Didn't the state send the children to Ruth's parents?
Not in the beginning. They placed them in foster care and denied the Christines visitation for 8 months even after the Christine's obtained a court order. The state abusers determined that visitation wasn't a good idea and was "traumatic" to the children given the tearful goodbyes.
It was only when the state threatened to terminate their parental rights permanently that the Christines acted to take their children back by force which was exactly the manner in which they were taken from them.