Out-of-state father wins custody of child during and after neglect investigation

A father from out of state received a call from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services that the agency suspected his 7-year-old boy was being neglected by his mother, and they were investigating.

Dad came to Illinois, and DCFS placed the boy with him – but the mother reportedly tried to take possession of the son against DCFS recommendations. Dad was afraid the mother would put his son in danger.

Attorney Jeffery M. Leving, founder and president on the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving Ltd. in Chicago, helped the father protect his son. Leving will talk about the case on his weekly radio program, the Dads’ Rights Legal Hour, 9-10 a.m. CDT Saturday, March 19, on Power 92.3 FM in Chicago.

The Leving firm’s private detective conducted a criminal background investigation on the mother as well as her live-in boyfriend, who turned out to have an extensive domestic violence history, it appears.

Dads' Rights Attorney Jeffery M. Leving — Dads’ Rights Attorney Jeffery M. Leving

“My legal team went to court on emergency motions and won back-to-back emergency hearings for the boy to stay with his father after the DCFS investigation, and giving Dad sole decision-making authority on education, allowing him to transfer the boy to dad’s local school district,” Leving says.

“The mother was allowed only supervised parenting time. We won one victory after another to protect this boy.”

Leving says the father was resolute about protecting his son from harm, and stood firm as the case was heard. “This was an important victory, modified for broadcast, to protect the little boy. This is a great result for our client and his son, and is emblematic of Dad’s dedication and determination. I’m proud of my legal team’s commitment to helping fathers and children,” Leving says.

Leving also will speak on the radio about his recent appearance at an international think tank on reducing poverty, the Horasis Global Meeting.

“There’s a social aspect to child poverty,” Leving says.

“According to the U.S. Census Bureau, children in father-absent homes are almost four times more likely to be poor than children with their father in their lives. We must put a stop to fathers being excluded from their children’s lives! I realize that marriage doesn’t always work out, and it’s a reality that 36 percent of children in Illinois are born to unmarried parents. I can’t scold parents into staying together, but I can and do help fathers who are pushed away from their children. Fathers are parents too, and the economic consequences of fatherlessness are severe. That’s what I told the international audience, and I think the message was heard and will make an impact.”

Jeffery M. Leving is founder and president of the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving Ltd., and is a strong advocate. He is the author of Fathers’ Rights, Divorce Wars and How to be a Good Divorced Dad, the latter of which was endorsed by President Obama and by Cardinal Francis E. George, then the archbishop of Chicago. To learn more about Leving and his latest court victories, follow him on Twitter and Facebook, view his videos on You Tube, and listen to his podcast.