Tonight's forum on child removal is a good start

It's been more than two years since I wrote about Jessica Wilbur - the Guernsey mom who says state child protection workers took her 5-year-old daughter without her permission or a judge's consent. More than a year since I learned about a second case - this time a Jasper County dad.

Because those removals were classified as “voluntary,” those parents had no right to a hearing, no legal help and little information - none of the safeguards built into formal child removal. Frankly, it boggled my mind.

In the months that followed, I talked to families from all over Iowa about their experiences with the state child protection system - complicated cases with a lot of moving parts.

Still, I saw a pattern emerging: Parents desperate to do what it took to get their children back, but who felt thwarted at every turn.

It was a side of the story few of us had heard before - a quiet, everyday story of pain and frustration. A counterbalance to the horrific headlines that broadcast those (thankfully) few occasions our safety net fails and a child is seriously injured or dies from abuse.

It's been months since I wrote a series of columns outlining just three families' experiences: a mom who struggled for more than a year to regain custody of her children, even though two separate Department of Human Services-ordered evaluations recommended reunification; a grandma who divorced her husband, evicted her son and became a foster mom in the vain hope of keeping her grandchildren out of the system; a dad who lost all rights to his daughter even though he was never accused of abuse.

In all my years in journalism, I've never experienced the volume of reader feedback I received from those columns. Months later, I still hear from families looking for answers, looking for help.

Tonight's forum won't come close to answering every question. But I hope that it's a start.

We've invited panelists with a wide range of experience - from the courts, the community and DHS. We'll hear from a national expert in child welfare practice and someone who has seen Iowa's system up close as a foster parent, service provider and mom.

Tonight's forum won't be the last word on this complex and emotional subject. But I hope it moves the conversation forward.

Tonight: 7 p.m. “Fractured Families: A public forum on child removal in Eastern Iowa,” African American Museum of Iowa, 55 12th Ave., Cedar Rapids. Broadcasts: KCRG Local 9.2; live stream on KCRG.com, TheGazette.com

Comments: (319) 339-3154; jennifer.hemmingsen@sourcemedia.net