Boy with Special Needs Focus of Battle

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Steve and Robin Ritter say they never wanted to relinquish custody of his severely disabled grandson, whom they had cared for in their Shelby County home since he was a toddler.
But late last year, at the urging of state child-welfare officials, they agreed to what they thought was a temporary arrangement in which Dustin, 11, would be placed in a special foster home for "medically fragile" children, according to the Ritters and records of the case they provided.They say they expected that after a period of care from foster parents specially trained to handle such children, Dustin would come back home.
Instead, the now outraged couple says, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services reneged on that agreement and placed Dustin in three consecutive foster homes that didn't work out.