This is a true story submitted to my organization by people looking for help and support. ....

    .... This is not an isolated incident, it happens all across our country.

    Our grandchildren we stolen by DHS and adopted away from us!

To Whom It May Concern:

We are writing in regard to our 3 beautiful grandchildren.

We are just not understanding why it is that a grandmother known as Rose Lucas can get the attention of a state Senator, who helped her to get her grandchildren back from DHS. Yes, we don’t know the circumstances of her case but we do know the facts of ours.

DSH has taken and adopted out our grandchildren, out of the state of Oregon. This being after they had placed the children in our custody, preparing us to adopt them ourselves. We have hired attorneys, written the President of the United States, and went to everyone down the line under him. We get the same answer no matter where we turn, (talk to the Oregon state bar). We have been there time and time again… still no help.

Why is this happening to us? Could it be our names John and Pat Crowder, or our color (white) our jobs, clothes etc. It has to be something because the only wrong we did was to love our grandchildren with all our hearts.

We can’t get a single person to look at all the proof we have on how we were caring for these children! We were not accused of neglect, abuse, drug use or anything else. DHS just decided that they needed to make a buck. This is the only thing we can think of! So they come in and take our grandchildren, disrupt their lives and ours. DHS did so much damage to those children.

We were all the family those children have ever had or known. How can one DHS worker (Melissa Anti) come into our home for 20 minutes and make the decision that our grandchildren need to be taken from us. Although she made her report saying that things were so terrible at our home. If it was as horrible as she stated then why did she leave the children there.

Our grandchildren were left with us for a while. As far as we knew all was well, until one day Melissa Anti just showed up and took the children, stating her reason (the house we structurally unsound).

We went everywhere with those children. Sure we weren’t rich money wise, but we were rich with love. We went fishing, to the beach, hiking, camping, playing baseball etc. We loved to play and get dirty. Now they’re adopted mother works as a nurse, and the adopted father is paralyzed in a wheelchair. So this tells me the children are with a babysitter most of the time. Their adopted father can’t wrestle, hike or do a lot of what we did with these children. They were never left with a sitter when we had them.

We had a DHS worker (Diane Miller) come to our house many many times over a four week period, her report say’s that we were doing a wonderful with the children. She came anytime she wanted without notice just to check how things were going. Each time she had nothing but praises for us. She assured us that the adoption would move forward. So what did we have to worry about?

Well, in comes (Melissa Anti) she only sits on the couch (she does not bother to look around the home like Diane Miller did). Melissa got upset because John had caught her lying to him and questioned her about this. Melissa’s only response was that she just walked out. She did not do the home study that she had come there for. Nine days later Melissa comes back to remove the children saying the home was structurally unsound and unsafe for the children.

Now let me remind you this is the same home that DHS placed the children in, and the same home that Diane Miller came and made her reports in. So why then from Melissa Anti’s first visit did she wait nine days to remove the children?

What is it going to take to get someone to hear our story? We don’t have millions of dollars, or some big important name. Our crazy world has all kinds of attorneys fighting for people like for Anna Nichole's baby. That’s because who gets her also gets the money. In our case no one gets any money, there’s just 3 beautiful grandchildren out there that the state made a dollar off of.

I am a long haul truck driver and my wife is a homemaker. Does that mean that our grandchildren deserve to be sold by DHS? I use the word SOLD because that’s what they did. They stole and sold the children.

So is this what we call justice? Is this what my nephews and other soldiers are giving their lives for? Could they to lose their children if their state decides it needs to make some more money? We pay our taxes and we work just plain hard working jobs like many other Americans. Why are we treated like such lowlife? Men and women are dying for this country so that we can live in peace and have our freedom. Do they understand that if their house gets dirty from their children playing inside and out, that DHS could come and take their children? Now their children are stole and sold by our state. Wow that’s something great to know their dying and getting permantly injured so that their state can have the freedom to come and take away their children.

What ever happened to the United States, aren’t we all supposed to have equal rights? Or at least freedom of speech? Why then can we not tell our story, and at least have someone with authority look at our proof? We have it all in black and white. How much more clear can proof get? We love our grandchildren and will never give up the fight. Someday DSH and its workers will have to answer to a higher power. All we have ever asked for is someone to look at our papers and if you must ask the grandchildren how we lived and loved one another in our home. We do not need to ask forgiveness for what we did with our grandchildren; but DSH will be begging to get in the gates of heaven.

Any questions or suggestions please feel free to call or write. Someday these children will ask questions and I pray they get the true answers to why their little lives were so torn apart. We now realize there is no freedom, or equal rights in our country. We don’t even care enough for what our soldiers are doing for our country that we just throw them in some old moldy rat infested building some call a hospital. Shame on our country. Those words that were once so meaningful (JUSTICE and FREEDOM) need to be taken out of our song because this country does not honor what it says. Are we angry OOOHHHH YESSS wouldn’t you be if someone came and told you a lie then came and stole your grandchildren from their home so the state could sell them to make a buck. Angry isn’t even the right word, I don’t think I could give you that without swearing.

We would be more than happy to get any feedback you would like to offer.

John and Pat Crowder can be emailed at