REFORM of the DEPARTMENT of PROTECTIVE & FAMILY SERVICES

We, the undersigned Citizens of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA petition the President of the UNITED STATES, George Bush, Legislature of the UNITED STATES and all other Officers of the government of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA, to redress the injuries, abuses and injustices perpetrated upon us and our fellow citizens by the Department of Family and Protective Services.

Those injuries include, but are not limited to, flagrant violations of the Fourth Amendment by seizing children from families who have not abused or neglected their children; egregious infringements upon the rights of parents to raise their children and children to be raised by their parents as found in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and the wholesale drugging of foster children with psycho-tropic medications by the Department, and on many occasions abuse within the Foster Homes in which the children are placed. We DEMAND that ALL activity of and by the Department of Family and Protective Services and its Case/Social Workers be SUSPENDED "UNTIL" the officials take notice and ACT to redress the grievances suffered by the families of the UNITED STATES in the following particulars:
*** This "SUSPENSION" will not apply to cases in which LAW Enforcements are called to investigate and deem a child or children to be in imminent danger or harm's way and thereby MUST be protected from documented abuse.

1. False allegations being made against scores of parents. In 2002, there were 183,057 cases of child abuse and neglect reported to the Child Abuse Hotline in just "one" state alone. Of those cases reported 152,158 were classified as unconfirmed or maliciously false. "Anonymous callers" Must be advised prior to the time they make their report that it is a state jail felony offense to make a false report to the Child Abuse Hotline and that their verifiable identities must be made known to both CPS and Law Enforcements and will be disclosed to any injured party.

2. Caseworkers often remove children when there is no emergency and no imminent danger to the children. We believe that this is a result of inadequate training and supervision on the part of the States. Caseworkers MUST be licensed social workers, and that the law allow parents to contest an emergency removal within 3 days of the removal. The law now allows an ex parte hearing within 1 day and a contested hearing within 14 days in some states, however this does vary from State to State, but still applies in principle.

3. Caseworkers fail to apprise parents of their Constitutional right under the Fourth Amendment to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Caseworkers should be required to "Mirandize" parents before they enter a home to investigate a case.

4. The Department should spend more of their time and money on preservation of families. Termination should only be reserved for serious cases of abuse and neglect which is substantiated medically or psychologically and psychologically only when medical evidence supports such. Relatives of the child ARE to be presumed to be the best placement for children who cannot be reunited with their parent or parents.

5. During a temporary removal, children are usually very traumatized by the separation from their parents. The Department to facilitate frequent communication between the parents and the child or children removed to allay the fears of the children. Children, three years of age and older should be allowed telephone visits on a daily basis at reasonable times and places. Unsupervised visits to be the established protocol unless the Department can prove by clear and convincing evidence that the children would be in imminent danger in the short term care of the parent. All supervised visits to take place on at least a weekly basis.

6. All family plans of service tend to be the same. Not all families have the same needs. Service plans need to be specifically geared to the needs of that particular family. Parents shall have the right to choose their own service providers when services are deemed necessary. The Department should SET a Schedule of FEES that it is willing to pay for those services to "any" Licensed and/or qualified provider whether the Department is contracted with that Provider or not. The Department should PAY those Set Fees toward the cost of the "chosen" Provider with any balance due beyond the scheduled amount being PAID by the Family or Parents.

7. Over 80% of the children in the foster care system are either being medicated presently or have been medicated with psychotrophic medications. Children should be medicated "ONLY" upon the concurrence of a psychiatrist and a pediatrician and that Parents should have the opportunity to have the child evaluated independently by a medical doctor of their choosing. If agreement is not achieved between the doctors, then a court hearing would be required to medicate the child.

8. CaseWorkers and SocialWorkers Should NOT be afforded IMMUNITY from Prosecution. Currently, Caseworkers have immunity which insulates them from prosecution. Many times caseworkers lie, falsify documents, commit forgery, and perjury without any legal implications, repercussions, restrictions, or constraints. Caseworkers and Social Workers MUST be held Accountable for their actions. With "proven" documentation that such criminal activity HAS occurred and the Worker has committed such against Parents or their children, the Criminal Penalities and Civil Sanctions which apply to all other citizens committing such acts MUST be applied to the fullest extent of the law.

9. The Department MUST publish ALL Policies, Rules, and Guidelines that the Caseworkers and Social Workers will be using. Presently, all too often, Caseworkers are grossly inconsistent in the manner in which they handle the cases with far too many changes taking place in mid-stream which have NO warrant, rhyme, or justified reason. When Caseworkers are reassigned during the term of the case, there is often much confusion between the caseworkers and the parents. ALL caseworkers should adhere to the same standards of practice, policies, rules, and guidelines.

10. Governmental Incentives for adoption must end or incentives to reunite with parents must be EQUAL to the incentives to adopt. At present the Federal Government provides Incentives for placing children into adoptive homes. If Incentives are to continue, there MUST also be an EQUAL Financial Incentive for keeping Families together when there is NO imminent threat of danger or harm to the child/ren. These Financial Incentives have been the "driving force and motivation" behind the Department's policy of removing children when NO imminent threat of danger or harm exists. Only 1/3rd of all children removed are returned to their birth families, despite the fact that the stated goal of the Department is reunification in most cases. There is NO gainful purpose or incentive for the Worker to even TRY to help the birth family to stay together and work through any problems it may have had.

We hereby DEMAND EQUAL SUPPORT for the "Birth Family" Unit as is afforded the Adoptive Family Unit.
Furthermore, We the People of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA, DEMAND that ALL CPS Cases within the past 3 Years (2002, 2003, 2004) in which Parental Rights and/or Adoptions have occurred be RE-OPENED and Investigated under these guidelines where there IS question, documentation, and or "proof" of ILLEGAL and wrong-doing by a Caseworker. Literally thousands of cases were closed and ruled Upon by the judges who are known to be biased towards the Department. The Department has used "twisted and false evidence and Documentation" to support these terminations BY the Department for financial gain. Parents who have had their rights terminated SHOULD HAVE a period of 90 days from PUBLIC Notification Of the RE-OPENING of these such cases to file their appeals for their case Investigations into these matters. Adoptions which have taken place under these circumstances SHOULD NOT take ANY preference over the Birth family of the children and MAY BE REVERSED.
Furthermore, Adoptive Parents MAY FILE Charges against Caseworkers when and "if" they were given FALSE information And the circumstances misrepresented to them with the adoption placements.

Whereas, Upon proper investigations INTO these such cases, those cases being found to have been improperly and unfairly Conducted MUST BE REVERSED with the BIRTH Family BEING RESTORED their parental rights and reunited with their children. The Department SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE and PROSECUTED accordingly. ALL Governmental INCENTIVES Collected for these such adoptions MUST BE REIMBURSED to the Governmental Agency having provided such Financial Incentives and funding, or face CHARGES of FRAUD, Supported by the LAWS of BOTH the State and Federal Governments.

WE THE PEOPLE of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA, do hereby PETITION THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT of the UNITED STATES TO REDRESS OUR GRIEVANCES.