Article updated on Thursday (May 2) at 11:30 a.m (CET time) with information about the child.
A woman was left perplexed and is awaiting answers after a letter she received in the mail suggested that her husband may have a child neither of them knew about.
On Thursday (April 30), Danielle took to her TikTok account to recount the confusing episode. “My mind is spinning right now. My husband got a letter in the mail, and it’s from the DCF [Department of Children and Families, also known as Child Protective Services],” she said.
Highlights
- A woman named Danielle received a letter from the DCF suggesting her husband may have an unknown child.
- The suspected child is 13 years old, implying the husband was 24 at birth.
- Danielle has confirmed that the child is a distant relative of her husband.
The document from the US government agency asked Danielle’s family if they could take care of a child who could no longer be at their home.
“I'm pretty confident they don’t send these letters to just anyone. I’m pretty sure you have to be on a list or be somehow related to the child,” the woman continued. “We don’t know who the child is.”
Image credits: bnenin/stock.adobe.com
The DCF provided the child’s name and date of birth, which indicated that they were 13 years old. Considering the hypothesis that Danielle’s husband is the father, he would’ve had them when he was 24, long before he met his wife.
Additionally, the letter was sent from a different state. “It wouldn’t make sense for them to send it to us unless he had some connection to the child,” the mom-of-five suggested.
Suspecting she and her husband may be falling victim to a scam, Danielle phoned the number on the document and confirmed that it was, indeed, connected to the official government agency.
The CPS/DCF is a department under a state's health and human services organization. The agency is responsible for the assessment, investigation, and intervention of cases of child abuse and neglect.
Social workers in the agency must decide if or what interventions are needed to keep a child safe and implement these steps, which must follow state and federal laws.
“I'm pretty confident they don’t send these letters to just anyone. I’m pretty sure you have to be on a list or be somehow related to the child,” Danielle speculated
Image credits: mrs.dewmt
In a subsequent video, Danielle shared that she has called the DCF three times and is still waiting for answers. “I don’t think it’s his kid; I think it must be some type of relative. But it’s not connecting, so we don’t know. We really have no idea.”
“I would also like an update just as much as you,” she added, addressing the flood of messages she’s been receiving from curious TikTok users.
Danielle and her husband have been together since 2018, forming a blended family that includes a child from the husband’s previous relationship, two from Danielle’s past relationship, and two children they share together.
Neither Danielle nor her husband knew about the existence of the child
Image credits: mrs.dewmt
The mother has called the DCF and is still waiting for answers
In a separate video, the woman shared that, while she’s still in the dark about the case, a member of the DCF has sent an email to the social worker mentioned in the letter and their supervisor to provide Danielle with more information.
When asked whether she would consider taking care of the teenager if she received confirmation that they were her husband's biological child, Danielle said, “There’s a lot of people in this house and exes that we have to deal with, so it’s not an easy decision to make. I don’t really have an answer to that.”
Image credits: mrs.dewmt
“This is really just a twist on everything,” the confused mother admitted, acknowledging that her seemingly lighthearted attitude about the situation is a “trauma response.”
Thousands of social media users weighed in on the situation, saying, “I enjoy that you are just going along for the ride, not getting mad at your husband. Stay you. No apologies needed!”
“The suspense is killing me. I can’t imagine what you’re going through,” another TikTok user wrote.
A DCF worker in the comments then reinforced Danielle’s suspicions that the thirteen-year-old might not be her husband’s child. “In my state when a child comes into foster care, we are obligated to reach out to relatives to find placement. Now, the system we use provides relatives to the 3rd and 4th degree,” she explained.
“We had a child who no immediate relatives would adopt. We had to do a DNA [test] and [analyze] over 400+ matches. We have to reach out and contact every single one,” a separate DCF worker added.
Image credits: mrs.dewmt
The family learned that the reason for the DCF intervention was that the child wasn't being taken to school
In an update shared on Thursday (May 2nd), Danielle confirmed that her husband isn't the father of the child.
"Apparently, my uncle had an affair some years back," her husband explained. The affair resulted in his cousin's half-sister, who is the mother of the thirteen-year-old that the DCF is trying to protect.
"We do know that she has two siblings, so we're not too sure why they weren't included on the letter," Danielle added. "That is a bit concerning."
The family learned that the reason for the DCF intervention was that the child wasn't being taken to school. "The mom just doesn't care to take care of them. She sleeps all day, she had a gambling problem, lots of alcohol involved. And it's a pretty sad situation for those kids." It was the teenager's school that contacted the agency.
The couple is still trying to hear back from the DCF to collaborate on finding a safe home for the child.
Danielle said: "I don't know if they have already found placement for this child. If we don't hear anything, all we can do is hope for the best. But we're gonna do what we can on our end to keep calling and helping in any way that we can."
"I hope the child is okay and will have someone who can take care of them," a social media user wrote
