Child Protection Services: the Hidden Hand of Government Power

Discussion in 'Law & Justice' started by Aphotic, Oct 11, 2017.

  1. Aphotic

    Aphotic Banned

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    I am a moderate generally, but this is one area where I tend to take a conservative viewpoint. The government, local, state and federal, all have entirely too much power. As someone who has just recently been sucked into a foster role, I've been drowning myself in papers, websites, magazines, articles - all about child protective services and how they act, the powers they have, and what enables their authority.

    From disgruntled neighbors, co-workers, doctors, educators, anyone anywhere can be reported.

    https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/02/05/legal-child-abduction.aspx

    http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141662357/incentives-and-cultural-bias-fuel-foster-system

    The largest unspoken problem in this equation are unelected overlords who use "discretion" solely when judging cases. These judges are supposed to be "impartial, bias free" and work within the confines of a vague, shadowy legal system with little framework and no real solid foundation for jurisprudence. It's impossible for someone to be unbiased, and the same judge can hear similar cases and decide entirely different ways - there is NO equity in this system.

    This doesn't just affect Indians. It also affects poor people, far more then anyone else. In my specific case, my sister had her kids taken a year ago; and, 4 months ago she moved to my state. 2 days after she had gotten the youngest back, CPS took her kids again.

    A different state, same story. This time, I took all 4 of them in. For a short period I am raising 5 kids, only one of which is my own. My sister's husband left her for drugs. She has a home. Her kids are fed, transported and taken care of. She has number 5 in her belly.

    This illicit ring of governmental control is obscene.

    What say ye?
     
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  2. perdidochas

    perdidochas Well-Known Member

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    Why did your sister lose her kids?
     
  3. Aphotic

    Aphotic Banned

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    The first time she lost them it was due to a drinking issue - which she corrected and is a recovering alcoholic. This time, they insist she was intoxicated, yet she has passed 3 urine tests and they are now claiming they still want to keep her kids in foster care.
     
  4. modernpaladin

    modernpaladin Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    CPS has discretionary power and there is little to no recourse. They can take kids for: an uncleaned litterbox (do you clean it every time the cat uses it or just once a day?), dirty dishes (do your kids wash their dishes immidately after use?), unsafe food (you ever find mold on your bread or cheese, find your milk has passed expirarion date, or do you 'home-can' your own garden veggies? -unsafe according to CPS), unnatented children (do you go inside to get snacks or use the restroom when they're playing outside?). These are just a few of the 'checkmarks' CPS can use and cite as reason to take children. You can try to get them back... with lawyers, lots of money and lots of time. The burden of proof is on you, NOT CPS.
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2017
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  5. Aphotic

    Aphotic Banned

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    And this is the problem. CPS needs to be utterly disbanded and a new system put in place. The amount of personal bias allowed with the lack of structure is completely embarrassing and is a massive injustice in a country of "laws."
     
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  6. perdidochas

    perdidochas Well-Known Member

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    The problem is that there are at least 50 varieties of CPS (here in FL, it's called DCF).
     
  7. Aphotic

    Aphotic Banned

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    More then that. Here we have local ones. They are county based, and are called OYFS.

    I'm astounded that they can take children with no evidence of wrong doing.

    This is a denial of blood rights, a destruction of the family unit, by a state entity.
     
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  8. Bob0627

    Bob0627 Well-Known Member

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  9. Bob0627

    Bob0627 Well-Known Member

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    Here's testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee (sorry I no longer have the link). The testimony was given over 10 years ago but I'm guessing nothing much has changed since.

    Statement of Honorable Joe Baca, a Representative in Congress from the State of California

    I would like to thank Chairman Herger and Ranking Member Cardin for having this very important hearing. The lives of our children and stability of the family are in danger. While it is important to review state efforts to change this destructive system, we should not do that without first hearing the personal testimony of those families that were ripped apart and destroyed by local child protective services (CPS).

    That is why, two months ago, I sponsored a Town Hall Forum on CPS Reform in San Bernardino, California. The forum was held to hear testimony and receive evidence of what many parents, grandparents, and advocacy organizations describe as “a festering cauldron of fraud, corruption, abuse of power and exploitation of children.”

    During the eight hours of testimony, impassioned tales of rampant abuses of power, denials of due process protections, violations of civil rights, and accusations of blatant defrauding of the American taxpayer were presented by documentation, video, and prepared statements. In addition to local and regional activists, Arizona State Representative Ray Barnes and other staff members representing California legislators joined in the forum. Testimonies included documentation of a scheme designed by state counties and service providers to “maximize the federal funding stream” through financial incentives. While this in itself is not irregular, the focus on revenue at the cost of safety may be putting children and families at risk.

    The testimonies continued unabated as parents and extended family members presented the committee with documentation of violations of state and federal statutes, denial of civil rights and predation upon vulnerable children and families by child welfare workers that regularly exceed their authority.

    According to testimony, the unwarranted seizure of children from non-neglectful homes has become a national problem of staggering proportions. At any given time, there are now more than half a million children in custody in the United States. It was reported in the forum that an estimated one out of every twenty children goes into government custody and that CPS routinely violates the constitutional rights of parents and their children in the process of their “intervention.”

    Nearly one-and-a-quarter million children now come under government observation each year in America. Witnesses stated that only about three percent of the children who are seized or taken into custody were physically abused. What is even worse they said, is that the children who are taken into state custody have an eight to eleven times greater chance of being abused than those who remain in their own homes.

    Although most states have laws requiring a speedy trial to test the flimsy and often anonymous allegations against the parent, evidence was given that showed that often nearly a year passes before the parent even gets a partial chance to tell a judge their side of the story.

    According to the forum there is little protection for the family once a court focuses its attention on a parent. Witnesses told stories of courts circumventing such basic rights as burden of proof, presumption of innocence and rules of evidence. They routinely violate due process, and equal protection rights. The system moves into a parent’s life and does nothing to help. As news reports and evidence from the forum has shown, scandals and abuse of power exist within the family and juvenile law industry.

    As evidenced by this forum, abuses and errors in judgement are common. Instead of receiving comfort and encouragement, innocent parents and grandparents are often drawn into a system that has a sub-par record of protecting the children entrusted to it.

    I am hoping to learn from this hearing what can be done and what has been done to protect our children and their families. It is a good start to monitor the states and review their practices. I hope that the result of this will yield concrete steps to protect our children and families from false accusations and destructive policies within the state CPS.

    Please find attached the list of witnesses at the CPS forum in San Bernardino.


    (list omitted for length but available upon request)
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2017
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  10. modernpaladin

    modernpaladin Well-Known Member Past Donor

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  11. Bob0627

    Bob0627 Well-Known Member

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    For those who are unaware, CPS is funded by Social Security Title IV.

    https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title04/0400.htm

    While without a doubt some children are abused or otherwise harmed by their own parents and may need to be removed from such homes for their own safety, without valid due process protections CPS is no better than a child trafficking racket. The problem is the foster care system can be even more dangerous to children. This is not always true, there are loving foster care families that do take in abused children but there are also child predators within the foster care system. There are numerous accounts of children being trafficked, sexually abused, beaten and killed in foster care.
     
  12. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    A simple solution to this dilemma would be to give the children some input into what happens to them. Take them away for a week to give them some space and then ask them what they want. If the abuse is so terrible they won't want to go back. I'm a big believer in personal choice and this would be a good compromise.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2017
  13. Bob0627

    Bob0627 Well-Known Member

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    That definitely would not work for children who are too young to express themselves or older children who have been psychologically impaired. Even in a legitimate legal system, children's individual rights and thoughts are rarely taken within the context of an adult mind. Children can be easily manipulated by adults with an agenda. Personal choice is highly dependent on level of maturity.
     
  14. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    That's true. I was personally aware of one case where a woman manipulated her 4-year-old daughter into saying she was molested as payback against a man because after 3 years of living with her he decided to leave her. Women can be really vindictive sometimes. Some men in his situation end up having to plead guilty to get a plea bargain.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2017
  15. Bob0627

    Bob0627 Well-Known Member

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    Even worse, CPS has been known to interview children alone and suggest that their parents abused them, often by telling them if they admit it they would be reunited with their parents.
     

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