Boston, MA – Today the Pelletiers will meet with members of the Massachusetts Legislature to share their 13-month ordeal with the Department of Children and Families (DCF). DCF has unlawfully taken custody of their daughter, Justina, and has withheld medicine, education, and the free exercise of religion, and still refuses to give up custody. “DCF needs to return custody to Justina Pelletier’s parents and should be held accountable for the tragic abuse inflicted by this incompetent agency on the family,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “Liberty Counsel will not be satisfied until DCF is completely out of the picture and full custody is returned to Justina’s parents.”
“Inmates in Massachusetts are entitled to regular visits, education, clergy, and medical care. Justina has been treated worse by DCF than incarcerated felons. She has a one-hour, supervised visitation per week, no education, no clergy, and abysmal medical care,” said Staver. “DCF has knowingly violated the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, because the agency has refused to provide Justina with any education for two academic years, let alone the education to which she is entitled to receive because of her learning disability. For 13 months, DCF has refused to allow any clergy to visit Justina. And on top of it all, DCF has lost track of 134 children in its custody. How can you trust a government agency that acts like this? Someone should be held accountable,” said Staver. Liberty Counsel is working with various legislators to modify the Massachusetts law so that DCF is incapable of doing this again.
Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.
