2010/03/15
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Monday, March 15, 2010 (#74)
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Brenda Newell of Child Protective Services called around noon, again not mentioning my earlier calls and again insisting that Sandy needed to call back. This time she added "I need to hear from you today."
Sent email to CPS Program Director, and mailed a copy Priority with signature confirmation.
This is regarding the case of Sandy Hall, 122 Pinecrest Rd.
The person who has been assigned to our case, Brenda Newell, seems to be going out of her way to make it difficult for us to communicate with her.
I have left her two phone messages reminding her that we are both phone-phobic (which we had discussed with her in person previously) and asking that she please send us email -- or at least leave her email address when she next calls -- so that we can more easily communicate with her.
She has totally ignored my messages and has not even acknowledged that I called her.
Last Friday morning, in the second of these messages that I left, I informed her that Sandy's phone phobia was even worse than mine and that Sandy would certainly not be the one returning her calls.
Ms. Newell called twice on Friday and again today (Monday); each time, she insisted that Sandy should be the one to call her back. She did not leave an email address or explain why she could not do so.
I am handling this matter for Sandy, by Sandy's request and with her continuing permission. If you need a written document from Sandy authorizing you to speak with me in her stead, Sandy will be happy to sign such a document -- although it should be pointed out that I am listed as a caregiver on the "Safety Assessment" form Ms. Newell filled out while visiting our home on January 20 (and I spoke with her both times she was here, and had been the one to call her previously by her request), so this should be nothing more than a formality.
In the meantime, Sandy will certainly not be returning Ms. Newell's calls due to her intense phone phobia (which has been worsened by this situation), nor will I (since my phone calls don't seem to matter to Ms. Newell anyway). We will be happy to respond to any email she might send, or to send her email once we have the correct address.
We are trying very hard to work with Ms. Newell to improve the care for our children and comply with her reasonable requests, but the way Ms. Newell is handling this is making it very difficult for us to work with her and is causing additional stress which is highly detrimental to our ability to do so. Sandy is already in therapy for social phobia and other issues, and we spent the majority of her previous therapy session discussing our difficulties with Ms. Newell rather than making forward progress on childcare and related issues.
Thank you,
Nick Staddon and Sandy Hall 122 Pinecrest Rd. 27705