DIFFICULT or DISTRAUGHT

by PNN Staff

I never did like the algae green color of my shag carpet, but somehow today it seemed strangely comforting as the dusty acrylic fibers captured my over-flowing tears. I had just hung up the phone with a unit supervisor in Child Protective Services, (CPS) a branch of the juvenile dependency court, my fourth in a series of countless calls to get some information about my daughter...after several minutes of desperate pleading he hung up on me, accusing me of being "difficult..."

It was several weeks since my 14-year-old daughter came home at 4:30 am, I told her she couldn't go out again at night for the whole rest of the week. The next day after school she didn't come home at all- she stayed away for a 5 days, I found out that she ran away with a thirty two year old man - I resolved then and there that she wouldn't be able to go out at night at all...

For this decision, I was under investigation for "emotional abuse" from Child Protective Services, and today, six weeks later, my daughter is warehoused in a foster home where she is "AWOL" i.e., she stayed out all night, six or eight times, "they're not sure". CPS believes that the "care" my daughter receives in this foster home is preferable to the care she receives at home, and in fact they characterize her runaway status as "just being a normal teenager".

I called the worker to protest this situation and once again they terminated the call because I objected to their definition of "normal" I was told by my attorney once again that I was considered "difficult," which in CPS-speak is a very serious label. The two worst things you can be in this eerie Kafka-esque branch of bureaucracy are "difficult" or "threatening." The "Difficult" label can be attained by merely calling the CPS workers too many times, or leaving too many voice mail messages" in other words being upset, persistent, or proactive.

To achieve the "threatening" label one must have the wrong tone to one's voice, when calling and/or leaving voice mail, as well as calling too many times or leaving too many messages, In other words, being extremely upset or frustrated that you're getting the runaround when you're calling to find out what's happening with your child. They used all of this against me in the final court proceedings (as they do with all the parents who question their position).....

The last jurisdictional hearing;

"Your honor - the CPS workers on this case have found the parent to be difficult and often times threatening - she has left countless voice mail messages and sent an endless stream of letters to the department, due to these threatening actions we believe she is mentally unstable and paranoid, It is our recommendation that she undergo two psychiatric evaluations before she is allowed to receive reunification services, It is also our belief that her overly strict parenting style has put the child in conflict, forcing her to rebel even further, when in fact she was only trying to be a normal teenager, establishing her independence..."

In Los Angeles county, an extremely high percentage of children are in foster care, higher than any other county in the state. As well, low income families and families of color are the targets of most CPS investigations nationwide. Existent parental rights laws were recently changed, decreasing the amount of time Juvenile dependency workers must wait before terminating parental rights for children under five years old, it has changed from an 18 month waiting period to a mere six months, to enable a speedy and biased court trial, with irrevocable consequences for the parents.

There is an upcoming legislation "AB 804 which considers home schooling, "educational abuse." Finally, CPS and its workers have full immunity, this last fact feels very much like another branch of government's ability to stop and search due to "probable cause."

Our society's commitment to independence and individualism leads to the rampant separation of families, in pursuit of the so-called "normal" teen experience. Eager mental health professionals and/or unlicensed child welfare workers have been given the power by the juvenile court system to make pseudo-psychiatric diagnoses and permanently sever parental ties.

POOR magazine in collaboration with Family Rights and Dignity, Families with a Future and several other organizations locally and nationally are investigating the county foster care system, juvenile dependency court and Child Protective Services. We at POOR, also believe in the concept of the community helping to heal the "dysfunctional" family rather than throwing it away, such as some of the revolutionary ideas being tried in Minnesota with the Community support/ community policing programs.

As I held in my breath, my eyes focused on the now-tear stained carpet while I made one more call to my "worker" after the final Jurisdiction trial;

"Where is my daughter? Is she in school? Has she seen her therapist?" I asked in a broken whisper.

"Well, she is staying with a friend... Sometimes"

Who is the friend?

She's a 17-year-old girl - we don't know her or her phone number, but your daughter does call in to check once in a while.

"Then she's a runaway - why don't you have the police pick her up and take her back to the foster home?"

"Because she doesn't want to be in foster care - and there's nothing we can do...(click) "

EPILOGUE

Child Protective Services is a closed system with unlimited power and NO ACCOUNTABILITY.

One Child Protective Services worker said, "It doesn’t matter what complaint you make about me. I have been working here for 10 years." This worker had the responsibility of deciding who should have custody of a baby. The parent she chose put that baby in the oven and roasted her.

The worker was not fired.

Whatever decision Child Protective Services (CPS) makes the Juvenile Dependency (JD) Court accepts as scripture. There is no accountability in the JD Court of Law.

Refer to the PNN Court Watch column, case study #1.ANN. Despite all of the evidence from psychiatrists, teachers, social workers, etc. this minor was sent to a very young, inexperienced family member in Baltimore. Of course the placement failed.

Due to negligence and indifference on the part of the attorney for the minor, the arrogance of CPS and the JD Court, the minor failed every placement and was carelessly placed back in her old neighborhood. The woman with whom she was placed wanted custody as a way to seek revenge on her neighbor. Thus the minor was placed in volatile, dangerous situation with no supervision and was seen selling drugs to other minors.

The taxpayers’ money that has been wasted on this case and many, many others due to the planned negligence of CPS and JD Court and the lack of ACCOUNTABILITY is immense.