Baby anguish Ministry snatches tot from parents without saying why
Acouple are baffled after their 8-weekold baby was taken away from them — and then given back — because a social worker thought she smelt cannabis.
Freyja and Laurence Maisey say it was four days before the Ministry for Vulnerable Children explained why baby Charlie was taken.
They said police turned up at their Whanganui house on October 12 with a social worker from the ministry.
No warning or explanation was given, and within minutes Charlie was gone.
Laurence Maisey said he did not even get a chance to kiss his baby boy goodbye.
“We asked for an explanation and were told nothing.
“They just took him and we didn’t know if we were getting him back.”
Ministry for Vulnerable Children (Oranga Tamariki) acting Manawatu regional manager Monica Miranda said a temporary placement order was granted so social workers could investigate safety concerns for the baby.
“Sometimes, in order to do the right thing for children, it is necessary to remove them and place them in care arrangements outside the home,” Miranda said.
But Freyja Maisey’s midwife, Annette Turner-Steele, who used to work as a social worker for the government department, previously known as Child, Youth and Family, said there was no reason for Charlie to be taken.
She said it was unfair that the parents were accused of taking drugs without evidence.
The Maiseys say they were told there were concerns of drugs on the Monday after Charlie was taken away.
They immediately went to get drug tested at Whanganui’s Alcohol and Other Drug Service (AODS). The tests came back clean. AODS sent the results directly to the ministry’s Whanganui office and a meeting was set up that same day.
Turner-Steele stepped in as the parents’ advocate and attended the meeting with the Maiseys and social workers.
“I knew they were drug-free and there were no drugs in their house. But after the drug test came back clear, we were told there were a lot more concerns. I don’t know what their concerns were, none of their concerns were justified at all and they were just covering their own backs basically be- cause they took a child wrongly,” Turner-Steele said.
About half an hour after the meeting, the parents received a phone call and the baby was returned to his parents.
Miranda said the baby was returned to his parents once social workers were satisfied there were no immediate concerns for his welfare. “The ministry will continue to work with the baby’s family around support that can be offered.”
Freyja Maisey suffers cerebral palsy and epileptic seizures but an arrangement was made so that either the baby’s father or his grandfather would be with her and Charlie at all times.
Turner-Steele said she believed the ministry wanted to take Charlie away from the moment he was born.
“They told me they thought the parents were smelly and a bit slow. I said I don’t believe that’s grounds to take a child off its parents and we can provide wraparound services.
“They agreed, with a plan in place, they would give them a chance.”
Turner-Steele said she was visiting once or twice every day and the ministry social worker had been doing regular check-ins too. “There had been no problem until this incident.”