I submitted several requests for assistance to a couple different elected officials this evening, with changes made between each submission. The final draft of my submission went to Governor Reynolds around 0131, but I sent earlier versions to Ashley Hinson, Chuck Grassley, and Joni Ernst.
I have told my family’s story so many times to so many people… In person, over the phone, via video chat, through email correspondence. Others that have endured or witnessed similar abuses of power in the Child Welfare and Child Protection System couldn’t offer much more than a devastated ‘me too.’ People that have no clue about the harsh realities for so many Iowa families respond with ignorant utterances like “the system isn’t perfect” or “that’s just the way it is” and really should consider themselves lucky that I have grown past physical retaliation as a means of fighting back. Others still sit on their hands and do nothing while they hug their own children and kiss them goodnight every day.
Write to Your Elected Official
I have sent dozens of emails to various organizations indicating my mission and/or expressing interest in sharing my knowledge and expertise to advocate for policy reform and public awareness. Groups with a specific focus on child welfare and abuse prevention, child and family advocacy, and foster care policy reform and their organizers have not been the most active in responding to my attempts to contact them. Families Rights and Parent alienation legal teams have offered excellent information and direction on their websites, but seem unwilling to address CPS corruption allegations directly. I do remember a few times over the years a friend would mention that it might help to contact my senator or even the governor, so I am ashamed it took me this long to follow through.
To Be more specific, I submitted messages to US Rep Ashley Hinson, US Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. I had no intention of sending anything to President Biden or whoever the VP is, but as I typed this sentence I figured “why not?” and adjusted the letter below before sending to them as well.
Please, join me in writing to YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, because the more of us that are reaching out and telling our story make it harder and harder to ignore! Contact them to share your thoughts on current events and government policy. Below are links to email addresses, as well as phone numbers and mailing addresses for key elected officials.
The President or Vice President
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U.S. Representatives
Find the contact information for your state representative by entering your zip code.
U.S. Senators
A list of state senators and links to their websites, organized by state.
State Governors
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Local Government
Look up information about local government officials, including city, county, and state departments.
My Message
Dear Governor Reynolds
Please help me! I am committed to advocating for change in the child welfare program because my parental rights were wrongfully terminated! I have not had any contact with my sons since December 14, 2019. I have a great deal of evidence that the local DHS office did not operate within their scope of practice and staff acted maliciously throughout the handling of my case. My requests for placement with a close family friend were completely disregarded, no contact was ever made. In addition to placing my children in a home that was located 2 hours from my residence, I was not allowed to have phone calls with my children regularly and I was only allowed visits 1 day a week because of issues with “scheduling and transportation.” Due to the weather, sometimes I would go a couple weeks without more than a few minutes on the phone. I was not notified of doctor’s appointments at all, let alone in enough advance to arrange transportation. The case worker lied dozens of times in her reports to the court, and consistently failed to follow up as discussed at family team meetings and court hearings. It was her apparent disdain for me as a person that set the stage for the cognitive biases amongst members of the multidisciplinary team involved with my family.
I provided clean drug tests for a year, including a CLEAN HAIR TEST! I maintained a home and employment for the duration of my case. I completed substance abuse treatment and the conditions of my probation with letters on my behalf from both. I have recorded phone conversations with the family support worker that provided transportation and supervised visits with my children stating that he had no concerns about my ability to parent my children or provide for their safety and well-being.
I worked as a registered nurse for 16 years, many of those years spent in home health case management. I developed the training protocols for new hires, coordinated and managed the care plans of dozens of children, and supervised the nurses providing in-home care for pediatric clients for years. I sacrificed so much time with my own family to care for my patients and their families, and I feel extremely betrayed by a system that pretends to be focused on child welfare.
I have my master’s degree in nursing with a focus on nursing education. My credentials, education, and experience would qualify me to teach child development and pediatric nursing care at a university level! I do not understand how this case worker was able to invalidate my education and experience, ruin my professional reputation, and treat me like a degenerate criminal before she rushed through facilitating the termination of my parental rights. If it was this easy for this caseworker to do this to someone with my background, what else have they gotten away with?
I have sent so many emails in the past few years, but it seems like I only get so far with any agency before all communication ceases. I even have phone conversations with the Omsbudsman office and Special Investigator dismissing my report of malpractice, one even going so far as to say that perjury only matters if it is “pertinent to the case?” Why doesn’t anyone look further into the practices of this particular DHS agency?
Are you aware of the despicable findings with regard to the desired outcomes reported in the most recent Child and Family Services Review Final Report 2018? As Iowa’s Governor, I am sure you would be interested to know more about this organization that receives obscene amounts of federal and state dollars each year. Even though the statewide agency admittedly shows very poor performance in these outcomes indicators, these agencies managed over $100 million in actual annual expenses in recent years. I understand this will be a huge blemish on the department’s reputation but by their own report they are failing terribly at the mission and it’s time for a major overhaul. This needs to begin with complete cessation of child removals in cases where it is not warranted now.
Please Governor Reynolds… The reunification rate in Iowa is 60%. I am begging you to please investigate this further, because I am not alone! I can not rest until my children are returned to me, and justice is served for all of the families affected by the discriminatory and hateful practices of this DHS office. Please contact me for more information or for documentation that provides evidence to back the statements above.
Late Sumer 2017
Stay Tuned
I will share another post if and when I receive a response. Enter your email address and hit the subscribe button below to stay in the loop with a message every time I add a new post! Thank you for your love and support friends!!
Update April 27, 2022
Yesterday while I was out running errands, I received two voicemails on my wifi phone number. One message was from Reagan with Ashley Hinson’s office. The second message was from Governor Reynold’s office. I called them both back today.
Of course, I called Governor Reynold’s office back first. I spoke with Belle. After she reviewed the submission I shared above, she asked me a few questions about steps I had taken in the past, like whether I had contacted the Ombudsman’s office. I explained to her about the recorded conversations I had from phone calls I had placed back in January 2020 with both the Ombudsman’s office and a Special Agent Reger. SA Reger was involved with prosecuting a DHS case worker from Cerro Gordo County with perjury charges back in 2019.
I shared with her that between the two phone calls, I was told that “perjury only matters if it is pertinent to the case” and “maybe my children were better off now that they are somewhere stable.”
I could feel her discomfort as she instructed me to put together an email for her supervisor with some of the details we had discussed and to include my initial submission.
Hello!
While researching ways that I can take action to ensure other parents do not endure the same trauma that my family has endured, I came across a website urging me to contact my elected officials.
I followed the links on that page to contact information for Ashley Hinson, Chuck Grassley, and Joni Ernst, and Governor Reynolds. I spoke with Reagan at Ashley Hinson’s office a short while ago, and he clarified for me that she handles more of the federal level issues. He also provided me with your email addresses.
Reagan and I also discussed that I have been in contact with Governor Reynold’s office, and I was given a supervisor’s email address and instructed to put together an email with some more information . I was also asked to include the initial submission I made to Governor Reynold’s website, and I have attached that for you to this email.
Speaking with Belle at the governor’s office and hearing her concern after only briefly reading about what happened renews my hope about the future, but as I type this I am overcome with emotion and frustrated with myself for not having thought of taking this route sooner. I remind myself that everything happens for a reason, and I am in a much better place mentally than I was in January 2020 when I heard back that my appeal was denied. I know that what I have gone through has prepared me to advocate for other families that are unable to and I have reached out to many different organizations to offer input, but the way my heart aches for my children is indescribable!
As I mentioned above, I have attached a copy of the information I submitted on Governor Reynold’s website for your review, in both pdf and odp formats for your convenience. I appreciate your time and consideration in reviewing it, and I will include you when I send the email I will be putting together for Governor Reynold’s office.
Thank you again! You are appreciated!
Update April 2023:
Read more about how DHS justfied their actions and my initial response, how I was able to forgive, the wish I made for a Christmas miracle, and how the universe helped my wish come true…
You may also want to read and sign the petition I wrote asking for complete overhaul of Child Welfare reform, what I have learned about the Parental Rights Movement, and my annual Halloween tradition that serves to remind the local DHS office that I will never stop fighting for justice for me plus three!
I miss my children terribly, and will always grieve for all we have lost… but instead of letting it destroy me, I choose to honor that loss by being the change I wish to see in the world in hopes that I can prevent other families from enduring the same devastation!
UPDATE: September 2023
If you would like to know more about my situation, I have published several articles…
I drafted a petition calling for an Overhaul of DHS Reform, wrote about the Parental Rights Movement and have been actively gathering stories from people I encounter on this journey, as James and I are guided to homes that desperately need our help.
Check out the Letter to My Children! Read about The Binder that my grandmother left for me to find…. And you don’t want to miss the story about my Halloween tradition of delivering special pumpkins to DHS– Halloween 2022 was the best so far!
Cognitive bias and Education or Indoctrination? are both articles I wrote that were inspired by my experiences with the department of human services.
Last year, I made a Christmas wish that partially came true when my friend went out of his way for a special Christmas delivery.
And in the article about “What I am Doing with my Life,” I shared about the 280+ mile bicycle trip that James and I made out to Cherokee, Iowa to see my daughter graduate this last May- and I need to write a post because that was a wild adventure!
And, lastly, I am hopeful for the future! I have been working to Be The Change I want to see in the world, and my efforts are finally paying off! I have an exciting new opportunity, and I have faith it will be the culmination of my efforts since my children have been gone… advocating for children and families on the Child Abuse Prevention Program Advisory Council!
Stay tuned! Because BIG THINGS are happening my friends!
Iridescent Alchemyst 
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