Chaquilla Ta’Junea alleges that the Oklahoma City DHS system took her son, Dekoda, for help, but he was severely beaten by another foster child while under DHS supervision.
She didn’t neglect her child nor abuse Dekoda, but tried to help him.
Chaquilla is the mother of 5, working as a donor contact specialist at Oklahoma Blood Institute.
She explained her son, Dekoda, is out of her home due to his aggression problem. There were multiple episodes where Dekoda took matters into his own hands and tried to hurt others.
Oklahoma City DHS system took him out of the home, not because of child neglect or abuse, but to help with his aggression. She was only a mother who was trying to protect her son, whether with her or her family.
However, she found out that her son isn’t being protected under DHS custody. Netizens suggested that her son needs a father and to sign him up for baseball.
Anyone that knows about a lawyer in the state of OKC for family court, please keep me posted.
Chaquilla Ta’Junea
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After Son’s Foster Care Attack, Chaquilla Ta’Junea Fights for Justice and a Way Home
Chaquilla Ta’Junea’s voice shakes with a mother’s primal fear and anger as she recounts the nightmare.
Her son, Dekoda, was severely beaten by another foster child while under the supervision of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS), the very system entrusted with his safety.
The physical assault was the breaking point in a three-year ordeal that had seen her family torn apart.
Oklahoma’s child welfare system exists to protect the vulnerable.
The primary purpose of Child Protective Services (CPS) intervention is to protect the child and provide services to remedy conditions that cause safety threats.
However, Chaquilla’s experience tells a story of profound failure.
As she talks of her son being hurt in a state-approved placement, the organization’s goal of placing kids in a “safe, healthy and productive home” seems hollow.
Chaquilla is devastated and heartbroken as she watched her son suffer emotionally and physically. She is battling Oklahoma’s system to bring her child back home.
For the past three years, my family has been involved with the Oklahoma City DHS system. What was supposed to be support and protection has instead caused ongoing harm to my family and most importantly to my child.
Chaquilla Ta’Junea
Chaquilla finds herself needing to fight the very agency meant to help them.
She has created a GoFundMe with an aim to raise funds for legal representation, court expenses, and advocacy support for the reunification with her son.
Though Dekoda is best cared for within his family, the DHS system in Oklahoma City has made it extremely difficult to reunify and regain custody.
Chaquilla aims to return to their hometown, Minnesota, where she has family support, stability, and resources that promote healing and safety.
Despite the clear benefits for Dekoda, DHS has placed barriers in the way of reunification and relocation.
No child should be harmed in foster care, and no parent should have to beg a system to do what is right.
