Will you fight for parental rights?

When two people get married, they put their best foot forward in what normally starts out to be a lifelong commitment. If the couple is blessed their union springs forth a burst of joy in the shape a tiny infant, solely dependent on two people with absolutely no parenting experience.

We must ask ourselves who is better suited to determine the needs of our children and act accordingly. Our U.S. Constitution guarantees each citizen the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We have the right to raise our children as we choose - that includes to right to discipline our child and instill in them our values.

The current witch-hunt against parents must stop. My phone hasn’t stopped ringing in weeks. I get several telephone calls daily from parents and grandparents who have lost their children – sometimes permanently - to the state. Without exception, every single person I have spoken to admits to not being a perfect parent.

After all, we each learn to parent by watching our own imperfect parents in action. Is that a valid reason to revoke the Constitutional rights of a citizen? Foster care agencies have hired PR companies to launch extensive media campaigns to convince the general public and our legislators that we have a huge problem that needs money thrown at it.

I grew up with an alcoholic father and an immature co-dependent mother. We were so far below the poverty line that we’d have to climb up three stories to reach the bottom rung. I can recall living in a tiny condemned house with no running water. One house we lived in had no indoor plumbing – yes, we had an outhouse and a chamber pot.

My own children grew up in a farmhouse that was built in 1896, the schoolchildren in the area all thought it was haunted. We lived there for months with the only electricity in the house coming from a cord to the barn. We got hot water on Thanksgiving Day – two years after we moved in. It was a special day.

Was I abused as a child? Was I neglected? Should I have been removed? It wasn’t until I was actually removed from my mother’s home that I was truly abused. Not only, did a foster father abuse me, while in the foster care system; I was also alone, cut off from my support system. I had no one there for me, no one to talk to or to share my grief.

Was I abused as a child? The answer is yes, by the State of Michigan. It is time the court doors were opened and we take a good hard look at the judicial branch of our government. We can no longer afford to turn our backs and close our eyes. There isn’t a government official in the nation who hasn’t heard stories that will curl your hair and cause our founding fathers to roll over in their graves.

I am in the process of add a link to each and every U.S. House Representative to Washington D.C., when I am finished. I will be calling on each of you to write a letter to your congressman, asking for real Health and Human Services reform, real Courtroom reform and a strengthening of parental rights laws. We must demand a complete investigation into each and every reported violation of law.

If you have lost your children to the state, if you feel at a loss to know what to do, get off your rear-end and get busy. No one is going to fight this fight for you. No, it's not easy but your child is depending on you. If there have been violations in your case, you must file an official complaint with the Department of Human Services, following their regulations as set forth by state law. They are required by law to investigate every official complaint they receive. So complain already.

Have you contacted your U.S. House Representative? They have been charged by congress to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services – the only branch of government charged with monitoring child protective services agencies. Each office has an aide assigned to handle investigations. He or she should request a copy of any proof you have. Be sure to include as many facts as you know, a statement of what laws you believe have been broken. Do not get emotional or go into minute details.

CPS caseworkers will know that you have filed a report. They will not like it because that means they are being investigated, so they have to be on their toes. Don't expect them to be pleased with you, but you should not be afraid of them either.

My best advice to anyone facing a CPS investigation has always been to run, unless of course you are guilty as charged. Possession is still 9/10th of the law and getting your children back from custody can cost you your home, your job, your sanity, your friends and even your marriage. The cost of fighting is simply too high. It took the He family over 7-years to get little Anna Mae back. 7-years they will never get back. The precious bonding years when a child develops their own personality, they learn about family and heritage – belong to someone – all gone.

Yes, there are bad parents, there are children who need saving and they deserve all the help we can give them. However, before any social worker can step in and Kidjack a child, they better have proof and lots of it. They must be made to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a child is in danger or has been physically harmed.

Anything less is simply unacceptable.

Please write a letter to your congressman today and demand a change.

Labels: child abuse, CPS, family court, foster care, He Case