INVESTIGATION: DCYF Wrongfully Removed Children From RI Mother, According to State Report

INVESTIGATION: DCYF Wrongfully Removed Children From RI Mother, According to State Report

A Rhode Island mother is speaking out after winning appeals against the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) for taking custody of her two children — which was found in an administrative decision to have been wrong. 

West Warwick’s April Doyle received a fifty-six page decision from Karen Walsh, an Appeals Officer at the Office of Health and Human Services, on February 25, which granted appeals in five separate investigations that found there was insufficient evidence to support allegations by DCYF of "inadequate shelter" and "neglect" by Doyle. 

Doyle, who had grown up in the DCYF system — and gave up her first of three children up for adoption while in state care — said that she is seeking justice.

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“They destroyed my whole childhood. I was molested in foster homes, stripped and put in rooms with boys and now as a parent, they haunt me. They ripped my first born away and try harder than anything to tear my other two away,” said Doyle in an interview on Thursday. “I am a good mom despite being so institutionalized. I am the parent I wanted, with love, structure, routine and passion. My greatest accomplishment is my boys and I’m constantly fighting to keep them! It’s exhausting where are my rights not only as a mom but as a person!”

Doyle said at the crux of her issue with DCYF was her inability to find adequate housing for her and her sons on short notice.

“This was simply a housing issue,” said Doyle. 

Housing — and DCYF Past — Mom’s Biggest Battles

“This all started in January [2018],” Doyle said. 

Doyle said her oldest son told his counselor at the Providence Center that he had been abused by a gym teacher at his school.  She said she got him on the waiting list for services right away at Day One — and enrolled him in karate classes to address his anger issues. 

Doyle said it was picking him up from karate one night that she was late from her 10 p.m. curfew at Sojourner House, where she was staying as a victim of prior domestic abuse and in need of shelter, by “just minutes” — which cause Sojourner House to terminate her stay.

“A social worker said we needed to meet, and I said I could at my friend’s house in North Kingstown,” said Doyle. “They told me no, because of the other children present there.”

In the 56-page document signed by Walsh, the HHS Appeals Officer noted that Doyle’s oldest son said he “attempted to touch a young girl, and made the further disclosure he had been molested at school.”

“So they say my son can’t be around young children because of ‘reactive touching’ [after molestation],  but then they place him in foster care with other young children?” said Doyle.

Doyle said she then had no other choice but to take her children to her aunt's house — after trying to get help from the West Warwick Police Department, because she knew the issue of lack of beds at her aunt’s would cause DCYF to take her children. 

According to Doyle, the next day, on January 24, 2018, DCYF came and took Doyle’s two children. 

“I didn’t get my oldest son back until October 27 [2018]” said Doyle. “I had two-hour ‘supervised’ visits [during that time]. I had to stop breastfeeding my baby. What are my rights as a mom? How could they just rip him away?"

HHS Findings Negate DCYF

Doyle said they closed her case in December -- and that due to DCYF’s actions, she filed an appeal. 

“When you read Walsh’s findings, you’ll see it’s clear I was in survival mode that night after being kicked out of Sojourner House,” said Doyle. “It was fight, flight, or freeze mode.”

In her findings, Walsh wrote the following"

“In [DCYF’s] notes, it says she is non-compliantt with services but shows that within sixteen days from her child being molested she had services in place,” wrote Walsh.

Walsh also addressed the temporary loss of housing issue, writing the following:

Petitioner noted she had not planned accordingly, [her son’s] new class ran late, she contacted the shelter, but was admittedly minutes late. She was asked to leave the placement and did so. Mother then went to Crossroads to obtain housing, and then to a Vally Street placement, and then contacted West Warwick police. Upon her arrival the police informed her they were unable to obtain housing and they contacted DCYF.

At [sic] hearing, petitioner had noted that she purposely had not stayed at aunt’s due to bed and dog issues which she felt CPI Murphy would find fault and would remove her children when she came the following morning. The family stayed at the aunt’s home that evening and the children subsequently removed from custody the following day. Mother states that her youngest son was placed with the biological father, who is a domestic abuser, and her eldest son was removed from him for nine months.

In reviewing the record and testimony, and in reading the investigative reports, CPS Lancellotta noted that 4 specific issues were weighed in the evidence, including educational needs, mental health counseling for the mother, and lack of follow through services for one son…three of the four issues were erroneous in that the children had no educational needs concerns expressed in any collaterals, and at the time, they had only been out of their regular shelty placement for one weekday only, the record shows now investigative exploration of the mother’s follow-through with her own mental health counseling, through the record shows her participating ongoing with services for years, and there is no indication her son had a lack of services. None of the above considerations are related to a finding of “inadequate shelter.” Despite the periphery issues, mother showed a vigorous attempt to provide a placement for her children the evening of the 23rd. 

Doyle said now that she has her oldest son, she is fighting to get her youngest son back, and has a hearing in March. 

“Senator Reed’s office were really the ones that pushed to get my appeal,” said Doyle. “I met with [Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo’s office]. Honestly — if there was a person who tried to help me the most, it was Judge [Frank] Caprio — he got me an emergency meeting with Crossroads.”

Doyle said while she feels vindicated by the appeals being granted, they do not make up for the time she lost with her sons.

DCYF responded to questions about Doyle’s case with the following statement.

“DCYF policy affords clients the opportunity to file for an administrative appeal of agency decisions. We can confirm that Ms. Doyle filed for an administrative appeal,” said Kerri White at DCYF. “We cannot, however, comment on the specifics of this case due to state confidentiality laws relating to reports of child abuse and neglect.”

“400 days. It’s now 400 days since I’ve had both my kids,” said Doyle. “I’d love to be able to sue DCYF, but it’s so hard to find a lawyer.”