The state’s case to claim legal guardianship of Kadeem Covington, son of East Windsor resident Lonnie Covington, has been formally dismissed.
By: T.J. Furman
EAST WINDSOR Lonnie Covington has finally finished his most important race, and as a result was able to see his son start his educational journey this week.
Mr. Covington, whose attempts to gain custody of his son, Kadeem, have been chronicled by the Windsor-Hights Herald for two years, no longer has to worry about the state seeking to place his boy in foster care. That’s because the state’s claim for guardianship of 5-year-old Kadeem was dismissed June 1.
The state had sought legal guardianship of Kadeem so he could be adopted, meaning Mr. Covington would lose his parental rights.
However, Mr. Covington, a former track and cross country star at Hightstown High School, continued to seek custody of Kadeem and passed every requirement the state’s Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) asked of him.
"I feel good about it," Mr. Covington said last week. "From the beginning they doubted me. They said I had no experience. That was one of the things I wanted to prove.
"I’m glad it’s over," he added. "I wanted my son."
Mr. Covington said Alicia Zonetti, an attorney at the Lawrenceville law firm of Fox, Rothschild, O’Brien and Frankel, was a big factor in winning back his son’s custody. Other attorneys who had represented Mr. Covington "made it seem like I wasn’t going to get" Kadeem, he said.
Ms. Zonetti "came in and said, ‘We’ll get him back,’ " Mr. Covington said. "She did a good job with it."
Ms. Zonetti, whose firm handled the case on a pro bono basis, was equally impressed with the optimism Mr. Covington expressed with each new hurdle he faced.
"Each time we got closer and closer, he got more excited about it," Ms. Zonetti said. "Lonnie never expressed anything other than optimism. Lonnie’s reaction to everything was pretty much, ‘What can I do? What will help? When will I see him next?’ "
DYFS took custody of Kadeem in 1997 when his mother became addicted to drugs and was possibly endangering the child’s life. At that point, Mr. Covington ended his relationship with the woman to help his chances of gaining custody.
For some time, Mr. Covington was living in hotels and with friends while paying for legal help in his custody battle. He found himself unemployed and homeless after his employer of 16 years, Morrison Cleaners, suddenly closed in October 1999. Now employed by BlackLight Power on Old Trenton Road, Mr. Covington satisfied the state’s requirement of a suitable living environment for Kadeem when he moved in with Walter and Alberta Harris in Windsor Mills last year.
All the while, he was attending all of the required parenting classes and court hearings in Trenton (riding the bus and walking, when necessary) and making scheduled visits with Kadeem every other week in Lawrenceville.
Last Dec. 15, a state judge reunited father and son on a temporary basis and the state has since dropped its case for legal guardianship.
And Thursday morning, Mr. Covington saw Kadeem off for his first day of kindergarten at the Walter C. Black School.
"I’m kind of excited about it, kind of nervous about it," Mr. Covington said about his son’s first day at school. "He’s excited about it and looking forward to it."
Mr. Covington said he feels there are flaws in DYFS’s system and that he detected a degree of inequity.
"There were a lot of times when I reported things to (DYFS, after visiting with Kadeem), and they wouldn’t do anything," he explained. "It seemed like I had to be perfect, and (the foster parents) could do whatever they wanted to."
Ms. Zonetti was happy to see the reunion and said the case "was nothing but a positive experience for me.
"It was definitely a case where the best interests of the child would be to return him to his father," she said.

