"The Lord first, my grandchildren and my son. That's where my strength came from."
Now DHS claims that neglect reports lodged against Brown nearly a decade ago when she was raising her own children prevent her from caring for her grandchildren, even though the agency knew about those reports when the grandchildren were placed in her care.
None of those reports resulted in the removal of Brown's children from her custody, and no abuse claim has ever been lodged against her.
"I think she's had a lot of grief and loss in her life, and the last thing we want to do is compound that," DHS Commissioner Anne Marie Ambrose said.
"But even though the reports were long ago, we feel they are enough to be concerned."
The neglect reports were the only reason ever presented to Brown for the children's removal, but, in an interview with the Daily News, DHS presented at least five more, some of which they later retracted in writing.
Among those other reasons was a "concern about her emotional stability," in light of her daughter's and granddaughter's deaths, Ambrose said.
"Issues of grief and loss might have destabilized the home," she said.
This upset Brown, who said that those around her have been impressed by her strength in light of the tragedy, something for which she credits her family and her church community.
"It just seems so heartless," she said.
Brown took in her granddaughter, Envy Smith, now 5, and Envy's brother, Zyeem Hill, now 6, in 2006 at DHS' request.
Brown is Envy's paternal grandmother, and Envy and Zyeem share the same mother.
Although Zyeem is not her biological grandson, Brown said she took him in to keep the children together.
One day after placing the children in her care, DHS learned of the prior-neglect reports, known as general protective service (GPS) reports, and removed the children.
