Eileen Anne Schaeffer

Eileen was appointed to us by Montgomery County as a child advocate. When we spoke on the phone she seemed bothered by the fact that I wanted to speak about my sisters case with her. She barely asked any questions and I felt very rushed to get off the phone. The day of our hearing was the first time ...we met and we didn’t even talk in private about what was going to happen or our case. Before we went in front of the judge she told my sister she should just throw out the case because she wasn’t going to win. My sister, already terrified that she had to testify against her parents didn’t need to be put down like that. She needed someone with positivity and reassurance that she would not have to go back to an abusive home. When we finally got in front of the judge, Eileen did nothing to make a case for my sister. She asked the general questions but when my sister started to be attacked verbally by my parents, she sat there and did nothing to revert the questions about the abuse. She made it seem like my sister was the problem child and that it was okay that my parents abuse her the way that they do. My sister is terrified for her life and Eileen did nothing to protect her. On a side note, I did seem like there was a similar case before us that ended up the same way and when the child came out crying she looked at him and with a demeaning face and voice asked him why he was crying. Someone who is willing to allow children to go back to their abusive homes, is someone who should not be working with children. I strongly suggest that if you are looking for a custody lawyer to look elsewhere, and if she ends up being you appointed child advocate, contact the clerk of courts and ask for someone else. I would not want to see any other child go through what my sister had today.