Please Help Bring Katie Home. (FReeper assistance requested)

Little Katie Hubanks came into the world on March 22, 2006, much to the joy of her Mom and Dad, siblings, grandparents, and other family members. Just over a month later that joy was replaced by anger, fear, disbelief, and any other negative emotion you can name.

I'll allow Katie's "Nana"'s words to express what an entire family has been dealing with for nearly a year:

Kathryn was born in Claremore, OK. on March 22, 2006. She was born 5 week early. Needless to say she was small and came with the risks of certain medical conditions that could develope such as, hypoglycemia, respiratory distress, jaundice and difficulty in maintaining normal body tempurature. Preemies can also have difficulty in feeding because they don't have the reflexes to properly suck.

On April 23, 2006, Katie was taken to the ER in Sapulpa because she was having trouble breathing. Dr. Black, who was on duty, told her mother that the only thing that was going on with Katie was that she had a sinus infection, and that her mother was over reacting. He made this diagnosis without the benefit of any lab tests, x-rays, or any other diagnostic tool. He sent the baby home with saline drops and told her mother to use a cool mist vaporizer. Her mother was told that the baby would sleep more and eat less for the next couple of days.

On April 24, 2006, approximately 24 hours after seeing Dr. Black, Katie was rushed to St. Francis in Tulsa after the ambulance arrived at her parent's home because her parents called them as the baby was having trouble breathing and was turning blue. When the EMTs got there they started to work on her, her breathing was shallow and she was cyanotic. When they took her vitals at 18:33 hrs they were as follows, Pulse 166, normal, Res. 30+normal, left lung normal and clear, right lung normal and clear, temp. 92, skin color=pink skin moisture=normal, pupils=equal and reative. Her blood sugar was 50 Normal is 85-110. At 18:35 hrs. the cardiac monitor indicated sinus tach (fast heartbeat). At 18:50 hrs. they started an IV with saline solution and put her on oxygen. At 18:50 by order of the doctor in the ER EMT administered a 12.5 gm of dextrose by IV push. She got about 1ml of it before the line blew.

Then she was transported from Sapulsa to ST. Francis in Tulsa within 16 minutes, the entire time Katie's blood sugar is dropping.

On April 26, 2006 the Oklahoma Dept. of Human Services took custody of Katie based on the report from St. Francis. Either the Attending doctor in the ER or Dr. Barton called them and said that the parents had failed to provide adequate nutrition. Keeping in mind that Dr. Black said the baby would eat less and that when the EMTs showed up, along with the Sheriff's Dept. only the father was asked when the last time he fed the baby. When he said approximately 8am, all questions stopped. Nothing to the mother, or anyone else about the baby being fed. The fact is, that the baby was fed every 2-3 hrs, but was not taking a full feeding. It sounds like Dr. Black at least got that part correct.

Meanwhile back to St. Francis. Some doctor, we are not sure who, announced to the DHS worker that they found a "bar" of Xanax in the baby's throat. Interesting, since no such medication was anywhere near the baby. And if it was there, why didn't the EMTs find it? If it was there, where is it? If it was there, why wasn't anyone questioned about it or arrested for it? Katie was in the care of the EMTs from 18:33 hrs without her parents having any access to her, so here's the question again, where was the Xanax? The only place it shows up is in the first report from the DHS caseworker in Sapulpa. In the same report from Jennifer Jones, she stated that neither of the parents are ever at St. Francis. Wrong again. The mother and her friend followed the ambulance(father stayed home with the other children) to St. Francis and waited for 11 hrs before being allowed 10 minutes with Katie. I know they were there because I got the collect call from Katie's mom at the hospital. Katie's mom is my daughter,. She called me on a constant basis to keep me informed about Katie. I have the phone records to prove it. When Katie was finally reunited with ther family in July, 2006, it was a happy day. After jumping through all the hoops that DHS put up, Katie came home. At the end of July, Lisa, Katie's mom, asked permission to come to Texas so I could see Katie and the rest of my grandchildren. When she asked, her case worker, Lea Glenn-Borts, said to let her know exactly where she was going to be. On Monday August 6, 2006 Lisa called DHS and let her (Lea) know where she was. At approximately 3:30pm Amanda from Sapulpa DHS called my cell phone and asked if I had been in contact with Lisa. I told her yes as we had just left the local Wal-Mart. She asked to speak to her but I told her we were in separate cars and Lisa would call DHS when we got home. At 4pm Lisa called Lea. Lea informed Lisa that the parents had until that Friday to get the baby back to Oklahoma. At 11:15pm a police officer and a CPS worker from Texas showed up at my door to remove Katie. We saw Katie the next day for 1 hr. before Lea had her on a plane to Sapulpa. The CPS worker here in Texas was great. She conducted studies on my home, ordered hair folicle and urine tests on everyone, and found no neglect on anyone's part.

The pick-up order was received at 4:15pm Lea never had any intention of allowing the parents time to comply with her instructions to have the baby back in Oklahoma by that Friday.

Since then it has been nightmare after nightmare. We call to see what we need to do next, calls don't get returned. We called supervisors, no good. Contacted the Dept. of Human Services in Oklahoma City and asked for Motion to Expedite and Motion for Kinship Placement, Lea will not take them to the judge. It took us 6 weeks to get Lea to fila for ICPC, which transfers everything to Texas. She order a Drug Assessment Test and it took her 6 weeks to get the paperwork to the person who did that. Once that test was done she had the results in 72 hrs. She ordered 2 more urine tests with the results to be to her in 4 days. We made that deadline thanks to the CPS worker here in Texas.

We are all firmly convinced that because of where the parents were living, not making lots of money, and maybe afraid to fight the system, that DHS had a healthy baby available. They never even took notice of my older grandchildren. Why? They have put this family through hell and we still don't have our Katie. We have a lawyer who is working on this and she is very good. It should have never come to this. When Katie got sick, all she needed was the right kind of a doctor, a neonatalogist.

The parents were ordered back to court in Jan. 2007 and in Feb. 2007, when DHS was granted 60 days because, according the DHS and the CASA worker, the baby was "terrorized" by her parents. It probably didn't help that on each and every visit the baby was sick, she was in a strange place being stared at like a zoo exhibit. I would be upset too. Now the parents are going through the "bonding process" and to complete the reunification process.

All we have asked for was to have Katie home. All of DHS and the Courts hoops have ben jumped through. What is the problem?

My FRiends, I am Katie's "Papa". I am currently working in Iraq, in direct support of our military. I got word of Katie's birth by phone. Unfortunately, a month later my daughter had to inform me that Katie had been taken into state custody. Why?! Her parents did nothing wrong, unless living in a trailer park and trying to make a living has become a crime. Katie's parents were accused of "nutritional and medical 'neglect'". How is that possible when they took her to the doctor 24 hours before she had to be rushed to the hospital?!

We have so many unanswered questions. These are questions we have been asking for nearly a year:

If there was even a suspicion of "neglect", why did they only take the infant? Shouldn't they have removed her siblings, also? They didn't. Why not?

When repeated drug screens came back negative, shouldn't that have eliminated the "concern" that there may have been drug use in the home?

How can the State tell people that as a condition of returning a child, the parents would not be "allowed" to live in a multi-generational home, with the grandmother? Regardless of the fact of it being the best situation for the family to support one another, in every way.

Why was this child removed in the first place? Because she was sick? Well, she's been in and out of the hospital repeatedly, while in government care, are they guilty of neglect? Why not?!

This child is placed in "day care" on a regular basis, by her "foster mother". If she was with her family, she wouldn't have spent a single day in "day care". What's better for the child?

There is much more that can be told. My wife, Katie's Nana, (screen-name:Glinda) will be monitoring this thread, as will I. We'll be happy to answer any questions you might have regarding this situation.

There is not, nor as there ever been, any evidence whatsoever, of any neglect or abuse. The abuse has been on the part of the State and it's taken its toll on an entire family, in every way imaginable.

Please call or e-mail the people who refuse to reunite Katie with her family. Simply ask "Why?"

I realize that this may clog their mailboxes and voicemails and that that may be a terrible inconvenience for them but ...oh,well.

If some "friends of the family" or "concerned citizens" help us get what we want, then I guess there wouldn't be further need for any more phone calls or e-mails.

My deepest sympathies for what your family is enduring! I can relate to it in so many ways for indeed I too had a preemie baby who went into distress only to be sent home from the E.R in the middle of the night. When her pediatricians office opened at 8am, I was waiting on the porch. They could immediately tell that my baby was in respiratory distress despite the fact that just a few hours earlier the E.R doctor not only couldn't see it but dismissed my pleas each time I would say "look! look, she's turning blue again!" (just like in your case the ER 'doctor' neglected to do even the most basic of 'preemie' type care such as a pulse ox to measure O2 for indeed they didn't have a finger wrap that was small enough for a preemie baby!) Our pediatrician ordered our baby directly back into the neonatal unit, bypassing the useless ER, they immediately drew a blood gas and she was put on a ventilator the second the results arrived (about 10-15 min. later).

Learning about your story makes me realize that we were lucky that CPS wasn't sent in to make us the guilty party to deflect off of the rightful one, the E.R. Many months later, after becoming a low income single mother, we continually faced the scrutiny of CPS because by their own admission they thought that a low income mother was more likely to abuse or neglect her children so.... strike one is being low income. Even if there isn't abuse or negligence 'low income' fits a stereo type, along with being a 'young mother' and god forbid 'single' to boot! THREE STRIKES! TRIPLE THE CHANCE TO ABUSE /sarcasm

Another way I can relate to your story is as an 'insider' of sorts. My family now offers certified foster care for children in our state, which means we had to go through tens of hours of state training. There were multiple parts of your story where I found myself thinking "wait a minute! that's not what we learned in training concerning how the system works!" because for one thing PARENTAL UNIFICATION is supposed to be the number one priority unless doing so would be of danger to the child. Heck, I just recently read a news story about a case where a child had been returned to the mother, over apparently justified CPS protest, because the judge said that (as the law was structured) his priority was the right of the parent. http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/local/17046831.htm

While I am not familiar with the laws of the state that control this issue, the laws must conform to controlling federal regulations. It just doesn't feel like that is happening in your families case.

For example, federal law mandates that the state must make reasonable efforts to:

a)maintain the family unit and prevent the unnecessary removal of a child from his or her home, as long as the child's safety is assured;

b)effect the safe reunification of the child and family (if temporary out-of-home placement is necessary to ensure the immediate safety of the child); and

c)make and finalize alternate permanency plans in a timely manner when reunification is not appropriate or possible. 45 C.F.R. §1356.21(b).

Also please note: Reasonable Efforts to Prevent Removal. When a child is removed from his or her home, a judicial determination as to whether reasonable efforts were made, or were not required, to prevent removal must be made no later than 60 days from the date the child is removed from his home. If this determination is not made, the child is not eligible for Title IV-E foster care payments for the duration of that stay in foster care. 45 C.F.R. §1356.21(b)(1). (what 'reasonable efforts' were made to keep your grand baby in her home??)

http://jec.unm.edu/resources/benchbooks/child_law/ch_38.htm link to the information posted above, plus much much more.

Here in my state a child that is taken into foster care can't just be turned over to a relative for care. EVERYONE providing care for a 'foster kid' has to be screened (and trained) by the state, even aunts, uncles and grandparents. I would encourage your wife to start investigating 'the process' to find out what it will take for her to be 'qualified' to be the foster care provider during the time the state keeps your daughter from having custody. I know it seems offensive that your wife would have to be fingerprinted, have an FBI check run, her house scrutinized (every room!) plus go through hours upon hours of lectures and 'training' before she would be considered 'qualified' by the state. In many cases relatives are able to get 'emergency certification' while they work through the process which could mean that the baby would be in your wife's care and control (well, no actually 'the state' would still have legal control) during the many weeks it takes to complete all the requirements.

Besides the fact that this may be a way to find a work around to get your grand daughter back with at least part of the family, I think it is important that you also be made aware of the fact that there are also federal requirements that IF your granddaughter is in foster care for 15 out of something like 22 months, they WILL try to terminate your daughters parental rights. Usually the family who has been providing foster care is given first option at adoption. Please please keep that time frame in mind, you can learn more about that part of the process at the link above.

It will be my frequent prayer that your family does not have to endure this heart break and undue burden but for a very short period of time.

God Bless!
I.D.E.A

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