FL - mom punches caseworker and bolts with 5 children

[CHICANA]

Bad decision on the caseworker's part. I can't be behind mom tho. That CPS worker was there for some reason. The caseworker should have had cops there to supervise the handover if this was a planned removal. Poor judgment for the worker not to have. If mom doubted the kids should be taken or thought CPS had no right she should have called the cops herself not beat some social worker!

MOO, there was some sort of justification for removal, at least temporarily. The fact that the mom attacked the worker , anger control issues.

from the link in OP

Alleyne-Babb was reportedly greeted by Atkins, who became enraged when Alleyne-Babb informed her she would be taking her children away and proceeded to attack the case worker.

Simply upon being informed of the worker's intention to remove HER children ?
How should one respond to that ?

 

[tlcya]

So in all these threads we all want to rail at CPS for not doing their jobs, for not removing children quickly enough when it is later proven they were in dire danger. But in this case, because the social worker announced that she intended to remove the children, it warrants being punched because the social worker is picking on this poor homeless woman?

As I have said, IF it turns out that the social worker had no right to attempt to remove the children, I will adjust my opinion accordingly. I was stating my opinion of the situation based off the article linked in the Opening Post, and nothing more.

As mentioned in my previous posts, One should respond to a threat to remove one's children by a social worker by asking to see the warrant, the court order or some documentation stating the probable cause for such removal. And if you feel they do not have a right to remove your kids, you call the police ASAP. One should NOT deck the social worker.

all of the above is MOO, based on the fact that you don't just deck people who show up to give you such distressing news. That's just me.

AGAIN, if the social worker was doing something untoward, IF she put her hands on the other woman and took things to a physical confrontation, IF she had no right to remove the children, I will gladly reexamine my opinion. My opinion was based off the opening post's article only.

 

[burbqueen]

Amen couldnt have said it better.

This woman was wrong. You dont go crazy and start hitting people. Call the cops or something. If she is homeless they I think she should loose her kids especially if they are really young. I have no sympathy for bio parents that cant tae care of their children and keep having more.

 

[not_my_kids]

I would like to see the definition of homeless, as it obviously was not her and the kids living on the street, or they wouldn't have been knocking on a door to take her children, they wouldn't have known where to find her. There is a big difference between "homeless" and "unable to provide housing". Like I said, unless there's a court order, a CPS worker is just like any other person, with no legal authority to take a child from their lawful custodial parent. Until I know whether that court order was filed, I can't blame the mother for fighting off an abductor that was trying to take her children. If there is no order, that's all it was: an abduction.

 

[dsntslp]

If it is ONLY due to homelessness she should have been helped to find suitable housing. With 5 children, I mean more than a shelter. Section 8 housing can be expedited. Maybe she did not qualify, idk.

I suspect there are 3 sides to this story, interesting to follow indeed.

 

[not_my_kids]

Also bear in mind, no AA, no arrest warrant,and it took 5 days for the missing persons report to be filed...not kidnapping, missing persons. That means that the mother is still their custodial guardian, and therefore, there is no court order on file. JMO.

 

[Wise Old Owl]

Well. we might get more info. Channel 6 (NBC) just said in a teaser that "the hunt is over for a mother and her 5 children". They'll have a report on the 11 o'clock news.

I'll update as soon as I hear it and give a link to the channel's website.

 

[dsntslp]

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/...ids-After-Punching-Case-Worker-119808114.html

The mother accused of punching a DCF worker who came to take her kids, then fleeing, was in court Friday to give her children over to authorities and is now being questioned by officials.

DCF caseworker Lovern Alleyne-Babb and a coworker arrived at 404 NW 6th Street in Miami last Friday to remove five children from their home, where they lived with their mother, Canema Atkins.

 

[dsntslp]

"From their home" tells me they were not homeless. A reporting error at the start maybe?

It says in the video at the NBC link that DCF workers are not normally accompanied by police officers in Miami-Dade County.

Thank you for the heads up Wise Old Owl, didn't mean to take over your post.

 

[Wise Old Owl]

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/...ids-After-Punching-Case-Worker-119808114.html

The mother accused of punching a DCF worker who came to take her kids, then fleeing, was in court Friday to give her children over to authorities and is now being questioned by officials.

DCF caseworker Lovern Alleyne-Babb and a coworker arrived at 404 NW 6th Street in Miami last Friday to remove five children from their home, where they lived with their mother, Canema Atkins.

Thankx dsntslp - I didn't think to go look now. I'm really tired tonight - worked outside ALL DAY, but boy o boy does my backyardlook nice!

Interesting to read the comments at the end of the article. And we still don't have any more info on the back story to this.

 

[dsntslp]

I don't see any comments. I only see where it says "Leave Comments" but it is not a clickable link for me

 

[Wise Old Owl]

Interesting. I just clicked the link again and checked. Its the facebook comments - but I guess because I have a facebook acct it logs me in and I can see them. I do not have this link or station as a friend or favorite. My facebook is absolutely blank and not under my name so I don't know how its getting me there. I haven't been doing anything with facebook today so I know I haven't even logged in. I'm guessing that my computer (or the website) is logging me in and after the Leave Comments all the facebook comments show up.

 

[Wise Old Owl]

Ok. Ended up watching another channel. Channel 6 (NBC) wasn't there. CBS have an "interview" with the mother. Now, the mother is kinda smart-azz but.....

The report said the caseworker was responding to a "tip" from the hotline that the children were homeless and the mother was refusing help.

They played the 911 call from the caseworker. There were a couple of 911 calls. It seems the mother's aunt called 911 too - and in that call the aunt says her niece slapped the caseworker.

This all happened last Friday. Yes, she's been gone that long. That's raising some questions within DCF about their reporting and following up.

The mother is not in jail and hasn't been charged. She might be charged with a battery or assault on the caseworker but that LE hasn't interviewed the caseworker.

The kids are in the custody of mom's family for now. So, evidently her family is pretty upright - as we all know about those home studies and such.

IF that is the case and the caseworker was going to remove those children on those allegations coming from the tipline - then, well, I kinda think the caseworker was "jumping the gun".

We'll see.

Just checked the video and story are already up here:

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/04/15/mom-who-allegedly-assaulted-dcf-worker-released/

 

[daisy7]

From WOO's link:

Sources close to the investigation told CBS4 that the state determined the kids needed to be taken into protective custody after it received an abuse hotline call about Atkins and the kids.

The caller claimed they were homeless and Atkins was refusing help and refusing to go to a shelter, according to sources.

When has DCF decided to take custody of kids, just from a call to the tip line? What happened to them doing an investigation?

 

[Charlie09]

Bad decision on the caseworker's part. I can't be behind mom tho. That CPS worker was there for some reason. The caseworker should have had cops there to supervise the handover if this was a planned removal. Poor judgment for the worker not to have. If mom doubted the kids should be taken or thought CPS had no right she should have called the cops herself not beat some social worker!

MOO, there was some sort of justification for removal, at least temporarily. The fact that the mom attacked the worker simply upon being informed of the worker's intention to remove the children says to me, anger control issues.

from the link in OP

Alleyne-Babb was reportedly greeted by Atkins, who became enraged when Alleyne-Babb informed her she would be taking her children away and proceeded to attack the case worker.

Without a court trial and a court order, no one is taking my child under any pretense. I would treat any one who tried the same way as I would a predator.

 

[CarmelEyesD]

I know a young girl of about 25 with 4 kids under 4. She gets a state check of $674 a month, and has to pay rent, gas (heat, in Michigan), electric and water out of it, plus transportation gas. She hadn't gotten any energy assistance yet, even though it was promised to her. She is on a HUD waiting list. Many months she runs short, and has a hard time with extra expenses such as clothing and diapers. CPS started coming in, and a few times she had run out of diapers. They took her kids, and they are now in a foster home, where the foster parent is paid $400 per child. $1600 a month! Why can't the parents receive this kind of money. What sense is it to give a young mom $674 a month, then when the child is removed, the foster parents get almost 3 times that mount to take care of the same children? They took her check away when the state took the kids, and they are making her be in jobworks. She wasn't working, because daycare costs more then what she was making..but without a job or check, she has lost her apartment, and can't get her kids back without a home. She hasn't had any luck finding a job, but has applications all over town (small rural community). It has been 4 months, and she gets to see her kids once a week, for a four hour visit. She is devastated, not to mention how hard it must be on the kids, who had mommy all the time. Wouldn't it have been easier to help this mom out with expenses, diapers, etc? The kids had plenty of food-she had foodstamps and WIC. They are healthy, happy children, with no abuse. Our system needs to be changed. We should have diaper programs like WIC, and more resources to help these young parents keep their kids, not take them away and then pay major amounts to foster care.

 

[CHICANA]

So in all these threads we all want to rail at CPS for not doing their jobs, for not removing children quickly enough when it is later proven they were in dire danger. But in this case, because the social worker announced that she intended to remove the children, it warrants being punched because the social worker is picking on this poor homeless woman?

As I have said, IF it turns out that the social worker had no right to attempt to remove the children, I will adjust my opinion accordingly. I was stating my opinion of the situation based off the article linked in the Opening Post, and nothing more.

As mentioned in my previous posts, One should respond to a threat to remove one's children by a social worker by asking to see the warrant, the court order or some documentation stating the probable cause for such removal. And if you feel they do not have a right to remove your kids, you call the police ASAP. One should NOT deck the social worker.

all of the above is MOO, based on the fact that you don't just deck people who show up to give you such distressing news. That's just me.

AGAIN, if the social worker was doing something untoward, IF she put her hands on the other woman and took things to a physical confrontation, IF she had no right to remove the children, I will gladly reexamine my opinion. My opinion was based off the opening post's article only.

I don't rail against cps for anything other than their lack of common sense and their inability to follow their own laws and guidelines for removing kids. Simply put, they leave kids in homes where they are in obvious danger and remove kids who are safe because mom won't go where they tell her. It's abusive to take children away from their mothers if they aren't abused. It scars them for life.