New Here!

[GoldenBast]

Hi. I am new here. I have had a run in with cps and have personal experience with just how underhanded they can be. I realized that it could happen again at any time and that next time I might not be so lucky, so started to do some internet searching and found this site.

Back before my husband and I were married we lived with my parents and had three children, my 10 year old daughter, and our two daughters age 2 and 4. I was working my own startup business and so was very busy. My husband did most of the child watching, but one weekend he went to Vegas with his family. Anyhow, cps was called on us because our house was a wreak. I make no bones about it..it was filthy. Apparently cps decided to have a field day with us and added a bunch of ridiculous charges on top of the filthy house.

They came while I was away at work and railroaded my father and took the children. I got home and was able to talk to the social worker who gave me a phone interview. I was very scared about the situation and admitted that the house was a mess but that it would be cleaned up. The lady was very nice and asked me questions. I thought my best course was to be truthful. She asked me if I felt there was any abuse, I said no. She asked if I or my husband drank. I replied occasionally. She wanted more information so I explained that maybe once a month we would leave the children in the care of grandma, after they were in bed and asleep, and walk to the nearby bar to play pool or darts and that we would have a drink or two, but never gotten drunk, and we did not drink at home and never have any booze inside the house. It seemed to go well, and I was told that we would have a hearing on Monday (this was Thursday) because it was a holiday and the court was closed on that Friday.

I found out from my dad that the worker who took the kids was ranting and raving that the place wasn’t just ‘filthy’ but that it was condemnable and no amount of cleanup could fix it. I was very puzzled at this, because it simply wasn’t true..it was just a huge mess…that’s all.

I got a copy of the allegations against us and almost had a heart attack. They completely twisted my phone interview to state that I had a serious drinking problem, that they interviewed my eldest daughter and she said I was always “drunk, wild and crazy and that I would beat my boyfriend up.” It also went on to use some words I knew my daughter had no knowledge of so I knew it was all made up bunk.

That day Animal Control also came out to my house on a call of animal cruelty…apparently the worker didn’t like my pet rats and reported me. I bred pet rats and had two huge cages that houses the males and females separate, plus I had a few birthing cages for the mommy rats, and I also had a quarantine cage for new rats and/or rats that might be sick….in total I had around 30 rats. Apparently the social worked claimed the cages were filthy, that there was no food or water, and that there were dead rats the other rats were feeding off of. I was shocked and immediately took the animal control worker to the rat cages where he looked them over, opened the cages and handled the rats, and observed the quarantine cage. I told him that it was true there were two dead rats in the quarantine cage the day of the social worker visit, but that they must have only just died, separately and one had partially eaten the other (this is common in rats). He asked if I had the bodies…in fact I did (they were in the outside trashcan in a tied off plastic bag) I gave them over and he examined them and finished his report, telling me he saw no abuse what so ever and in fact felt I had a very professional and expert setup and some very happy and healthy rats.

Then I was back to reading the report and they had the audacity to claim that there was no crib for the youngest (when in fact there WAS!), that there was a broken highchair (the highchair was in good condition, the table was just not properly clipped on when they photographed it), and they reported the kids were being held in an ‘extremely unsafe makeshift corral that was in fact a broken down and rickety old wooden playpen’. OMG…that ‘old playpen’ was one of those plastic kiddie corrals and only a few months old!! They also claimed that the children were filthy and without a bath in a very long time, though curiously they didn’t have any pictures of the children when they took them…how could they? They were in fact clean and well groomed that day! It just went on and on with absurd allegations.

By then I was pissed. Before the court day we went around and photographed EVERYTHING, including the so called non-existent crib and the ‘faulty’ highchair and the kiddie corral (in fact I photoed the chair with the table in normal position and in the position that makes it look like it’s broken), I also photoed a perfectly clean and nice looking house. I also photoed the rat set-up and I went down to animal control and got a copy of the report.

We got to court and our public defender tried to tell me to plead ‘guilty’ and to agree to cps service plans or I would never see the kids again. Nope. Wasn’t going for it. We got in and handed over the photos to the judge and the animal control report, then I went in and listed each part of the allegations, what was twisted, what was outright lies, and so on. I also pointed out that I felt much, if not all of my daughter’s so called testimony to the social worker was fabricated because some words (I circled them) I knew she could not possibly know….The judge called a recess and spoke to my daughter. Lo and behold, she had no idea what those words meant and was surprised and angry with what the social worker said. The judge later said that she exclaimed , “I NEVER said that!”

The judge then spent like 30 minutes totally reaming the social worker, who sat there totally shocked and looked totally nervous when I came in with a bunch of photographs AND the animal control report…she had even tried to say that I was cited by animal control when in fact I wasn’t.

Needless to say we got the kids back within hours…of course social services tried to stall…I called my attorney and told him to contact the judge, that his orders were not being carried out. Next thing I know the kids are hurried out.

CPS had the audacity to come back out to my house a week later, saying that they had a right to examine the house to see that it was still ‘clean’, and tried to tell me I had to sign all these papers for parenting classes and routine visits by them. I flat out told her to shove her papers up her overly-bloated ass and to get the hell out of my face or I would slap a harassment suit on her so fast her head would spin….needless to say she left. We moved out of state a few months after that.

I have moved to the Texas panhandle and know that it is a part of the bible belt, since I am a practicing Wicca and considering homeschooling my children, I realized I might be heading for some problems so decided to research. I am glad I came here!

[good dad]

Welcome to the site....

Sounds like you handled your case perfectly....

[dasuberding]

GOOD JOB! You handled this the way I wish every parent would handle it. You took the the sociopath's lies and shoved them back down her throat. Pussy footing around with these goons leads to them thinking that you have invited them into your life. KEEP IT UP! YOU CAN WIN!

[GoldenBast]

Thanks for the welcomes. Honestly I was just very lucky...I was with the millions of misguided that thought the cps was there to HELP and like so many others I paniced when the children were taken and at first I would have signed -anything- without even thinking about it....me and my husband just wern't home at the time so I only got that phone interview, I even remember saying I would of course look at any services and join....

I think honestly the best advice for anyone in that situation is to stay calm above all else. All I can say now is cps will never get me in a panic or even one iota cooperative....no...I even thought perhaps I had gotten a vindictive worker, but now from all the reading I see that these heartless and viscious creatures are the NORM..how disgusting is that?

[pamom2crew]

How were you able to even speak to a judge?
I'm "indicated", but my "paid for by me" lawyer says I cannot get a jury appeal, I cannot do anything other than appeal this report. This is disturbing to me, because I have been indicated, so I am in the child abuse registry, but I haven't had a chance to say anything..thats just wrong.
And I did nothing wrong!! thats the craziest part of all of this.
Anyway, sorry to ramble, I'm just curious on how I can be able to speak to a judge?

[GoldenBast]

This was in California, maybe the way its done is different..I have no real idea. I had no jury, I just had to stand before a judge and listen to the worker give her spiel of lies, then I was allowed to defend myself to the judge. That is when the photos and the animal control report came out.

I don't know what 'indicated' means. Basically I had to go to juvinile court on a neglect and abuse charge. I had the proof and the judge knew the worker was lieing through her teeth. It was dismissed and that was that.

I wish I could help more, but honestly I have no real clue as to how it works other then what I went through.

[good dad]

How were you able to even speak to a judge?
I'm "indicated", but my "paid for by me" lawyer says I cannot get a jury appeal

It's a little known fact that once you hire and attorney to "represent" you. That is what he does, you become a ghost in the courtroom, your attorney "speaks" for you..

You must make your attorney ask the questions you want asked.

[kdddav'swife]

Good grief you mean that even if you did not have a crib then they could still make allegations? That is ridiculous. I know you had one but still some babies do not even sleep in a crib until they are three or four monthes old or even a little older. I had a niece who had one of those cradle type baby swings and I swear I think her kids slept in that till they were old enough to crawl and then she put them in a crib.

And you said the youngest was two? Nowadays most two year olds sleep in toddler beds although cribs are designed to be used up till the age of three or four years I think.

[pamom2crew]

I don't know what 'indicated' means. Basically I had to go to juvinile court on a neglect and abuse charge. I had the proof and the judge knew the worker was lieing through her teeth. It was dismissed and that was that.

The indicated is what the cw's decision was. Someone made an anonymous call, they lied, but no one cared.
Then cps did a supposed investigation, which was them talking to my neighbors and people around my town, then they based it on that. I'm not sure how, because all of my neighbors that i talk to hate cps for this, and they said nothing but positive things.
But anyway, so when they do an ivestigation it is 1 of 3 things: indicated-meaning it hapened, unfounded-meaning didn't happen/or can't be proven, and founded-meaning it did happen, and criminal charges.
But neither me or my lawyers have been able to speak for me to a judge or anyone, other than to cps.
And i know that my attorneys would speak for me in court, my problem is that we haven't been able to say anything yet to defend me. Yet I'm now registered as a child abuser.

[GoldenBast]

That scares the crud out of me......how can cps do that? What happened to due process? I thought only a judge could convict you? Can you file a civil suit against cps for slander and harassment? Take them to court yourself and make them PROVE before a judge that these allagations are true...I still don't see how they can put you on a regestry without a trail or anything.

[dasuberding]

"Can you file a civil suit against cps for slander and harassment?"


OOOH, you can do way more than that. The very nature of CPS and the criminal acts they commit are unconstitutional. Regardless if the goons realize it or not, they are violating your and your family's civil rights. If you can prove to a federal judge that this incompetent cw knew she was lying to the judge and yourself, her qualified immunity will be stripped, making her personally liable, as well as the county for hiring her and setting her loose on the public, for constitutional rights violations. If she is held personaly liable and found guilty, you will be recieving a piece of her paycheck for the rest of her life.

[Momoffor]

opps

[pamom2crew]

how can cps do that? What happened to due process? I thought only a judge could convict you? Can you file a civil suit against cps for slander and harassment? Take them to court yourself and make them PROVE before a judge that these allagations are true...I still don't see how they can put you on a regestry without a trail or anything.

I have no idea. I think it's unconstitutional. I can do a civil suit for both slander and defamation of character. As far as harrassment I'm not sure about, but I need another lawyer for that. I don't know or understand any of this, because I always thought it was "innocent until proven guilty" but that was a very wrong assumption, because this is exactly how our case has worked. And I don't understand how I can be indicated, and in the registry as a child abuser, yet my kids have never been removed (they've only threatened it), and there are no "parenting classes" that I'm sup[posed to take or anything. So, I don't get it at all. Basically all I really see them saying is that i'm an indicated child abuser, and they are keeping the case open to prevent my children from being abused, and they're telling me what to do with my kids,as far as they can't be in my fenced in yard alone ever, and stupid things like that, yet they are doing nothing else.

[Michael]

In Texas home schooling is not a CPS issue. If you ever have a CPS worker arrive at your hoe and even bring it up tell them to read the policy from Joyce James.

[kdddav'swife]

Thank you Michael. That is good to know since my husband and I want to move back to Texas and we will look into homeschooling when we do.