Wanosik children. Image from Facebook.
Earlier this month (June 2015) you may have seen the story we covered on the Wanosik family from Lebanon, Missouri. They are yet another family fighting to get their children back. The Wanosiks are missing their 5 children and are not giving up.
In the first story, we reported how the mother, Rebecca, took her 2 month old daughter to the doctor for arm pain. She had no idea she would be coming home without her child that day, and that social workers would have their other 4 children taken away for alleged “child abuse.” Read the first story here:
5 Children Kidnapped from Family in Missouri When Baby with Low Vitamin D Found with Broken Bones
Was Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Mistaken as Abuse?
After Rebecca and her husband had their 5 children taken away with accusations of abuse, they started to fight for their children and the right to have appropriate actions taken. Rebecca asked the doctors to test her for anything that could be causing her daughter to have brittle bones. Rebecca’s determination paid off when she was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. That gave her more drive to continue the fight to have her daughter tested even after their 5 children have remained in foster care.
Local Newspaper Picks up their Story
Wanosik’s story appears in their local newspaper
Since we published this story earlier in June, we have some very exciting updates. The Wanosik family is getting media attention. “You are guilty until proven innocent in this family court situation” said the mother, Rebecca Wanosik. They were able to share their story in their local newspaper. You can read the full article here: http://www.lebanondailyrecord.com/news/local/article_886a825c-0588-11e5-afd0-4bd276200a1c.html#user-comment-area
Appointment with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Set
The Wanosik family have an appointment with the specialist in Boston who saw Rebecca to determine if their daughter has the same diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Their appointment is set for July 6th at 1:30pm.
At this time the family is hoping they do not have to cancel their appointment, because they were told they have to make sure the caseworkers will be available to go on that date also. It has been decided it will be a 2 day trip to serve everyone’s best interest. But Rebecca and Anthony feel it is the most cost effective for them to make it a one day trip since they are responsible for footing the bill.
“We are still required to pay overtime which potentially could include when the caseworkers are sleeping,” states the family.
Wanosiks Still Fighting to Get their Children Back
This has been a long fight for the family, and they are finally allowed supervised visits from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily instead of 9 hours a week.
While this provides some relief to the family, it still leaves them puzzled about the system.
The CPS circuit manager reportedly stated that she wasn’t comfortable with unsupervised visits unless the parents acknowledged that the baby was hurt while in their care. The parents and their attorney refused to acknowledge something they did not do.
The family states: “Before they could entertain the idea of unsupervised visits they needed a signed release so the caseworker could access what had been discussed in the counseling sessions.”
The Wanosik’s sought out their own counseling courses, and now they are being told by CPS that they can’t be sure they learned anything at these counseling sessions since they did not use the approved CPS teachers.
The family signed a release for their counseling session results 2 months ago, but their counselor has still not been contacted by CPS to check on the family’s attendance or participation. Rebecca and Anthony attended Love and Logic Courses with a licensed counselor, and Scream Free Parenting at Army Community Services.
Even with all of this chaos, Anthony is still serving our country as he has been on active duty now for the last 6 years. Anthony and Rebecca remain strong and you can hear that in Rebecca’s voice with this radio interview they were featured on. Here is the link for her interview with Dr. Jess: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/drjessarmine/2015/06/16/medical-kidnap-5-children-taken
Although the family is tired and works endless hours with research, phone calls, lawyer appointments and holding it all together, they have hope.
Unanswered Questions Remain
They still have many unanswered questions. During an evening with their new case worker, they were asked if they had any questions.
“We know there aren’t any criminal charges so why is the state still holding my kids hostage over something that local law enforcement doesn’t even have enough evidence to make an arrest over?”
According to Rebecca, there wasn’t much of a response. She continued to ask:
“Why don’t you have any other cases?” Her response was “I’m not an actual case worker, I’m at a supervisory level.”
The case manager then reportedly stated:
“[She] doesn’t have any other cases so she’s perfect for high profile cases like yours”.
Rebecca figures that because their story has been in the media, they are now classified as a “high profile” case.
Many families are enjoying their children this summer on family vacations and beautiful weather with picnics and family get-togethers. Rebecca and Anthony continue to fight for this nightmare to come to a close.
How You Can Help
You can support them at their Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/932388566825183/
The following people can be contacted on behalf of the family:
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon
216 State Capitol
Po Box 720
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Fax: (573) 751-1495
Phone: (573) 751-1495 11/00
Email: mogove@mail.mo.gov
Web: https://governor.mo.gov/get-involved/contact-the-governors-office
Dana Perkins, Social Services Circuit Manager
Missouri Department of Social Services
2639 South Jefferson
Lebanon, MO 65536
Phone: (417) 532-3137
Fax: (417) 532-1872
http://dss.mo.gov/cd/office/laclede.htm
Tom McDonald District 28
Missouri House of Representatives
201 West Capital Ave
Room 109A
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Legislative Assistant
Melanie OTT
(573) 751-9851
Email: Tom.McDonald@house.mo.gov
Mike Parson
State Senate District 28
Capital Office
201 W Capital Ave
Room 420
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101
Phone (573) 751-8793
Fax (573) 526 8793
Email: mparson@senate.mo.gov
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