FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A child living with a South Florida family may be sent back to relatives in Haiti, but for now, it seems like that baby will get to stay.
At the center of this international custody battle is an 11-month-old baby who has serious health issues.
A judge in court on Thursday said an initial motion back in July to place the baby with their maternal grandmother has since changed due to social instability in Haiti.
The judge said he was very aware of the ongoing civil unrest in Haiti.
Attorneys in court talked about the baby’s heart condition, a hole in his heart that may need surgery if it’s not corrected. It is surgery that the baby cannot receive if he is taken back to Haiti since the conditions there are so poor.
The foster family, Tamara and Gerald, has cared for the infant, who they call baby Angel to keep his identity confidential, has been fighting to keep the Florida Department of Children and Families and ChildNet from sending the baby to his maternal grandmother in Haiti citing that the civil unrest and medical care there is not the best placement for the baby.
Judge Jose Izquierdo said the court will hear from the family in Haiti as the situation in the country has changed since the motion to send baby Angel was ruled backed in July.
During those months, the State Department has issued a travel ban because conditions in Haiti are too unstable.
This led Tamara and Gerald to hire attorneys.
“An integral part of being a U.S. citizen is the right to live here, and we can find no case where a government entity of its own volition decided to send a U.S. citizen child to live in a foreign country,” said Alan Isaac Mishael, the foster family’s attorney.
“I’d like to take every single case that comes in front of me and listen to it for its facts, on its specific matter,” Izquierdo said. “That is the lens in which we view this case. A difficult question no doubt. A grandmother who loves her grandchild has come forward and wishes to have her grandchild placed with her… it is her right, and a foster mom who has love for this child, no doubt who’s raised this child since December, wishes to have the child with her, but this isn’t a situation where it’s maybe as cut and dry as people may think. There are safety concerns. We have to address the safety concerns, and we will address those safety concerns.”
Baby Angel’s guardian ad litem testified that sending him to Haiti is not in the child’s best interest.
“I just feel that he needs to have good medical care,” said Patricia Klein, guardian.
A Pediatric Cardiologist in Haiti also wrote a letter that treatment is not viable in Haiti. The family in Haiti is also unaware of the baby’s medical issues, according to the foster family.
“I spoke to the uncle about if they were able to get him medical care, and he spoke to me about the challenges, saying, ‘I didn’t know we needed to do that.’ They had no idea,” said Tamara Klein.
In court Thursday, Izquierdo said, “I have concerns as to whether the socio-political situation has changed to the point where there is a safety issue.”
DCF is now changing its initial recommendation.
“The court has heard testimony this morning that a lot has transpired since that order was issued in place,” said Gina Leiser, of DCF. “The child’s medical condition being what it is, the child’s needed follow up treatment for both his heart condition as well as his ear condition and his doctors being here in South Florida, the department’s position at this point in time is that the child should remain here in South Florida. It is the department’s intent to file a motion with the court outlaying– asking for that relief from the court, and we are at this point in time, asking for the court to change the goal of this case to adoption.”
The baby, who was born in the U.S., will remain in South Florida for the time being.
The foster family who has been taking care of Angel can apply for adoption, as well as the maternal grandmother back in Haiti.
Ultimately, the DCF and the state will decide the best placement for the baby.
The next hearing is set for April.
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