Lehigh County Children & Youth

"My experience with cys was not good at all.They two faced liers.They say when they take kids from a home that they like to place them with other family members ya right they set u up have u thinking your gonna get the kids brought to u in my case my grandchildren.subpona u to court then don't let u in the court room to plead your case These kids and my daughter have lived with me for the last ten yrs and they don't give me them I feel in this case cys violated my rights.I will never trust cys ever again.They destroy familys not give any respect to other family members who are willing to take the kids in.its lawyer time now I'm not giving up that easy."

"They don’t care about children’s wellbeing. I had solid proof of my 13 year old being provided drugs and being controlled/coached by their mother. They closed the case as soon as it was transferred. They said they went there and “found nothing wrong” even though I provided them with proof and the Northampton CYF didn’t even want mother to have children, but as soon as it was turned into Lehigh CYF, they turned a blind eye and closed it. This place is a joke."

"Please believe the reviews you read here. I just tried conversing with Bernarda Hansel, and it was one of the worst experiences I have had in a while. I was on the phone with my daughter-in-law, who explicitly told Bernarda she had permission to speak with me. Bernarda was very condescending and unprofessional. She refused to talk to me, ignoring that this is a sensitive matter and is doing nothing to help our child. I was on the phone with her because she was doing the same with my daughter-in-law when she spoke with her earlier. I have little hope that Bernarda will handle my grandson's case accordingly. Sadly, the city of Allentown has to deal with these people when it comes to our children."

"These people need to be fired !! They aren’t there to protect any child why do this job if you continue on putting children in danger. When one gets hurt bad I hope someone there pays the price for it. These people need to go put their kids in places where people are saying there kids are being harmed. Pathetic workers and system!!! People know people and protect them from getting their kids taken away when they need to be. Where’s the good people and concerned ones at?!?! PATHETIC !!! 000 ⭐️"

"My 17 year old daughter is in their care because they have a case open against her father who had primary custody of her and we dis not have a current visitation or custody agreement. They have moved her constantly the whole time she has been in there from foster home to foster home never staying in one place more than 2 or 3 months until they allowed her to live with her boyfriend's grandmother which has lasted awhile. Out of no where they decided to move her into a group home saying they believe she would be happier there and "thrive" more and they did it without telling me at all, she told me a few days before they moved her there when they told her. Her court appointed therapist, me and my daughter all told them that she was happy and cared for where she was at and doing well in school and at her job. We all told them moving her would cause a negative impact on her mental health and push her back into a depressive episode which she has recovered from when she moved in with the last foster home. My daughter told them after being moved into the new group home Bethany Children's home that the staff and some other residents were not treating her nicely and some were being inappropriate, there are also numerous bad reviews on the place from former employees and residents claiming they abuse the kids and do not provide them their basic needs most of the time. My daughter even says kids run away from there practically every week because of how they are treated. I called her worker and told them all of this and even told them my daughter had proof to her claims and they have ignored me completely. I have asked if she could be moved somewhere elsw where she can be happier and feel physically and emotionally safe and her caseworker has ignored my questions/complaints. I just left a 3rd message for her caseworkers supervisor and i doubt i will ever get a return call. They are constantly "forgetting" to remind me of court appearances via zoom that i have the right to attend (even though i am not the defendant they said i could attend). I asked her case worker to keep me notified of what is going on with her case and they have not contacted me nor returned any of my phone calls. These people are ridiculous."