My Niece Was Taken by Protective Services Over the Weekend, Can I Get Her Back

My question involves child abuse or neglect in the State of: Alabama

Yesterday afternoon my brother was arrested along with his girlfriend. He has a 6 year old daughter that happened to be at my home yesterday when he was arrested. She has been with me and my family for a couple of weeks now, because my brothers girlfriend has left claw marks on the child's face. The police department asked me to bring Destiny in so they could talk with her about what happened so I drove her to the station. There they called DHR and DHR placed the child in my custody. The child returns to school on Monday so I went by the motel my brother and his girlfriend had been staying in the past several weeks to try and collect some of the child's belongings. The girlfriend had been released from jail earlier, I suppose because she was at the hotel, when I knocked on the door no one answered so I left and went back down to the parking lot and was getting in my car to leave when the girlfriend and the girlfriends mom runs after me in the parking lot cussing and yelling at me. I was trying to leave, the girlfriends mother is behind my car yelling and I couldn't back up, the next thing I know is she is on the ground yelling to call the police, she had fell down (you could smell alcohol on her breath) but she was saying she was assalted. I had to go back to the police station after this incident and at this point DHR took my niece into protective services because they said I put her in harms way by going over there to get her things. Is that true? Also my niece has a hearing Monday and the lady said it may be hard for me to get her back then, or even that I probably wont get her back. Is this possible? I made a mistake by going over there I suppose but I only had the intention of getting the child's things, whatever it was I didn't mean to do it. I can provide well for my niece and she has been around me and my family all her life, as I have a daughter the same age as her and she and my niece are very close. Will I have any problems getting my niece back Monday? IS there anything I can do before Monday??

Quote:

---

Quoting bnw9959

---

they said I put her in harms way by going over there to get her things. Is that true?

---

It sure could be a good argument. You brought the child WITH you? To the girlfriend who had already supposedly left scratch marks on the child's face? Yeah, that's going to bother protective service people. The common sense thing would be to keep the child as FAR away as possible, not take the child TO the person accused of abuse against her. The MUCH better course would have been going WITHOUT the child, if the only goal was to collect the child's belongings (and seriously, what belongings does a 6 year old have that would be SO important as to have to take the child with you into such a potentially confrontational situation).

In the bigger picture, the very poor judgment of taking the child right back into the presence of a person recently arrested for potential crimes against the child is NOT going to give ANY judge a sense of warm comfort that you're willing or able to put the child's safety and best interests first. The child's physical and emotional safety is WAY more important than the child's "stuff". It might have been a "mistake", but it's a mistake that put the child in potential danger, and frankly, I don't see DHR putting the child back into your care. Just like when mothers being abused keep exposing their children to the abusers, same principle here. Google the term "failure to protect". It's why kids get taken away from abusive situations between the adults in their lives, and is now going to be a major concern for you being able to be named a temporary guardian for this child.

You really need to be speaking to an attorney, ASAP, if you are to have any hope of this child coming back into your care. And, getting a clearer picture of what this child REALLY needs (safety, protection, someone who can be trusted to keep her from harm's way, NOT her stuff).

Quote:

---

the lady said it may be hard for me to get her back then, or even that I probably wont get her back. Is this possible?

---

You're NOT going to be in the court's top 10 choices, that's for sure.

Quote:

---

I made a mistake by going over there I suppose but I only had the intention of getting the child's things, whatever it was I didn't mean to do it.

---

Doesn't matter if you MEANT to or not. You did. That's going to put your judgment into serious question with the court.

Quote:

---

I can provide well for my niece

---

Then why not get her NEW stuff, instead of taking her around a person who recently attacked her to get her OLD stuff?????? And again, what does a 6 year old possess that makes retrieving it SO important as to bring the child into that situation?

Quote:

---

Will I have any problems getting my niece back Monday?

---

Probably BIG problems, yes.

Quote:

---

IS there anything I can do before Monday??

---

A lot of praying. And a lot of reading up on the concept of "failure to protect", because that's the element that is going to bite you in the fanny with the judge.

What were you told about contact with the parents after you received the initial grant of custody from DHR?