Candy could recall that when their daughter Belinda was born, Ben had told Candy that he was disappointed that Belinda was not a boy.
Belinda was a lot like Candy: calm, intelligent, happy, and helpful. But the child was asthmatic, and allergic to plastic. Cardboard and paper sacks caused a reaction immediately when they came in contact with her skin. Pets, like cats and dogs, were not allowed.
Belinda was a couple of years older than Austin. Even when Austin was born, Ben didn't seem to want to spend time with him either.
Austin had been a very active loving child. It seemed that every time Candy turned around, she had to take him to the emergency room for stitches. Cursed with sleep walking, Candy kept a continual ear opened, to times he might walk outside.
It was around the age of four that Austin's personality; his love for adventure and his rebel attitude for life seemed to develop. He wanted to play outside for hours. He went through a phase where he threw bricks through windows. Not just his house windows and garage, he even managed to break the neighbor's windows too. He liked hearing glass break. Twice he was hit by a car and twice he had nearly drowned. It seemed like he was a walking disaster.
Austin wore glasses that were guaranteed for a year. However, the fourteenth time Candy took his broken glasses in to get a new pair, the doctor finally told her that he could no longer replace the glasses for free.
The older he got, the harder it was to find a sitter for him. Even his grandparents went through periods of time when they just had to say no when Candy would ask one of them to watch him for a while. When he walked into a room, everybody would leave.
Candy could remember the day in August when Austin was diagnosed with diabetes. He was only seven years old. Ben had spent the entire day in the garage crying, because he had become a diabetic a couple of years earlier, and he blamed himself for Austin's illness. It seemed that after this, Ben almost hated his son. There was little interaction between them. To Austin it seemed like he couldn't please his father, no matter how hard he tried, and Candy was the only one who accepted his hyperactive behaviors. It was at this time that Candy decided that God had chosen her to be a solo parent for Austin.
Grandma Bertha, Ben's mother, was always a respite. Her youngest child Mary was the only girl, and only two years older than Belinda. Mary and Belinda and Austin grew up as siblings and spent a lot of time...
