"CPS really can hurt you. CPS really can impose extensive controls over your life. And CPS can take your child using only the most flimsy of accusations against you, and based on virtually no evidence at all, with only the weakest mechanism of due process to protect you - even if you have done nothing wrong."
source: http://www.justicewomen.com/tips_bewarechildprotectiveservices_2.html
On Thursday (Aug 25th) I took my wife to Salish Lodge for our 9th anniversary. Kira, our six week old daughter, came along while the other kids stayed the night at Bridget's cousin's house. On Friday morning (Aug 26th), before we left, Bridget noticed that Kira had a strange bump on her collar bone. It seemed like something was wrong, but we weren't sure what. It was just different than her other collar bone. Kira didn't seem to mind at all. She continued to be her normal, mellow self.
Concerned, Bridget brought her into the pediatrician the next day (Aug 27th) . It turns out that Kira had a broken clavicle. The bump was a sign that it had happened over a week ago and had already begun healing. Medically there wasn't much to be done. The doctor assured Bridget that babies bones heal quickly and that nothing more was needed.
Later that Saturday afternoon, around 2 p.m.'ish, the doctor called to say that since we didn't know how the bone broke he was obligated by law to let the CPS division of Children's hospital know what happened. Note: the referral to Children's was what the pediatrician felt was legally necessary, not what was medically necessary. As much as we appreciated the recommendation, we weren't too excited about the prospect of bringing Kira to the hospital. We were just told she was fine. Regardless, Children's was expecting us to take Kira in that same day.
Bridget knew a friend that had some previous experience dealing with CPS and hospitals so she gave her a call to get her advice. It went to voice mail so she left a message and then went out to run some errands. I was home when the friend called back. She told me of her nightmarish experience with CPS and being forced to stay overnight at the hospital with their child who had broken her leg.
The friend called Bridget after talking to me and relayed the same information. Bridget then called me so we could decide what to do. Our options at that point were to comply with Children's, take Kira in and subject her to whatever tests/exams they deemed necessary, or to not take her in. We weren't sure what the consequence of not taking her in was so Bridget called Children's and asked. The consequence was that they would have CPS come to our house. We decided that we would rather have CPS come to our house and see that we weren't abusing or neglecting our children and be done with it rather than have Kira subjected to potentially cancer causing tests (Children's told Bridget they would likely do a CT scan on her).
Bridget called Children's back to let them know what our decision was and came home. At around 6 p.m CPS showed up at our door with two deputies (Horton and Whipple). I explained the situation and said they could check our house for abuse or neglect and we could be done with this whole thing. Their response was that they came because we had to take Kira to Children's or they would take her from us and bring her to Children's themselves.
I was very surprised by this. I explained again that nobody was being neglected. We brought her in to the doctor. He diagnosed her and sent us home. He only talked to Children's out of legal obligation. One of the officers had previously broken his collar bone and said it was very painful so he was surprised the doctor didn't make a prescription or wrap her arm or something. He recommended we get a second opinion, which I thought was probably a good idea (we later found out that there are different kinds of clavicle breaks and the kind Kira has isn't the kind that needs bracing and, since she isn't in pain, doesn't need medication). That officer was content with that and ready to leave us in peace.
Unfortunately, the social worker and other officer weren't satisfied. We had to take her in to a hospital that day. They said we had a choice in which hospital but that we were guaranteed to be referred back to Children's anyway, so we might as well go there. They said we didn't need to worry about being forced to have Kira run through a CT scan and we wouldn't be held against our will. We still didn't agree that it was necessary, but on the threat of having our child taken from our home, Bridget took Kira in to Children's that night.
They were brutal with her and probably caused more pain and anguish than the broken bone ever did. They did a full body x-ray where they had to hold her foot down flat, which she didn't like. She cried straight for half an hour (for Kira this is a very long time). The diagnosis matched the original pediatricians. Kira had a broken clavicle but it would heal on its own. There were no other broken bones in her body. They just wanted to run a quick CT Scan to make sure there wasn't anything else going on with her and Bridget could leave.
CT Scans are not good for babies. They lead to an increased risk of cancer later in life. As parents we didn't feel like there was any need for this kind of treatment so Bridget asked if she was being forced to have Kira tested. They strongly urged it but weren't compelling her by law to do it (though they let her know they could if they wanted to). Bridget respectfully declined further testing and came home.
On Tuesday afternoon (Aug 30th) another CPS worker came and talked with Bridget. He went through what happened and left a couple hours later. I wasn't home so really don't know the details of what went on.
On Wednesday (Sep 1st) I came home from work at about 5 p.m. to find that we had two police detectives and another CPS worker in our house. One of the detectives was walking around taking pictures of everything in our house...pictures, cabinets, toys on the floor, etc. They had been there for two hours interviewing Bridget. They were just leaving when I got home, but did get my contact information which they used the next day (Sep 2nd) to make an appointment to interview me later next week.
On September 7th I had my interview with Detective Steve Martin and J. Brady, the CPS worker assigned to our case. They stayed for about 1 1/2 hours asking all kinds of questions. I recorded the conversation to make sure they stayed honest. The detective asked questions all over the spectrum, from where in the room Kira sleeps to which country our foreign exchange student from two years ago came from. He didn't seem too happy that we still don't know what happened to Kira.
The CPS worker has told Bridget that Children's has decided they want to run the same tests they ran last time again and do the CT scan. So now we need to decide whether to comply to a government agency that works in secret with very little oversight and subject our daughter to an increased risk of cancer, or fight them by going to court, getting a lawyer, and running the very real risk of having them take our daughter away from us and have the tests run anyway.
Today (Sept 12th) J.B. went to our children's school and asked to interview each of our children. This was without our knowledge or consent. Graeden told them, "no thanks" and Elliott and Jett accepted the interview. Jett has been five years old for less than one month. Is that really a credible witness? I understand why the law exists for CPS workers to be allowed to interview children without their parents, but in this case it is a blatant abuse of power. She e-mailed Bridget today as well telling us that she has now opened up an investigation on Evan. Wow! They are really digging for something to catch us on. The safety of Kira doesn't even seem to be an issue at this point...just finding some dirt on us seems to be the top priority.
We'll see what tomorrow brings...
source: http://www.justicewomen.com/tips_bewarechildprotectiveservices_2.html
On Thursday (Aug 25th) I took my wife to Salish Lodge for our 9th anniversary. Kira, our six week old daughter, came along while the other kids stayed the night at Bridget's cousin's house. On Friday morning (Aug 26th), before we left, Bridget noticed that Kira had a strange bump on her collar bone. It seemed like something was wrong, but we weren't sure what. It was just different than her other collar bone. Kira didn't seem to mind at all. She continued to be her normal, mellow self.
Concerned, Bridget brought her into the pediatrician the next day (Aug 27th) . It turns out that Kira had a broken clavicle. The bump was a sign that it had happened over a week ago and had already begun healing. Medically there wasn't much to be done. The doctor assured Bridget that babies bones heal quickly and that nothing more was needed.
Later that Saturday afternoon, around 2 p.m.'ish, the doctor called to say that since we didn't know how the bone broke he was obligated by law to let the CPS division of Children's hospital know what happened. Note: the referral to Children's was what the pediatrician felt was legally necessary, not what was medically necessary. As much as we appreciated the recommendation, we weren't too excited about the prospect of bringing Kira to the hospital. We were just told she was fine. Regardless, Children's was expecting us to take Kira in that same day.
Bridget knew a friend that had some previous experience dealing with CPS and hospitals so she gave her a call to get her advice. It went to voice mail so she left a message and then went out to run some errands. I was home when the friend called back. She told me of her nightmarish experience with CPS and being forced to stay overnight at the hospital with their child who had broken her leg.
The friend called Bridget after talking to me and relayed the same information. Bridget then called me so we could decide what to do. Our options at that point were to comply with Children's, take Kira in and subject her to whatever tests/exams they deemed necessary, or to not take her in. We weren't sure what the consequence of not taking her in was so Bridget called Children's and asked. The consequence was that they would have CPS come to our house. We decided that we would rather have CPS come to our house and see that we weren't abusing or neglecting our children and be done with it rather than have Kira subjected to potentially cancer causing tests (Children's told Bridget they would likely do a CT scan on her).
Bridget called Children's back to let them know what our decision was and came home. At around 6 p.m CPS showed up at our door with two deputies (Horton and Whipple). I explained the situation and said they could check our house for abuse or neglect and we could be done with this whole thing. Their response was that they came because we had to take Kira to Children's or they would take her from us and bring her to Children's themselves.
I was very surprised by this. I explained again that nobody was being neglected. We brought her in to the doctor. He diagnosed her and sent us home. He only talked to Children's out of legal obligation. One of the officers had previously broken his collar bone and said it was very painful so he was surprised the doctor didn't make a prescription or wrap her arm or something. He recommended we get a second opinion, which I thought was probably a good idea (we later found out that there are different kinds of clavicle breaks and the kind Kira has isn't the kind that needs bracing and, since she isn't in pain, doesn't need medication). That officer was content with that and ready to leave us in peace.
Unfortunately, the social worker and other officer weren't satisfied. We had to take her in to a hospital that day. They said we had a choice in which hospital but that we were guaranteed to be referred back to Children's anyway, so we might as well go there. They said we didn't need to worry about being forced to have Kira run through a CT scan and we wouldn't be held against our will. We still didn't agree that it was necessary, but on the threat of having our child taken from our home, Bridget took Kira in to Children's that night.
They were brutal with her and probably caused more pain and anguish than the broken bone ever did. They did a full body x-ray where they had to hold her foot down flat, which she didn't like. She cried straight for half an hour (for Kira this is a very long time). The diagnosis matched the original pediatricians. Kira had a broken clavicle but it would heal on its own. There were no other broken bones in her body. They just wanted to run a quick CT Scan to make sure there wasn't anything else going on with her and Bridget could leave.
CT Scans are not good for babies. They lead to an increased risk of cancer later in life. As parents we didn't feel like there was any need for this kind of treatment so Bridget asked if she was being forced to have Kira tested. They strongly urged it but weren't compelling her by law to do it (though they let her know they could if they wanted to). Bridget respectfully declined further testing and came home.
On Tuesday afternoon (Aug 30th) another CPS worker came and talked with Bridget. He went through what happened and left a couple hours later. I wasn't home so really don't know the details of what went on.
On Wednesday (Sep 1st) I came home from work at about 5 p.m. to find that we had two police detectives and another CPS worker in our house. One of the detectives was walking around taking pictures of everything in our house...pictures, cabinets, toys on the floor, etc. They had been there for two hours interviewing Bridget. They were just leaving when I got home, but did get my contact information which they used the next day (Sep 2nd) to make an appointment to interview me later next week.
On September 7th I had my interview with Detective Steve Martin and J. Brady, the CPS worker assigned to our case. They stayed for about 1 1/2 hours asking all kinds of questions. I recorded the conversation to make sure they stayed honest. The detective asked questions all over the spectrum, from where in the room Kira sleeps to which country our foreign exchange student from two years ago came from. He didn't seem too happy that we still don't know what happened to Kira.
The CPS worker has told Bridget that Children's has decided they want to run the same tests they ran last time again and do the CT scan. So now we need to decide whether to comply to a government agency that works in secret with very little oversight and subject our daughter to an increased risk of cancer, or fight them by going to court, getting a lawyer, and running the very real risk of having them take our daughter away from us and have the tests run anyway.
Today (Sept 12th) J.B. went to our children's school and asked to interview each of our children. This was without our knowledge or consent. Graeden told them, "no thanks" and Elliott and Jett accepted the interview. Jett has been five years old for less than one month. Is that really a credible witness? I understand why the law exists for CPS workers to be allowed to interview children without their parents, but in this case it is a blatant abuse of power. She e-mailed Bridget today as well telling us that she has now opened up an investigation on Evan. Wow! They are really digging for something to catch us on. The safety of Kira doesn't even seem to be an issue at this point...just finding some dirt on us seems to be the top priority.
We'll see what tomorrow brings...
10 comments:
Tymon man, I am sorry. I can't imagine how you guys feel right now.. let me know if there is anything we can do to help. My wife is an accredited, mastered elementary teacher and her sister is a social worker in norcal.
Lawyer. YESTERDAY! I know you don't homeschool, but I would call Home School Legal Defense Association and ask if they could at least refer someone to you. They tend to specialize in parental rights issues (and commonly have sections in their magazine telling "what to do if a social worker knocks on your door").
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A few choice words are coming to mind right now Tymon and none of them are polite! I can't believe this crap your family is going through.
My youngest son spent SO much time in hospital (and continues as a 23 year old) and we were NEVER hassled--not ever-not once! I as a totally stressed out single parent with 2 infants was never once questioned!He has broken and sprained more parts on his body than one can really recall!!
I am so UPSET right now that Evan's name has even been brought up AND that they are interviewing your children.!!!!!!
Now is the time for action Tymon, call in every darn favour you have and let every person know of this injustice to your family!!
I will do my part in Calgary and see what I can do as I have friends who have friends in the Seattle area.
Love you guys lot. You are not alone.
Hugs
Karen
I am so sorry to read this Tymon. Injuries are part of childhood and you obviously care about your daughter and took the necessary steps to care for her. I will keep your family in my prayers. Hopefully this will be resolved soon and you'll be able to move on. I don't have any recommendations, except it sounds like it's very important to understand your rights here.
Oh dear!! I have been wondering what has been going on with this after Roger told me about it. I think, even if you comply with the CT scan, get a lawyer! It sounds like you are going to need it. I think this is crazy!
That is crazy! Why aren't they spending their resources on people who are really neglecting/hurting their children? Good luck. I wish there was something I could do. Keep us posted.
When CPS interviews the kids at school, was there someone else there- a teacher or a school counselor? It would seem that there should be, if only to make sure that your children's words weren't bent in ways that would be taken completely out of context.... I'm glad you've contacted a lawyer so you can assert your legal rights and make sure you and your family are protected.
Chris - Thanks man. Much appreciated. Maybe just some advice from your sister would be helpful.
Annalia - We're working on getting a lawyer. We had one today decline our case because he didn't feel confident enough in his knowledge if the Evan aspect becomes a criminal matter.
Karen - I believe I will be putting some things together and try to make a documentary of how CPS really works. Maybe it will help to get some laws changed...or at least some additional oversight.
Jeannie - Yeah, the principal was with the kids when they were interviewed. We called him today to find out what the questions were and he didn't want to say much. He's new and doesn't know what the district policy is on this kind of thing. Frustrating.
All - Thank you for your kind words and support. Please keep praying for us. It helps a lot!
Tymon-
As a mandated reported and now working for the Navy, I interact w/ CPS frequently. I can tell you that it's not a pleasant organization to work with from the family's perspective. The actual workers and different county/city offices vary greatly in terms of response and professionalism. There have been cases that I'm aware of that I can't believe children weren't removed and there have been cases where I can't believe children were removed. The hard thing is that any resistance you guys put up, even in the interest of your child's well being, makes their job more difficult and because they are overworked and underpaid they often don't handle the situation professionally. There is so much subjectivity in their protocol and little or poor oversight that they can make decisions in a vacuum and sometimes based on emotions, unfortunately. Definitely get representation, definitely record conversations and ask for things in writing. Get as much info as you can from the organizations that are investigating, as well as any organization that can help you/represent you. In this situation, knowledge is power. However, be cautioned that CPS holds a lot of power and they can do things that don't make sense that are still within their protocol. They can view a broken clavicle as negligence and they can view resistance as sketchy or that you guys are hiding something because, so often, that is the reason that people are resistant. It's an extremely frustrating situation and I hope that you find the right advocates for you guys. I would say try to be as undefensive and have a posture that you are willing to work with CPS as much as possible, while still also protecting and defending your rights. Be agreeable and a peacemaker as strongly as possible in every area that you can stomach, while still advocating for your families' rights and well-being. Feel free to message me on fb if you want to talk further about this. I don't know if theres much I can do but I can talk with you guys about the situation with a little more knowledge/experience than most.
I know I am the friend-which by the way I do remember you too- I hope I didn't make it worse!
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