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When their grandson was a baby, he was placed into a loving foster care family that wanted to adopt him. The Brasovankins had a warm relationship with the foster family and would visit with and baby-sit the little boy.
The boy’s father, however, asserted his parental rights at the time the family wanted to adopt Steven, something that broke the foster mother’s heart, according to Mildred Brasovankin.
So for the past few years, the couple stepped in to care for the boy whenever their son and the boy’s mother, who floated in and out of Steven’s life, couldn’t care for the boy properly.
DHS entered the picture again back in February, according to the Brasovankins, after their son took Steven to the emergency room for a cold. He wanted the boy to be admitted and began acting erratically when his request was denied.
Steven’s grandparents received a phone call from the boy’s pediatrician and stepped up to take care of Steven to prevent him from being placed with a foster home.
The Brasovankins aren’t alone.
In the United States, the 2000 Census found that nearly 4.5 million children were in their grandparents’ care — a 30 percent increase from 1990. In 2005, 21,400 Philadelphia grandparents were tallied as raising their grandchildren.
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While there are support groups offering tips for raising grandchildren, and legal assistance in fighting for visitation — in fact, last August, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that grandparents no longer need to prove their grandchildren would be harmed by not having visits with them — there are few groups out there to help grandparents fight for custody of their own flesh and blood.
"The legal part, that’s me," said the Brasovankins’ attorney, Mark Collazzo.
Back in March, the court adjudicated Steven a dependent of the commonwealth and ordered that DHS look for placement of Steven in 90 days, preferably with another family.
DHS showed up at the home and attempted to remove the boy from the Brasovankins’ home in May with three police cars, before the 90 days were up, but Morris Brasovankin refused to let them take him because the allotted time was not up. DHS removed the boy from his school on June 6 and placed him into a foster home.
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Back in April, Collazzo had scheduled a June 13 emergency hearing date to petition the court to stay the order, but DHS acted before the hearing date. According to the attorney, court administration didn’t contact the child advocate or solicitor, who were on vacation, because the judge had scheduled the hearing herself and the hearing was postponed.
Collazzo will present evidence at next Tuesday’s protracted hearing to prove the Brasovankins’ fitness to care for the child. Steven’s pediatrician and the couple’s physician will both testify on their behalf.
"One of the things that struck me is that of all the people, the one who argued against [the Brasovankins’ custody] has never been in the house. The child advocate has never been there. That little boy makes them active. You have to look at the people first, not the number of the age," Collazzo said.
Steven’s pediatrician Dr. Mark Sey agreed. In a letter to the court, he wrote:
...I can see no reason whatsoever to remove him from an environment where he is unconditionally loved and cared for. They are not handicapped and are mentally alert...Frankly, I am very disappointed that DHS would make such a prejudiced decision. This is ageism of the worst sort and can in no way benefit the child.
Collazzo feels especially bad for the couple, especially after their weekly visits with their grandson.
"He ran to me and ran to my husband. He said, ‘I want to go to your house, Bubby. I want to go in Pop-pop’s car. Pop-pop take me home with you,’" Mildred Brasovankin said.
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While the couple may be elderly and limited physically from running after a child, who has been made to wait in waiting rooms for far too long, they have seen to his needs.
They followed medical advice to have Steven evaluated at the Elwyn Institute and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for behavioral problems. They followed recommendations to have him enrolled in KenCrest Services, where Steven received early intervention services for developmental disabilities in a pre-school setting, and so that the little boy could socialize and spend more time around children. They also enrolled him in kindergarten at the Laura Carnell school, just a half-block from their home.
"He loved going to school. He was doing well," Mildred Brasovankin said.
Carol White is one of many people who have contacted the Brasovankins offering support after seeing their story in the news media.
"Nobody can love a child more than the loving home they came from. DHS is going after the wrong people," White said.
Mildred Brasovankin agreed.
"Go help those children that are abused. Go after them. I can’t understand why they took him," Brasovankin said.
She also wants to help other grandparents.
"We want to make it so that other grandparents who are willing and able to do it, can do it. I know we’re not the only ones," she said. ••
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com