(Murphy Minors)

It was Friday, January 10. We were both at work when Kevin received a phone call from our house saying that Child Protective Services were there with our children and the State Police.

Stating that they were removing our kids from our home.

Kevin asked them to wait he'd come straight home, they gave him 10 minutes to get there.

They had a search warrant for an X-rated video only and since the kids were the only ones' home they searched the whole house before we got there.

Kevin called me at work from home to tell me what was going on but, I worked 45 minutes away and they refused to wait (one of the State Police officers had something to do) for me to get home to say goodbye so they just took them.

State Police Detective Watt asked us to come to the police station and answer a few questions so when I got home at about 5:30 we went straight to the station.

They questioned Kevin for two hours still not explaining much of anything to us.

Just that Kelly had talked to someone at school saying she was tired of getting beaten (These are Family Independence Words) We later found out Kelly said spanked.

After the allegations from Kelly changed from spankings to beating sexual abuse allegations were brought against Kevin toward Derick but, not by Derick.

I was questioned next for two hours after about one hour of questions Detective Watt said "Oh, by the way this isn't a formal questioning you don't have to talk to us if you don't want to.

We don't need to even read you your rights." By Monday morning we received papers in the mail stating they were placing our names on the Michigan Central Registry of Child Abusers for Allegations of Child Abuse.

By June Kevin's name was added to the Michigan State Central Registry for Sexual Abusers.

This happening after Judge McLaughlin dropped all sexual allegations from all court records and proceedings and us agreeing to a plea bargain to get the children returned home faster if we plead to having a temper and slapping of Kelly's mouth If all other charges were dropped.

Thinking our kids would come right home after this happened.

We have since appealed Kevin's name and the Sexual Abuse Registry and won in a Judicial Review hearing.

Ron Philburn the protective service worker talked and acted like he was going to be our best friend and that he was going to help us get our family back together again.

But, in fact all he did do was use everything and anything we said against us and turn it around to fit his needs.

It was found at this court date that we needed an attorney so court was adjourned and we asked for a court appointed attorney (Mr. Greer) for $40.00 a month.

We got to see our kids for the first time since they were taken that following Thursday, January 16th at the Clare Family Independence Office.

The first thing both kids did was run into our arms and ask if they could go home.

Kelly cried almost the whole hour telling her dad how sorry she was and that she loved us both so much.

Derick was crying, withdrawn, acting out and regressing badly.

He was very angry about being stared at through the glass mirror and them being there and that we couldn't be alone and they couldn't just go home with us.

The next visit was set up for the following week at the same time of 4pm and the same day.

We went to court the following week with our new attorney Mr.

Michael Greer and this time the hearing was adjourned until the first week of February for a pre-trial hearing.

After we read the allegations that were against us and had a chance to respond to them with a not guilty plea.

There was a pre-trial hearing date set for February 10th.

In the mail we received a suggested service plan from the Family Independence Agency and so we started to get to work on what was written in there.

We immediately joined a parenting class being held in Mt.

Pleasant by Kim Seidel for nine weeks.

(There were no classes offered in Clare County at that time.) We liked the class so much that we took a second course right after the first one Some of the things we learned we were already doing like time outs and loss of privileges and such but, we also learned new ways of doing old things.

We had another hearing in March which was for the gathering of facts and the trial being set for the end of April.

All paper work and facts were exchanged and released sooner and the State Police report found nothing on Kevin for the sexual charges and it was closed and the trial was moved up to April 10th.

This is where the plea bargain took place and unsupervised extended visits were recommended by the Judge.

The next hearing was set for May 12th by the time this hearing came around us still had received not even a half an hour extra.

The judge again recommended our visits extended adding also weekend and working to get the children home by the end of school.

Our next hearing is set now for August 8th.

Everything by the May 12th court date that was asked for on the service plan is done and completed.

In July Family Independence Agency notifies us that the psychological evaluations we had done by Dr.

Jill Awtry are not sufficient that actually what they meant to say they wanted was psychological testing.

While the kids were in Foster Care in the month of May, Derick suddenly got into trouble at the foster parents' house with their 3-year-old granddaughter for something called bottom to bottom.

When I asked Derick what this was he told me he didn't know but, Kelly told me Derick told her it was when one person put their naked butt against the other persons naked butt.

Derick told Len the foster fathers that he learned this from Kevin's father (He died in 1986) Derick never met him.

We adopted the kids in 1994.

I got in trouble at the August court date for asking Derick what this was and Kevin and I were both accused of whispering to the kids during visits.

So now our visits would have to be strictly supervised no more going outside or playing in the gym.

All that was left to do was sit around a conference table for an hour and a half and talk or maybe play a game.

The kids were so bored we tried everything bringing dinner with us bringing new games and crafts the visits were as fun and relaxed as we could make them under the circumstances.

After this hearing our court appointed attorney met with us and told us we would be better off just to give up that there was nothing more he could do.

The Court was his employer and he couldn't risk going up against them and losing his court appointed cases.

So we went looking for a new attorney and contacted Janet M. Frederick, Esq.

Whom we had met at a support group meeting, we had attended in March in Harrison Michigan.

She took our case and started to immediately try to rectify things that had already taken place and get us hooked up with the right people for our psychological evaluations and individual therapy they were now also claiming we never did.

In September Derick again got in trouble.

This time he was found playing cars in a closet with another little boy and the other little boys shirt tail was untucked.

It was during this time with Janet taking over for Mr. Greer that she asked us why our visits were going so badly.

Both us being very surprised, We got a chance to read some of the reports on our visits that Brenda Bolin had written and were we shocked to read what she was saying was going on during our visits.

Supposedly all we did with our kids was fight and argue and things were horrible at every visit.

The kids in her perspective never ever listened to us at all and never did anything we asked them to.

So by the end of September my mother was driving up to our house every week for every visit we had with our kids and making sure that what was reported was what was going on.

Having her there was the best thing we did.

We had until the October 5th hearing to have a bunch of really good visits and finish our evaluations.

Eagle Village didn't show up for our appointment for the psychological evaluations with the whole family.

So now another appointment is having to be made.

Court is postponed again.

The new date is now November 6th.

Evaluations are done and went GREAT!! The prosecutor has now decided she is going to terminate our rights.

And another hearing is set for December, little is accomplished.

Our next hearing date is January 10Th 1998 It's been almost a year exactly.

Two good things though Janet gets our kids for us for the Holidays.

At my mom's house in Livonia for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

We are not allowed to stay there or be there all day for Thanksgiving we only get 2 - two-hour visits on each day and must do something else in the mean time.

(These time restraints were set by Brenda Bolin without knowledge of the courts) Christmas is better and we can spend all day for five days but, because of work we get only three days to be together and hold each other and miss each other. On January Th our Permanency placement hearing is set for all day.

All testimony is heard and then our prize testimony ms.

Lynne Simons who did our psychological evaluations testimony is thrown out.

Mostly because the Judge just didn't seem to like her and her court mannerisms we are accused of paying her off by the prosecutor.

We had expected the judge to send the kids back to us because of previous testimony he had given us in December.

The Lansing Family Independence Agency shows up at this hearing and all things change for us the Judge does a total flip-flop and changes side.

He is really rude to us and our attorney and our witnesses and then he orders us to go to the prosecutors and childrens psychologist Mr. Chevalier.

Who has far less of a degree than Lynn Simons which he is only a limited license psychologist which means he has to work under a real psychologist.

After meeting with Mr. Chevalier and talking to him we found out that he gives out dated tests and only works for Family Independence Agency and that he had been instructed to look at our background and makeup for sexual abuse.

The only good thing the Judge does at this hearing is grants' us six hours supervised visits with my mother only and we can bring the kids home if we want.

Janet put in a stay of appeal for us and we didn't have to go to Mr. Chevalier.

Back to court we go now it is March 4th and another new psychological is ordered with the prosecutor turning in two names and our attorney turning in two names and the judge picking who he wants us to go and see.

The new court date will be set after we get these results back to the judge.

The Judge picks a Dr. Wayne Simmons to do our evaluation out of Traverse City.

The date is set and we go and meet the kids there for our tests and family evaluation.

Kevin and I take tests and talk to Dr. Simmons on an individual basis before the kids arrive.

Derick is wound up as usual and Kelly is being shy we handle Derick well with both kids clinging to us and openly asking if he's going to let them go home finally and Kelly getting unshy and putting makeup on me and derick hugging his dad tightly.

The kids leave and Dr. Simmons and I continue our talk finishing up in about 30 minutes.

At the end of our conversation Dr. Simmons tells me he can't see why the children were removed at all because he can't see anything in their behavior that shows them to be afraid of scared of coming home or being with us at all.

He states he doesn't know why they were ever removed in the first place.

The final evaluations are received by Cindy Granson at Family Independence Agency two days before court on April 29th and she doesn't bother sending the reports onto the judge or anyone else so the court date is postponed until May 10th so the judge and the prosecutor can have time to review the findings.

On May 10th the hearing is resumed and the prosecutor Jamie Cotter as for a reopening of the entire case (including sexual abuse allegations) Which the judge denies.

The final arguments are heard by the Judge and at the end of the hearing the Judge states he cannot make a decision today because of personal problems and he will let us know within seven days of his findings.

His findings are for a termination hearing.

Friday, May 22nd Kevin and Janet go down to Lansing to file an appeal with the Court of Appeals in Lansing and also to file an Appeal in the Michigan Supreme Court.

We are not notified of any changes in the visitation so Saturday the 23rd we go to our normal visit and there are no kids.

Upon calling the foster home we are told the visits are canceled due to termination.

And after my mother drove all the way up there for nothing.

The visits are canceled by FIA with no reasons or excuses.

Janet contacts FIA and tells them they are in violation of the court ordered visitation and that the visits are to resume.

We do not get another visit until June 7th after I write a letter to Brenda Bolin at Eagle Village demanding our visitation and telling her we are tired of driving for one hour to drop off and pick up our kids for visits since this takes away from our visit time of six hours demanding to pick the kids up at the McDonald's in Evart instead of Reed City since it is 45 minutes closer for us to home.

Visits resume.

The next court date is given to us for August 24th and 25th of 1998.

All our witnesses are subpoenaed and ready to stand up and tell them the truth about us and our kids and how we are with them.

We get almost one whole day on the 24th surprising Judge McLaughlin with the fact that Dr. Wayne Simmons the COURT ORDERED PSYCHOLOGIST being someone who had examined the children and had terminated their biological mother's rights.

Everything goes well and ALL our witnesses tell McLaughlin what good people we are and how hard we have worked to get our kids back and the ones that have seen us with the kids how good we are with the children and how much they are loved.

McLaughlin hung on every word that Wayne Simmons said and the next day he was asked to come back and testify more.

He was an excellent witness for us.

With court over now all we have to do is sit back and wait to see what the judge decides.

There were many out and out lies told by FIA and Eagle Village and there was some stretching of the truths.

Brenda Bolin and Cindy Granson were the ONLY ONES WHO RECOMMENDED TERMINATION!! EVERYONE ELSE RECOMMENDED IMMEDIATE REUNIFICATION! Now we wait!!!!!!! And the kids wait!!!!! On September 29th the opinion of Judge McLaughlin is announced.

WE WON.

We ARE GETTING OUR KIDS BACK! He orders immediate weekends unsupervised starting October 2nd and ordering the kids home on October 23 for good.

After our first weekend together things are going so good Kevin and I are scared to death but Happy and so are the kids.

On Wednesday, October 7th we get a phone call from Eagle Village and FIA asking us if we can please come and take our kids home NOW! They are acting out and driving everyone crazy wanting to be with us now.

They check with the Judge who oks this and we pick up the kids on Thursday, October 8th in the afternoon at the McDonald's in Evart for the final time and take them and all their stuff home.

There are many problems with our kids and with us all being together again.

Us trying to get past our fears and inhibitions and the kids trying to adjust to being home and in a new school and our rules again.

But, there is no greater love than that of a family.

And of finally being all together again.

IF Anyone who reads this wants to know more or read some of the reports filed against us please ask we are more than happy to share our case with anyone who may want to know more and with whom it may help. Fight for your Family it is always worth it. Call Kevin or Sheri

Murphy 517-386-4692

Clare County - Probate Court Case - 97-006NA Judge McLaughlin Presiding

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

CLARE COUNTY

JUDGE Thomas P. McLaughlin's Opinion in the Murphy Case Returning the Children home after 22 months of fighting for their return home. This is the positive influences the PAC can have in any case.

PARENTAL RIGHTS: an Oakland County tradgety POVERTY OR PROTECTIVE SERVICES

My name is Liberty Jabak, formally Liberty Trejo.

I have three Loving children.

Unfortunately in ‘95 of may I did not have a home for my children.

I did not want them to live in poverty.

Their abusive father whom I divorced would not help financially and I also had no transportation for employment.

I had to do something to support my children.

I was struggling with staying with friends and family.

However my children needed a stable home.

I decided to turn to "Protective Services." My intentions were Voluntarily, placing my children in foster care Temporarily, until I was able to provide for them.

I called "Protective Services," placing my son and daughter in foster care where I thought they'd be "protected." My oldest son was already staying with my mom, so he could attend school.

It took only a week to gain employment.

Unfortunately months later, Protective Services moved my son to foster care with my other son and daughter, from my mom and stepfather's home.

Protective Services said it would be better for my children to be together and I agreed.

The social worker that I had, described to me a "Parent Agency Agreement," which would enable me to get my children back and included going to counseling, parenting classes, maintaining a job over a year and would provide financial help for housing.

I had a year in which to complete the program.

Visitation was an hour a week, not nearly enough time to spend as a family.

A year passes and I had everything accomplished on the Parent Agency Agreement, except for housing.

I had not received any help but no referral was made by Social Services which only prolonged my children and I being separated from each other.

I was saving money to secure a two-bedroom apartment since I was not receiving additional financial help.

In October of ‘96 I married.

My spouse wants my children as his own as much as I want them back.

At that time we had a home, where I purchased beds for my children and thought, "At last my babies are coming home!!!" Unfortunately on November 21, ‘96 the court terminated my rights as a parent and visitation completely.

Their reason was because of housing and them being in foster care for over a year.

They also stated that there was no adequate housing even though a home inspection had never been requested or done while my children were in Foster Care.

We are perfectly able to give my children a loving home and a wonderful life.

Now, having to make a difficult decision of raising my children in a loving but poor environment, or turning them over to "Protective Services" where I thought they would be protected and taken care of...My choice would have been poverty.

In retrospect, if I knew I would not get my children back, I would not have placed them in the system.

I cannot bear to be away from them, it's been too long and I have put my children through so much without knowing it would turn out this way.

My children do not know what happened and perhaps they think I abandoned them.

I am appealing the Judge's decision, which is currently pending in the Michigan Supreme Court.

I miss them so much! Help my family reunite, and prevent this from happening to another family in need.

Send support letters to: Reunification Support for the Trejo Children, P.O. Box 715, Dearborn Hgts. Michigan, 48127-0715.

Or e-mail to www.LibSkids@aol.com PARENTS FOR CHILDREN PAC (313) 274-8980 DAW 97/08/19/ Paid for by Parents For Children Pac

*************************************

"This court certainly regrets the somewhat confrontational approach Murphys and their attorney have taken in this case. It has served neither their children or them well.

It has clouded the issues before this court and has negatively affected their relationship with FIA and FIA contract workers."

Judge Thomas P. McLaughlin

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++