Pittsburgh-area parents' lawsuit alleges CYF took their daughter away because of their disabilities
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A local couple claims the Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Families took their daughter away because they have disabilities.
The couple says they've done everything asked of them, yet county social workers gave another couple without disabilities full custody of their little girl.
The couple says there's absolutely no reason they shouldn't have custody of their child and that's why they're taking the county to court.
Lauren and Andrew Hackney say there are only a few words to describe how they're feeling these days.
"Heartbroken, saddening, but we're trying to hold it together," Lauren said.
The two deal with developmental challenges and are the parents of 3-year-old Keira.
"We are good people, we're good parents and we want to do everything that a parent should do," Lauren said.
But according to their lawyer, Allegheny County CYF doesn't agree.
"They have taken a fully functional family and destroyed it, and they need to pay for that," said Maggie Coleman, the couple's attorney.
Coleman says the entire situation started when the couple's baby got sick.
"When Keira started refusing her bottle when she was 7 months old, the Hackneys recognized that she needed medical attention and they took her to the pediatrician. The pediatrician told them to take her to Children's, which they did," Coleman said.
However, according to the lawsuit, while getting treatment at Children's Hospital, a CYF agent got word and started the process of taking custody of Keira. Why? That's what the Hackneys want to know.
"They had no history with CYF before this. In fact, they had a documented history with their pediatrician of taking excellent care of Keira," Coleman said.
Coleman says since their baby was taken, the Hackneys have cooperated with CYF, however, "Once that CYF train got rolling, once they decided what they were going to do, there was nothing anybody could do to stop it."
"Every time they do something that CYF wants them to do, CYF either finds fault with what they did or they tell them they have to do something else, and it's just been like a moving target for years," Coleman said.
The couple's lawsuit calls for punitive damages against the county and five individuals working for the agency. But more than anything, they want their baby back home.
"It's not fair, it's not right and it's very hard to process," Lauren said.
KDKA-TV reached out to Allegheny County CYF for comment on the matter but did not hear back by airtime.
