TULSA, Okla. — As a grand jury investigation hangs in the balance, a number of families continue to search for an advocate as they say they face issues with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
2 News has received more than ten calls and emails from individuals, claiming the state agency is not protecting their kids.
Messages have said things like DHS is covering up abuse or removes children from healthy households.
That's the reality for one Tulsa mother, who asked to remain anonymous as she shared her story.
"I never saw my life as anything other than a mom," she said. "They want me to work on my depression to get them back, but not having my kids is just not helping that."
The mother of three said her children were removed from her home, as she struggled with postpartum depression and wasn't keeping the house in order.
She was told it was only for a few days, until she cleaned the home, but said she didn't hear from anyone with the department for two weeks.
“They told me from the get-go I wasn’t the safety issue, it wasn’t me that was the problem, it was the apartment," the mother said. "The apartment got done, so now they’re looking at it like I am the safety issue so now I have to get supervised visitations which shouldn’t be a thing because they already told me it wasn’t me."
It's been two months of heartache, and little communication from DHS.
In that time, the mother tells 2 News her case has been passed off to three different case workers.
“The first caseworker I had was great at communicating, texted me all the time, but then the further it progressed down to different people, the less communication I got.”
- PREVIOUS REPORT >>> PETITION FILED: Advocates ask for grand jury to investigate DHS
With that, 2 News' Stef Manchen searched for a different approach for this mother and other parents to get some answers.
After combing through other local child advocacy group's websites, we found resources with broken links and the links that did work brought us back to DHS's website.
In an effort to get some answers, we walked in to DHS's north Tulsa location.
They said all interview inquiries must go through their media phone number, and didn't have anyone in house to speak.
As for this mother, she is left with little intervention, and been told she will be without her children for up to six months.
“I feel as if DHS could put their resources into kids that actually need it and not kids that are happy, healthy, fed, taken care of," she said. “It’s the worst, because when I see my kids, and I have to leave them, they’re all crying, I walk away crying, and I'm about to cry now because of it. It's just heartbreaking to watch your kids heart break."
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
