That's the general rule, all right.
This case is odd, though. The sheer meanness of it makes you wonder if there's something more afoot. I happen to think there is. Certainly we have grounds for a ripping good conspiracy theory here! (Maybe several :-) )
--> Half sister (Strickland) steals child from real mother (Allison Avrett) through, and with the apparent connivance, of DSS. Later, DSS threatens Avrett with loss of her then unborn baby if she didn't go along with it. Ignores the fact that the abuse charges Strickland lodged against Avrett's boy friend were investigated and found to be false.
--> DSS ignores medical evidence of abuse after abuse by Strickland, the half sister -- who, remember, may have connections in DSS. Only after horrible and near-fatal final child abuse does DSS take custody.
--> Haleigh had FOUR social security numbers -- all false. Strickland was using her as a cash cow for welfare handouts.
--> Strickland shot dead by her grandmother, who then kills herself, right after Strickland was released on the initial abuse charges -- so we toss a murder and a suicide into the mix. Now there's an unusual twist!
--> The DSS itself asks court for permission to kill Haleigh (as if she hadn't suffered enough). The court approves it -- evidently AFTER Haleigh started coming out of the coma. There's a story here that isn't being told. Maybe that's why the DSS wants to shut it up.
How many conspiracies do we have going so far? :-) :-)
I too feel there is more than money involved such as just meanness. There was also sadism involved in Mike, Judge Greer, and their enablers' actions towards Terri and her parents that was more than just money - though that certainly was one factor.