It says at the beginning of the California Welfare and institutions Code sections 300 - 400, that "It is the intent of the Legislature that nothing in this section disrupt the family unnecessarily or intrude inappropriately into family life".
These are the codes which govern the Family and Juvenile Courts as well as Family Social Services, and the CPS. This is the basic and overriding tenant of conduct for the whole family law system in California. It is violated every hour of everyday by this system and CPS is the main "legal" tool used.
This is a reality that we of the Justice Reform Coalition know and live with all the time. It is a major focus point for our organization as it is 60% of all the cases that we look at and are asked to help with. Of those cases 80% at least involve CPS (Child Protective Services). The incentivized system of funding and reward, coupled with NO oversight, has developed into an organized criminal racket, of human trafficking of children; especially Black and Brown children.CPS has been a major tool in the racists and white supremist plan to disrupt and disenfranchise Black families in the same way they did during slavery and jim crow; criminalize them (take their parental rights),and take away the children. Monetize those children in a foster system that's rife with abuse.
The unrestrained power given the CPS, due to the lack of real oversight, has given them the muscle to threaten, terrorize, coerce and harass families and parents into submission and compliance, and punish those who question the abuse. And it gets worse every year as greed and the need to keep their jobs with no oversight emboldens their criminal activity, or as MOLLY MCGRATH, former DCF DIRECTOR IN BALTIMORE, MARYLAND called it, "the child welfare industry".
The Baseline Federal Definition of Child Abuse or Neglect:
Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation; or an act or failure to act, which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.
Less than 20% of the families CPS entangles, fit in any of these categories. In fact the families that do fit tend to be the ones that CPS fails often ending in the death of the child.
CPS TERRORIZES FAMILIES
“For far too long, CPS has terrorized numerous families with their kidnapping of children, lying, cheating, false claims of abuse, manufacturing false accusatory documents claiming parental harm towards a child, losing or ignoring factual exculpatory documents, accusing parents of negligence and harm towards their children for the slightest reason, holding secret collusive meetings with officials prior to an accused parent’s hearing in court, and more. There is no transparency, no oversight and no accountability throughout this process" said Rev. Odeye’, the Justice Reform Coalition’s Executive Director, "Families and children are at the mercy of these child abusive groups. CPS was supposed to help families and children, not destroy them.” -
As child victimization and abuse has gone down across the nation, the number of CPS referrals increases at more than twice the rate. Victimization of families by CPS is at an all-time high even though actual child victimization in the U.S. has gone down and continues to drop. These referrals are resulting more and more in “forced adoptions”.
WHAT IS FORCED ADOPTION
Forced adoption is illegal!! Forced adoption is the practice by CPS, through the Courts, of the speeding up of the adoption process of a baby or young child to strangers and away from their families, supposedly in the "interest of the child",despite the evidence to the contrary and or the opposition from a parent or close relative who should legally and morally be considered when there is the need to place the children. despite the federal mandate for biological placement, as clearly stated in the Adoptions and Safe Families Act (ASFA), of 1997 signed by President Clinton, the ASFA has become the main justification and reason for removing children. Especially since Title IV funding, tax credits, and multiple layers of funding granted thru the Federal adoption incentives which started with the Mondale Act of 1976, also known as Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), have helped to fuel this criminal enterprise of human trafficking of children.
We are calling for massive reform of CPS and an investigation into their patterns and practices.
The coalition is protesting the egregious actions habitually taken by CPS for years in taking children from their families without merit and justification, leading to the abuse of children while in the hands of CPS, the murder of numerous children due to CPS failure of oversight and accountability, and much more.
RACIAL BIAS
Amongst white people, especially those in power and authority there is the misconception that racism is simply a problem of rare, isolated events and that it is most accurately understood as a relic of the past. It makes an erroneously and not so subtle jab that advocates of racial justice ignorantly equate racism and racial bias with “nosy white ladies who are interfering in the lives of black families or playing the race card.”
On the contrary, advocates of racial equity in child welfare understand that racism is not simply a matter of personal prejudice and hate but a multifaceted problem that is prevalent within and across systems.
The four levels of racism, as defined by The Center for Racial Justice Innovation are:Internalized, Interpersonal, Institutional, and Structural.
Internalized racism lies within individuals. These are our private beliefs and biases about race and racism, influenced by our culture. Internalized racism can take many different forms, including racial prejudice toward other people of a different race.
Interpersonal racism occurs between individuals. These are biases that occur when individuals interact with others and their private racial beliefs affect their public interactions. Examples include racial slurs, bigotry, hate crimes and racial violence.
Institutional racism occurs within institutions and systems of power. It is the unfair policies and discriminatory practices of particular institutions – schools, workplaces, the criminal justice system, and yes, the child welfare system – that routinely produce racially inequitable outcomes for people of color and advantages for white people.
Structural racism is racial bias among institutions and across society. It involves the cumulative and compounding effects of an array of societal factors including the history, culture, ideology and interactions of institutions and policies that systematically privilege white people and disadvantage people of color.
All social workers in CPS agencies, regardless of their own racial background, “work in such a system and tend to reflect dominant discourses of power.” If you are a child welfare worker, “you are an agent of systematic power.” As such, having the same racial/ethnic background as overrepresented children of color does not negate the role of implicit bias for child welfare workers, mandated reporters, legislative and law enforcement officials, or community members.
Child welfare systems and the courts that support them, are not exempt from racial bias, just like other service systems that are characterized by disproportionality and disparity for black families. Implicit bias plays a role across systems (e.g. in hospitals and emergency rooms; schools; court rooms) as well as in child welfare systems.
CPS POWER IS PUNITIVE and CRIMINALIZING
The child welfare system is designed not as a way to assist parents in taking care of their children but as a way to punish parents for their failures by threatening to take their children away. Agencies' punitive function hits African American parents and families the hardest because they are the most likely to suffer from poverty and institutionalized discrimination and to be blamed for the effects on their children. It should be noted that child welfare practice became increasingly punitive as black children made up a greater and greater share of the caseloads. As the child welfare system began to serve fewer white children and more children of color, state and federal governments spent more money on out-of-home care and less on in-home services. In addition, there came the increase in the power of CPS/Social workers over the courts and law enforcement.
CPS workers routinely use law enforcement to assist in removing children from their parents and family. Going into schools and using it as a point for arresting parents and removing children without court orders, purely on the authorization by the CPS worker. CPS workers' reports though full of opinions and hearsay, are routinely excepted as gospel truth by law enforcement and court officials.
Calling CPS Causes More Harm Than Good.
We are seeing articles and posts telling people to report any suspected child abuse. Obviously child abuse is wrong. Parents have the right, privilege and responsibility to love and care for their children. As difficult as this may be for adults, it can be even more confusing and difficult for children to process. Ripping them away from their parents and family is traumitizing to children, and leads to many emotional and psychological problems that follow them the rest of their lives. This is a well excepted and documented fact.
After investigating many hundreds of stories from all over the United States, it is clear that there are patterns and practices that are consistent with CPS agencies throughout the nation. They defy their written policies. Such practices as:
Also, numerous studies show that children are at least 6 times more likely to be abused, raped, or molested, and 10 times more likely to die in foster care than if they were left in their own homes, even if they were troubled homes.
This is a brief overview of the issues with the child welfare system. This is why we are determined to expose, defeat and reform this system of sanctioned human trafficking
If you or anyone you know has any issue with CPS or the Family Court contact us at:
Justice Reform Coalition
3200 42nd ST.
Sacramento, CA 95817
jrc@justicereformcoalition.org
916 893-9793