Posted by Joshua Eggleston on 6/05/08

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I have been in the custody of DYFS since I was 3 years
old. I am 19 now. Since I could remember at a young age, I
hated being away from my family. I was placed into DYFS
custody because my mother was a drug abuser and was a
child when she had me and my older sister, 20, herself.
She was diagnosed with HIV at the age of 18 and it
progressed to full blown by the age of 24. She died this
year on the 22th of January. I wasn't able to see her for
2 years straight after I had found my mother by myself
when I was 16 after 15 years, due to DYFS refusing to give
me information on her whereabouts. My mother was born Nov.
19 1972 which makes her 35 now. I have never met my father
to date and I am not quite sure if I will be able to
locate him. I have had a very eventful life. NOW DYFS
claims to find shelter and loving people who want to take
care of us; free from abuse and neglect. Growing up, I was
placed in to a foster home with foster parents who were
very abusive; beating me with everything in site like
belts, bats, hangers, the metal end of a fly swatter,
extension cords, telephone wires, switches from trees,
pots, pans and remotes and things of the like. I have
made plenty of allegations against those people when I was
younger but they found a way to make it seem as though I
was mad at them for whatever reason and tried to get them
in trouble, or because i was a "bad child" and lied a lot
and wasn't worthy to be believed.
I left that home and moved back to New Jrsey where
I originally was before I moved to TN with them 9 years
prior. I was 13 years old. From that age up until
curently, I have been placed in numerous and variuos
places throughout New Jersey, from Newark, down to Camden,
back up to Plainfield, back down to Burlington and all
over. I was very smart in school and I found out and
understood my rights as a DYFS client. From then I have
been calling and following up with my DYFS workers for
everything I knew I was suppose to recieve. I called so
much that they told me not to call them anymore. I knew
all about money I was entitled to recieve as well as
benefits when I graduated from school. The messed up thing
about DYFS is that now that they have A LOT of residents
under their care, they are losing money, so they won't
even mention to us about things that we are suppose to get
and what's even more messed up is that they think that we
are dumb or ignorant to those facts that they expect us
not to ask or even mention to them about ANYTHING
beneficial to us.
Now after being in programs all of my teen life, I
have graduated high school and I start college this month.
It wasn't easy getting to where I am right now becuase I
had a lot emotional issues in my life. Being in DYFS
programs, I have been either raped or sexually assualted
in some manner 7 times. Each time DYFS was contacted and
IAIU came to investigate but nothing ever happened. It was
kinda shooed off over time hopefully thinking that the
issue was forgotten about. I have had behavioral problems
in my life and most of it was because I never felt okay
around or even trusted adults. From the rape to the
different things each therapist want you to believe is
overwhelming. Just think, going to multiple different
therapists and each one telling you what is right and what
is wrong, each time they are telling you something
different from the last thing the pervious one told you
and like me when you mention to them that you were taught
to believe this thing, they tell you that that is wrong
and to believe what they say. These program psychiatrists
place us on all types of medication that we don't need.
Medication doesn't change our behavior. It only slows down
our mental state causing us to have delayed reaction in
having acting act behaviors. That in turn causes us to
have problems learning and focusing in school. Most times
we are told that we have to take the medication or we will
either get into trouble with the program via not having
free time, privileges, etc, and if we don't take the meds,
we are either NOT working on treatment in order to
successfully leave the program or like some of us who are
on probation, it will count as a violation and we will be
violated. If we don't do something that thay expect us to
do once we start a certain medication, that is when we are
diagnosed with ADHD, Bi-Polar Disorder, ADD and the like.
Now with DYFS, I don't know if you notice this as
much, but A LOT of clients want to leave DYFS when they
turn 18 becuase we can't stand being under their
jurisdiction anymore. DYFS worker calmly inform us that we
have that option once we turn 18, but fail to mention that
if we stay, DYFS WILL pay for us to go to college up until
we achieve a bachalor's degree and wil support us
finacially in whenever we may stay up until the age of 21.
When a child wants to leave DYFS does not stand in there
way because they know that is one less person that they
have to spend money for. In my situation, when I graduated
High school, I had all means of going to college and I
wasn't going to let DYFS stand in my way, but USE them for
every penny they are worth. When I left the program I was
at when I graduated, I had pending juvenile charges.
because of those charges DYFS claimed they could not find
a place for me to go, grant you this is 6 days after I
graduated. I was leaving my program because I was there
the maximum stay and now I had to go on to Independent
Living. Well the day I left that program and DYFS came to
pick me up I had court. When I went to court, the judge
asked where I would go if he released me that day and DYFS
said there was no place for me to go. To ensure food,
water, shelter and my coming to the next court date, I was
remanded to the Juvenile Detention Center. and 2 weeks
later, Because I was 18, I left the JDC and went to an
adult jail. I stayed incarcerated for 5 1/2 months. but
you know what the crazy thing is?, the judge gave DYFS
every chance and opportunity to find me some place to go
and if they did, I could be released. I HAD MENTIONED A
CERTAIN PROGRAM BEFORE AN HOUR OR SO BEFORE I FOUND OUT I
WAS GETTING LOCKED UP but DYFS said that that particular
program was a setback in treatment for me and wanted me to
live on my own. DYFS also told the judge that if I was
released anyway, that they would have to place me on
Welfare and then by which I would no longer have an active
case with DYFS and the would have to close me out due to
me being financailly supported through someone else.(
Isn't Welfare state governemt? and Isn't DYFS run through
the State?) I thought so too, but that is what the judge
was told. I stayed in that jail for 5 1/2 months and I can
be the first to tell you that it wasn't AY WHERE NEAR FUN!
Imagine someone who has never been to jail before going
into jail with rapists, gang bangers, druggies and all
sorts of people, and your the new young face in town. I
was a game to them; being passed around from inmate to
inmate and some officers to their sexual satisfaction. I
told many SGT's and LT's but nothing was made of it. I
told my attorney and my DYFS worker and I was still there.
They saw the bruises on my face, neck, and arms and still
nothing was done about it. 5 months this went on and
instead of fighting back I had to go along with it because
then that way I would not have gotten hurt or beaten up as
much. Then comes they date of my sentencing which was goin
to be me being released on my own, DYFS being court
ordered to remain open in my life, as well as being
financially supported through them to finish college plans
like I HAD PLANNED and STARTED! Do you know what them
B**** did, they said to my judge if you give us an hour,
we could possibly find him a place to stay that would have
supervision and support. they came back an hour later and
said that they got me an interview at a certain program
and the interview was 3 days later on a Friday, and asked
the judge to keep me remanded to the jail for one more
week because Friday would be the Interview, they would
have an answer if the program accepted me by that monday
and Tuesday morning we would come back to court. If I was
accepted then DYFS asked for me to be court ordered
there, but if they said no, then we would go on for me to
live on my own as planned. And THAT's WAT HAPPENED! Now
Many things were running in my mind at once. 1) was DYFS
just asked me to stay in jail another week, KNOWING what
was going on with me in in that jail?, 2) DYFS really just
said that could find me a place to go after 5 1/2 months
of saying there was NO WHERE for me to go when the judge
told them that if there was, I could be released, and 3)
the most F***** up one of all, the program that I had an
interview for, was the SAME one I had mentioned to them
PRIOR to me being incarcerated th every 1st day. And don't
you know, that is where I am now. Ya'll pray for me!

Re: How DYFS Neglects and Abuses WE children!, 10/09/10, by brittney.

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