I was drawn into a conversation today, and I can't reveal it's content, but I felt it necessary to recount some rules I've learned. Now this is not legal advice. It is just common sense. Still, I think it would be well for people to read these words and heed them.
First off, when the CPS comes a calling do NOT fall into the trap that they are there to help ANYTHING. This is a red herring they are trained to use in order to gain confidence and entrance into your home. They are task masters at playing the "kitty cat" until they have control, and then they show the tiger they were all along. They don't give a flip about your kids! Their only concern is filling the quota provided by the menus filled out by professional foster parents waiting in the wings to have their order filled.
Next, NEVER let them in the door. They will lie! If you do not see a search warrant or court order they have no right to abridge the fourth amendment of the constitution. This has been affirmed by Gates vs Texas. They will tell you they will be right to come back and take your kids. Don't you believe it. If you were doing something that bad they would have that order. There has to be a clear danger to children.
Do not sign any so-called "safety plan!" You are not required to and that paper has no basis in law! That case caseworker MAYBE has some college in social work but she DOES have training in twisting facts, lying, and getting children to customers as fast as possible. When you conform by signing a safety plan you empower that case worker to proceed to step two, which is to make SURE you can never succeed in any plan concerning your children. Psychologically it puts you on a guilt trip. If you are normal the presence of the case worker makes you think you have done something wrong, and signing that paper codifies it in your subconscious. When you can't live up to it you will feel as if you somehow "failed" as a parent. And that "judge" (and I use the term loosely) sitting there in family court knows just about as much about law as a school librarian. They most likely have never read the constitution and if they have they don't believe it applies in their court. They serve a "higher calling." It's all about the children!" (Yeah, RIGHT!)
Immediately distrust anyone who urges you to cooperate with the CPS in any way. You don't have to jump up in their face, just know. Just remember the Godfather's advice to his son, Michael. "The one who comes to you with a deal...HE is a traitor!" Even if your lawyer tells you this just follow the money, and if the lawyer is a litem ANYTHING in his title then he makes his living from CPS cases just like YOURS! An honest lawyer will tell you the object of the game is to get the kids out of CPS as fast as possible.
Home studies are a sham. Safety plans are a sham. Parental classes are a sham. Psyche tests are all a sham. These are done by contractors on the payroll of the CPS. Drug tests too. This is a favorite of caseworkers. Even if you pass the test with flying colors that case worker will stand up in family court and say, "We understand that, you honor, but we have concerns 'at this time."
Document everything. This won't do any good because the judge and the case worker are in bed together, but it'll give you something to do. From the very first moment of contact with the CPS you must ask yourself. What are your children worth to you? Are they worth your job? Your home. The life you've built in the town where you grew up? When CPS comes calling your life will be forever changed, make no mistake, especially if your children are marketable. If they miss you the first time they WILL be back.
Public schools, Head Start, and all hospitals are input portals for product for the CPS. That doctor you've seen for years has a nurse who is just itching to call her best friend, the case worker, to get your kids GONE! That school teacher has her on speed dial. Do not trust these people.
If the CPS takes your kids you will become one of the fallen. That's why it is so important not to let that happen. If your children are removed the CPS has invested the time and money in what they consider to be a viable product. The order has been filled. Getting them back will be like trying to negate a closed real estate deal. This is a harsh reality. This is why it is fruitless listening to case after case of people who have lost their kids to CPS. It's like listening to dead people. I am one of the fallen, myself. I rarely share my story because it makes no difference. I share what I've learned hoping it will save someone from having to walk a mile in my shoes.
This is horrible, isn't it? Yes it is. That's why people, such as myself, are fighting every day not to just change CPS but to end it! The death toll of foster children is horrendous. One child...ONE, is too many. The sight of a broken mother is more than i can stand. This is not legal advice, it's HUMAN advice. What do you do when someone grabs for your very heart? The most sacred part of your life at the beck and call of a machine that fills orders more efficiently than any McDonalds you've ever seen.
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