A bill was passed through the Iowa Senate March 13th, 2007 that gave Grandparents Rights to petition the courts for visitation. I decided to look into the new bill and did some research on my own and was amazed at how many attorneys in Iowa had absolutly no idea that this bill was in affect . I started researching in July. I next walked into our local Department of Human Services office better known as DHS and was treated to a rather rude nasty conversation with the lead receptionist. I asked her if their agency offered any information concerning Grandparents Rights in Iowa and was immediately greeted with attitude. She told me there was no such thing as Grandparents Rights and gave me her opinion on her slant on the new bill after I informed her that a bill had been passed. She felt that the new bill wasn’t fair to the parent. I left shortly after our conversation.
I next went to one of our local hospitals where I made my way to the cafeteria to talk to visitors and staff. I was soon approached by seven different grandmothers all with a story to tell of how they had been denied their grandchildren. One grandmother had not seen her grandchildren for three years due to a divorce. It did not shock me to learn that these woman had not known about the bill being passed giving Grandparents Rights in Iowa. Why should the general public know about a new bill when a state agency and practicing attorneys didn’t realise. I spent most of the afternoon talking to people asking them if they had heard about the new bill being passed and the majority had no idea it existed.
Next I decided to post information about the new bill about Grandparents Rights in Iowa on the Internet. I posted information on Myspace, CafeMom, and I made a web page promoting Grandparents Rights in Iowa. Myspace was a surprise. I expected more feedback but had only one person comment and he was for Grandparents Rights. CafeMom returned eleven comments out of 138 votes. The poll I designed on CafeMom was sixty percent were against Grandparents Rights, twenty-five percent were for it and fifteen percent were undecided. The sites I posted on mainly attract a younger user which gave me a better view of how the younger generation feels concerning Grandparents Rights. The web page I designed only had eight people view it but nearly thirty people viewed the article concerning Grandparents Rights in Iowa.
I have witnessed alot of heartache by grandparents in Iowa and have connected on-line to many others in various states that are denied their grandchildren. Most of these grandparents have no idea what their rights are, have no idea who to contact and feel that no one cares. Many factors come into why a grandchild is suddenly taken from a grandparent and no case is the same. A parent in most cases doesn’t even have to give you a reason why you suddenly are denied your grandchild. Please don’t expect much help from DHS as their concern will be will the parent. In order for a child to be removed from the parents care you must be able to prove iron clad that abuse, neglect or drugs are invloved. If the child is getting minimal care they will do nothing. As a grandparent your age, finaces, heatth, etc could be used against you should the child be taken out of the parents home. The child maybe given into your care but you may have to take a class to show you can take care of the grandchild.
