x-sender: governor.haley@sc.lmhostediq.com x-receiver: governor.haley@sc.lmhostediq.com Received: from mail pickup service by sc.lmhostediq.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC; Fri, 22 Jul 2016 10:39:35 -0400 thread-index: AdHkJt2+kk90jYtwQZmRxu6AdPAEcQ== Thread-Topic: Response via eform 100002 - Help with a State Agency From: To: Subject: Response via eform 100002 - Help with a State Agency Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2016 10:39:35 -0400 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Microsoft CDO for Windows 2000 Content-Class: urn:content-classes:message Importance: normal Priority: normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.1.7601.17609 X-OriginalArrivalTime: 22 Jul 2016 14:39:35.0214 (UTC) FILETIME=[DDD614E0:01D1E426] WORKFLOW 344 Mrs Brenda H Cregger 108 Grace Avenue Cocoa FL 32922 brendacregger21@gmail.com 7722674129 7722674129 Governor Haley, I am 61 year old grandmother whom has custody of 4 of my 5 grandchildren. I am a former resident of South Carolina and raised both of my children in Horry County and it is the final resting place of my parents. My issue is with the Department of Social Services, Horry County. My grandson is currently in DSS custody in Horry County. My daughter is his Mother, and unfortunately she is a drug addict. Thus the reason for this e-mail to you. As stated I have custody of 4 of her children. I contacted DSS after reaching out to law enforcement to voice my concerns of my grandsons well being. I had them(DSS)set up my daughter so they could secure his I did this as to not jeopardize myself and be arrested should I have taken him without her permission. My problem is this. I know each of the Supervisors by name and have known them personally for 7 years. I reached out to them for help. They did in fact help. My issue is that my intent with my 5th grandchild was to have him placed with me should my daughter not be compliant with the process. My daughter was not compliant and here we are 10 months later and she is no where to be found. I have been the only one in touch with them (DSS) for the past 10 months. I resided in Johnsonville, SC (Florence County) in a very undesirable location just so my other grandchildren could attend school. I was told by the Director of DSS Horry County that I could not have the child placed in this location and they would not do a home study at this time. They kept him and I continued to visit him every other week for those months. I monitored the other children and eventually secured a position as a Healthcare Information Systems Consultant in which I can work from home anywhere. This was truly a blessing, it was my way out of our living conditions and freedom. We left June 3, 2016. I contacted all to inform them that I was leaving. My grandsons siblings and I purchased clothes and went to visit him prior to us leaving. Needless to say it was terribly hard to leave him and we all left crying and sobbing. My grandchildren have missed him terribly. I called the Case Worker and everyone in Horry County that cared to let them know that we were leaving. They all have my number and have had it for years. Never received a phone call. When we arrived in Florida I received a phone call from my grandsons Father only to inform me that he had attended a hearing about my grandson's permanent placement. I was shocked to hear this had happen. No one, had contacted me at all. He in fact had put a hold to this as he did not have representation nor had DSS completed a DNA study. I called everyone in Horry County and they never called me back. The guardian-at-litem contacted me to see if I had a number or location for my daughter. I spoke to him for quite sometime and he was shocked to hear that I was interested in having Joshua (grandson). I then felt that I had been betrayed and contacted Columbia to voice my complaint. Only after the call to Columbia did I receive a call from the Director. At that time he said the Case Worker would be in touch with me. She did contact me a week or two later. At that time she confronted me about my complaint. I told her yes, I did in fact complain, my grandson could have been placed and no one told me about this or even contacted me. I was upset. There would have been no turning back. I then was contacted by the attorney representing the father. She shared an e-mail sent to her by the attorney for DSS. This was a scathing e-mail that misrepresented my intentions from the beginning. It stated in brief, that I never wanted anything to do with my grandson. Governor, this is so far from the truth. I have text messages, recordings, phone call logs and documentation and proof of my intention. Needless to say I have provided his attorney with this information and I have again contacted Columbia. I also spoke with the Case Worker. During my conversation with her she stated that I was not a party to this case and due to HIPPA policy she was not at liberty to even discuss any of this information. I am a Healthcare professional, I did not need an explanation of HIPPA. Which is ridiculous as I attended a meeting with her October 16, 2015, 3 days after I requested my grandson be picked up. At that time I made my intentions known. So what has changed in the 10 months since this date? I am not sure. I can assure you that I am shouting from the Mountain Top that I want my Grandson! I have already contacted Dept. of Children and Families here in Florida as to be aware of what is going on. I filled out a form that was sent out to me by the Caseworker, sent it back certified mail (so I could track). We are making our home ready for him to come with us. I will do whatever I have to do to ensure that he is with us. Governor, my plea to you is that this is heartbreaking to me to know that I have had to go through so much anxiety and on top of this have to be placed in a position that I have to defend myself and my reputation. I know the blame needs to be placed on my daughter and the father of these children. They are going to be held accountable for this, believe me. But why, does my grandson have to be put through this with strangers and not his family because I am trying to follow the law. If I had known that this was going to happen I would have chosen another way. I would have taken him and just took my chances of being arrested. Please Governor, please as a parent and hopefully some day a grandparent I am asking you to look into this process. It is definitely broken. I plan to attend the next Hearing which is September 16, 2016 whether they (DSS) includes me or not. I plan to have representation, even though I can not afford it. I should not have to have a lawyer to have my grandson placed with me. I pay my taxes and I am not a perfect citizen, but I am good person and expect respect. All of which I believe that I was not given during this process. I look forward to your personal response, I understand this is a very busy time for all Politicians however, this is important to children who do not have a voice. I intend to continue to do what I have to the legal way to obtain him. I will continue to fight for him to be with us. Respectfully, Brenda H. Cregger 162.239.99.125