Daniel Baldwin's Wife Fires Back: Our Kids Were Not Forcibly Removed From My House!

Joanne Baldwin, who filed for divorce last week, refutes her estranged hubby's claim that their daughters were simply taken away by social services

Joanne Baldwin is just trying to do what's best for her kids.

That's the gist of what Daniel Baldwin's estranged wife exclusively told E! News in response to her husband's announcement that their two daughters were "removed" from Joanne's home by social services yesterday.

While Daniel claimed that Oregon's Department of Human Services had just up and transported 3-year-old Avis and 2-year-old Finley to a family friend's house, she tells us that is not what happened.

"In response to the inflammatory claims made against me, yet again, I would like to say that there has not been a forced removal of my children from my home," Joanne Baldwin said in a statement obtained by E! News.

"The DHS has been involved with our case because of the original false restraint that had been filed against me back in July. I have been under a lot of duress during all of the media coverage, defamation of character, and Daniel being out of town for weeks on end.  After expressing myself to the DHS, they asked me, and I agreed on a voluntary basis, if  the girls should stay with our friends for a couple of days so I could have some time to regroup. There has been no custody awarded to any party as of yet, until we go to court. The girls are at my home spending time with their father, until I return on Sunday. 

"I have been alcohol free for three months," she concluded, "and am staying on track with my sobriety."

Daniel returned to Oregon from Texas, where he had been shooting a film, last night.

A rep for the actor told E! News Friday: "In response to Joanne's latest allegations against Daniel, yes, Joanne volunteered to surrender the children to a family friend approved by DHS because she was given the option to have DHS file the necessary paper work and come back and take the children or she could surrender the kids to the family friend."

In filing for divorce last week, Joanne asked for sole custody of their daughters. A source close to Daniel told us soon after that she didn't "have a leg to stand on" in asking for such a thing, due to her checkered legal history.

After Daniel filed for divorce and a restraining order in July, Joanne was sentenced to 10 days in jail for admittedly drinking alcohol while on probation for a DUI. Daniel withdrew his petition and the threat allegations in August, but we learned that reports of their reconciliation were untrue.