E-mail to TCFR supporters on July 21, 2003
CPS, Accountability and Fundamental Family Rights
Last fall Children’s Protective Services (CPS) of Fort Bend County appeared on the doorstep of a family with a severely retarded mentally autistic nine year old girl. When the mother opened the door the social worker stuck her foot inside preventing the mother from shutting the door. CPS removed the child based on an allegation of sexual abuse. The parents did not get to see her for over two weeks. At the initial visitation the parents noticed extensive bruising on the child’s body that occurred while in foster care under CPS custody. Since the child does not speak she could not explain how she got the bruises. Though supposedly acting in the best interests of the child, Children’s Protective Services refused to seriously investigate how she received those bruises.
One of our attorneys worked closely with this family. Within five days of that initial visitation their daughter was returned and the case against the parents was dropped.
Many families are not adequately represented and do not meet with such success.
We worked in this past state legislative session to give parents the right to designate who would have custody of their children during a CPS investigation. This family had relatives available and willing to watch their daughter. Had they been allowed to have custody there would not have been mysterious bruising. The child would not have gone through the emotional trauma of being torn for the first time from her parents, her classmates, and her toys. Unfortunately our grassroots effort was stymied by powers that believe the state is a better caretaker than a family member, relative, or friend.
The Court has deemed that parents have fundamental rights under the 14th Amendment to direct and control the upbringing of their children. Too often, children are removed from a source of security prematurely without proper investigation. We agree with the National Commission on Children that "[c]hildren’s own families are the single most powerful agent for ensuring their healthy development. ‘Removing children from their families for any but the most compelling reasons breaks the critical bond children needed to develop their basic personal and social identities.’"
In today’s political climate children can be removed based on mere suspicion, not a "most compelling reason. True abuse is a "most compelling reason and true abusers should be prosecuted criminally. We need to narrow the definition of abuse and help the government to focus on the truly abusive situations that can and ought to be handled like abuse of a neighbor, criminally.
Feel free to contact us regarding your experiences related to fundamental rights of families or to learn of resources available to enlighten your perception of this critical field of constitutional rights.
Respectfully,
Peter Johnston
President
Texas Center for Family Rights
281-344-8878
