You may have heard some of the horror stories from parents.
The Department of Social Services and Child Services are obviously staffed with many well meaning and dedicated people. Unfortunately, there are others within the system that have done great damage to children and families.
I have met one of those families. This Grandmother and Grandfather are genuine people. They believe their three grandchildren were taken from them… kidnapped… without just cause, by a system and people who have not served the best interest of the children and their family.
Here is some of their story as told by the Grandmother:
My name is Nancy Barton and this is my story of Truth:
I am the grandmother of Chloe, Memoree and Jaxson Barton whom was kidnapped on October 15 2014, with no court order or warrant which i know to be true because there is none to be found anywhere and I have asked to see it the last 2 years.
Cps came into my home uninvited and demanded to take the children with no grounds! they were with a 2 sheriffs and a highway trooper, I told them no several times and was threatened with arrest if i did not hand them over.
The children were taken, then they were returned a few days later. We were told by cps to go to their office and fill out papers for guardianship which we did, At that time Iwas undergoing some med changes for anxiety and depression, so my niece had come over and asked to help by taking one of the children temporarily until I could get my meds under control and things in order for the children to live here as their parents were incarcerated for drug abuse. I agreed and let her take the middle child Memoree who was 2 at the time. Jaxson was 1 and Chloe was 4 years old, Chloe I had raised since she was 3 weeks old due to some problems at that time with her mother until she was 1 year old, and then off and on till she was 5. “I did tell cps that I was not sure (in the beginning during the med change) if we could raise the children and needed to talk with my husband, after all it was a very big decision and we were in our late 50’s (It was a mistake to tell them that).
Then my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in California along with my son going to prison for 20 years for drugs so I was a bit stressed during the med change but was doing what needed to be done to care for the kids. I had also been going to a therapist on my own just to have someone to talk to about all that was going on in my life. My husband and I talked and we decided we wanted to raise the children as they were are family and we had the means and room to do so. He is Retired Air Force and had been at Sams Club now for 20 years. We contacted cps and told them ,and all hell broke loose!
Cps had sent a new case worker to my home, a young woman who walked into my home and told me she had not read the case yet so I would need to get her up to speed. I knew we were in trouble then. She never had the papers she needed for me on monthly visits and never seemed to know anything I would ask her. It would take weeks to get what I needed from her. Next a councilor showed up. She would become our nightmare also! She seemed nice and helpful at first but then the baby started biting and pulling his sisters hair which most babies do when they get their teeth, she decided along with the workers he needed an evaluation. I was not allowed to go which concerned me, They told me the test came back saying he had cognitive issues (no way), because I knew these children were normal. The paperwork I was given in the beginning also stated there were no health or other issues and they were normal children.
So in 2015 cps and the councilor showed up to inform my husband and I that they would be taking Jaxson to a foster home because he was biting and he needed discipline and I had to much on my plate to deal with! I begged them not to take him but they put him in a home with 6-8 other little ones and let us see him once a week on Saturdays. It broke my heart as he would cry when I took him back and so would I. I also begged the kids attorney to help me keep the baby but she told me Quote- “I am going on vacation so handle it yourself!”
Then my niece decided she did not want Memoree anymore and by this time she had gotten her foster license, I tried to get her back and cps said no and took her to another foster home and would not tell me where she was for 5 weeks although I would call every other day to ask about her. I had no idea where she was at all and they would tell me nothing, Then one day I called to make an appointment to see the baby and was told by the foster mom that he was sent to another foster home 2 and a half hours away for a higher level of therapy. I was stunned , devastated and angry that I was not told this before hand, I tried to see him but they said no for 5 weeks. Meanwhile I called cps again to see Memoree. It had been 5 weeks, and was told yes I could see her at Mc Donalds with her foster mom for 1 hour. She was being taken to be with her little brother the next day. I asked why only 1 hour? The worker told me because the foster mom was close to her and wanted more time with her! Of course I was very upset over that with good reason, but i agreed. The foster mom told me she did not make that statement when I asked her about it, and had she known I existed I could have seen Memoree anytime I wanted. I was so heart broken, Now I was to loose 2 of them, Cps told me she had transition issues and that’s why she was being moved again, making no sense what so ever!
It would be another 5 weeks before we could see them again because I was told they needed to settle in. So in the meantime I concentrated on Chloe getting her in school and in Gymnastics and church also Awanas which she loved all 3. She had lots of friends and was content and happy. We made arrangements to see the other 2 children with cps giving us only 2 and a half hours every 2 weeks. We had to drive that far one way to visit but that was OK and worth it to see them. We went rain snow or sun it did not matter.
Then came Chloe, Cps showed up one day and told my husband an I that we needed to take a 10 week Pride Class course if we wanted to adopt so we said OK. 6 weeks into the Class they came over again and asked us to drop out of the class because we were not getting the children back, we told them no and my husband asked them to leave but before they did I was told to take an evaluation with their Doctor. I asked for my own and they said no it had to be with one of theirs. I did in fear that if I didn’t they would take Chloe. It took a long time for the results to come back and was told by cps to call them and ask what the hold up was. The Dr said cps kept sending them stuff so it would be a bit longer, which made no sense to me. When we would visit I would tell the children I was working on getting them home and then I would be suspended from seeing them for saying that!
Finally the report came in. We had finished the pride class and got a certificate, but was denied the license because it was tainted saying I had mental issues, and also would not comply with what they wanted. I did all they wanted and never missed a visit with the kids. I then started writing to Senators and the Governor and anyone else Icould think of and no one wanted anything to do with it, they passed the buck to someone else! I have letters from them also! So now they are after Chloe, I get a call telling me i need to go to take a drug test that someone turned me in for drugs. I gladly go take the test, and ended up having to take 4 of them, on the last one they told me my meds were not showing up on the test but cannabinoids did. I would stop my meds every so often to body cleanse as I have an Interstem Implant that controls my bowels and the meds would interfere with my bowels by constipation which was very painful, so I would stop them for a while but was doing fine, and the cannabinoids I could not figure out how they got there didn’t even know what that was at the time. So they took us to court to take Chloe, My attorney cost us 6 grand for doing nothing for 3 weeks! We were not allowed to bring in any witness’s or proof of anything, I had found out that on my search to see what had went wrong that my sister in California had sent some cream to me for pain in the Knees and joints. I had no idea at that time it was made with pot, although I did know she made cream for my moms leg pain, but did not know the ingredients,, and never asked because I knew my sister did not smoke it.
She told me yes that it was made with pot, I was furious , Had I known I would never had used it which was only one time on my knees and feet. I was using a lotion made with hemp from Wal-Mart, so i thought that was also ok since it was sold in our stores, little did i know it would be my downfall! ‘ My sister sent an affidavit with the ingredients and said I had no idea what what was in it, which the judge would not look at or even discuss. H said that was not why they were taking Chloe, it was because i was not complying with what cps wanted and based it all on what cps and the councilor told him. The councilor said I would not let her visit Chloe during the summer… not true. She called me and said she didn’t feel the need to come out any more that Chloe was doing great, but did not report it to cps. When cps called me a few months later to ask why, I told her what I was told by the councilor. She did not believe me and told me to get her back in to counseling which I did the next week. I was angry at all of them because I knew I was being set up to loose them all. She came back for a few visits saying she did not know why she was needed and she would pretend to give me a book on parenting classes that cps wanted me to do. Again I did not trust her. In Dec of 2015 the councilor came over and played games with Chloe, then she called me and said her kids were sick she could not come over. That went on for a week then she texted me again and says she is in the hospital sick for 2 weeks. “I wish to God i had kept that text cause I kept all records of everything else. They had succeeded in taking my last baby to be with her siblings. I had to come home and tell her she had to go live with her siblings, I thought I was going to die, They came and took her the next morning Jan 7th 2016, “When they left I fell to my knees in the snow and screamed and cried for hours it seemed not feeling the cold at all, it was like they had ripped her from my own womb and I would never be the same again. I appealed and was told I was not capable of raising any children although I had helped with several of the other 16 grandchildren and had 3 older ones off and on as they were growing up that made it through high school and on to productive jobs.
The last 3 in custody Chloe, Mems and Jax made 19 grandchildren in all, They belonged to my son Jason in prison along with the 2, I just mentioned. They also belonged to him with different mothers, then 1 child came to us from North Dakota when he was 8 with lice and black rotten teeth. His mother was in trouble and sent him to his dad, my oldest son, he is now in his mid 20’s with a son of his own, so we have helped with 6 children in all over the years, We continued our visits every 2 weeks with the kids moved a few hours away no matter what. We were jerked around and played with by cps all the time if I said anything they did not like we were stopped from visiting for weeks at a time, Chloe told me on one visit her foster mom did not like her and gave her doll away. We would always take the kids gifts and to eat when we visited, she stood up and said “Grandma, do you know why can’t we come home?” I said no, why baby? She said “because they say you cant take care of us”. The therapist jumped up and said now Chloe that is not true, you could tell Chloe was in shock and did not know what to say. I told her Yes baby I can take care of you all and I will get u all home, that was reported and visits stopped again of 2 weeks.
Then in June 2016, the day before we were to see them I called and asked what time, cps told me we could not see them ever again and they had a court order. It was because the kids cried to come home after visits and it disrupted them and the foster mom! I have asked to see that order a million times even the judge said I will see it and never have! Now a year is coming up this June since I have seen them. I have no idea where they are or how they are. We are not allowed to know anything as they are in a forced adoption, Several of my family out of state has tried to get them to no avail, and my daughter here who has raised her 5 kids was kicked out of the pride class because of bogus reasons, they wont let any family see them! This is so wrong and we have all been damaged by it, We want our grandchildren back! why should they suffer and be lost to us? ITS WRONG! They are loosing their heritage and all cousins, aunts and uncles. for profit! to the cps. I also have a restraining order on me for 5 years by cps because I stood and handed out anti cps fliers, put them on cars and in buildings. I emailed the 2 workers posts on Nancy Schaffer and others that were trying to expose cps, and I made the mistake of telling them I would take them to court and I hoped they had their affairs in order. They took that and turned it around saying i was stalking them and they feared for their lives! I never threatened anyone or stalked them! “I wanted them to know I was now an advocate and show them what was going on with children being taken, (So that was a mistake on my part,) and now I can not go within 100 feet of cps or the 2 workers, no calls, or emails. I can call there district regional manager and talk to her but when I do she tells me we will never see them again and hangs up on me! I have admitted my mistakes, but I see now I trusted them in the beginning and that was wrong! I will never make that mistake again and I will get my grand kids back, I have to believe that to survive! I miss and love them dearly as you all see every day by what I post! and I “PRAY TO GOD TO KEEP THEM SAFE”!
***Gordon Howie is an author and CEO of Life and Liberty Media***
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IIm so sorry, the same thing almost has happened to me. they first took my sons children then came took my three i was raising and tried for my oldest daughters but it took them almost a year but they hit her so all my grandkids except 2 were taken by cps they took my two granddaughters 3 snd 4 to an unknown location but the others i kno where they ate 5 mins from me but um not allowed to see them at all. im worroed to death they have been a part of trafficking out already adopted. i hired an attorney here told me he’d file for ask three children since my court appt attorney didn’t well us been months snd he tells me here didn’t file for no one but there boy he lied all those months now i have no easy to get my girls back ive had them since the youngest was born andcthe 4yr old steadu for three yrs abs off snd on four one so they are like my own and Im broken beyond repair ian so afraid of never seeing them again i can’t even fathom that idea…i feel like ill never be ok i feel like i wanna die sometimes i feel like they are thinking mawmaw don’t love us anymore she’s hasn’t come snd gotten us yet i justfeel so horrible i passed every drug screen did everything they said and never hit them back i will never give up im hope and pray to God i get my grandson back in my appeal he’s prob never gonna be the same as well the girls either i was their heart snd them mine. idk where or what to do but i can assure you i will never stop trying to get them. I’ll being praying for and the pray yhat the president will get in the ball and do something about cps and send the kids home that we’re taken illegally. no warrant no signed letter from judge is how they are taking all kids now.. good luck Nancy! Ill keep you in my prayers ..
I want to know your thoughts on parent aileination Mr Howie.My son in law has children in Rapid city .One child has gone to get married the other is now 16yr s old.But every since they were allowed to have cell phones the mother had kept them either on their phone or in text messages all during the kids waking hours while on visits with their dad..My son in law is a good decent man.He pays all his child support on time.He is christain man never abuised his kids.We loved our grandchildren so dearly.They are my grandbabies no matter not born to my daughter.These kids a had a huge family from our side.His ex wifes family hates my son in law because their daughter is divorced from my son in law.My son in laws ex is remarried and has more children .This is a awful thing to brainwash your kids from enjoying their time with the other parent.I know these kids don’t dare speak to their dad because it wouldn’t be favorable to his ex and her family.How awful to intimidate kids this way.Oh we know she doesn’t say out right bad things about my son in law and our family.She is way to clever to do that .Its just an unspoken understanding these kids have if they dare to miss us.I haven’t mentioned names because the mothers father is your friend and my daughter is a friend on your facebook.
Prayer is always a good place of first resort. Sometimes it is the place of ONLY resort. It is sad to see such disfunction and hurt in families. I have come to the conclusion that it will not end until/unless we turn our lives over to God. I pray that God will move in a mighty way to heal the hurt in your family!
If Governor elect Noem has any compassion for children, she will help you get you kids back. She will alo bring justice for Brady Fowkens. The Legislators need to start representing the people over party.
I wish… i have tried to talk to her and i am ignored
Well I am still fighting for the kids, I never did find the court order the said they had in the beginning .. We still do not know where or how the kids are and I am so hurt and worried that they think we have abandoned them, I finally did get the court order stopping us from seeing the kids from June but I got it late September and dated in September, so they did not have it when I was told they did in June,,, that’s 3 months we could have seen them,, I called the Director of DSS and she would hang up on me then blocked all emails,, I went to court in an appeal.. Mrs. Lora Hubbel came all the way from Sioux Falls to go with me, we set their in court till everyone had their turn but I was never called, we found out A bit later that my court time and date had been changed with no warning to the next week but not before I was told I was late to court ..which I was not and Mrs Hubbel was there to verify that I was there quite awhile before my time,, I did go the next week and was denied the judge taking the restraining order off me although I wrote a letter of apologie to the court and the 2 workers. For something I didn’t enen do, The workers said they feared me so the judge kept it on me, this is to keep me out of their way. Now I was told the kids ate adopted but I do not believe it and neither does my new attorney,, we filed a motion but the one that represents CP’s filed a written resistance, so we filed aan Opposition,, now we wait for the judge for a hearing..I will expose them and there corrupt tactics.. God and my attorney will prevail.
We got notice from family court the new judge, Brown talked to Roxi Erickson who is a Deputy District attorney for cps, and helped cps take the.kids, she said no hearing, they would not open the case, it was sent back to the judge that took them judge Mandel he sided with her,, so we filed in Pierre SD where we last saw the kids to Surprem court. They said I had no standing,, we re’appealed,, then they said it had been to long and wont open the case, so i still after 2 years have no idea where or how they are, I pray and cry alot the kids had never been with anyone but me and my husband,, and chloe is a head strong girl very smart,,they all are,, i miss them and some days i think i will die from heartache,
Have your son keep his address updated with the County Adoption Division. All of you do 23nMe DNA testing and go to the LDS Church and start your family genealogy with each child’s name. Register with Lori Carangelo @AMFOR and look at Federal Supreme Court filing of Civil Rights violations. Attorney Shawn MacMillan holds seminars. God bless you and your family 🙏
I am still trying to find the kids , i have become an Advocate for families taken advantage of by cps, they have caused me and family so much stress, my babies were put in a forced adoption ,, Why?? Money,, thats the only reason. And meaness from cps. I have never been so broken hearted in my life and will never heal . I know the babies wonder what happened to us why we never came back, its got to be so hard on them.
No one cares,,, So many families split for little or no reasons.
The judges are corrupt and side with cps no matter how hard u try u are set up for failure. Our kids and grands loose all family they know, never to be seen again and we wonder, worry and cry because we have no idea if they are safe or not. Its unbearable, parents are commiting suiside, so are kids, they are put with pedofiles, murderes, they are abused, lied to and some never live long enough to grow up to be able to come home,
I have a Fence called Voices of the children, I have over 2000 wood plaques on it of children kidnapped by cps and more names coming in every day, each plaque contains one family between 1 and 10 names,
It must stop! We must get our babies back its our job to love and care for them not strangers! I will never give up on them, or the children on my fence.
I found out after 4 yrs now that my grandbabies are adopted together and in SD still. I want to be in their lives, if nothing else, I will find them.
File a lawsuit against them. Or go to the board of directors of social Services or even go to a newspaper. But you gotta file a lawsuit against them.
Have your attorney file a lawsuit
This is my cousin and her grandchildren. I want to personally thank you for sharing her story. We come from a very large, close family. These actions have had an impact on our family as a whole.
What is a family to do when something like this happens and they do not have the funds or financial means to continue to hire attorneys? When life savings have been depleted, emotions have ran high and their loved ones are still estranged, are they to just give up hope and move on?
People spend their life saving, mortgage their homes etcetera to pay attorneys and still to no prevail. Only to be left dealing with a corrupt broken system all alone.
I know in this case, several family members have tried or offered to step in and take the children into their homes, but were told NO or refused information needed to complete the task.
How is it possible for some government employee (social worker) to determine what is in the best interest of the child/children involved, when no abuse or neglect is present? How does one person or agency get that much power in determining what is best for entire families? How are they allowed to continue too made decisions by placing children elsewhere, remove them from the only family and home they have ever known, when their own blood relatives have offered to take them?
Where is the justice for children that will carry the scars and mental trauma the rest of their lives that have been caused by a “social workers” recommendation, or agency pressure?
I believe the system broke somewhere along the road. When an agency representative has the best interest of the family as a whole, that representative will make recommendations on how to keep the family together.
Thank you for being a voice for these families. I pray to our Father in Heaven that these children are returned to their families, that this evil corrupt country will return to its roots and morals of Family, Faith and God.
God Bless you for your help.
Nancy is one of several families in SD that I listen to with the same problem (CPS) and wish to Almighty God that I could help. Keep praying that corruption is exposed and cleaned up in our once-great SD.
Thank You,
Mr. Howie for publishing this, I hope it brings awareness to every one!
God Bless You!
Thank You to my Cousin Kandy and to Mrs Hubbel for the Replies, Hope and Faith.
We have still not been able to see the kids and it is now Sept 2018. My Heart aches so bad for them and so do my arms, I had found an Attorney where the kids were last seen in Pierre SD, He appealed the the courts here in Rapid City twice but they would not open the case so we went to Supreme Court and the first time i was denied a hearing with them saying I had no standing, how can that be? I was a constant in their lives from birth, Chloe and the other children came home after being born to live at my home, There life, friends, toys, rooms relatives are all here and started at my home with my husband and myself! My Dad passed away of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in Jan of 2017 I was there with him in California helping to take care of him and mom at my sisters home, We watched as he passed away,, our hearts are broken and i am still fighting for the kids from afar,, I was out there almost a year while my husband was back home in SD working, Then mom passed 8 months later in Sept 16 she went into a diabetic coma 1 day before her Birthday and passed 2 days later on the 16th, We had to let her go and take her off life support as we were told she would never come back to us! My heart is in so much pain i fear i will never be the same, My babies are gone and my loving parents ,,I am on hold now but i will go to Federal court soon i hope to get Justice and my babies back! THEY ARE MINE, but for now i PRAY all the time they are together and safe,, some days i feel as if i will die i hurt so bad!
Well it is now Oct 2019, Still have not found the kids,
I dont know where they are, who they are with if they are together and safe or dead !
Its a constant 24/7 thought. Its death all over, every day. Groundhog Day. So hard, My Heart aches to the point that i may die of Broken Heart Syndrome. I NEED HELP FINDING THEM.
I have no attorney,, I had 2 but both did nothing but cost me 30 grand.
Please Dear God send someone to step in and have the knowledge to help me find and get my babies back home to me and grandpa!