Texas Department Of Family And Protective Services
TDFPS, DFPS, Children's Protective Services, CPS HELP: CPS is stealing our children and CASA is enabling it to happen!

We have a problem in Texas (along with much of the country): CPS is stealing our children and CASA is enabling it

To happen! At 25%, Texas has one of (if not the) highest removal rate (s) of any state in the union. That means 1 in 4 children investigated are taken from their loving family to (most often) live with strangers. Hispanic-American and
Afro-American children along with those of mixed decent are (most) often the ones targeted. They raise their guns to families receiving welfare assistance and pull the trigger on those living in housing.

My grandchildren meet all three conditions.in June while my daughter was working on a social services project the kids wanted something to eat. So she fixed something for them but forgot that her (common law) husband was home playing X-Box in the bedroom. He got argumentative but decided to go to a friends house to cool down. He had to step behind the bed to get his cell phone and in turning around he tripped over the cable cord.

Fatefully when he extended his arm to catch himself Angela was standing too close and he accidently hit her with the phone splitting her eyebrow. Unfortunately this is such of a common injury in our family that it is almost like a Rite of Passage. One starting with my father, myself, both of my sisters, then a niece and (I believe) two of my nephews along with my eldest grandson have all passed. While trying to arrange for a sitter so he could drive her to the hospital a neighbor decided to call 911. After the ambulance left the same neighbor allowed the Humble Police to search the apartment without a search warrant coming up with fabricated evidence and a very questionable report. The next day, upon his returning from work Humble PD
rushed in with guns drawn to arrest the husband. When Angela gave her statement to the DA requesting the case be dropped, Humble PD called CPS claiming child endangerment as if guns drawn wasnt. The CPS investigator told Angela that she wanted to close the case but her supervisor would not allow it, instructing her to put it through to Family-based safety services [FBSS]. The FBSS caseworker did not present herself in any form resembling her title as described in the DFPS Rules, 40 TAC 700.702 (3) (A)- (B) and never offered any services resembling DFPS Rules, 40 TAC 700.701 or 40 TAC 700.703. The caseworker was so abusive and stressful to Angela during her third trimester that she endangered the pregnancy forcing our attorney to have to step in requiring no more unrepresented CPS visits. The husband ended up taking plea bargain so he could be out of jail in time for his sons birth.

After the birth the caseworker returned with a vengeance finally driving the husband from the home when the baby was six months old. The next visit was out of character in a friendly sort of way offering to assist with Angelas electric bill. A couple
of weeks later Angela had to call and request that the statement be returned because it was time for her to recertify for food stamps. The caseworker claims to have stopped by but no one was home, but none of the neighbors report seeing her. Its a well know fact that Police, caseworkers and government officials can hardly come and go from a housing project unseen. It just doesnt happen. About 3 weeks later the caseworker showed up at the apartment announcing she was there to close the case, while already knowing the electricity was most likely off and that she had lost her food stamps. Angela said it was not a good time which made the caseworker angry and she demanded to see the house. Angela knew that the power was due to be restored that day and was hoping to buy a day so she could clean the mess that she had made staying there while the kids had been staying with a friend. The friend had traffic court that morning so she brought the kids home. Soon after the caseworker left the power came on but it was nearing time for Angela to go to work so she started the babys bath and getting him
and her daughter (7) ready for the babysitter. All of a sudden she hears loud banging at the door. It was Humble PD. She told the kids to be quite and act like no one was at home. She then heard the window open followed by This is Officer Bradshaw.
Angela, we know that you are here. We had a report of a dead baby. We need to see the baby. Knowing the apartment would not meet CPS standards she was afraid to let them in. Then the bathroom door opened and one of the apartment maintenance men was standing there who then turned and opened the door for the police. They told Angela that by law she had to let the CPS worker in to the apartment. The caseworker entered and seized the children then filed an ex parte order the next morning as it was the practice before Gates v. TDFPS in July. She gave Angela the wrong address for the court house. After the children were removed a CVS caseworker was assigned which means the FBSS worker no longer has to stand
in front of the judge and answer for her actions. Our second CVS worker told us that the first one quit her job over her
wanting to close the case and (once again) her supervisor would not let her. And that is where we stand now.in Gov. Rick Perry issued Executive Order RP 35 in an attempt to reform the CPS program.

The Family Group
Decision-Making [FGDM] concept (I believe) came from RP-35. It was a great idea but it has failed. On November 10 my daughter and I attended a Permanency Planning Review after which I began researching the CPS handbook. Based on our experience, Section 6437 reads like a fairy tale. For a meeting that is supposed to show the support and unity of the family many key people were missing. Neither the childrens attorney ad litem nor the children over 7 present nor were they allowed participation according to 6437.37. Angelas notification was (mysteriously) misaddressed, our attorneys was sent to her bulk mailbox instead of the law office and who knows if the two older children (over 7) were even notified. We got about 16 hours warning when my daughter over heard the CASA and the caretaker discussing it behind her back at the child visitation the night before leaving us without anytime to gather, much less know about bringing our supportive individuals to the meeting. The only ones in attendance were the CASA guardian ad litem and the CVS caseworker and their supervisors. The CVS supervisor almost choked on her coffee when I commented about knowing the removal violated the law based on the Gates case. The CASA supervisor is claiming that the judge approved the CPS psychology report recommending farther parenting class despite his telling us to get our own psychology evaluation.in response to Angela saying that this will be her third time taking them the facilitator shouted, And you will do it eight times if you ever want to get these kids back!

Then we were dismissed from the meeting while everyone else remained seated. We have no idea if the meeting continued or not. Who knows how many of the meetings are conducted with questionable legality. A special thanks to Gov. Perry who on June 19 vetoed SB 1440. An extra special recognition and thank you goes to this bills own author, Rep. Jerry Madden who on June 18 sent a letter to the governor requesting its veto after the wording from SB 1064 had been added which would have made a great deal of what I described above legal. Thank you to the Texas Home School Coalition [THSC] and the many other lobby groups that supported this veto. Unfortunately for my grandchildren this FBSS caseworker was not an investigator so she most likely was not on the memo distribution list informing her that her actions taken June 25, a full four working days after the bill was vetoed, were illegal. As many of the prisoners of our overcrowded Texas prisons have discovered, Ignorantness of the law is no excuse. For that reason we are seeking a Civil/Family law attorney willing to take on CPS in stripping the caseworker and both the FBSS and CVS supervisors along with Humble PD of their qualified immunity. Someone needs to pay for this unprovoked attack on our family. Lastly, if CPS wont allow us to show our community support at the Permanency Planning Review in accordance with Texas Administrative Code [TAC] then we need it Thursday December 17, in the 246 th Family Court, before the Honorable Jim York at 9:00am. We are calling out there to all the readers of this report rather citizen, politician or news media. We need community leaders, ministers, coalitions and whomever else that can stand with us before Judge York to show that Texans are tired of our children being stolen under the guise of child protection.

Thank you, Jim B Grandfather and proud Texan PS:

Angela is 26 years old and Enrico, her husband, is five years her elder. Angela has worked for the same company ever since she was 16. While pregnant with her daughter she got her GED. Soon after the birth @ 18, she took and pasted the US Civil Service exam for the Post Office but had to quit during training, thanks to a CPS report called in by the same woman to whom CASA has made caretaker of these kids and is (we think) now trying to adopt both kids out from under her. Just as Angela conducts herself with a maturity way beyond her years, these children amaze people with their early maturity drawing complements from all who meet them.

Coincidentally the social services project Angela was working on when all this started was a database of services that are available to struggling families called The Angel Eyes Fund. Now we feel that it needs to take on the far more important role of Guardian Angel to protect our most precious Texans. Had this caseworker lived up to her job title according to TAC we would not have missed watching my (possibly) last grandchild learn to walk. We would not have missed the babies first and his sisters eighth birthdays or his first Halloween. We are hoping for Christmas.

Finally, Id like to tell you that after my last visit, the baby cried to come home with me and he dont even like white people.

Company: Texas Department Of Family And Protective Services
Country: USA
State: Texas
City: Houston
Address: 5425 Polk St
Site: dfps.state.tx.us

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