Seven years ago, Sarah Carter’s two children were taken from her by the Guilford County Department of Social Services and the Guilford County court system.
Carter hasn’t seen those children in over six years. At the time her children were taken from her, Carter spoke to the Guilford County commissioners at a public meeting to convey what she said was an act of appalling injustice.
Carter has never given up her fight, and, just before Christmas this year, she returned to speak to the Guilford County Board of Commissioners – still trying to see her children and, she added, attempting to get the county to stop taking unjust actions against other parents who are currently going through similar experiences.
Carter said in her speech from the floor to the commissioners that she wanted to move them to take actions that would allow her to see her children once again and would also put an end to what she claims is a corrupt system that unfairly removed her children from her and is currently continuing to do the same with other parents.
At the time that the county claimed she was an unfit parent and took custody of her children, Carter fought as hard as she could to reverse the decision. She came to the Rhino Times office to tell her story, and she spoke as a speaker from the floor to the Board of Commissioners.
“I was here seven years ago,” Carter told the board at its final meeting of 2022. “Some of you should remember who I am. Seven years ago, my children were unconstitutionally and very traumatically seized by this county. A social worker committed perjury in court to keep my children.”
Carter added that she does not say the Pledge of Allegiance anymore because “there is not justice for all.”
“I have not seen my children for over 2200 days,” she said, adding that the commissioners could help fix the problems that continue hurting parents.
In 2015, when a social services official was asked about the case, the official said she was limited in what she could reveal about the custody case, but she added that the department always does everything it can to keep children with their parents as long as those parents could provide a safe environment.
Carter maintains that she loves her children deeply and that she has never done anything that would remotely justify taking them away.
“The court system here in Guilford County is still, pardon my French, corrupt as hell,” Carter told the board.
At the meeting, she named an assistant district attorney who she claimed was corrupt.
“We have to put the law, and what society demands of all of us, above our friendships and our allegiances.
Carter concluded: “You are in a position of power to do that, but you are also servants,” she said. “I don’t care what political party you are with. You can lead us. You can go forward. Right now, all that’s happening is families are getting hurt.”
She came to the Rhino Times to tell her story….what is her story? Is the position of the Rhino Times that there is corruption in the courts? Corruption in social services offices? This article is almost as hollow as Alan Marshalls worthless letters to the editor.
I am curious if any details of this case are available. What made social services remove the kids to start with? How was the asst DA corrupt? How the the social services person lie in court? If she was a good mother and provided a safe home, why would social services go to court to remove the children?
A Guilford Co social worker disagreed with my choice to homeschooling my children. Since education is not under CPS jurisdiction, she lied about me and my family to justify a traumatic and unconstitutional seizure of my children.
Sarah,
First and foremost- my heart truly goes out to you. I know what it’s like having your babies ripped away under false pretenses. I have witnessed first hand in Forsyth County, NC : lies under oath, deceit, manipulation, ulterior motives, corruption, parental alienation, unlawful deprivation, malicious intent, retaliation, abuse of power, perjury, personal sabotage, witness tampering, obstructions of justice, and just absolutely reprehensible acts of collaborated plotting throughout the department to unjustly deprive parents of their children, separate siblings and to ultimately destroy the family unit as a whole.
I commend you for never giving up, Sarah. I am still at war for my children too. I will walk through hell and back with gasoline panties on for my kids. Never will I ever surrender. Keep up the good fight and advocating for change. If you would like to have an ally, reach out to me. I would love to join you in the battle. My email is: pistolpackin.mama@icloud.com
Best Regards,
Courtney
Without knowing the specific rights & wrongs of this case, my sympathies instinctively lie with the parent.
Do our children belong to the family or the state?
This confirms our thoughts about you AM.
Good. And your moniker says a lot about you, Nutjob.
Curious, if she wants her kids back, why not tell the story, the whole story as she sees it? Why were they taken, why has she not been allowed to see them, and what has changed so that she should have the kids back? She went before the city council yet apparently and talked with the Rhino yet no details……sorry smells fishy to me.
Yeah, this article produces more questions than answers. Not sure why it’s here at all.
There were only three minutes to speak before commissioners. I have told my story to them in other meetings and if not personally, through emails. I am open to telling my story and have quite often in the last seven years. Just because I can’t spill years and years’ worth in three minutes doesn’t invalidate my claims.
The assistant DA is corrupt in another case against another parent. The assistant DA is using her personal friendship with an abusive and alienating father who works for city of Greensboro to attempt to criminalize a mother.
Children are taken on a daily basis from fit, loving homes. We have no laws in this country stating that you have to be honest to take children from their homes with your allegations. No criminalizing anyone abusing the child welfare system and in fact, case law in NC encourages untruths to take children for the good of society. The jurisprudence is so low that no one cared that the social worker lied and I properly submitted evidence that my children should never have been taken in the first place.
Sounds unstable? The courts are where she should try her case not the county commissioners. What are the facts? Children will not be taken into secure custody unless there is neglect, abuse and/or an unsafe environment for the children. Obviously the courts agreed with social services. There are ways to see and/ or get your children back. First -one shall follow court orders, receive treatment for drug or alcohol abuse, provide a stable safe environment for the children. Appears Ms. Cater has neglected to provide one or more of these requirements. Ms.Carter should hire a lawyer not plead to county commissioners who have no powers to overturn a court order. My bet is the children were placed with family members or a foster home.
There is a podcast by NBC called “Do No Harm”, about two families whose children were illegally removed by social services in other states based on charges made up by social workers and medical professionals who because of personal opinions and bias decided the parents weren’t “fit”. This does happen frequently. I don’t know the specifics of Ms. Carter’s case but based on the lack of sufficient staffing and oversight by our County Commissioners I’d want to hear her story in detail. The Commissioner’s meetings don’t allow speakers to have much time to make their point meaning she didn’t have an opportunity to go into much detail and obviously wanted to just get her story out. I hope this brings her the attention she needs to get some help with resolving the issue. Lack of staffing, training, and over-zealous workers is just as dangerous as child protection agencies that ignore kids who are being abused. These are delicate issues that require well-trained individuals with intellect and experience which few social programs seem to have today. I hope one of the commissioners takes her plea seriously and looks into her situation.
This is a really shallow story. Juvenile and social services court records are confidential, so the only source of information is from the parent who is obviously going to give a self-serving account. I’m almost certain North Carolina is like most states and appoints a lawyer (at public expense) for parents when a social services agency puts their children in foster care, so she should have had representation. I’d be really interested to know how her children came into foster care. Did she sign them into foster care for some reason or did Guilford County DSS have to involuntarily remove them due to abuse/neglect?
I would NEVER voluntarily abandon my children! My mom was there with me day 1 of court and they refused to abide by Federal law amd return them to me or let my mom take them. Counties get a lot of money forcing children to be exposed to fostercare. While records are confidential, they are still public records. The confidentiality lies on the department, NOT the parent. My file boxes stacked up the the back room would prove how corrupt the county was and still is in my case. I did have representation; under zealous representation. The first attorney told me she didn’t fight for parents because the system is broken. The second didn’t fight for me but gave me heads up when they were jailing me that day. The third berated me and helped them ensure I couldn’t appeal. Lord knows that the Appellate Court would have come down hard on these wicked judges’ decisions. But to let my case get out would be embarrassing to the judiciary that they behaved in such an appalling way to me, my family, and others in the county. In fact, a judge on my case keeps getting reelected but keeps having people legally abused and physically assaulted in the courtroom. One lady even ended up dead.
My children were wrongfully taken because a social worker disagreed with my right to educate my children in homeschooling and another social worker lied to the court to justify seizing them traumatically with no emergency, no abandonment, and no court order. Look up Hogan V Cherokee. That corruption is happening all over NC.
I know Sarah personally and I know her story well. We met when my children were taken by this corrupt system. Guilford County is taking children wrongfully. My case was Reversed but not everyone is able to appeal in the manner that I was. Though I have my children back, I am not done exposing the fraud in my case which is Fraud upon the Court. In my case, the allegations against me was mental illness as a Scholar attending Winston-Salem State University. This is the motive of operandi in Guilford County and the public is unaware and automatically favors the State because how frightening is it to find out that our local government is seizing children unlawfully and labeling women crazy for money? But it’s true and it’s happening in Guilford County. If you would like real evidence to this atrocity that’s happening my email is Zalondaewoods@gmail.com.
That’s very concerning. Have you tried getting more publicity for your travesty?
I don’t know all the specifics but what I can tell you is ppl are human so they make mistakes. Now as far as the children being placed with family I doubt it but once again nobody is perfect humans make mistakes so this could very well be a mistake but the individuals don’t want to admit their wrong doing so they continue to let it go on. Stop being so judgemental when you don’t know all the facts
Children belong with their mother, and this is very lovely person and mother who only wants to see her children. To remove children for 7 years and no visitation should be a crime. Who was that state’s attorney?
Need ALL the facts to make a decision.
If it doesn’t work out for you, then you can have a couple of mine.
Scott Yost,
You have brought this to the attention of the public, the readers of Rino Times. As an investigative reporter, are you going to pursue all sides of this story and report further? Or is the Rino Times just a headline maker? ALL stories like this one are not the same, by any means. There certainly can be culpability to injustice from both sides. My instincts tell me that the courts and “justice system” have the upper hand and once “they make a decision” “they” forget about those decisions no matter what the “offender” does to make a difference. As you state, it has been 7 years for this case. I think it deserves a little more than just your few paragraphs.
Great post.
I work in this system daily. There is a lot to be learned about it that is not covered in this article. It’s easy to do a hit piece and make this lady look like a saint. She is not. I fight on both sides of these cases and SOMETIMES there are irregularities. SOMETIMES we think the social workers should be fired. It does not change the facts of the cases. It’s never one person making the decision. Its a team.
I do NOT have a ton of information about this case, but I do have information about the system. Lets see if Scott will actually contact me to ask.
(336) 663-2142
brettmoorelaw@gmail.com