Grandparents protest Child and Family Services

HELENA – Patsy Fercho has been virtually cut off from the grandchildren she raised until social services handed them over to their father, she said. She worries now they're being abused based on his history and their descriptions of life with their father.

Fercho was among about 30 people at the Montana Capitol taking part in a daylong protest Thursday against Child and Family Services Division.

"I thought I had a horror story until I met these people," Fercho said. Her grandchildren "expected me to protect them, and I'm powerless."

Several of the protesters said they were threatened "you will never see your kids again" as they pushed back against the system.

"We will continue to work with families and the courts to ensure the safety and well-being of vulnerable children, said Jon Ebelt, public information officer at the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. "Ultimately, the decision to remove and place a child is made by the courts. These are very difficult cases for everyone involved."

April Hall, whose granddaughter October Perez died in Great Falls, said she has nothing left to lose by protesting.

"I know where these people are coming from," she said. "We don't want CPS to fail any more of these kids."

Hall celebrated the success of House Bill 472, sponsored by Rep. Tom Jacobson, D-Great Falls. The bill will make permanent a child and family ombudsman position in the Department of Justice. The bill sailed through the House and Senate with hefty margins and has returned to the House after Senate action. It's expected to land on the governor's desk soon.

Cleve Loney of Great Falls said he's concerned the agency is stifling the ombudsman position by transferring their own person to the Department of Justice as investigator.

Janice Brady, 15, was the youngest protester. The Helena girl said she was bruised when a boy threw a football that hit her, but when she talked to her school counselor about anxiety and had a bruise, suddenly her dad was under investigation for abuse.

Her father, Chris Brady, said he's filing for bankruptcy after two years fighting Child and Family Services. He said his daughter was treated poorly in its care and Janice's resulting medical treatment further depleted his resources. He feels lied to and harassed and called the agency vindictive.

"They think I caused a bruise, and there's kids out there actually getting injured," he said. "They threatened us for telling the truth."

John Walton of Great Falls brought to the protest pages from a Department of Public Health and Human Services report detailing sexual abuse of his grandchild. He said the agency put a restraining order against him for disseminating the information and he was arrested when he objected his family's case in court.

Loney called Walton's case an example of "Gestapo tactics" in quoting testimony he gave to and Sarah Corbally, who heads the child and family services division, and her boss Bob Runkel.

Scott Dion helped organize the protest. He wore a shirt reading, "Grandson molested. CPS knows" and said he's raised concerns his grandson is being sexually abused but "they're not doing anything about it. They just blow off everything. We're so frustrated down here."

Ebelt said there are several ways to file complaints regarding CFSD-related matters. "There is a CFSD complaint resolution process at http://dphhs.mt.gov/CFSD.aspx, the Department of Justice's Child and Family ombudsman, and grandparents do have a right to appear in court and be heard," he said in a statement.

Robin Castle, a clinical counselor from Great Falls, said she joined the protest because she finds Child and Family Services Division staff unqualified and untrained. She called the agency retaliatory and said they put a complaint against her license after she raised concerns.

"They remove children who shouldn't be removed and place back children who shouldn't be," she said. "It's not collaborative. They decide and do what they want. ... It's not about the kids anymore."

Reach Tribune Staff Writer Kristen Inbody at kinbody@greatfallstribune.com. Follow her on Twitter at @GFTrib_KInbody.