Howard Family Is Together Once Again

By Ed Oliver
February 2002

What We Did to Bring Our Children Home

Joyous Christmas for Howards

A joyous Howard family is finally together again and safe. They were able to survive the anger of state employees only because they had two excellent lawyers who care. They also had a courageous, retired judge who was not worried about “getting along” in the “system” for the next 30 years.

A joyous holiday was celebrated by the Howard family this past Christmas.

It was the first time the young family from Tyngsboro, Neil and Heidi and their children, Christopher 11, Ethan 6 and Jessica 1, had been together in over two years.

“I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to finally have all of us together again,” said Neil.

Taken to Psychiatric Hospital Until Agreed to Leave Husband

Heidi Howard was removed from her home, against her will, by police ambulance to the psychiatric unit at Emerson hospital, Concord, solely at the whim of DSS social workers on November 29, 1999.

The social workers held her at the hospital for over two weeks until she finally agreed to leave her husband. She was released the next day.

"The agony that has been in my heart for the last two years has finally disappeared,” said Heidi. “Although the children have been through a terrible ordeal for the past two years and have suffered greatly, their basic nature has remained intact. They have incredible endurance.”

The celebration was held in Vermont at the home of the father’s sister because the boys are still in her care. Although the baby, Jessica, went back to the parents last August, the boys will continue, under the terms of the court order, to be with the aunt for a short while before returning to the rest of their family.

The parents had seen their children individually in visitation centers, for which they had to pay, but the visits were very structured with social workers constantly watching. The year before, the visits were stopped at one point because they had hugged a child.

The parents are very perplexed why this happened to their family. They are puzzled as to how anyone could be so mean and nasty.

They heaped praise on Attorneys Chester Darling and Greg Hession who went to the last 30 of their hearings. For the previous 20 hearings they had a court-appointed lawyer or they represented themselves. Altogether, they had to go to 50 hearings in the past year.

Without Attys. Darling and Hession, they say they never would have recovered their children.

When asked whether it was possible that they were the victims of lesbian social workers or other extremists who dislike both men and those women who like men, they became very thoughtful. They said that they had never thought of that possibility, but it might explain everything that had happened to their family.

What Carried Them Through?

Both Neil and Heidi say it was their Christian faith that carried them and their children through their terrible ordeal.

“Although we were nominal Christians before all this happened, this made us much stronger in our faith,” says Heidi.

She says that their church, Grace Baptist Church in Pepperell, stood behind them during the entire time and was a great source of strength and comfort.

Although the Howards are strangely non-vindictive in spite of what happened to them, they believe they have a compelling duty to tell everyone about what is going on at DSS.

“It’s frightening to realize that the state can come in and do this to anyone,” says Neil. “If you’re rich enough to hire the best lawyer, you are probably okay, but otherwise, forget it. They will just wear you down. If Chester Darling had not represented us for nothing, we would have lost all our children. He and Greg Hession had to go to 30 hearings last year for us.”

They also would like to have their sons receive counseling for the things that were done to them while in DSS care.

“Someone had to have told Christopher about weird sexual activities in order for him to report them about his mother,” Howard said. “He was made to wait until everyone else in the foster family had eaten and was then given cold leftover scraps. He was not given breakfast.”

Ethan suffered bruises, lost teeth, chipped teeth, a broken arm and other injuries.

A lawsuit is being prepared against the state by Atty. Greg Hession and should be filed sometime this month.

Tested Beyond Endurance

“These parents were tested,” says Atty. Darling. “They have fought for their children with every ounce of their being. What they have endured at the hands of DSS is almost beyond human endurance.”

When the parents began to fight DSS, the agency started to accuse the parents of sexual abuse and mutilation of the boys, but without any evidence.

Last May, an important break occurred when Judge Belmonte suspended the trial for six months and allowed the Howard’s newborn baby, Jessica, to return home. The judge had apparently heard enough of DSS’ bizarre testimony and was annoyed at social workers’ attempts to control the trial. When the trial to terminate the parental rights of the two boys resumed this winter, DSS folded its tent.

“Basically they couldn’t prove their case,” said Neil Howard to MassNews. “We had a whole list of doctors and therapists ready to testify in our favor. DSS couldn’t prove a single thing against us.”