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Fighting for My Son’s Safety: A Mother’s Story

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darianlathomas

September 2, 2025

I want to share openly that the anonymous post on social media was mine. This story is about my son.

My name is Darian Thomas, and I’m his mom. I decided to post again from my personal page because I want to invite anyone who feels called to help, to please reach out to me directly. Families like mine shouldn’t be put in this position, but here we are—and I know we’re not alone.

I’m willing to take any and all suggestions, and I’m also willing to build an army if others are interested in standing with us. My son deserves safety, dignity, and the supports his medical team has fought for. Thank you for reading and for caring. Together, we can make more noise than any of us could alone.

Our Story

My son is six years old, medically fragile, and neurodevelopmentally complex. He receives nutrition and hydration through a G-tube, has severe bowel issues, and is diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, anxiety, and a rare genetic condition. His safety depends on highly skilled, familiar caregivers who know his scripts, sensory routines, and medical and behavioural protocols.

Since birth, I’ve been his sole guardian. This summer, I was hospitalized for medical reasons. In my absence, my son was also admitted to BC Children’s Hospital because there were no trained caregivers available to support him at home.

Together with his doctors and specialists, we created a clear, safe, family-led discharge plan:

My brother (my son’s uncle) would step in as interim guardian.

My son’s 24-hour Behaviour Intervention team—already trained in his G-tube and care routines at BCCH—would continue uninterrupted.

A private nursing agency was prepared to provide RN oversight to meet legal delegation requirements.

Every one of my son’s treating professionals supported this plan. His pediatrician, psychiatrist, behavioural analyst, and clinical counsellor all wrote letters warning that moving him to strangers would be “highly detrimental” and unsafe.

What Happened

On August 28, 2025, the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) ignored all professional recommendations. I was told there were new “child protection concerns,” and without warning, they:

Suspended my guardianship, decision-making authority, and contact with my child.

Escorted my son’s trained BI team out of the hospital and barred their return.

Blocked my brother from being with him, despite admitting they had no concerns about him. They failed to follow up with him the next day, right before a long weekend, leaving no clarity on contact.

Pursued an emergency placement with unfamiliar caregivers who had no training in my son’s medical or behavioural care.

The placement they chose was the same resource the Ministry had previously proposed under a Special Needs Agreement—a plan I had already declined.

I immediately submitted written concerns to senior officials at both MCFD and BCCH, outlining the risks, lack of readiness, and why government care was not in my son’s best interests. Despite that, MCFD forced this option, disregarding medical evidence and my son’s fragile needs.

Why This Matters

My son’s care team has always been strong and engaged. Yet the moment I declined voluntary MCFD care in order to keep him safe at home, “child protection concerns” suddenly appeared—serious enough, apparently, to justify an abrupt apprehension. Not a single professional on my son’s team supported this action.

The Director’s mandate is to take the least intrusive measure. Instead, they chose the most intrusive and dangerous one—removing my son from the only people who know how to keep him safe and regulated.

That same night, my lawyer wrote to the Director, calling this negligence “appalling” and warning that it placed my son at immediate risk. Our voices, and the voices of his medical team, were ignored.

Why I’m Speaking Out

My son is not the first child harmed by this system, and unless we keep speaking out, he won’t be the last. Families like ours need allies, advocates, and accountability.

Thank you for reading our story. Please consider standing with us.

💙 Fighting for Bennett’s safety & dignity 📣 Raising awareness of MCFD failures 🎥 Watch our story on TikTok ✍️ Sign & share the petition for

With gratitude,

Darian

#bring Bennett home #justiceforbennett #disability rights #childprotection #advocacy #medically complex #autismawareness #autism #parents rights #parenting #systemic inequality #systemic failure #bcpolitics #social justice

The Ministry Wrote Back. But They Still Didn’t Answer.

November 10, 2025

Today, I received a letter from James Wale, Deputy Director of Child Welfare for the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

It was dated November 10, 2025.

Two weeks after I formally requested a review of how this Ministry has handled my son’s case — a case filled with contradictions, unaddressed warnings, and a trail of paperwork that tells the story of a system collapsing under its own weight.

The letter thanks me for my “commitment to advocating” for my son Bennett. It says my “frustration is heard.” It points me toward the same channels I’ve already been navigating for months: the Complaints Program, the Representative for Children and Youth, the Ombudsperson.

It reads like a door politely closing.

What it doesn’t do is address the substance of my complaint — the evidence of medical neglect, the system’s failure to coordinate care, the trauma of a child with complex disabilities who was removed from safety under the guise of “support.”

It doesn’t acknowledge that I’ve already been through every internal process they suggest.

That I’ve been writing, documenting, recording, pleading — not for attention, but for accountability.

The words are careful. Sanitized. Bureaucratically neutral.

And that’s the problem.

Because behind every “thank you for writing” and “I hear your frustration” is a refusal to name what’s really happening — that a six-year-old medically complex child has been left in the care of an untrained system, and his mother is being told to start another round of process while he continues to suffer.

The letter ends with:

“Thank you again for writing, I appreciate the opportunity to respond.”

Every mother who has ever tried to hold a system accountable knows this tone — the polite non-answer that loops you back into the same maze. It’s designed to tire you out, to make you doubt your own endurance.

But I’m not tired. I’m focused.

This letter will be added to the record — part of the growing archive of how the Ministry talks around responsibility while children like Bennett fall through the cracks they refuse to see.

If James truly “hears my frustration,” then he should also hear this:

I’m not giving up.

Not until truth cuts through the script.

Not until the words in their letters start matching the reality of their actions.

After months of documentation, I received a letter that thanked me for “advocating” while ignoring the evidence of harm. This is what system

Because it’s about a little boy who deserves to come home.

Before you read the letter below, I want you to see it for what it is…

📄 Attached: Letter from James Wale, Deputy Director of Child Welfare (November 10, 2025)

#BringBennettHome #DisabilityJustice #ChildWelfareReform #ParentAdvocacy #SystemicFailure

#social justice #autismawareness #bcpolitics #disability rights #systemic failure #child protection #child welfare #cps reform #architecture #artists on tumblr

My lawyer sent another letter to MCFD yesterday. Honestly, we’re sending so many at this point I’ve lost track. But this one matters — because they’re still dodging the most basic questions about why my son was taken, and what exactly I’m supposed to do to get him back.

And let me be clear: this letter was written with prejudice. We’re bringing this to court. I’m done playing along with a system that pretends to care while actively hurting my child.

They Told Me I’m Not Allowed to Have Support

I was told I’m not allowed to bring anyone to my next meeting with them — not even a support person. Meanwhile, they plan to have two social workers there.

Why would you ever tell a mother — who’s being forced to sit through meetings about her own child’s removal — that she has to do it alone? What are they afraid of? Transparency?

I will not be meeting with MCFD alone. I’m allowed support, and I need it. That’s non-negotiable.

They Want Me to Sign “Goals” Based on… What, Exactly?

They’re trying to get me to agree to a list of goals — without first giving me the full disclosure, without explaining what the concerns actually are, and without acknowledging any of the medical documents, letters, or reports I’ve already submitted.

These goals? They’re not based on Bennett’s needs. They’re based on internal narratives, misinformation, and outdated assumptions.

Worse — they’re trying to push for a mental health assessment without saying why. No doctor has recommended it. No explanation has been given. It’s just another way to paint me as unstable when everything I’ve done has been in line with professional advice.

Still No Real Family Plan

MCFD was legally required to create a Family Plan within 30 days of removing Bennett. They didn’t. And what they’ve finally come up with doesn’t include anything from Bennett’s actual care team. No timelines. No reunification path. No transparency.

They’ve placed him in a house full of strangers, ripped him away from every single support he had, and now expect me to sign documents without knowing what they’re even based on.

That’s not reunification. That’s control.

Missed Calls, Missed Visits, Missed Moments

This week, Bennett told me three times that he gets to see me “tomorrow, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.” He was excited. He was counting on it.

But nobody has contacted me about Monday’s visit — which now overlaps with school. My guess? They’ll cancel it last minute. Again. Like they did with his FaceTime calls this week. One was missed entirely, another cut short. All without warning.

These calls are part of his routine. They matter. To him and to me.

Only Listening to People Who Just Met Him

They’re ignoring feedback from the therapist who’s worked with Bennett for months. She knows him. She knows how his anxiety presents. She’s trauma-informed.

But instead of relying on her, they’re basing everything off the observations of staff at THE House — people who just met him, who barely understand his needs, and who have a vested interest in reporting that “everything’s fine.”

He deserves better. So do I.

Still No Clarity About Evidence

We’ve asked if they’ll object to Bennett’s doctors’ reports being entered as evidence at the next hearing. They haven’t answered. Why?

Because those reports confirm everything I’ve been saying: I’ve followed every recommendation. I’ve kept my son safe. And I’ve done it with zero support from the systems that were supposed to help us.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about me being difficult. This is about accountability.

It’s about a child with complex needs who was taken from his only consistent caregiver…

…based on undisclosed concerns…

…with no timeline for reunification…

…and no acknowledgement of the harm being done.

We’re not backing down. Not now. Not ever.

📄 If you’d like to read the full letter, let me know. I’ll keep sharing everything — because silence protects them, not us.

Thank you to everyone who continues to stand with us.

#BringBennettHome

#LetKidsHugTheirMoms

#EveryChildMatters

#MCFD

#DisabilityJustice

#StopFamilySeparation

#WeSeeYouBennett

💙 Fighting for Bennett’s safety & dignity 📣 Raising awareness of MCFD failures 🎥 Watch our story on TikTok ✍️ Sign & share the petition for

#social justice #autismawareness #bcpolitics #disability rights #systemic failure #child protection #child welfare #cps reform #architecture #artists on tumblr

“Mommy, come back.”

October 17, 2025

During our supervised visit today, Bennett looked up at me and said something that absolutely broke my heart:

“Mommy, come back.”

He said it softly, but with complete clarity. I asked him when he said that, and he told me it was at “the new apartment.” He tried to explain — something about water on the floor — but he circled back again:

“I was sad… I was saying, ‘Mommy come back, Mommy come back.’”

That was his experience — crying out for me when he felt alone. And today, he needed to make sure I knew that. He even asked me:

“Did you hear me when I said that?”

My son was trying to make sure I knew he had called for me. That I understood how much he’s missing me. It was hard not to cry in that moment — but I held it together for him, because that’s what I always do.

📸 Here are photos from that visit.

This is what love looks like. This is what separation does to a child. And this is the boy MCFD has placed in a home without his mom, despite knowing he is medically fragile, autistic, and heavily dependent on connection and routine.

I’m sharing this because I refuse to let his pain go unseen. These systems keep saying they’re acting in “the child’s best interest” — but do they hear him? Do they see him?

Because today, I did.

And I’ll never stop fighting for him.

#BringBennettHome

#AutismAwareness

#DisabilityRights

#ChildWelfareReform

#JusticeForChildren

#StopFamilySeparation

#ReuniteFamilies

#AutismParenting

#SupervisedVisits

#MCFD

#MedicalKidnapping

#FamilyRights

#ParentingThroughTrauma

#NeurodivergentLove

#LetKidsHugTheirMoms

#EveryChildMatters

#UnSilenced

#AutismAdvocate

#SpecialNeedsParenting

#ProtectDisabledChildren

#FamilyPreservation

#ParentAdvocate

#AttachmentMatters

#TraumaInformedParenting

#InvisibleDisabilities

#AutismIsNotAbuse

#WrongfulApprehension

#MotherAndSonLove

#DisabilityJustice

#BennettJamesThomas

💙 Fighting for Bennett’s safety & dignity 📣 Raising awareness of MCFD failures 🎥 Watch our story on TikTok ✍️ Sign & share the petition for

When the System That Promises to Protect, Fails a Child: My Letter to MCFD’s Director

On October 13, 2025, I sent a 16-page letter to George Phillips, the Director of Operations for Resources at the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD).

It wasn’t the kind of letter any mother should have to write.

I wrote it because my six-year-old son, Bennett, was taken from BC Children’s Hospital against medical advice — while he was still admitted and under full supervision. I wrote it because I had already presented a family-led discharge plan, supported by his doctors, therapists, and care team, that would have allowed him to go home safely.

And I wrote it because the Ministry ignored that plan, ignored the professionals, and ignored the law.

A Bureaucratic Breach of Humanity

On August 28, MCFD apprehended Bennett without verified evidence of risk, without consultation with his medical providers, and without a lawful basis for removal.

He was a medically complex, autistic child — safe, loved, and protected — and they took him anyway.

Every safeguard meant to prevent harm was bypassed.

The Child, Family and Community Service Act (CFCSA) — the legislation that governs MCFD — is clear: removals must be a last resort, family must be included in planning, and children must remain connected to those they love.

Yet Bennett’s case became a study in how easily those principles can be ignored.

What My Letter Documents

The letter I sent to Mr. Phillips lays out, in painful detail, the Ministry’s statutory and policy breaches. It describes how:

• Section 2 (Least Intrusive Measures) was violated when the Ministry bypassed a safe, court-approved kinship plan and placed Bennett in an institutional setting with untrained staff.

• Section 4 (Best Interests of the Child) was ignored when MCFD severed his ties to the only caregivers and therapists who understood his medical and developmental needs.

• Section 5.1 (Collaborative Planning) was breached when I was excluded from decision-making and sent a “Draft Family Plan” six weeks late — full of false, defamatory statements.

• Section 70 (Rights of Children in Care) was trampled when my son’s FaceTime calls were cut off, his communication silenced, and his bruises left unexplained.

These aren’t minor procedural errors — they’re human rights violations.

A System That Punishes Advocacy

After I reported visible bruising on my son’s body and unsafe medical care at the group home where he was placed, the Ministry didn’t investigate — it retaliated. My visits were canceled, my access restricted, and my voice silenced.

This is what happens when a system built to protect children treats parental advocacy as a threat rather than a partnership.

The Law Says He Should Be Home

Under Section 33.2 of the CFCSA, when the reasons for removal no longer exist, a child must be returned to their parent or guardian. I have been medically cleared since early September. I am healthy, capable, and ready to resume my son’s care.

But the Ministry refuses to act.

Instead, it continues to hold Bennett — a medically fragile, autistic child — in a setting where his safety, comfort, and rights are compromised every day.

What I’m Asking For

In my letter, I called on Mr. Phillips to:

1. Order Bennett’s immediate return home.

2. Suspend the false “Draft Family Plan.”

3. Investigate the conduct of MCFD staff involved in his removal and care.

4. Audit the medical safety of his placement.

5. Disclose all records related to his case, as required by law.

Why This Matters Beyond Bennett

Bennett’s story reveals a broader truth about what happens when bureaucracies replace compassion with control, and when policies meant to protect become tools of power.

MCFD claims to act “in the best interests of the child.” But how can that be true when a disabled six-year-old is taken from his hospital bed, stripped of his supports, and silenced for speaking about his pain?

A Call for Accountability

If the Ministry fails to correct these breaches, I will continue to speak out — publicly, persistently, and transparently. Parents of medically fragile and neurodivergent children deserve better. So do their children.

Bennett’s name deserves to be remembered not as a file number, but as a little boy who loves trains, volcanoes, and magic tubes — a child whose only “crime” was being vulnerable in a system that mistook vulnerability for risk.

#BringBennettHome #MCFD #ChildWelfare #ChildProtection #FamilyLaw #HumanRights #DisabilityRights #AutismAwareness #Neurodiversity #MedicalNeglect #SystemicFailure #GovernmentAccountability #BCPolitics #ChildAdvocacy #JusticeForChildren #TraumaInformedCare #InclusionMatters #StopFamilySeparation #ParentalRights #BCCH #BCGov #LegalAidBC #CYSN #InclusionBC #FSIBC #RCYBC #OmbudspersonBC #DisabilityJustice #TruthToPower

When a system built to protect children tears families apart, truth becomes resistance. Read the letter that challenges BC’s Ministry of Chi

#social justice #child protection #family #family law #human rights #disability rights #systemic failure #government #bcpolitics #child advocacy #inclusion #autismawareness #stop family separation #rcybc #ombudspersonbc

Understanding Family Rights under the CFCSA

Since Bennett was taken from my care on August 28, the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) has still not provided a family plan or a clear reunification strategy—despite being legally obligated to under the Child, Family and Community Service Act (CFCSA).

Families have the right to be informed and included in decisions that affect their children. Section 6 and 70(1)(b) of the CFCSA guarantee that right, yet as of October 6 the Ministry admitted our family plan is still “in development.”

Worse, I was told that “others outside of MCFD and yourself are generally not included in family planning discussions.”

That directly contradicts section 22 of the CFCSA and MCFD’s own Family Engagement policies, which require including extended family, service providers, and professionals in planning for a child’s care.

The law is clear: the goal after any removal must be reunification, built collaboratively—not unilaterally. Excluding families and professionals from this process undermines procedural fairness and damages a child’s wellbeing.

I’ve yet to see any finalized plan or consistent updates about my son’s care. Bureaucracy moves slowly, but childhood doesn’t wait. Bennett deserves connection, consistency, and a path home. Until that happens, I’ll keep fighting—not only for him, but for every parent standing on the other side of a locked door.

#ChildWelfareReform #FamilyJustice #DisabilityRights #BringBennettHome #SystemAccountability #HumanRightsInCanada #ParentsRightsMatter #InclusionBC #SocialJusticeBlog #ReunificationMatters

#social justice

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