Lost in the System

M y name is Catherine and I also grew up in foster care in Texas. I was taken away from my drug addict mother when I was 8 yrs old and then I moved from home to home for 10 yrs. All the time a different family, a different school, more friends to have to make, more to lose.

When I was 17 I got to go on my own. No money, no nest egg. All the programs I went through to help me build a future for me and start my adult life on my own, Just to find out I lost all the money due to the fact that I wanted to get out from under the LIFE in CUSTODY.  I was basically put out in a horribly unforgiving world with out a pot to p*** in. Then to even better the odds the money I was owed from my father's death, when I was 3, had been sent to the families I stayed with. The interesting thing is this, the checks were split into 2 parts. One part went to the families that housed me and the other part was put into a savings account for up to $1000.00.

The plan was I would get that money when I was 18 of course, RIGHT!! When I would return to my home office in WEATHERFORD TX. to ask about my money I would be told that the lady I needed to talk to was Carolyn Swank. So I would ask her for my money and she would tell me that she would look into it for me. People this was told to me every time I went into the office. After about 4 or 5 times of going through this I got tired of it and decided it was just one more let down and one more loss to deal with. I mean, when you spend 9 yrs of your life away from your bio. family you really lose alot.

Time went on and I struggled to the last 4 weeks of high school to only give up 3 weeks away. I moved in with my now 4 yrs old's father. Tell me if you can see a connection in this story? We moved in together, we broke up,I got pregnant and we broke up again. So now you see I have a major dilemma. I can only wonder what position I would have been in at that point if I had the right CHANCE at a new life to begin with?

That's when Carolyn Swank comes back into the picture. This time I find out what happened to my money, you know the missing $1000.00 in a savings account. An FBI agent came to my door and told me that there had recently been an finding that Carolyn Swank had stolen $206,000.00 over a 5 yr period and my money was there too! Now how did she do that? She forged all the names she needed. She got 3 yrs in a pansy federal prison and I still haven't got my money!!

Hey maybe you got Swanked to? There were about 10 foster Children from WEATHERFORD TX. (PARKER CO) that lost what hope they had for a good start. That is if they were like me and did not have a true family to go to.

Now I have 2 beautiful children of my own. I will make sure that I will do a better job of raisng my children so that the C.P.S. can not take from me the one thing good I have left, my family that I built. My husband and I have made the choice to change the cycle in our families.

If you are some one who has been affected by the Carolyn Swank case in WAETHERFORD TEXAS please e-mail me. I am trying to win our money back but could use all the help I can get!!

Please contact me ASAP at frankncat@earthlink.net