If you follow our blog, or read the local news, then you’re probably already familiar with this story – we talked about it last week in an article that outlined what one Detroit family is up against with CPS. Greg and Tonya Burnett’s adoptive son, Alex, after the initial ‘honeymoon’ year with the family was over, took to threatening their lives. And he wasn’t joking. The boy has repeatedly attacked them, in addition to assaulting police officers, hospital staff, and teachers at his school.
He insists he’s going to murder them – “I’ll wait to kill you. It will happen in your sleep.” he wrote in a letter the Burnetts found while he was hospitalized. But despite the fact that Alex is in desperate need of psychiatric care, the Hawthorne Center where he’s staying is insisting they take him back into their home. And if they don’t, the family will be reported to CPS for parental neglect. And CPS plans to pursue those neglect claims.
How is it “neglectful parenting” to want to stay alive?
The Burnett’s are horrified. They’re trapped in an untenable situation – take Alex back home and wait to be killed in their own home, or leave him in psychiatric care and be forced to defend themselves in court against allegations of neglect. It might seem an easy choice, because at least one of those options doesn’t end in your death. But think about the other consequences of fighting neglect petitions from CPS.
Families who end up in the courtroom with CPS never come out unscathed. The agency has a long history of violating parent’s rights, taking their children away without valid reasons, putting parents on the state “child abuser” registry without due cause, and generally harassing families. While fighting the neglect petition might seem like the easier road here, the truth is, it’s really a case of being caught between ‘very bad’ and ‘much worse!’
The family is terrified for their lives, and doesn’t know what to do!
“I can’t have my biological children upstairs on the same level with him threatening to kill us in our sleep,” Tonya Burnett said in an interview with the media. “I want to see him placed somewhere he can get the daily help and therapy he needs, because eventually, he’s going to be 18, and he’s going to be released to the streets, and I fear for his future, I fear for others around him, I fear for him.”
The Burnett’s only want Alex to get the care he needs. They’re not asking to give up their parental rights. They’re not sorry they adopted him, and they’re not trying to get rid of him. They simply want him to be in an environment where he will be safe, and they will be safe with their other children. It certainly doesn’t seem like too much to ask. Unless you’re asking CPS.
CPS DOES NOT have your family’s best interests at heart!
It doesn’t matter what CPS says about their motivations, they often don’t care about your family’s rights, health or wellbeing. They have proven time and again, through their actions and decisions, that the preservation of the family is not their primary priority. But just because they don’t care about your family, doesn’t mean you don’t! So when the time comes to fight to protect your family, our experienced family law attorneys can help. Call 866 766 5245 today and make sure you’re not alone in this battle.