Dorothy Spears’ grandson has become the unfortunate center of a custody dispute that has plagued his young life. At just under three years old, he serves as a glaring example of the failures within New York’s Family Court system. The Department of Social Services in St. Lawrence County, where the boy’s foster parents reside, has also let down both the toddler and his desperate family.
“All I want is my grandson,” exclaimed Ms. Spears in her heartfelt interview with Times Union reporter Raga Justin. She shared the story of the boy’s ordeal in the hopes of shedding light on his situation. “I simply want him to be surrounded by the love of his own family. He deserves that right.”
To her credit, Ms. Spears acknowledged that her son and his girlfriend, both diagnosed with bipolar disorder, were unfit to raise the child they were expecting. Eager to help, she offered herself as a guardian, a solution to which the child’s parents agreed. The fact that Ms. Spears and her husband reside within close proximity to their extended familial network, including their children and grandchildren, made their home an ideal placement for the child.
And that should have been the end of the story. However, just two days after the child’s birth, the St. Lawrence County Department of Social Services intervened, forcibly removing the child for Child Protective Services placement. Shockingly, the boy was relocated to the home of a longstanding employee of the county DSS.
In other words, an agency with the power to decisively take custody of the child instead chose to place him with one of its own staff members. The clear conflict of interest is not only alarming but also outrageous.
While the county’s DSS has since prohibited this practice, Ms. Spears’ grandson remains in the care of the county employee and her spouse. This is primarily due to the incompetence and dysfunction within the Family Court system. The system is plagued by procedural errors, understaffing, high turnover rates, and delayed or rescheduled hearings. Astonishingly, five separate judges from the Family Court have presided over this drawn-out custody case that shows no signs of resolution.
Ms. Spears and her husband, living in Tennessee, find themselves trapped in a nightmarish dystopia. How much longer must this family endure? When will a judge step up and render a final decision? How do all the judges who have briefly presided over this case justify the ongoing disaster in light of their responsibility to the child?
Perhaps most troubling is the lasting impact that this incompetence has had on the boy’s life – a factor that may paradoxically influence a judge’s eventual decision. The child now refers to his foster father as “dad” and has never known any other home. He has never experienced the warmth of his grandparents’ dwelling or played with his paternal cousins.
At this stage, moving the child would likely cause traumatic effects with long-lasting consequences, for which the Family Court system and county DSS bear full responsibility. They must take ownership. The judges must accept accountability. The government is to blame for this disgraceful mess.
And Ms. Spears waits, hopeful for resolution.
