When April went back to the facility. I wrote the Judge a letter begging him to let April come home . At this point we also found out that our medical insurance and the state medical insurance refused to pay for any and all medical treatments April had received while out of state, in custody. Now our family, who had the four children and one working parent, owed over 20,000 dollars in medical bills.

Finally after 17 months of begging the court to let us have our daughter back, the facility administrator told the Judge that April was not capable of complying with the program there and she was bipolar. She needed a more medical alternative than a discipline corrective system. The Judge finally released her.

When she came home to us, we immediately took her to a wonderful therapist. She worked with April and our family to help April once again overcome attachment disorder and fit back into our family unit. She addressed Aprils medications and referred us to a psychiatrist who could administer her medications in the right doses.

April was still kept on probation. She could not walk out the front door without a cop driving by and asking what she was doing. We could not leave our home without calling her probation officer and asking permission to take April with us. Vacations were out of the plans.

For five years our family lived with April being treated like some kind of serious criminal. I had finally had enough.

One day when we were at the court for April's visit with the probation officer, I lost it. Just that month a teenage boy had made worldwide news. He had tried to poison a school janitor. I could not believe it when I saw him standing there free as a bird, just signing in like my daughter.

Then had sent him away for two weeks. Two weeks. I was irate. I know I handled myself very unprofessionally but I didn't really care. Here just because my daughter was a foster/sdoptive child she got the works. Sent away for 17 months. Locked up where she gained over 90 pounds and we had over 28,000 in medical bills because no one bothered to check if the medical or state insurance would cover her out of state. This kid almost killed someone and he got a slap on the wrist and six months probation.

I was not happy. When I think of how foster rand adopted children are labeled and sought out and made to feel like they are castaways, it makes me furious.

Even though my daughter is bipolar, even if she has made our life a mess at times, even if we will always have to help her remember her medication and set up systems for herself in life, she is our daughter and we love her.

From that moment on we began to fight for April and her rights. She is now sixteen. She has moments when she wants to run away and she does. Yes we go right out and try to find her. She never allows life to become boring in our home. But she is who she is.

With a lot of love and help we will see her be able to stand on her own. She has a strong will and that may be her saving factor.

As parents please find out your child's rights and always be beside them. I don't advocate you allow them privileges when they have done wrong. I would be the first one to seek the police, and have, when my kids have broken the law. But be an advocate for what is right. Don't let your child be treated unfairly just because they are viewed differently for being foster or adopted children.

The courts know when they meet naive parents. My husband and I were straight A students. We never got out of line. We spent most of our life in church, learning the right things. In the end our inexperience with the court and our lack of knowledge to fight for our daughter ended up hurting our family dearly. It almost destroyed April. God Bless her heart. She has enough to worry about other than being locked away like a criminal for behaviors she could not control.

You will see me say, "Knowledge is power." I tend to do that a lot. Being naive only made us vulnerable to a system that has no clue how to help troubled teens. I find fault in myself for not stepping up sooner.

If you feel there is something wrong with your child. Stand up and say so. Keep looking for help even if that means taking them to doctor after doctor, until you find someone who recognizes the symptoms and knows how to help your child and family. If you just save one child from falling through the cracks and ending up alone, that is worth more than any other thing you can accomplish in life.

Tell your story. Speak up for your child. Be brave and let your voice be heard. Someone is out there going through what you are too.