Posted on 05/04/2003 11:50:01 AM PDT by Remedy
Chicago --Yesterday, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a landmark decision upholding the constitutional rights of parents and private schools against social workers performing child abuse investigations.
The court held that social workers violated the Fourth Amendment when they force their way into a private school, Greendale Baptist Academy, to interview students in a child abuse investigation involving no emergency. The court also held that the social workers violated the rights of parents when they threatened to remove the children from the home when they "had no reason whatsoever to suspect that Mr. and Mrs. Doe were abusing their children."
The case arose when social workers, acting on stale information several months old, forced their way into a private Christian school without a warrant, over the objections of the school principal, seized a 10 year old boy with police assistance, and interviewed him about the school’s policy of administering a "swat" as discipline in certain cases. Parents of the students had given written approval of the disciplinary policy.
Based on the information obtained from the child, the social workers then proceeded to target the parents’ disciplinary practices, questioning their own use of corporal punishment. Eventually, the social workers opened files on numerous families in the school, and even sought to remove the school’s accreditation simply because it practiced corporal punishment. The court found these actions violated the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. The court also held the statute under which the social workers acted unconstitutional as applied to the parents and school.
"This is a tremendous victory for parental rights," said Steve Crampton, Chief Counsel for the Center for Law & Policy, which represented the parents. Mike Dean, counsel for the school, commented, "All too often, social workers don’t think the constitution applies to them, and they run roughshod over parents and other citizens. This ruling underscores that even social workers are not above the law."
When trying to figure out why govt workers are doing something off the wall, "follow the money" is a useful investigative policy
Also, a raid on a middle-class home is less likely to get you shot, and the neighborhood erupting in riots that will be blamed on you and your dept, then trying that in the "inner city" areas where a disproportionate amount of abuse occurs.
It is an especially fruitful venue when dealing with the environmental movemint, or the UN.
I used to be a case worker, but with a private agency in NYC. After the city took kids from their parents, we supervised the cases. However, I can say that I never saw cases like the ones that figure in this decision. All of the cases I was familiar with involved serious abuse or neglect. There was no trolling for cases.
For some strange reason, most of the criminal acts by caseworkers I'm familiar with happened in the Midwest.
A false allegation of "abuse", and you could lose your children.
Of course, you might get them back, after spending thousands of dollars on attorneys, court costs, and years of hearings.
The Calabretta family finally had its rights vindicated by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals-one step below the U.S. Supreme Court. In a decision issued Aug. 26, 1999, the court ruled that police officers and social workers must obey the normal rules of the Fourth Amendment even when their purpose for entry is to conduct an investigation designed to protect children.
The court said, "We have been adamant in our demand that absent exigent [emergency] circumstances, a warrant will be required before a person's home is invaded by the authorities."
The 9th Circuit's condemnation of the officer's and social worker's action was not limited to the initial entry. They also pointed to the strip search of little Natalie as a violation of both the parents' and child's rights:
An unlawful entry or search of a home does not end when the government officials walk across the threshold. It continues as they impose their will on the residents of the home in which they have no right to be. . . . The strip search as well as the entry stripped the mother of this authority and dignity.
As a result of the 9th Circuit decision, the local authorities agreed to a $150,000 settlement with the Calabretta family and HSLDA. Likewise, Robert and Maria Kennedy received a $76,000 settlement after their constitutional rights were violated. HSLDA has pursued a number of such cases, many of which have ended with similar positive results.
The normal rules of the Fourth Amendment have been clear for more than 200 years. Government agents may not enter a home to "protect" children unless: (1) they have probable cause to believe there is an emergency requiring immediate action; (2) they have a valid warrant; or (3) they have obtained free and voluntary consent. These rules also protect families dealing with more routine investigations.
The tragedy of such incidents is found in the extraordinary number of child-abuse investigations that are erroneous from the beginning. Fifty five percent of all child-abuse investigations are eventually deemed "unfounded," according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In other words, these cases lack even the scanty evidence required for further investigation or intervention. A far smaller percentage of cases ever result in a judicial finding of neglect or abuse.
False reports of abuse could be reduced if social agencies refused to pursue anonymous reports. There are sound reasons why the identity of the person calling in an alleged case of abuse should remain confidential (names can be withheld from the person being investigated until they testify at trial). However, police and social workers should always know to whom they are talking-a point that victims of The Knock might remind them of.
Anyone truly concerned about a child should be willing to give his name and phone number to police or social workers on a confidential basis. Anonymous tips of child abuse are frequently a guise for retaliation stemming from an unrelated dispute between adults and should be banned.
Why We Are Here The American Family Advocacy Center was founded to help families who find themselves involved in interventions with state Child Protective Services (CPS) agencies. Statistically speaking, the vast majority (80-90%) of child abuse/neglect reports are false.
Targeted families are caught up in a tangled web of legalities and lies. Their children are traumatized and abused by the very agencies who profess to protect them. The parents are labeled ‘perpetrators’ and presumed guilty or unfit. Their character is publicly maligned. Their children - often the only people who can actually prove the parent’s innocence - are kidnapped and secreted away from all contact with their beloved parents, then systematically ‘trained’ and coerced to disclose abuse.
Child Protection Reform - America's child protection system has immense power. It operates in secrecy. It enjoys total immunity. Parents and children have few meaningful rights. Under current law, the system created to protect children has become America's greatest source of family and child abuse. It desperately needs substantial reform. (this site features Real-audio and written testimonials)
Family.org - CitizenLink - FNIF News - Child Removals on the Rise "Child Protective Services receives money for every child they take from a family. They're rewarded with federal dollars," Dacus said.
Citizen Magazine Feature - Invasion of the Home Inspectors
Why do young families need Big Brother looking over their shoulder? The reason, officials reply, is a profound one: to stop child abuse before it starts. Critics, however, say the nation's foremost home-visitation program is often more than a little intrusive.
TAKING THE NATION BY STORM
That program is Healthy Families America (HFA)--a project of Chicago-based Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA). Healthy Families began by launching home-visitation programs in Hawaii, and today there are more than 300 HFA programs in 40 states and the District of Columbia.
Most expectant parents know little or nothing about in-home visitation. But thanks to Dianna Lightfoot and Dr. Stan Watson of the Alabama Family Alliance, that is beginning to change.
Lightfoot is director of the Alliance's Physician's Resource Council, as well as a licensed counselor and teacher who in the last eight years has served on 10 boards dealing with child abuse. Watson, director of research at the Alliance, has an extensive background in social sciences and holds his doctorate in political science.
Lightfoot attributed the rapid growth of Healthy Families to the willingness of legislators to fund its programs.
"Indiana began [its Healthy Families program] five years ago with a budget of about a quarter of a million dollars," Lightfoot said. "Now the program's budget is close to $40 million."
Resources For Families On The Web The links below will guide you to a vast amount of information, support, and resources available to American Families who have been "provided services"(read - "violated") by Child Protective Services/Family Services.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.