Legal Immunity for CPS Workers who Lie?
The critics and plaintiffs’ attorneys are out there. They seethe with frustration in their assertion that there are child protection workers who are as dysfunctional and flawed as some of the abusive and neglectful parents they investigate. They feel mistreated, ambushed, without recourse to a neutral oversight authority, and fume that the courts will believe the word of child protection workers over their clients.
And yet, when there is a credible allegation that a child protection worker has knowingly made misleading or false statements which resulted in the wrongful removal of a child, their criticism and anger seem justified. Such misrepresentations may involve highly contested issues of material fact that more properly should be examined by an agency supervisor or in court on the merits. The supervisor or court, inadvertently giving credence to the worker’s misrepresentation, may thereby be swayed in favor of the worker’s recommendations.
Legal Aspects of Immunity for Government Social Workers
It is an accepted principle that a parent has a constitutionally protected interest in the custody and care of his or her child. This interest does have exceptions, especially when the child may be in immediate or apparent danger. This is when child protection services gets involved. Crucial to every child protection investigation is to establish the facts and circumstances of the case. When these are presented to the court at a dependency hearing, the evidence may become proof.
The best professional judgment of child protection workers may, in hindsight, be wrong. For this and other reasons, child protection workers usually have some level of immunity from prosecution. [1] When individual government officials are sued for monetary damages they generally are granted either absolute or qualified immunity. The United States Supreme Court has stated that qualified immunity is the norm, absolute immunity is the exception. [2]
Should that immunity disappear when, in their official capacities as child protection workers, they make knowingly inaccurate or false statements which result in the wrongful removal of a child? California law provides for public employee immunity from liability for an injury caused by the employee instituting or prosecuting any judicial or administrative proceeding within the scope of their employment, even if he or she acts maliciously and without probable cause. [3] However, a public employee has no such immunity if he or she acted with malice in committing perjury, fabricating evidence, failing to disclose exculpatory evidence or obtaining evidence by duress.
Generally, whether an employee is acting within the scope of his or her employment is ordinarily a question of fact to be determined in light of the evidence of the particular case. Some courts hold that immunity for child protective workers exists as long as they act responsibly in the performance of their duties. The immunity applies even where a complaint alleges caseworker misconduct or intentional wrongdoing. [4] Others hold that the worker must be involved in a function critical to the judicial process itself. In either case, the more outrageous the employee’s alleged tortuous conduct, the less likely it could be described as foreseeable, and the less likely the social service agency could be required to assume responsibility for the act as a general risk of doing business.
Recent Cases
In Doe v. Lebbos, [5] the Ninth Circuit held that a social worker was entitled to absolute immunity for allegedly failing to investigate adequately the allegations of abuse and neglect against a father and in allegedly fabricating evidence in a child dependency petition because those actions had the “requisite connection to the judicial process’ to be protected by absolute immunity (at 826).” In Van Emrik v. Chemung County Dep’t of Soc. Servs., [6] the court found that child protective caseworkers were entitled to qualified immunity in connection with the removal of a child from the custody of her parents during a child abuse investigation. In the Sixth Circuit and the District of Columbia Circuit the type of immunity depends on the particular task the worker is doing. In Gray v. Poole, [7] the court held that qualified immunity covers social workers acting as investigators, while social workers testifying as witnesses are protected by absolute immunity. In Rippy ex rel. Rippy v. Hattaway, [8] the court ruled that absolute immunity protects social workers who initiate proceedings on behalf of a child. In Austin v. Borel, [9] the court ruled that child protection workers were not entitled to absolute immunity when they filed an “allegedly false verified complaint seeking the removal of two children” from the family home (at 1363).
Ethical Considerations
There is, of course, a difference between misrepresentation of a piece of physical or verbal evidence and the actual creation of false evidence. Misrepresentation involves the willful giving of a misleading representation of the facts. Creation of false evidence involves the act of improperly causing a ‘fact’ to exist. More often, critics and attorneys accuse workers of a willingness to misrepresent, selectively quote, and misconstrue information to support their claims and therefore to present an entirely misleading case. Rather than sticking to agency protocols and training the workers sensationalize their documentation and findings in a misleading fashion.
To what extent are such allegations true? Do workers consciously or unconsciously misrepresent evidence, and selectively engage in systematic distortion? How often do they may make deliberate efforts to mislead, deceive, or confuse their own supervisor or the court in order to promote their own personal or ideological objectives? How frequently are workers omitting or concealing material facts? Under the guise of vigilance, are there child protection workers whose adherence to rules and procedures is purposely excessive?
From a social work, legal, or judicial perspective, making a knowing misrepresentation in a child protection case is a serious ethical breach. The NASW Code of Ethics, 4.01(c), notes that: “Social workers should base practice on recognized knowledge, including empirically based knowledge, relevant to social work and social work ethics.” At 4.04 the Code goes on to state: “Social workers should not participate in, condone, or be associated with dishonesty, fraud, or deception.” Dishonesty, shading the truth, or a lack of candor cannot be tolerated in child protection services, a field of endeavor built upon trust and respect for the law. Whether or not child protection workers deserve immunity from prosecution when they misrepresent or fabricate evidence is a question each states’ courts are dealing with. Similarly, each court must decide whether such misconduct warrants setting aside the decision to remove the child from his or her home. In the final analysis, the question might soon find itself before the U.S. Supreme Court.
A worker’s misrepresentation or fabrication of evidence is particularly pernicious because it puts the whole field of child protection in a negative light. Whether or not immunity is granted, there is simply no excuse for this kind of willful and egregious conduct.
Endnotes
[1] See, e.g., Abdouch v. Burger, 426 F.3d 982 (8th Cir. 2005) and Babcock v. Tyler (884 F.2d 497 (9th Cir. 1989) (absolute immunity shields social workers to the extent that their role is functionally equivalent to that of a prosecutor); but see Burton v. Richmond, 276 F.3d 973 (2002) (when a state department of human services affirmatively places children in an abusive foster care setting, the state may be liable for damages); Gray v. Poole, 275 F.3d 1113, (D.C. Cir. 2002) (qualified immunity covers social service workers acting as investigators, but when testifying as witnesses they are protected by absolute immunity). Qualified immunity is often afforded if the social work is involved in a “discretionary function” unless his or her conduct is clearly a violation of a statute or constitutional principle (Snell v. Tunnell, 698 F. Supp. 1542 (W.D. Okla. 1988).
[2] Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982) (absolute immunity is appropriate in limited circumstances — judicial, prosecutorial, and legislative functions– whereas executive officials usually receive qualified immunity).
[3] Cal. Gov’t Code § 821.6
[4] Cunningham v. Wenatchee, 214 F. Supp. 2d 1103 (E.D. Wash. 2002).
[5] 348 F.3d 820 (9th Cir. 2003).
[6] 911 F.2d 863, (2d Cir. 1990).
[7] 275 F.3d 1113 (D.C. Cir 2002).
[8] 270 F.3d 416 (6th Cir. 2001).
[9] 830 F.2d 1356, 1363 (5th Cir. 1987).
This article originally appeared in the APSAC Advisor: Do child protection workers deserve immunity when they misrepresent or fabricate evidence?, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children Advisor, 21(2), 18-19.
Daniel Pollack, MSW, JD is full professor at Yeshiva University School of Social Work in New York City and is a frequent expert witness and contributer to this blog.
Sarah Kinder Cook, LICSW
August 6, 2009 (11:18 am)
I agree that it is an egregious offense when child protection workers misrepresent or falsify information that can lead to a wrongful removal of a child. However, how prevalent is this problem? Are we talking about a handful of instances or is the problem more widespread?
As someone who works in the field, I have never encountered a social worker who is trying to consciously “push his/her agenda” by lying or creating misleading information. Fortunately or unfortunately, the field is made of up imperfect human beings, who bring their own life experiences, values, and biases to the work. If anything, child welfare agencies need to be more aware of that, accept it, and provide quality supervision so that social workers are not using their own judgments and biases in making decisions about removing children. Additionally, quality supervision would hopefully alleviate any false documentation or misrepresentation of the case.
Patricia Silverman
December 19, 2016 (11:06 am)
I have Florida Hospital Lake Placid Senior Behavioral Care Unit, along with Highlands County Sheriffs
brassovaries1
August 6, 2009 (4:47 pm)
I don’t think the prevalence matters all that much. Even one instance of misleading information can destroy a client’s health and well-being. It can also lead to years of litigation to clear someone’s good name. Additionally, false allegations of child abuse were the grounds of a very large class action suit in Illinois, DuPuy v. McEwen where parents, foster parents, nurses, teachers and other professionals alleged violation of their due process rights. Criminal defense costs and legal representation for administrative hearings can cripple a family financially.
In Illinois, a team of reporters looked at violations of the child welfare code of ethics by tracing reports concerning the preventable deaths of 53 children. The Belleville News-Democrat Lethal Lapses series can be found at http://www.bnd.com/236/. Since the journalist started their investigation, even more deaths attributable to poor agency practices have occurred and sadly, Illinois DCFS has a poor record of discipline and oversight according to the Office of Inspector General for DCFS’s own annual reports. At worst, the social worker was “counseled” or put on a few days suspension. In some cases, the caseworker was promoted.
Perhaps all this seems like a small percentage of child welfare cases but one mistake can have horrible consequences.
One senator in Illinois is proposing legislation to limit the scope of social worker immunity. Poulos v. Lutheran Social Services of Illinois set a precedent when willful and wanton misconduct negated any statutory immunity. If a social worker acts in bad faith, the basis of social worker immunity is acting in good faith and immunity is not appropriate. There is a second unpublished Illinois Appellate Court opinion that follows the same line of reasoning.
Most of the case law cited in Professor Pollack’s blog entry was federal, not state court.
Anonymous
December 10, 2009 (9:13 pm)
I am trying to find a lawyer right now to handle my CPS case and they all say they are too busy for one more case – no matter what the cost. I was raised in foster homes and was beaten so bad by one foster mother she gave herself a gall bladder attack. That was hysterical!!! I am being accused of neglecting my 16 year old daughter because she ran away from home and I was UNABLE to drive 2.5 hours away to pick her up and because my couch is broken. “Refusing my parental responsibility” Seriously, that is all they have. But her caseworker lied to the judge a couple of times about giving me a document that he never gave me and they said they called my only relative which they didn’t. Of course, my relative is not able to take her, but they didn’t even call him and they brought up lies from a case 11 years ago. It’s pretty bad when they actually believe their own lies. The paper from then says I beat my kids with hangers and yet there were no marks – hmmmmm. Common sense, or even physics, says if there are no marks then they weren’t beaten by hangers and I was thrown off of welfare and thrown out of my apartment in the projects. I worked very hard to get off of welfare and move out of that apartment. But stupid me signed the paper and now it’s haunting me. It happens all the time.
Objection
March 6, 2010 (1:47 pm)
Hello ,
Your defence without an attorney , though one public defender should have been awarded to you , is to object to every single lie or unthruthful reports when they are spoken in court . You have the right to recieve “all” reports as they are written . You must ask for them . Without the judge hearing your objection(s) , the matters mentioned by the CPS or Dept. of Social Services are said true as testified by them . You have the CPS . DSS , Assistant Attorney and the Guardian Ad Litem fighting against you . This is their job . Take classe they recommend however . The more information you give to them the more they can use against you , including the Psychotherapist . Watch out .
James Schuetze
March 15, 2010 (1:38 pm)
I have a great case that is currently in the Los Angeles US District Court against Orange County Social Services et al. [County of Orange]
The story starts where I had already separated from the child’s mother
and the minor is removed and taken into custody by WIC Sec 300 Petition.
I am one the lucky few because in my request for the Juv. Case Records WIC Sec 827 was more or less given “their internal investigative reports as well” which is very different from the truth and not what their Court Reports reflect”. I think the Judge who “granted” was a little upset that they did me the way they did and, than was told by their Custodian of Records that the records no longer exist. They must kept the records until the minor is an adult in California. I can not tell you too much about the case because they O.C. Soc. Services et al. promptly ran to the Juv. Court and got a Protective Order{Gag Order}
which actually is a violation of First Amendment civil rights.
They had my daughter for 7 years for matters I was never any part of
nor did i reside in the home of any of the “incidents” leading up to the removal of the minor.I did have a previous criminal record for petty crime but nothing that would preclude me from a hearing and, at a minimum temp. custody. In the end, they had done just about everything they could to keep me from getting custody. You would not believe the hell they put me through if I was allowed to tell you.
I doubt this case will go to trial but hopefully my relief through the Federal Court will help to cure the Social Services et al. from the act of playing Judge and Jury and be more “honest” with the Court and parents.
Aimee L. Hankins
July 26, 2010 (11:26 pm)
Amen to you James , though I have not been Gagged , Yet…..when and if is now at stake for me , because Two States are involved and I’m a widow of a Fallen Soldier, I just want my son , no …….dramma! He is mine!!!
James M Rinkevich
August 8, 2010 (1:44 am)
Doe v. Lebbos was overturned by the 9th district court enblanc in Beltran v Santa Clara. I quote from the decision:
“The district court’s error is perfectly understandable, as it relied on our incorrect ruling in Doe v. Lebbos, which we overrule today. We reverse the district court’s ruling that defendants are entitled to absolute immunity and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
Read more: http://vlex.com/vid/beltran-v-santa-clara-county-35423970#ixzz0vzSgXbXu
Anonymous
November 9, 2010 (10:39 pm)
It happens more than you care to admit. I don’t expect someone in the business to see this. In others words, your seeing things through rose colored glasses. Here is something you may need to watch. http://www.youtube.com/user/InnocenceDestroyed
There is workers on this who speak out but as we know, no one dies till they leave as whistleblowers never help till it is too late.
Maybe you should look into the Shaniya Davis case in Fayetteville NC as an example. Maybe if you take off the glasses and see through clear lenses and REALLY look at the people around you every day at work you will see the truth.
It would be great if you took this seriously and be voice to change this. The children of our communities need you.
scott
December 31, 2010 (2:31 pm)
hey cps why dont you do us all a favor and pull your lips over your head and swallow!!!!
maria zenaida robbins
January 2, 2011 (11:57 am)
It is not about imperfect people only !It is about the Organized Crime being infiltrated inside the Children Agencies!I married one real gangster and child trafficker and murderer so I should know about it!People knew me so well by the bloody surname I carry and often told me I was lucky to be still alive by then!Well as an African I move fast enough ain,t easy to track me down …Now I am away thanks to the CIVILIZED country of the Dutch and I am on a legal battle!And I will publish my story in due time with all the names , big and small, involved in this filthy business between two countries!Who revealed to me that the mafia2errand boy” works for CAS???one honest Judge no more no less!I knew the guy as a GM worker not as a gang member !Holy smokes!
smcmahon
February 7, 2011 (12:36 am)
As to frequency and impact, one might look at the investigation of regional child welfare agencies by a Kentucky Solicitor General. This very intensive investigation–3000 hours over the course of about a year–was triggered by local newspaper coverage raising questions about agency practices. Bottom line was that although most social workers acted professionally and ethically, there were no institutional constraints regarding those who did not. Several were referred for possible prosecution for falsifying records. I believe this ended up going to a grand jury, there were ultimately no indictments, but do not know what other consequences may have applied. The report concluded that agency secrecy–confidentiality–played a significant role in the failure of the system to correct its own failings. The full report was for some time available on the Kentucky state website. The solicitor at one point contacted Richard Wexler, NCCPR to ask whether the issues were exceptional. Certainly not.
pse3
February 26, 2011 (8:32 pm)
Hello Everyone,
I have worked in the child welfare workforce for 15 years, dishonsety is WIDESPREAD and rarely addressed. Unfortunately, due to the population we serve, caseworkers have an unquestionable and almost reverant opinion in court. Many clients are harmed by this bias. There is no accountability w/in the structure of the agency. Once they fabricate their documentation it is never second guessed. I play fair and I am not popular among my supervisors. I am sickened with what I hear and see my co-workers do. But there is no whistle to blow. No matter what they have done they have immunity as individuals and the agency will never reprimand them since that would indicate there are cracks and liability. It is a lose-lose for everyone, the children, the parents and the people that play fair.
Anonymous
March 26, 2011 (9:16 pm)
As a victim of a cps worker who bragged that he had every right to lie in a cour of law to trick a judge in signing away my parental rights and that I can to my dying breath tell the truth no one will ever believe or except the word of a no account and never ammount to anything birth father. We have a very big problem and when we allow such unethical behavior in a court of law no matter how we rationalize the behavior we are very wrong it it shows the need to completely rebuilt our civil and adminstrative court sytem that is within the scope of the US Constitution as well as the laws that all are expected to follow, n ot pick and choose.
Denise Whisler
August 22, 2011 (4:02 am)
Hello,
Our boy, who has Autism and is non verbal has been in a group home now for
16 months and the only reason he was taken away from his loving, safe home
and caring, loving mother and aunt, is because he missed some school 2 years
ago.
He has suffered so much pain and misery at this group home, and he can’t
even speak about it. We are his voice.
They have neglected him to the point of him getting a severe infection
called Cellulitis and that’s only one of the many times he’s been hurt, now
they won’t allow his own mother into the group home, to medical
appointments, to contact them to ask how he is, nothing. She still has her
parental rights but the caseworker, magistrate and even her own lawyer is
going right along with this group home.
Here is our story:
Our CPS story shortened:
EXPLOITING AUTISM FOR PROFIT!
Denver County Juvenile Court magistrate sided with DDHS caseworker and
Permanently Placed our son/nephew, who has non-verbal Autism, SID, ( sensory
integration disorder), among other Autism related disorders, into a loud,
chaotic, crowded, unloving, unsanitary and understaffed group home with 10
other boys/men ranging in ages from 8-21, simply because he missed some
school two years ago. He’s been away from his loving home and parents for 15
1/2 months and now permanently placed out of home in a group home who is
also drugging him unnecessarily with an antipsychotic drug, Risperdal, that
he does not need to be on! Along with Xanax and Trazadone 300 mg.
We have one short visit a week and that is an unfathomable injustice. He
needs to be home permanently!
This is an OUTRAGE!
He belongs at home where he receives the most love, care and affection any
child could ever receive as well as a safe, peaceful home environment where
he has all his special needs met, like augmentative speech therapy for
example, as well as his basic needs. Where he has his OWN BEDROOM and all of
his belongings. Currently he shares a bedroom with 4 other boys. He’s not
sleeping well at all.
Also, all the things he loves in the world, his TV/VCR and movies, his
catalogs, magazines, books, toys, swing, etc. are unavailable to him there.
Please spread the word about this OUTRAGEOUS judgment made by DDHS and the
Magistrate, who in fact did not give us a fair hearing and would not let his
own mother speak her side before ruling with the Department of human
services. This is after we have completed the entire service plan and every
court order we’ve been ordered for the last,over, THREE years since they
have been in our lives, ALL because of false allegations, lies and missing
some school.
They have ALL done the most EXTREME INJUSTICE to our family but especially
to our sweet, innocent, boy who longs to be home with us!
Thank you for your help, in advance, in getting our boy home where he
belongs.
Sincerely,
Donna and Denise Whisler
For Christopher as we ARE HIS VOICE.
Please help us get our story out.
Thank you!
Denise Whisler
August 25, 2011 (8:33 pm)
We are trying to get our boy, who has Autism, back home to us where he belongs and where he so badly wants to be. He is our entire life. We love and miss him and he loves and misses us.
This is our story,
Our 13 year old son/nephew, who has Autism and is non-verbal, along with many issues that go along with Autism, was taken away from his loving parents and home for missing some school in the school year before last. It has now been over a year that he has been stuck in a chaotic, loud, overly crowded, understaffed, unloving group, unhealthy group home when he should be with his mother and aunt. He contracted a severe infection in both of his hands because the staff at the group home neglected his hands to the point that it caused Cellulitis and he had to be treated at the Children’s Hospital in Aurora, CO in the burn unit for over a month. He had no uses of his hands, which are his lively hood, due to them having to be wrapped in casts for 3-4 weeks and lots of burn center appointments. He has sensitive skin and it gets dry easily and we told the group home staff, director, and house manager this many times and reminded them to keep lotion on them etc. They did not and therefore he got infected cuts that they did not treat which turned into the Cellulitis infection. A very serious infection. Since that time they have had him in 2 layer of clothes even in 100 degree heat. Fleece sleepers at night. He’s not sleeping well and his anxiety is worse than ever, the group home manager tells us all the time.
He has a perfectly safe, loving home to be in with loving parents. They do not have a reason to keep him there. We have complied and completed every single “service” and Treatment plan” they have asked us to complete. We have 100 percent in every part of our treatment plan goals. He tries to leave with us at every visit we have had with him to go home with us. The magistrate and caseworker has told us from the beginning, when they first took him, for missing some school, that they want him home as soon as possible. The caseworker had him in a back to home transition for six weeks and he was about to go to overnights when the caseworker stopped it because she doesn’t understand Autism. Now that she has been informed with the information she needed, she, nor the magistrate will reinstate the transition or better yet just send him home. It has been 17 months now and we have missed out on over a year of his life. A very important time also, which is him becoming a teenager. He is almost 14 now. He loves us and misses us, we love him more than anything and miss him more than any words could ever describe. He is and always has been our entire life. Please we ask you to help bring our precious, sweet, loving, affectionate boy home to us where he belongs. He does not belong in a group home or anywhere else but his own loving home. He also has SID, Sensory Integration Disorder, which means being around all of that noise and boys screaming and all the hectic, chaotic, unsanitary living environment which is not a good nor beneficial environment for him. Now the caseworker and GAL want him on an Anti-Psychotic drug, Risperdal, for the anxiety he has from having to live there for 17 months now.
They had him put on that drug without consulting with his mother about it. Just another way they have violated parental rights. He doesn’t belong on that kind of drug that has severe side effects that can be permanent. As long as he has to stay there at the group home, his mother, Donna and my sister, wants him on a less severe medicine specifically designed for anxiety. The caseworker and GAL do not even know him or his needs and they are trying to keep him on it against Donna’s parental rights and the constitution, which we though still existed in this country.
Tammie Raatz, one of the heads at DDHS contacted me because I contacted the mayor and he passed it to the Colorado Dept. of Human Services which in turn went to the very place we need help with. She told me that the neither the Mayor, Governor, or any other government official has the power or authority to over rule anything that DDHS does.
It’s very disturbing to hear that DDHS has the most power in this country, even over the President.
Now DDHS wants to terminate my parental rights for no reason other than the lies they have told.
The truth is:
Chris was removed from our home due to his school attendance issues, he missed some school just during the previous school year. We acknowledge and take full responisbility for Chris having missed the schooling and I/wed ensure that Chris will not miss the schooling we have come to realize he needs and I will be diligent in making sure he receives every opportunity for his success in school and in life. Now he is in OPPLA,(other Permanent Placement Living Arrangements) otherwise known as the group home.
We understand thatChris missed a fair amount of schooling over the 3 month period and we take and own the responsibility for that. At the time, we believed we were making the choice best for Chris in not forcing him to attend when he was very ill or had become extremely combative in not wanting to attend school ( for some reason) as we didn’t want to cause Chris to become so upset and make him feel as though he wasn’t being heard or that his feelings were not being considered. Since Chris’ removal, we have both cooperated and have worked collaboratively with Life Support Behavioral Institute for the goal of reunification, turns out it was all for nothing because the caseworker changed her mind and changed her attitude about the transition to home goal and getting him reunited with his family who he misses and loves as much as we love and miss him.
Thank you.
Donna Whisler- Mother of Christopher
Denise Whisler-aunt/co-parent and special respondant
—–
Juan Acosta
January 6, 2015 (9:00 pm)
I am a father. More than two years ago my daughter was taken from her mother by CPS in Las Vegas. We fought in Family Court to regain her custody, but instead my daughter was handed over to an unknown couple who have been made legal guardians by the Family court in Las Vegas, the male of which owes over $30,000.00 in child support and the female (who’s not disabled and can work) has been unemployed for over a year. This couple infiltrated my daughter’s mother, falsified documents and kidnapped my daughter with the help of CPS and a corrupt Judge. They have refused to allow my daughter’s mother and I any contact or visitation with our daughter, even though our parental rights have not been terminated. This pair of court appointed “thugs” have violated our parental rights “in the best interests of the children”, and didn’t let us visit our daughter on Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years, 2014. We don’t even know if she’s alive. This is what the State of Nevada has to offer.
While she was in the custody of CPS, my daughter was beaten in her genitals by one Foster Parent couple, and sexually molested by another Foster Parent’s relative when she was left alone with him, daily, over and over, for a period of more than 3 months. CPS did nothing. They discarded my daughter’s reports of sexual abuse as a lie. Imagine that, a 5 year old girl at the time, lying about being sexually molested. She named names to me, and described what what done to her in detail, yet, according to CPS in Las Vegas, she was lying.
This is a very serious problem, and things like this and worse are happening to our children all over the nation, while in the care of Child Protective Services. It’s an ongoing problem that’s only getting worse. And while yes, there certainly are cases in which the children must be removed from their homes and protected in order to save their lives, not every case is so extreme that it’s necessary to remove the children and not every case calls for permanent separation.
The Courts, the Department of Family Services and Child Welfare Services in the State of Nevada are beyond abusive. They will violate every single one of our rights and not blink an eye, taking full advantage of their State given immunity. They also take advantage of other facts, like the fact that not everyone here is informed, knows the laws and their rights, isn’t a lawyer and isn’t rich. Most attorneys here won’t get involved either, unless they’re paid an outrageous retainer (one lawyer asked for $5,000.00 up front, otherwise, as he so callously put, we should “go on with [our] lives”). No one will help us.
It’s excellent that we all get things in writing, from a diversity of people and get that to our elected officials, but something more noticeable must take place. Our grievances regarding this most important of matters must be seen and felt by our lawmakers locally and in Washington.
I propose a peaceful protest. Let’s do something more than just write. Let’s have our voices and our hearts be heard. Let’s organize a march on Washington.
After all, isn’t it in our children’s best interests?