Commentary: Why take kids from grandmother?

Sunday, Feb. 9, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

WHY did Nevada reach into Texas to take three young children from their grandmother, put her in jail and place the children elsewhere?

Why were the children, ages 9, 5 and 2, brought back to Las Vegas to be placed in Child Haven?

These are questions no one seems willing to answer.

Judy Miller had been caring for her grandchildren since, she says, her daughter signed over guardianship to her. Her daughter, Wendy, is in a mental institution and is incapable of caring for the children.

Judy says she moved to Texas about a year ago to provide them a stable home.

Judy's story was told as part of the SUN's recent series on Family Court. At the time, she was seeking custody of a fourth grandchild, a 3-year-old girl, who was living in Las Vegas. She was concerned about the girl because she was living with her father, who had served four years for kidnapping, rape and assault in an incident involving his ex-wife and another daughter.

Judy thought the girl would be better off with her; the man says being an ex-felon doesn't make him an unfit parent.

Ironically, a few days after the story appeared, Judy was arrested in Texas on a warrant from Nevada, apparently for "kidnapping."

Judy says Family Court apparently will not honor her daughter's guardianship paper and fears the court wants to make the children wards of the state and place them for adoption -- rather than let her take care of them.

So why can't Judy Miller take care of her grandchildren instead of the state? Why place the children in public institutions -- at taxpayer expense and possible psychological harm -- or in the foster care system?

Were the children abused or neglected under Judy's care? Did she provide a less-than-suitable home?

Again, no answers are forthcoming.

Some time ago, Judy's case went before Judge Fred Fisher, who is a juvenile special hearing master. She says at the time she could keep the children on a month-to-month basis.

When contacted, a woman in Fisher's office said he would not be able to comment on the case.

A Child Protective Services worker and her supervisor also would not comment.

A Metro Police lieutenant, when contacted about the warrant, said he would look into it but as of this writing has not called back.

A private investigator familiar with the case says Judy's grandchildren were receiving the proper medical attention and schooling under her care. The children have special needs. They suffer either from "failure to thrive" or some other disability.

Judy does not have money to hire a top-notch attorney to fight this. After sitting in a Texas jail cell for several days, Judy may be on her way back to Las Vegas. Her mother, Betty Bombok, who lives in Las Vegas and was leading the fight to get custody of the fourth grandchild, did not hear from her Friday and presumed she was being brought back to Las Vegas.

As the SUN learned in researching the Family Court series, each person's story has three sides. So far, Judy is the only one who will tell her side -- but no one in officialdom seems to be listening. And they're certainly not commenting, so we don't know if there is another side that may contradict Judy and show that the children would be better off in the state's hands.

Was Wendy forced to sign other papers in Family Court that contradicted what she gave Judy? Given her mental state, Betty says, she would not know what she was signing.

Shouldn't efforts be made to keep the children with the only family they know rather than yanking them out of their home and placing them in Child Haven?

Were the children taken because there was evidence of abuse or neglect? An investigator familiar with the case says abuse or neglect was never an issue.

Just recently, two babies died after social service agencies allowed them to return to questionable homes. One was allegedly shaken to death; the other may simply have died of starvation or neglect.

Child Protective Services sometimes must walk a fine line, and the best interest of the child must be considered in ALL cases.

But as the SUN learned in researching the Family Court series, custody of some children is given to abusive parents despite the desperate pleas of the non-abusive parents.

Are some of the stories fabricated to get back at an ex-partner? Yes.

Can ALL their stories be made up? No.

Are all complaints investigated fully? Probably not.

Do the children have a voice? I don't think so.

Where's the logic in Judy Miller's case? Wouldn't it have been better to fully investigate the home and care she provided her grandchildren before disrupting their lives?

Seven sheriff's cars pulled up outside Judy's mobile home to take her into custody, Betty says, adding that Judy is 54 and weighs under 100 pounds.

This situation needs to be resolved -- now. Don't wait until the children have been in "the system" for months.

We have murderers walking the street. We have people harassing, stalking and abusing their partners. The system turns a deaf ear to many of the victims' pleas.

Yet we expend time and money to track down a grandmother and her young grandchildren.

Anyone who is interested in justice wants to know why. Her grandchildren need to know why.

Were the children in harm's way?

If so, let's protect them.

If not, return the children to Judy and give them all a first-class airline ticket back to Texas.