December 15, 2009 DCS showed up at my house and said they had a complaint. We figured it was due to the stuff on the front porch. (But it was that we didn't have electricity and that 2 or 3 people get in the car and go back in 20 minutes later.) The caseworker told my husband she wanted to talk to us. My husband told her I was laying down and she'd have to come back later. But he went further to explain we do have electricity and were dealing with a flooded basement (trying to explain the mess on the front porch). He even took her to the basement to show her. She asked if we could come to her office on December 17, he said that would be find.
Seeing we live in a rural area we kind of figure the people across the street called them. As they knew we were off grid and that we just bought a truck and was teaching our son how to drive a stick shift.
So anyway we go to the office and talk to her. She tells us the complaint was that someone called in that we had no electricity and someone gets in the car and goes back in 20 minutes later. I told her right then and there I knew who it was, it was most likely the neighbor across the street as they hate us and had taunted us over the generator during the summer (not sure what they thought they were accomplishing as it was a choice).
So to address the "no electricity" part, we explained we were in the process of getting ready to go solar and we were on the generator first to do a test run to see what needed changed over and how difficult it would be to live off grid in the solar went down. Well what was supposed to be 2 or 3 months max turned out to cut our electricity costs in half. So we discussed it further and decided it may be a good idea to stay off grid to see how things are in the summer. So we did.
Then I explained to her the getting in the truck going in 20 minutes later that we just bought a truck and was teaching our son to drive a stick shift.
So then of course we had the usual questions. The kids told her about school. She asked what school my youngest one went to and I told her he was home schooled. She asked where my husband worked and what I did. I told her that I was disabled and cannot work outside the home. She then asked if we had any pets. I told her we had horses, chickens, ducks a dog and some cats. And that we ran a no kill cat shelter.
So after wrapping it all up we left and felt everything was very well explained.
On December 21, 2009 we received a letter it was unsubstantiated.
On January 6, 2010 my neighbor who is a Town Marshall for the next town came to my house. He said DCS called for a welfare check on the kids. My husband said everything was fine and did not know why a call was placed. He said he didn't know either but he needed to go in the house. My husband told him he'd have to to tell me. I went outside and told the town Marshall right then was not a good time and that he could come back later (this was neighbor to neighbor). He told me he was not leaving until he had access to the house. I told him I was not going to let him in as we were in the process of cleaning our flooded basement (and of all people that should of realized our basement flooded was him as he rides by my house every day and you could tell something happened). So anyway, he said no that DCS wanted him to check for heat. And I told him (since you could tell the fireplace was in use) that I would bring the kerosene heater to him. He said no, he had to check for hot water too. I told him I was not going to let him in as we were busy and since I was disabled I cannot stop in the middle of a job as I never know when I can get back to it and we were winding down to get to the big stuff to bring up and I needed to get back to it. He said he needed in. I told him I would call the case worker and find out after it was unsubstantiated why she sent him out. So I called but she did not answer the phone. So he called her and she answered the phone. He handed me the phone, I asked her why he was there and she said she needed to make sure we had heat and hot water as the temps had dropped and weather was calling for 2 inches of snow. I told her, like I told her before in December my home always has heat and hot water due to my disability as without them I cannot walk. She said then let the officer in and I told her no we were cleaning our basement that we had already showed her that it was flooded. She said he will understand that part. I told her no, I am not letting anyone in the house as I don't want any misunderstandings, I would need to put everything back. She said I didn't have to do that, she'd come out and look at it and if she felt we needed time to clean house she'd give me 3 days to do it. I told her I don't need to clean my house I need to clean up the mess of dragging the stuff up from the basement, put away what had been cleaned and finish up what hasn't. I told her he can come back in a few hours and we'll stop now and put the things back up although I would rather get it finished. She said no, he was going to get in the house then. I told her no he wasn't. We argued about my right to privacy for 55 minutes. So finally after being in pain I told her that he can come back in 2-3 hours and I will just cram it all in my bedroom and take the uncleaned stuff back down to the basement. She said no, he was going to get in then. I told her, I was in pain as talking on the phone hurts and being in the cold hurts worse. She told me it sounded like to her I was trying to hide a meth lab. I laughed at her and said I have never done drugs in my life and all I am trying to do was clean my basement. I told her I was going to go in my house and he wasn't going in. She then said he was going in. Again I told her no he wasn't. She then said, ok fine I will have him to be there at 10 pm and you better let him in. I told her fine. She then says she will be out at my house tomorrow about 9 am. I told her fine and hung up.
So at 10 pm he comes back, walks through the front door straight to the kids bathroom. There he sees our hot water in the bathtub. He stands there and tells me if we needed help we should had called him that is what he was there for. I told him we didn't need any help we were fine and don't know why she unsubstantiated allegations the prior month to call for a welfare check. After about 8 minutes he left.
So the following morning January 7, 2010 she called and rescheduled due to the little bit of snow we got. She then talked to me about opening a case on my family to get help. I told her we didn't need any help we were doing just fine. She goes on and says they can pay to get the electric back on and I told her we don't need help with that we don't want back on the grid and we are going solar in a few weeks. She then goes on and says she can get the furnace fixed and I told her again, we no longer use that furnace, so on and so on. She then says she will talk to me more about it tomorrow.
So the following morning January 8, 2010 she called and rescheduled again. So had it set up for January 11, 2010 since the weekend was here.
On January 11, 2010 she shows up 30 minutes late. When she came in she saw my son cleaning up cat poop where one of the larger cats though he was in the litter box had his butt hanging over the side and it went on the floor instead. She sat at the kitchen table and said the reason she was there was because school called her and told her my oldest son was truant and that my kids smelled. I told her to stop right there as all that was a lie, and that from those words I knew she called the school. She did not deny it. I told her my son was not truant and that the days he had missed the school knew why and I have had an open relationship with the schools for 6 years due to my sons disabilities. I also told her she was lying as no one has ever mentioned to me an odor on my daughter. But yes we were dealing with a foot odor problem with my son and I had already tried many different things for my sons foot odor to no avail. She then started in on me about homeschooling, when in Indiana all we have to do is have proof of attendance to the superintendent not DCS. Then she looks at a cat and said the cat had a feline disease and I told her no the cat was being treated by a vet for an upper respiratory infection and I was a former vet tech and I know what the illnesses are and the cats were fine. She then pointed out my sons cat as being emaciated. I laughed at her and said no the cat was not emaciated she was an 18 month old long and lanky cat. She had not grown into her body yet, that happens. She was thin but was not emaciate nor sick, she was very healthy, had a shiny coat and bright eyes (which emaciated cats do not have) and was happy. She then asked to see the kids rooms and the bathroom. So I showed her my dining room in which was temporarily housing my daughter, the living room was temporarily housing my oldest son, and my youngest sons room; well it was a mess. But my youngest son is autistic and I explained to her that he went and got all his toys that had wet boxes in fear of us throwing his toys out and he needed to pack them back up. And due to his autism I was teaching him to clean without someone present (teaching independence) yes the process was slow but he was doing it and doing well once he got going. So we wrapped up this investigation and felt again any misunderstandings were settled, I mean after all how perfect can things be dealing with a flooded basement?
On January 13, 2010 the caseworker called me and told me it was very important for her to speak to me. I asked her what about and she said she didn't want to discuss it over the phone can she ride out? I told her I was busy, she said it was real important, again I told her to tell me on the phone, she wouldn't. So I told her ok then come on out.
When my husband opened the door she had her supervisor, and 2 sheriff deputies. He opened the door and they walked to the kitchen and sat down. The supervisor said to me right off.."been doing alot of cleaning huh?" I laughed and said yeah (I said yeah, as I thought he was referring to us cleaning the basement). Well she pipes up and says "this is my supervisor and we are here to detain the children" I was like what, what for? and then she said "oh and by the way I called animal control and he should be here shortly". I asked why on earth would you call animal control she replied "because your cats are unhealthy" and I told her there is nothing wrong with the cats, a few are being treated but generally there was nothing wrong. I then asked why they were taking the kids she said "look at this place, it is a health hazard for the kids". I was like "how can you consider it a health hazard, the house is clean". She said "the house is not clean and you and your husband need to clean it". I said the house was clean. She said the house was cluttered and unorganized. I told her the house was as organized as it was going to be until we get the basement fixed, at that point we had to put our 15 year old daughter in the dining room and had to set up a bedroom for our 17 year old son in the living room as both their bedrooms were in the basement. Her supervisor then popped up and said "oh, by the way take down your Halloween decorations" I was like, what are you talking about? He said "the cobwebs, take those down". I was like, seriously, that is no big deal, we were getting ready to remodel in about 6 weeks, cobwebs vs a flooded basement was not an issue to me. At that point Animal control showed up so I had to go talk to him so my husband sat with DCS/Sheriffs.
The animal control officer asked me about the cats and made the remark " you are living in a kennel". I laughed and said, "yeah, it seems that way right now, but it isn't that bad. I brought them in because there isn't any insulation in their kennel and they were shivering and we were having a hard time taking care of them out there so to protect them we just brought them in". (per Indiana State law this is required) He seemed to understand that and commended me on the job I was doing. So then he asked me if I knew this, knew that. I told him I was a former veterinarian technician/assistant. I have the training to spot illnesses, I know how to vaccinate and give my own shots, dewormings,etc. He asked if the cats were spay and neutered. I said some were I was still working on the others as no vet will do them all and set me up on a payment plan so I do them as discounts come available and I had just recently found a vet that neuters cheaply so I had been using him on that part. I gave him a list of vets I used. I told him I had just been to the vet 30 days ago and the small kitten was being treated for an upper respiratory infection. He then said "the only thing I see you are at fault on is the rabies vaccination, all cats 3 month and older must have Rabies". I explained I knew this the reason I had not done that and is because at that point I was paying to house the cats, fed them, vet them, vaccinate them, spay and neuter them out of my own pocket as I was still waiting on my non profit status. And I felt as long as I took care of that, I would let the new owner take care of the Rabies, since they would want to take them to the vet for a new pet health assessment anyway. He said "by law you are liable and I can fine you for that. However, if you want, I can set you up on a payment plan like you wanted with your vet to have all the rest spay and neutered and get everyone that needs it, a Rabies shot." I was ecstatic over it, I thanked him greatly, that would help me out tremendously, that I would be able to rehome them alot faster as well. So he gave me his card and said call the office and find out when the vet is going to be in and we can set it up, and even worked out the fee. So as he was getting ready to leave he looked over at the caseworker and all of the sudden changed his demeanor and said he wanted to see more cats. He got real hateful in front of the caseworker and her boss. I told him to stay there and I would go get them.
The casewoker told my husband she wanted to see the master suite. (She was in my house on 1/11/10 and never asked to see it. She also told me she was detaining my kids and called Animal Control BEFORE seeing the master suite! She knew through previous conversation on the night of January 6, 2010 I told her in order to let the town Marshall in my house I would have to cram everything upstairs. And it was crammed and a mess because of my disability I could not finish cleaning around the totes, bags and boxes (this is what I was working on when she called that day). And since some of the stuff we took up stairs was wet I took a bag of rags and scattered all the rags on the floor to prevent water on my hard wood floors in my master suite.
So when my husband was taking the caseworker and her supervisor to the master suite is the same time basically the Animal Control officer said he wanted to see more cats. (I told him to stay put and I would bring them to him.) Well I turn around to take a cat to him and there he was standing in my bedroom. So I showed him 4 more cats and he said "I've seen enough. He said he would be back tomorrow to get them. I asked why, there is nothing wrong with them. He said "look at that cat that cat is emaciated" I told him same thing I told the caseworker she was not emaciated she was a long and lanky cat. He said, "doesn't matter I will be back tomorrow." I asked if it was because they were inside as if that is a problem I will move them back out to the kennel. He said no, just kept saying he'd be here tomorrow to get the cats. I told him I want to speak to my vets first as I feel that he was wrong. He told me he'd give me til tomorrow to do that.
So after he left I went back to finish up talking with DCS. So then she says "I'm going to be nice, although I don't have to, I am going to put the kids in a motel but you all have to go and stay at the motel with them." I asked "a motel? Are you paying for it?" She said "no you are." I told her we didn't have that kind of money for something so stupid. So then she called a pastor and he HATEFULLY said he'd only pay one night.
So then she wrote out "Randell and Samantha Lee agree not to bring the children back in the home until FCM Ambrose approves the children's return to home". Randell and Samantha Lee agree not to have any more animals in the house". and some more stupid stuff. I refused to sign this paper as I had a dog that was a house dog that was put out in 17 degree weather because she didn't feel my dog should be in the house. I also had a chicken in a large bird cage because of her health, she cannot be in extreme heat or cold. So I told her I refuse to sign the paper until she tells me what she feels is wrong with my house and she flat refused to tell me. All she would say is "look around". I told her the only thing I know that needs tending to is the youngest childs bedroom and my master suite (which was caused by her). And I asked "is there more that you do not find suitable?" She laughed and said "yes". So I told her to write down what she felt needed done as I didn't see it and I wanted to make sure we covered all bases. Again, she refused to write down what she had problems with. So I told her "how can I fix it if I don't know what you have a problem with?" Again same thing. Then she said, "you need to sign this paper and agree to these things". I told her, "you write down what we need to do and I will, I will not sign before hand. As I cannot physically clean a clean house." She said "you have to." I said "so you think it is fair for me to clean a 17 and 15 year old kids room? Do you not think they would have a problem with their parents going through their stuff and moving it around?" She said "it is your responsibility as a parent to clean your kids rooms." I told her, no it is not, not at that age. It is my responsibility as a parent to TEACH my kids to clean their room, but I am not their maid!" She told me to sign the paper again, I told her I will not until she tells me what she wants done, as again, I could not safely do what they were demanding. Her boss said "I don't care about you, I am here for the kids, I could care less if you live in a cardboard box". I told him but if I cannot continue then that hurts my kids. She asked me if I felt she was setting us up to fail. I said "YES!!". She said, "I'm not setting you up to fail but if you don't sign this paper then I will make your kids state wards." I eventually signed the paper even though it was never stated what they felt was wrong with the house, they left, we took the kids to the motel.
My husband and I went back later that night to clean the house. We had to leave 3 kids ages 12, 15 and 17 unsupervised at a motel for 12 hours the first day. My oldest son had to miss school to stay in the motel room with our homeschooled son.
To cover all bases we knew we had to do a move out move in clean. So we emptied each room, washed each wall (which we live in a rustic log cabin and cleaning rough wood is not an easy task). We took everything the kids owned and pretty much moved it to storage, especially the 2 oldest (which since got ruined and thrown in the trash). We cleaned out cabinets, washed them inside and out. We did this to EVERY room in the house.
On January 14, 2010 the Animal Control officer called me and said "You lied to me about everything you said about the vets." I told him I did not lie to him, I have no reason to lie. I run a no kill cat shelter, I was vet tech and there was nothing wrong with the cats. He said "well I am on my way right now to seize them, I have a warrant and can enter your house without you being there and can and will look in all the cars and out buildings." He asked if I was home and I did tell him I wasn't, as we had a HUGE mess in my house at that point and I did not want him stomping all over my youngest sons belongings on worse someone falling and getting hurt. I couldn't bend over due to my disability to pick things up and asked him to allow me time to get there (which was really saying can you give me an hour and a half for my husband to get back to help me pick things up). He said "I will wait for you but if you are not there by 3 pm I am entering your house, so if you don't want your door busted you better be there on time." So before he arrived I tried to pick up as much as I could. So when he got there I flagged down the sheriff deputy and told him to tell the Animal Control officer I was home. So the AC Officer was irate and said I lied to him. I told him, "I didn't technically lie as I just wanted time to pick up my sons things off the floor as I didn't want mud tracked in on his pillows, blankets, toys stepped on or anyone falling." He called me a liar again. However, they did trample all over my sons things just as I figured they would and broke many toys. So he went to the kennel first and took those cats and then when he was done taking them he came to me and told me he wants me to surrender the ducks. I asked why and he said because they needed rehabilitated (which I knew they didn't, they were fine. They were in a cage in the cats kennel due to the snow and cold weather along with a standard rooster and a bantam rooster). When I refused he said, "well you can either surrender them or I will file abuse charges on you on the ducks AND cats." Now these ducks were my autistic sons ducks, 1 duck he raised from 3 days old and 2 ducks raised from eggs from his 3 day old duck. I knew if I let those ducks go that he would never get over it but I felt I was cornered and didn't know what to do, so I did. So they then come in the house and started grabbing cats. The cats were so calm (unlike normal cats during a seizure). He took all the adoption cats, my daughters 10 year old cat, my oldest sons 7 year old cat (a cat I paid $700 surgery on to avoid putting him to sleep in 2008), my youngest sons 7 year old cat and his 18 month old cat (one he found at a truck stop on a main highway when she was dumped by her owner at 9 weeks old). When Animal Control was leaving he told me the court would issue a bench warrant and from there I can go in front of a judge and maybe get the cats back.
So my husband and I were even more scared, what if they arrested us while the kids were at the motel???
So we worked on the house on January 13 half day, January 14 barely at all due to the tears, January 15 all day. The caseworker came out and said "nope not clean enough" (the house at this point was a mess because of all the cleaning we were doing and because I had to go so slow due to extreme pain I was in, so we went from a clean house before DCS showed up to a messy house while the kids were detained). So sat and sun was there so DCS didn't work, so Monday was a holiday, so that meant kids would not be home before Tuesday. So we had to pay for motel from 14th through the 18th (which we ended up using our kids spring break vacation money to pay for this).
She came out on the 19th and oked them to come home. We thought it was over, she got what she wanted (we thought).
On January 29, 2010 we receive a letter from DCS that they substantiated Hygiene and educational neglect on both boys and Environmental endangerment on all 3. We then got a letter stating we had an IN Home CHINS meeting at the DCS office on February 2, 2010.
On February 2, 2010 we go to the Family/Team meeting for the In Home Chins. There waiting was a therapist that was assigned to us weekly. I'm not going to get into the FTM. This is where the original caseworker signed off on us and issued us a new caseworker throughout the CHINS.....Tawana Alexander
On February 6, 2010 we received summons to go to court on February 9, 2010 as she filed CHINS petition on us. I am like how in the world can she consider our kids Children in Need of Services??? We bend over backwards for our kids, we had insurance and took them to the doctors, they had clothes, they had shelter, they had food, etc. My daughter was even in the process of getting ready to get braces on her teeth.
On Feb 9, 2010 we go to court, DCS called in due to snow. So we went home after waiting an hour.
On February 16, 2010 we go to court, Shannon Ambrose was not there, Tawana Alexander was and Shannon Ambroses supervisor was there. The Judge asked how we plead, "no guilty". Asks if we want a public defender and we say "yes". Sets up March 16, 2010 for a Fact Finding hearing.
Our public defender never called, we called many times but never returned our calls.
Go to court on March 16, 2010. Sat and waited to be called, spoke with Tawana Alexander about why we felt we were wronged, her response was "you should of waited until it warmed up to clean the basement". I told her "according to our daughters pediatrician when she almost died from black mold he said DO NOT allow her to be around black mold, so were we just supposed to let all her and her brothers things sit in the basement and rot, grow black mold and take the chance on her getting severe pneumonia again and almost die again?" She said "well I would had waited". So anyway, we go into the court room. Shannon Ambrose not there again, her supervisor was. The fact finding turned out to be another initial hearing, plead not guilty again. Judge asked where our attorney was, we pointed to him (John T Evans), she said, "No, you said you didn't want a public defender". We said "yes we said we needed a public defender and that is who you appointed". She said she didn't, but she did. So we told her we had called him several times, he told her he has no messages from us. I told her yes he does and I even left messages with his secretary. So then she sets up another fact find hearing but scheduled it AFTER the time allowed for one.
Our fact finding hearing was to be on June 3. Our court appointed attorney got NO cooperation from DCS. They turned over to him hand written interrogatories and refused to turn over the photos Shannon Ambrose took on January 13, 2010. He eventually subpenaed the photos, in which DCS turned over black and white photos.
The week of May 25th, we receive a letter that the fact finding had been postponed to August 26, 2010 due to the key witness not being available. A few days later I was looking at Shannon Ambroses Facebook page and a post from May 25th reads "Vacation next week, can't wait". A friend responded "Vacation? Who said you could go on vacation?" Shannon Ambrose responded "Technically no one, I just told them I wasn't going to show up to see what they'd say". Now the "next" week was June 3, our fact finding hearing and surprisingly it is postponed? And she is THE key witness. So I confront Tawana Alexander about this. She said that she had an appointment but June 3 was the only day she could get in. Now the funny thing about this comment is...On March 16, while sitting discussing the whole case she laughs and said "I don't have to testify, I wasn't there, I don't have to say anything regarding this case". She was elated and boasted how she was NOT a witness! But now all of the sudden SHE is the key witness...
So we had the therapist weekly which acted more like a mole for DCS. Always asked "what are you going to do about animals in the future? When are you going to put PL back in school?" That is pretty much for 6 months all he talked about.
Around May 15 at one of the therapy sessions, the therapist wanted me to sign a paper. I went to sign it and it said "you will continue to keep your child from harm" or something to that matter. I told him I refused to sign something that pretty much says he is in my life because before hand I abused my kids. He said it doesn't say that. I said they way DCS and the courts perceive things that is exactly what it says. He said just to sign it, I said I was not signing it, I said I would sign it if it was worded differently. Well we argued for 10 minutes over me signing it. I said "fine I will sign it but I will sign it under duress and I will write that I am signing under duress". He asked what I meant? I said to him, "it means you are forcing me to sign something that is not true." He said in a hateful voice "don't you sign it like that." I told him that is the only way I will sign it. He said if I didn't sign it the court will look at me as not cooperating. I told him, oh well I am was not signing something I have never done. He then said, "If you don't sign it I won't come back and I will have to contact Tawana and tell her you refuse to sign". I said go ahead, I was not signing something that can and will be used against me. He said "how can it be used against you?" I said "All that has to happen is you show DCS your case file then they have a signed paper stating that I admit I abused my kids." He said "This is my own personal file, DCS cannot have it." I said "Do you think that I am that stupid that DCS won't subpena your case file in order to find more dirt on me???" He said "they can't do that". I said "DCS will find any way to use anything against us, that is why you are here." He said, well I'm not going to sit and argue about it, I will just tell my supervisor you refuse to sign and tell Tawana." I said go ahead. So he left.
A week later he calls... "Samantha, if you sign this form I can come out and have our weekly session." I asked "did you rephrase it". He said no. I said, "well then don't bother coming out I'm not signing." He said "well then I am going to call Tawana, I wanted to give you a chance to sign it and we continue." I told him "I have told you over and over I am not going to sign something I did not do, that is that. Take it up with your boss take it up with Tawana, until it says that I have not abused my kids I WILL NOT sign it." So he said, oh well and hung up.
A week later Tawana Alexander called me...."Samantha, I have great news. I need to set up a home visit and I will tell you then".. So she comes out and says "My supervisor said if you and Randell submit to a psychological evaluation we can dismiss the case." I asked "why would we need to submit to a psychological evaluation, not that I will but why?" She said to prove we were not cat hoarders. I said "So I was right this entire time, this was not about the flooded basement, this was not about being off the grid, it was about me running a no kill cat shelter and someone thinking they know more than me. I will never submit to a pshyc val". She said "but if you do we can dismiss the case." I said, "I am not going to and there has to be some other way to prove we are not cat hoarders. I did not go to school to be a vet to end up being a cat hoarder." She said "well can you prove you took care of those cats?" I asked "you want proof? Yes I can prove that I did. I can give you the name of the store manager in which I purchased $90 of food every other week" She said " No I don't what that, I believe you fed them. I want proof of medical care." I asked "you want receipts from where they were seen at the vets office?" She said "yes, we need that kind of proof, proof they were medically taken care of." I told her to hang on, I went to my DCS file and pulled out all the receipts I had been gathering (didn't have them all though). I said "here, will this work? There is $1500 worth of receipts over an 18 month period, those are the only ones I could find." She then asked if she could contact the vets listed. "I said sure, go ahead, and oh, by the way, these 2 are the 2 vets I worked for and the 2 vets that have been helping me with some of the cats over the past 5 months, but yeah, call them."
That was the last contact we had with DCS
1 month later we received word from our court appointed attorney the case was dismissed.
Come to find out, DCS filed a cat hoarding story and lied about the condition of my home. Animal Control lied as well saying 13 of 15 cats were very sick and emaciated and left in MY care would die or become permanently disabled.
Seeing we live in a rural area we kind of figure the people across the street called them. As they knew we were off grid and that we just bought a truck and was teaching our son how to drive a stick shift.
So anyway we go to the office and talk to her. She tells us the complaint was that someone called in that we had no electricity and someone gets in the car and goes back in 20 minutes later. I told her right then and there I knew who it was, it was most likely the neighbor across the street as they hate us and had taunted us over the generator during the summer (not sure what they thought they were accomplishing as it was a choice).
So to address the "no electricity" part, we explained we were in the process of getting ready to go solar and we were on the generator first to do a test run to see what needed changed over and how difficult it would be to live off grid in the solar went down. Well what was supposed to be 2 or 3 months max turned out to cut our electricity costs in half. So we discussed it further and decided it may be a good idea to stay off grid to see how things are in the summer. So we did.
Then I explained to her the getting in the truck going in 20 minutes later that we just bought a truck and was teaching our son to drive a stick shift.
So then of course we had the usual questions. The kids told her about school. She asked what school my youngest one went to and I told her he was home schooled. She asked where my husband worked and what I did. I told her that I was disabled and cannot work outside the home. She then asked if we had any pets. I told her we had horses, chickens, ducks a dog and some cats. And that we ran a no kill cat shelter.
So after wrapping it all up we left and felt everything was very well explained.
On December 21, 2009 we received a letter it was unsubstantiated.
On January 6, 2010 my neighbor who is a Town Marshall for the next town came to my house. He said DCS called for a welfare check on the kids. My husband said everything was fine and did not know why a call was placed. He said he didn't know either but he needed to go in the house. My husband told him he'd have to to tell me. I went outside and told the town Marshall right then was not a good time and that he could come back later (this was neighbor to neighbor). He told me he was not leaving until he had access to the house. I told him I was not going to let him in as we were in the process of cleaning our flooded basement (and of all people that should of realized our basement flooded was him as he rides by my house every day and you could tell something happened). So anyway, he said no that DCS wanted him to check for heat. And I told him (since you could tell the fireplace was in use) that I would bring the kerosene heater to him. He said no, he had to check for hot water too. I told him I was not going to let him in as we were busy and since I was disabled I cannot stop in the middle of a job as I never know when I can get back to it and we were winding down to get to the big stuff to bring up and I needed to get back to it. He said he needed in. I told him I would call the case worker and find out after it was unsubstantiated why she sent him out. So I called but she did not answer the phone. So he called her and she answered the phone. He handed me the phone, I asked her why he was there and she said she needed to make sure we had heat and hot water as the temps had dropped and weather was calling for 2 inches of snow. I told her, like I told her before in December my home always has heat and hot water due to my disability as without them I cannot walk. She said then let the officer in and I told her no we were cleaning our basement that we had already showed her that it was flooded. She said he will understand that part. I told her no, I am not letting anyone in the house as I don't want any misunderstandings, I would need to put everything back. She said I didn't have to do that, she'd come out and look at it and if she felt we needed time to clean house she'd give me 3 days to do it. I told her I don't need to clean my house I need to clean up the mess of dragging the stuff up from the basement, put away what had been cleaned and finish up what hasn't. I told her he can come back in a few hours and we'll stop now and put the things back up although I would rather get it finished. She said no, he was going to get in the house then. I told her no he wasn't. We argued about my right to privacy for 55 minutes. So finally after being in pain I told her that he can come back in 2-3 hours and I will just cram it all in my bedroom and take the uncleaned stuff back down to the basement. She said no, he was going to get in then. I told her, I was in pain as talking on the phone hurts and being in the cold hurts worse. She told me it sounded like to her I was trying to hide a meth lab. I laughed at her and said I have never done drugs in my life and all I am trying to do was clean my basement. I told her I was going to go in my house and he wasn't going in. She then said he was going in. Again I told her no he wasn't. She then said, ok fine I will have him to be there at 10 pm and you better let him in. I told her fine. She then says she will be out at my house tomorrow about 9 am. I told her fine and hung up.
So at 10 pm he comes back, walks through the front door straight to the kids bathroom. There he sees our hot water in the bathtub. He stands there and tells me if we needed help we should had called him that is what he was there for. I told him we didn't need any help we were fine and don't know why she unsubstantiated allegations the prior month to call for a welfare check. After about 8 minutes he left.
So the following morning January 7, 2010 she called and rescheduled due to the little bit of snow we got. She then talked to me about opening a case on my family to get help. I told her we didn't need any help we were doing just fine. She goes on and says they can pay to get the electric back on and I told her we don't need help with that we don't want back on the grid and we are going solar in a few weeks. She then goes on and says she can get the furnace fixed and I told her again, we no longer use that furnace, so on and so on. She then says she will talk to me more about it tomorrow.
So the following morning January 8, 2010 she called and rescheduled again. So had it set up for January 11, 2010 since the weekend was here.
On January 11, 2010 she shows up 30 minutes late. When she came in she saw my son cleaning up cat poop where one of the larger cats though he was in the litter box had his butt hanging over the side and it went on the floor instead. She sat at the kitchen table and said the reason she was there was because school called her and told her my oldest son was truant and that my kids smelled. I told her to stop right there as all that was a lie, and that from those words I knew she called the school. She did not deny it. I told her my son was not truant and that the days he had missed the school knew why and I have had an open relationship with the schools for 6 years due to my sons disabilities. I also told her she was lying as no one has ever mentioned to me an odor on my daughter. But yes we were dealing with a foot odor problem with my son and I had already tried many different things for my sons foot odor to no avail. She then started in on me about homeschooling, when in Indiana all we have to do is have proof of attendance to the superintendent not DCS. Then she looks at a cat and said the cat had a feline disease and I told her no the cat was being treated by a vet for an upper respiratory infection and I was a former vet tech and I know what the illnesses are and the cats were fine. She then pointed out my sons cat as being emaciated. I laughed at her and said no the cat was not emaciated she was an 18 month old long and lanky cat. She had not grown into her body yet, that happens. She was thin but was not emaciate nor sick, she was very healthy, had a shiny coat and bright eyes (which emaciated cats do not have) and was happy. She then asked to see the kids rooms and the bathroom. So I showed her my dining room in which was temporarily housing my daughter, the living room was temporarily housing my oldest son, and my youngest sons room; well it was a mess. But my youngest son is autistic and I explained to her that he went and got all his toys that had wet boxes in fear of us throwing his toys out and he needed to pack them back up. And due to his autism I was teaching him to clean without someone present (teaching independence) yes the process was slow but he was doing it and doing well once he got going. So we wrapped up this investigation and felt again any misunderstandings were settled, I mean after all how perfect can things be dealing with a flooded basement?
On January 13, 2010 the caseworker called me and told me it was very important for her to speak to me. I asked her what about and she said she didn't want to discuss it over the phone can she ride out? I told her I was busy, she said it was real important, again I told her to tell me on the phone, she wouldn't. So I told her ok then come on out.
When my husband opened the door she had her supervisor, and 2 sheriff deputies. He opened the door and they walked to the kitchen and sat down. The supervisor said to me right off.."been doing alot of cleaning huh?" I laughed and said yeah (I said yeah, as I thought he was referring to us cleaning the basement). Well she pipes up and says "this is my supervisor and we are here to detain the children" I was like what, what for? and then she said "oh and by the way I called animal control and he should be here shortly". I asked why on earth would you call animal control she replied "because your cats are unhealthy" and I told her there is nothing wrong with the cats, a few are being treated but generally there was nothing wrong. I then asked why they were taking the kids she said "look at this place, it is a health hazard for the kids". I was like "how can you consider it a health hazard, the house is clean". She said "the house is not clean and you and your husband need to clean it". I said the house was clean. She said the house was cluttered and unorganized. I told her the house was as organized as it was going to be until we get the basement fixed, at that point we had to put our 15 year old daughter in the dining room and had to set up a bedroom for our 17 year old son in the living room as both their bedrooms were in the basement. Her supervisor then popped up and said "oh, by the way take down your Halloween decorations" I was like, what are you talking about? He said "the cobwebs, take those down". I was like, seriously, that is no big deal, we were getting ready to remodel in about 6 weeks, cobwebs vs a flooded basement was not an issue to me. At that point Animal control showed up so I had to go talk to him so my husband sat with DCS/Sheriffs.
The animal control officer asked me about the cats and made the remark " you are living in a kennel". I laughed and said, "yeah, it seems that way right now, but it isn't that bad. I brought them in because there isn't any insulation in their kennel and they were shivering and we were having a hard time taking care of them out there so to protect them we just brought them in". (per Indiana State law this is required) He seemed to understand that and commended me on the job I was doing. So then he asked me if I knew this, knew that. I told him I was a former veterinarian technician/assistant. I have the training to spot illnesses, I know how to vaccinate and give my own shots, dewormings,etc. He asked if the cats were spay and neutered. I said some were I was still working on the others as no vet will do them all and set me up on a payment plan so I do them as discounts come available and I had just recently found a vet that neuters cheaply so I had been using him on that part. I gave him a list of vets I used. I told him I had just been to the vet 30 days ago and the small kitten was being treated for an upper respiratory infection. He then said "the only thing I see you are at fault on is the rabies vaccination, all cats 3 month and older must have Rabies". I explained I knew this the reason I had not done that and is because at that point I was paying to house the cats, fed them, vet them, vaccinate them, spay and neuter them out of my own pocket as I was still waiting on my non profit status. And I felt as long as I took care of that, I would let the new owner take care of the Rabies, since they would want to take them to the vet for a new pet health assessment anyway. He said "by law you are liable and I can fine you for that. However, if you want, I can set you up on a payment plan like you wanted with your vet to have all the rest spay and neutered and get everyone that needs it, a Rabies shot." I was ecstatic over it, I thanked him greatly, that would help me out tremendously, that I would be able to rehome them alot faster as well. So he gave me his card and said call the office and find out when the vet is going to be in and we can set it up, and even worked out the fee. So as he was getting ready to leave he looked over at the caseworker and all of the sudden changed his demeanor and said he wanted to see more cats. He got real hateful in front of the caseworker and her boss. I told him to stay there and I would go get them.
The casewoker told my husband she wanted to see the master suite. (She was in my house on 1/11/10 and never asked to see it. She also told me she was detaining my kids and called Animal Control BEFORE seeing the master suite! She knew through previous conversation on the night of January 6, 2010 I told her in order to let the town Marshall in my house I would have to cram everything upstairs. And it was crammed and a mess because of my disability I could not finish cleaning around the totes, bags and boxes (this is what I was working on when she called that day). And since some of the stuff we took up stairs was wet I took a bag of rags and scattered all the rags on the floor to prevent water on my hard wood floors in my master suite.
So when my husband was taking the caseworker and her supervisor to the master suite is the same time basically the Animal Control officer said he wanted to see more cats. (I told him to stay put and I would bring them to him.) Well I turn around to take a cat to him and there he was standing in my bedroom. So I showed him 4 more cats and he said "I've seen enough. He said he would be back tomorrow to get them. I asked why, there is nothing wrong with them. He said "look at that cat that cat is emaciated" I told him same thing I told the caseworker she was not emaciated she was a long and lanky cat. He said, "doesn't matter I will be back tomorrow." I asked if it was because they were inside as if that is a problem I will move them back out to the kennel. He said no, just kept saying he'd be here tomorrow to get the cats. I told him I want to speak to my vets first as I feel that he was wrong. He told me he'd give me til tomorrow to do that.
So after he left I went back to finish up talking with DCS. So then she says "I'm going to be nice, although I don't have to, I am going to put the kids in a motel but you all have to go and stay at the motel with them." I asked "a motel? Are you paying for it?" She said "no you are." I told her we didn't have that kind of money for something so stupid. So then she called a pastor and he HATEFULLY said he'd only pay one night.
So then she wrote out "Randell and Samantha Lee agree not to bring the children back in the home until FCM Ambrose approves the children's return to home". Randell and Samantha Lee agree not to have any more animals in the house". and some more stupid stuff. I refused to sign this paper as I had a dog that was a house dog that was put out in 17 degree weather because she didn't feel my dog should be in the house. I also had a chicken in a large bird cage because of her health, she cannot be in extreme heat or cold. So I told her I refuse to sign the paper until she tells me what she feels is wrong with my house and she flat refused to tell me. All she would say is "look around". I told her the only thing I know that needs tending to is the youngest childs bedroom and my master suite (which was caused by her). And I asked "is there more that you do not find suitable?" She laughed and said "yes". So I told her to write down what she felt needed done as I didn't see it and I wanted to make sure we covered all bases. Again, she refused to write down what she had problems with. So I told her "how can I fix it if I don't know what you have a problem with?" Again same thing. Then she said, "you need to sign this paper and agree to these things". I told her, "you write down what we need to do and I will, I will not sign before hand. As I cannot physically clean a clean house." She said "you have to." I said "so you think it is fair for me to clean a 17 and 15 year old kids room? Do you not think they would have a problem with their parents going through their stuff and moving it around?" She said "it is your responsibility as a parent to clean your kids rooms." I told her, no it is not, not at that age. It is my responsibility as a parent to TEACH my kids to clean their room, but I am not their maid!" She told me to sign the paper again, I told her I will not until she tells me what she wants done, as again, I could not safely do what they were demanding. Her boss said "I don't care about you, I am here for the kids, I could care less if you live in a cardboard box". I told him but if I cannot continue then that hurts my kids. She asked me if I felt she was setting us up to fail. I said "YES!!". She said, "I'm not setting you up to fail but if you don't sign this paper then I will make your kids state wards." I eventually signed the paper even though it was never stated what they felt was wrong with the house, they left, we took the kids to the motel.
My husband and I went back later that night to clean the house. We had to leave 3 kids ages 12, 15 and 17 unsupervised at a motel for 12 hours the first day. My oldest son had to miss school to stay in the motel room with our homeschooled son.
To cover all bases we knew we had to do a move out move in clean. So we emptied each room, washed each wall (which we live in a rustic log cabin and cleaning rough wood is not an easy task). We took everything the kids owned and pretty much moved it to storage, especially the 2 oldest (which since got ruined and thrown in the trash). We cleaned out cabinets, washed them inside and out. We did this to EVERY room in the house.
On January 14, 2010 the Animal Control officer called me and said "You lied to me about everything you said about the vets." I told him I did not lie to him, I have no reason to lie. I run a no kill cat shelter, I was vet tech and there was nothing wrong with the cats. He said "well I am on my way right now to seize them, I have a warrant and can enter your house without you being there and can and will look in all the cars and out buildings." He asked if I was home and I did tell him I wasn't, as we had a HUGE mess in my house at that point and I did not want him stomping all over my youngest sons belongings on worse someone falling and getting hurt. I couldn't bend over due to my disability to pick things up and asked him to allow me time to get there (which was really saying can you give me an hour and a half for my husband to get back to help me pick things up). He said "I will wait for you but if you are not there by 3 pm I am entering your house, so if you don't want your door busted you better be there on time." So before he arrived I tried to pick up as much as I could. So when he got there I flagged down the sheriff deputy and told him to tell the Animal Control officer I was home. So the AC Officer was irate and said I lied to him. I told him, "I didn't technically lie as I just wanted time to pick up my sons things off the floor as I didn't want mud tracked in on his pillows, blankets, toys stepped on or anyone falling." He called me a liar again. However, they did trample all over my sons things just as I figured they would and broke many toys. So he went to the kennel first and took those cats and then when he was done taking them he came to me and told me he wants me to surrender the ducks. I asked why and he said because they needed rehabilitated (which I knew they didn't, they were fine. They were in a cage in the cats kennel due to the snow and cold weather along with a standard rooster and a bantam rooster). When I refused he said, "well you can either surrender them or I will file abuse charges on you on the ducks AND cats." Now these ducks were my autistic sons ducks, 1 duck he raised from 3 days old and 2 ducks raised from eggs from his 3 day old duck. I knew if I let those ducks go that he would never get over it but I felt I was cornered and didn't know what to do, so I did. So they then come in the house and started grabbing cats. The cats were so calm (unlike normal cats during a seizure). He took all the adoption cats, my daughters 10 year old cat, my oldest sons 7 year old cat (a cat I paid $700 surgery on to avoid putting him to sleep in 2008), my youngest sons 7 year old cat and his 18 month old cat (one he found at a truck stop on a main highway when she was dumped by her owner at 9 weeks old). When Animal Control was leaving he told me the court would issue a bench warrant and from there I can go in front of a judge and maybe get the cats back.
So my husband and I were even more scared, what if they arrested us while the kids were at the motel???
So we worked on the house on January 13 half day, January 14 barely at all due to the tears, January 15 all day. The caseworker came out and said "nope not clean enough" (the house at this point was a mess because of all the cleaning we were doing and because I had to go so slow due to extreme pain I was in, so we went from a clean house before DCS showed up to a messy house while the kids were detained). So sat and sun was there so DCS didn't work, so Monday was a holiday, so that meant kids would not be home before Tuesday. So we had to pay for motel from 14th through the 18th (which we ended up using our kids spring break vacation money to pay for this).
She came out on the 19th and oked them to come home. We thought it was over, she got what she wanted (we thought).
On January 29, 2010 we receive a letter from DCS that they substantiated Hygiene and educational neglect on both boys and Environmental endangerment on all 3. We then got a letter stating we had an IN Home CHINS meeting at the DCS office on February 2, 2010.
On February 2, 2010 we go to the Family/Team meeting for the In Home Chins. There waiting was a therapist that was assigned to us weekly. I'm not going to get into the FTM. This is where the original caseworker signed off on us and issued us a new caseworker throughout the CHINS.....Tawana Alexander
On February 6, 2010 we received summons to go to court on February 9, 2010 as she filed CHINS petition on us. I am like how in the world can she consider our kids Children in Need of Services??? We bend over backwards for our kids, we had insurance and took them to the doctors, they had clothes, they had shelter, they had food, etc. My daughter was even in the process of getting ready to get braces on her teeth.
On Feb 9, 2010 we go to court, DCS called in due to snow. So we went home after waiting an hour.
On February 16, 2010 we go to court, Shannon Ambrose was not there, Tawana Alexander was and Shannon Ambroses supervisor was there. The Judge asked how we plead, "no guilty". Asks if we want a public defender and we say "yes". Sets up March 16, 2010 for a Fact Finding hearing.
Our public defender never called, we called many times but never returned our calls.
Go to court on March 16, 2010. Sat and waited to be called, spoke with Tawana Alexander about why we felt we were wronged, her response was "you should of waited until it warmed up to clean the basement". I told her "according to our daughters pediatrician when she almost died from black mold he said DO NOT allow her to be around black mold, so were we just supposed to let all her and her brothers things sit in the basement and rot, grow black mold and take the chance on her getting severe pneumonia again and almost die again?" She said "well I would had waited". So anyway, we go into the court room. Shannon Ambrose not there again, her supervisor was. The fact finding turned out to be another initial hearing, plead not guilty again. Judge asked where our attorney was, we pointed to him (John T Evans), she said, "No, you said you didn't want a public defender". We said "yes we said we needed a public defender and that is who you appointed". She said she didn't, but she did. So we told her we had called him several times, he told her he has no messages from us. I told her yes he does and I even left messages with his secretary. So then she sets up another fact find hearing but scheduled it AFTER the time allowed for one.
Our fact finding hearing was to be on June 3. Our court appointed attorney got NO cooperation from DCS. They turned over to him hand written interrogatories and refused to turn over the photos Shannon Ambrose took on January 13, 2010. He eventually subpenaed the photos, in which DCS turned over black and white photos.
The week of May 25th, we receive a letter that the fact finding had been postponed to August 26, 2010 due to the key witness not being available. A few days later I was looking at Shannon Ambroses Facebook page and a post from May 25th reads "Vacation next week, can't wait". A friend responded "Vacation? Who said you could go on vacation?" Shannon Ambrose responded "Technically no one, I just told them I wasn't going to show up to see what they'd say". Now the "next" week was June 3, our fact finding hearing and surprisingly it is postponed? And she is THE key witness. So I confront Tawana Alexander about this. She said that she had an appointment but June 3 was the only day she could get in. Now the funny thing about this comment is...On March 16, while sitting discussing the whole case she laughs and said "I don't have to testify, I wasn't there, I don't have to say anything regarding this case". She was elated and boasted how she was NOT a witness! But now all of the sudden SHE is the key witness...
So we had the therapist weekly which acted more like a mole for DCS. Always asked "what are you going to do about animals in the future? When are you going to put PL back in school?" That is pretty much for 6 months all he talked about.
Around May 15 at one of the therapy sessions, the therapist wanted me to sign a paper. I went to sign it and it said "you will continue to keep your child from harm" or something to that matter. I told him I refused to sign something that pretty much says he is in my life because before hand I abused my kids. He said it doesn't say that. I said they way DCS and the courts perceive things that is exactly what it says. He said just to sign it, I said I was not signing it, I said I would sign it if it was worded differently. Well we argued for 10 minutes over me signing it. I said "fine I will sign it but I will sign it under duress and I will write that I am signing under duress". He asked what I meant? I said to him, "it means you are forcing me to sign something that is not true." He said in a hateful voice "don't you sign it like that." I told him that is the only way I will sign it. He said if I didn't sign it the court will look at me as not cooperating. I told him, oh well I am was not signing something I have never done. He then said, "If you don't sign it I won't come back and I will have to contact Tawana and tell her you refuse to sign". I said go ahead, I was not signing something that can and will be used against me. He said "how can it be used against you?" I said "All that has to happen is you show DCS your case file then they have a signed paper stating that I admit I abused my kids." He said "This is my own personal file, DCS cannot have it." I said "Do you think that I am that stupid that DCS won't subpena your case file in order to find more dirt on me???" He said "they can't do that". I said "DCS will find any way to use anything against us, that is why you are here." He said, well I'm not going to sit and argue about it, I will just tell my supervisor you refuse to sign and tell Tawana." I said go ahead. So he left.
A week later he calls... "Samantha, if you sign this form I can come out and have our weekly session." I asked "did you rephrase it". He said no. I said, "well then don't bother coming out I'm not signing." He said "well then I am going to call Tawana, I wanted to give you a chance to sign it and we continue." I told him "I have told you over and over I am not going to sign something I did not do, that is that. Take it up with your boss take it up with Tawana, until it says that I have not abused my kids I WILL NOT sign it." So he said, oh well and hung up.
A week later Tawana Alexander called me...."Samantha, I have great news. I need to set up a home visit and I will tell you then".. So she comes out and says "My supervisor said if you and Randell submit to a psychological evaluation we can dismiss the case." I asked "why would we need to submit to a psychological evaluation, not that I will but why?" She said to prove we were not cat hoarders. I said "So I was right this entire time, this was not about the flooded basement, this was not about being off the grid, it was about me running a no kill cat shelter and someone thinking they know more than me. I will never submit to a pshyc val". She said "but if you do we can dismiss the case." I said, "I am not going to and there has to be some other way to prove we are not cat hoarders. I did not go to school to be a vet to end up being a cat hoarder." She said "well can you prove you took care of those cats?" I asked "you want proof? Yes I can prove that I did. I can give you the name of the store manager in which I purchased $90 of food every other week" She said " No I don't what that, I believe you fed them. I want proof of medical care." I asked "you want receipts from where they were seen at the vets office?" She said "yes, we need that kind of proof, proof they were medically taken care of." I told her to hang on, I went to my DCS file and pulled out all the receipts I had been gathering (didn't have them all though). I said "here, will this work? There is $1500 worth of receipts over an 18 month period, those are the only ones I could find." She then asked if she could contact the vets listed. "I said sure, go ahead, and oh, by the way, these 2 are the 2 vets I worked for and the 2 vets that have been helping me with some of the cats over the past 5 months, but yeah, call them."
That was the last contact we had with DCS
1 month later we received word from our court appointed attorney the case was dismissed.
Come to find out, DCS filed a cat hoarding story and lied about the condition of my home. Animal Control lied as well saying 13 of 15 cats were very sick and emaciated and left in MY care would die or become permanently disabled.