Taken again

Andrew's little brother died during a nap on Dec. 17, 2012, at the age of 14 months. Andrew was about three and a half. The parents called 911. A policeman drove them and Andrew to a meeting point with the grandmother, and she drove them the rest of the way to the hospital. On the way, she heard Andrew asking for reassurance that they would all be going home together.

The EMTs claimed that the boy was malnourished. He was never seen by a doctor. The coroner reported that the boy was healthy and that there was no evidence of wrongdoing. Rather than being malnourished, he was just small, like his mother. The autopsy found no circumstances for the death. We thought it must be SIDS. Like his sister, who had died of it, the boy was a month premature. Premature babies are at a higher risk of SIDS. 

The were taken to the sheriff's station and were questioned all night. The police, meanwhile, searched the house. They impounded the three dogs and the couple had to pay $279 to get them back. They also took many possessions, including all of the blankets. They found no evidence of foul play.

Andrew had been picked up by one of his aunts. CPS took him from her home. A social worker called another relative around 2 or 3 am, asking if she wanted to take him. She said no. She didn't feel up to it, both because of her age and because she was looking after someone who needed full-time care. She didn't know that she would be the only possible placement. The social worker said that she would call again in the morning, but she never did.

They did not okay anyone else. One relative was told that her house was too small, and that she couldn't have him because he would have to share a room with girls. Another relative put in the paperwork to adopt him, but was refused. Except for the parents, none of us have criminal records. We don't know why we were rejected. 

Four days after their little boy died, the parents were back in Juvenile Dependency Court. This time, they were never charged with anything. This did not stop CPS from taking Andrew, anyway. They said the parents could see him in a month. Later, CPS said that they couldn't see him at all because it would be too hard for him. CPS also had them pay about $350 a month in child support for his foster care. They had to go to court several times to settle it.

They never did get to see him. Neither did anyone else in the family. Family members kept calling CPS, but nothing happened. Once, when his grandma called, her call was not returned until two weeks later. The caller said that he was getting age-appropriate therapy. We weren't even allowed to see him on his fourth birthday.

Eventually, the parents learned that he had been put into an adoptive home. And on December 9, 2013, they were told that their parental rights had been taken away. CPS reported that Andrew was calling his caregivers Mom and Dad.

The parents have now moved. Their CPS tried to find Andrew's whereabouts, but ours refused to tell them. 



 Please sign our petition to find him: http://www.change.org/petitions/state-rep-tim-donnelly-help-find-andrew-dube