Columbus Divorce Law Blog

Losing custody of a child for any reason can be heartbreaking, no matter the state in which the parents find themselves. The fight against the state to regain child custody can be an uphill battle where the parents sometimes feel they will never reach the top. Ohio parents fighting for child custody may be able to take heart with the celebration stories coming from another state.

An annual "Family Reunification Day" was recently held to celebrate the families who have overcome the problems that split them apart so that they can be together once again. In the program's sixth year, the governor's wife, who stays involved with a number of organizations that deal with child welfare, was on hand to congratulate the parents on overcoming the sometimes overwhelming complications as they worked to become the parents their children need. A spokesperson for the event stated in a report on the celebration that there is always an attempt to return the children to their biological parents if it is what is best for them.

While Ohio fostering and adoption issues have made the news for years, they seem to be more prevalent topics these days. Some courts and states have laws stating every effort should be made to keep the child with biological family unless there is proof of previous harm. Some courts rule child custody should go to the family who can give the most stable home. One foster mother and her husband are fighting for child custody involving two sisters who had been with the couple for 16 months before the state took them away.

The couple began fostering children two years ago and have had 10 children come through their home in that time. They were in the process of adopting the sisters, as that was apparently the wish of the girl's biological mother. They were not even able to tell the girls goodbye when the state agency came and took the girls to live with a great aunt and uncle in another state. Their biological mother said she has only been able to talk to them over the phone once each week since then, including just a five-minute call on Christmas Day last year.

When Ohio adults fight over who will be the best guardian for a child, they can often overlook what would be the best situation for the child. Many times, the child custody dispute becomes a battle of which adult can gain the upper hand. The sister of slain rapper Nipsey Hussle is fighting for child custody over his 10-year-old daughter against the girl's mother.

Samantha Smith has sought custody of the girl since Hussle was killed in late March. Smith feels the girl's mother, Tanisha Foster, will not give her daughter the attention and care she requires. Since 2013, Foster and Hussle shared custody of the girl, with Foster keeping her during the week and Hussle keeping her over the weekends. According to Smith, the girl was in Hussle's care most of the time near the time of his death. Smith also claims she helped keep the girl anytime she was needed so the girl would be comfortable with her as guardian.

Ohio foster and adoptive parents know dealing with the state's Office for Children and Families can be complicated at times. Child custody matters involving this state agency can become particularly involved to the point of frustration. Several adults in another state are awaiting a child custody decision that is about to be made in family court.

The dispute revolves around a 4-year-old girl whose mother is in prison. The mother gave birth just before she was sentenced and the girl was placed in a foster home, where she has been ever since. Her foster parents want to adopt her, but the girl's aunt, whom she has never met, has come forward and claims she was never notified by child services she had a niece. She says the girl's mother told her only last summer she had given birth to a child in 2015. The mother has no legal rights to the child anymore but never named her sister as a potential guardian, though the sister says the mother is mentally challenged.