Families Targeted for “Inadequate Supervision”
Mother Fights Against Neglect Charge for Letting Kids Play
Name: Natasha
Allegation: Inadequate Supervision
Penalty Avoided: 5 Years on State Registry
Natasha Felix did not expect that allowing her kids to enjoy a summer afternoon would lead to years of strife and an unfair child neglect label against her…
Accident While Sibling Babysat Results in Allegations
Name: Angela
Allegation: Inadequate Supervision, Burns (Neglect)
Penalty Avoided: 20 Years on State Registry
Angela is a naturalized citizen and was singlehandedly taking care of her family while her husband lived in another country…
Allegations of Alcohol Abuse Threaten Mom
Name: Jeanelle
Allegation: Inadequate Supervision
Penalty Avoided: 5 Years on State Registry
On May 24, 2011, Jeanelle H. came home to a message on her answering machine that she had to listen to twice to believe…
Families Experiencing Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence Victim Targeted for Self Defense
Name: Clara
Allegation: Environment Injurious
Penalty Avoided: 5 Years on State Registry, Impact on Custody
In February 2014, Clara lived with her boyfriend J.J., their toddler, Daniella, Clara’s mother, and Clara’s sister…
Victim Blamed Because of Language Barrier
Name: Victoria
Allegation: Environment Injurious
Penalty Avoided: 5 Years on State Registry, Impact on Custody
Victoria and her husband were both immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries, though she only spoke Spanish and he had learned English…
Domestic Violence Survivor Separated from Her Twins
Name: Rose
Allegation: Environment Injurious
Penalty Avoided: 5 Years on State Registry, Children in Foster Care
Rose had two infant twins and lived in the suburbs of Chicago…
Mother Deemed Neglectful Due to Actions of Abusive Partner
Name: Ashley
Allegation: Environment Injurious
Penalty Avoided: 5 Years on State Registry
Ashley worked hard caring for her toddler Alexis while attending classes full-time in the Rockford area to earn her college degree…
Families Targeted Due To Mental Health and Disability Concerns
Mother Protects Son and is Labeled “Abusive”
Name: Marisol
Allegation: Risk of Injury
Penalty Avoided: 5 Years on State Registry
Marisol and her teenage son, Connor, struggled with mental health issues, lived in Chicago…
Foster Mother Vindicated by Pro Bono Representation
Name: Michelle
Allegation: Medical Neglect
Penalty Avoided: 20 Years on State Registry
Michelle P. is the kind of foster mother and adoptive mother our child welfare system needs to have in greater supply…
Cautious Mother Not Separated from Newborn
Name: Brenda and George
Allegation: Environment Injurious
Penalty Avoided: 5 Years on State Registry, Impact on Custody
When Ethan was born last August after 53.5 hours of labor, new parents Brenda and George were just beginning to savor the joys of parenting…
Four-Day-Old Baby Boy Torn From Loving, Able Parents
Names: Meredith and Ed
Allegation: Environment Injurious
Penalty Avoided: 5 Years on State Registry, Child in Foster Care
Meredith and Ed spent only four days with their newborn son, Elijah, before he was torn away from them by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services…
Mother Targeted for Calling Police During Fight
Name: Sofia
Allegation: Environment Injurious, Cuts (Neglect)
Penalty Avoided: 20 Years on State Registry
Sofia, a mother to four boys, was in her home with her children in February 2014…
Mother with Bipolar Disorder Vindicated
Name: Linda
Allegation: Environment Injurious
Penalty Avoided: 5 Years on State Registry
Linda’s case began in December 2013 when Chicago police responded to a neighbor’s call regarding what they thought was a domestic dispute…
Families Targeted After Seeking Medical Care
Baby’s Fracture Prompts Abuse Allegations
Names: Cassie and Nate
Allegations: Bone Fracture, Environment Injurious
Penalty Avoided: 5 Years on State Registry, Children in Foster Care
In the early afternoon of February 3, 2015, Cassie S., mother of 13 month-old Hannah and 8-year-old Maya, noticed Hannah wasn’t putting weight on her left leg…
Toddler Fracture Sets Off Abuse Allegations
Name: Stephanie
Allegation: Bone Fracture
Penalty Avoided: 5 Years on State Registry, Impact on Custody
Stephanie P. interned for a juvenile court judge while she was in law school and worked to improve policies related to domestic violence and child protection…
Immigrant Mother Exonerated by Pro Bono Attorney
Name: Rita
Allegation: Bone Fracture
Penalty Avoided: 5 Years on State Registry
Rita, a recent immigrant from Nigeria, was in the bathroom when she heard her 13-month-old daughter Rachel crying…
Family’s Rights Violated in Medically-Complex Case
Names: Amy and Rafael
Allegation: Bone Fractures
Penalty Avoided: 20 Years on State Registry, Child in Foster Care
Zoe’s ordeal began when her mother Amy picked her up from her day care provider’s home at the end of the day…
Young Mother’s Name Cleared After Almost 3 Years
Name: Asia
Allegation: Wounds
Penalty Avoided: 20 Years on State Registry, Impact on Custody
Asia S. was just 17 years old when her life was turned upside-down by a misplaced accusation against her concerning an injury to her 7-month-old toddler, N…
Protecting a Mother’s Right to Breastfeed
Names: Hazel and Joseph
Allegation: Non-Organic Failure to Thrive
Penalty Avoided: 20 Years on the State Registry
When their son Peter was born, Hazel and her husband, Joseph, were elated to finally begin building the family they had dreamed of for so long…
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Client testimonials
Thank you for all your help in the DCFS case involving my daughter. We had no idea what was involved, what the process was, the implications of the potential case on my daughter's career and the need for a Dupuy letter and, finally, how to find out why and how to follow-up to get a final letter from DCFS showing the case was "unfounded."
I have had a successful nursing career for almost eight years and love caring for people but most of all love caring for my daughter and to have DCFS "called on us" when we did nothing wrong was such a shattering life experience. Calling your office was the best thing we could have done! You gave us support and guidance in a time when it was hard to find our way. We never knew of the problems with the system until we were involved personally with it.
So many times, in my opinion, the law is twisted around to prosecute victimless crimes and people that shouldn't be imprisoned, or defends those who should. Your legal talents have rights a wrong, and relieved so much anxiety for my family.
Thank you so much for everything you did for our family, your dedication to help families like us is simply exceptional and outstanding. We forever will be grateful, because we know without you this would of taken a different route, much harder and more painful.