LESSONS LEARNED!!!
CPS CASE
1. NEVER, EVER, BELIEVE ANYONE AT CPS IS YOUR FRIEND!!!! THEY ARE YOUR ENEMY FROM THE START. CPS usually will “believe” the anonymous allegations of abuse reported against a family. (After I received, and read my Discovery, I knew this to be a fact!) Although CPS interviewed everyone in my case, nanny, babysitter, teachers in 2 schools, principle in 2 schools, doctors, dentist, they didn't include anything positive in CPS file. Although everyone gave me positive recommendations, and all of the positive interviews proved the abuse allegations by my former wife were false. They still left them all out of the file.
2. DO NOT LET CPS INTO YOUR HOUSE WITHOUT A WARRANT. In fact, do not open the door and speak through the door if you can. They may try to force themselves inside. Even if the nice CPS lady says, “we only want to ask you a few questions.” They are only there to gather evidence against you. They will lie, intimidate, and attempt to con their way into your home, but don’t allow it. Take advantage of your constitutional rights and tell them that nobody has the right to enter or search your home without a warrant. Also inform the CPS case worker that you will speak to your attorney first, even if you don’t have one. IF YOU CAN AFFORD TO, TAKE YOUR CHILDREN OUT OF THE STATE IMMEDIATELY AND PLACE THEM WITH RELATIVES. DRIVE AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!!! CPS has no power across State borders.
3. NEVER speak to CPS without an attorney if you can afford one. Know your MIRANDA RIGHTS. You Have the Right to Remain Silent (Use It!) NEVER call CPS hoping you can quickly straighten out the matter. Always let them contact you first in everything. NEVER volunteer information. They can use this against you. NEVER, NEVER admit to yelling, spanking, threatening to spank you child, even if you just use your hand, or sending them to bed with no dinner. This is the KISS OF DEATH for you! CPS will use this information to take away you children, although the Supreme Court has stated that it is your constitutional right to use corporal punishment on your children and CPS knows this. You will have to fight to get your children back, while CPS gets federal funding for each day you child is in custody or under CPS services. FURTHERMORE CPS CONFUSES BEING POOR WITH BEING NEGLECTFUL!! Because you don't have as much money as they do, Case Workers will tell the court that you are not able to properly take care of your children.
4. Never allow CPS to speak to your children voluntarily. Respectfully decline to have any of your children interviewed. If CPS goes to your child’s school to question or inspect them without your permission, there is little you can do about it. Most States have laws that allow this.
5. If you have the means, send or take you children out of the State until you have the matter resolved with CPS. Send them to a grand parent or relative. CPS cannot go out of State to get your children. Once CPS has your children you will have to fight to get them back and CPS will LIE! They get Federal funding for each child they have in custody / foster care or that they are providing any service too. (I will give details on this later.)
6. If you have the children at home and you receive a subpoena for an Emergency Removal Hearing by CPS at the beginning of your case, you can have witnesses, documents and other ways to prove your innocence of abuse or neglect. You will need to be brave and speak of your innocence, but in a legal way. Get reports and recommendations from your doctors, teachers at school, baby sitters, day care, the minister / people from the church and the community. Anything that might show the Judge that you are a good parent. This must be done right from the start. You need to go all of this on the court records to fight against the allegations of CPS.
7. Statement of Objections to Social Work Court Report - This should be used any time after the first time you go to court to hear your plea. After your plea hearing they will schedule a “Fact Finding Hearing, jurisdictional hearing, or a Adjudication Hearing. This is where you can have witnesses, documents and other ways to prove your innocence of abuse or neglect. The “Statement of Objections and Corrections to the Report of the Social Worker” (or Child Welfare Caseworker, or Psychologist) should be typed, edited for spelling and grammar, and when perfect, given to your attorney. Most court appointed attorneys want to keep you on the conveyor belt so that they can make more money. Their job for the good of the tribe is to not allow you to speak. You will need to be brave and speak, but in a legal way. Ask your attorney for a copy of the caseworkers’ report to the court. It is your right as a party to the case to have one. The second you get to see it, look for ANY mistakes that you can find or omissions of truth, or outright lies and begin to write your own objections and corrections. (See the example of this website.)
8. NEVER provide your consent to allow CPS to do anything. If you do, you are effectively giving up your constitutional rights and giving them permission. The Judge will tell you this in court.
9. Never sign any documents presented to you by CPS. Even if they are telling you that you are being uncooperative. Especially one regarding you having to pay for anything. CPS attempted to get me to sign a document saying that I would be responsible for paying for services and foster care. I REFUSED! They cannot make you sign enter into a legally binding contract and neither can the Judge. DO NOT LET THEM INTIMIDATE YOU INTO SIGNING!
10. NEVER CONSENT to anything voluntarily. Especially that your child is in need of protection of service. THIS IS MOST PARENTS BIGGEST MISTAKE! Once you do, you have voluntarily given CPS complete control over you and your children. Most parents think that if they cooperate CPS will give them back their children immediately, but the exact opposite is true. I LEARNED THIS THE HARD WAY! CPS receives federal money for each child they provide services to. I conducted a detailed research of CPS funding and will post this on the group forum in the coming weeks. I have my states official documents and instructions telling their social workers to bill for all services once they make a finding of determination for services or get the parents’ permission. The document I have is from the Assistant Commissioner of DHS in my State. I’m sure you can find it in your State also since it deals with all federal funding of CPS and how they bill for services.
11. Write a Declaration of Facts to Submit to the Court - When parents appear in Juvenile Court they are handed a report written by a CPS social worker. It states the county’s side of the court case. You or your attorney must write a similar report explaining the parents’ side of the case to the judge. If your attorney has not already done so, tell them to create a Declaration of Facts. Most often, court appointed attorneys in Juvenile Court simply guide the parents through the hearings and advise them to sign a plea or stipulation of some kind, which implicates them as being guilty. If the parents sign (most do because their court-appointed attorneys are advising it) there will be no trial – no opportunity for them to protest their innocence or defend themselves. Without a trial there’s never going to be a time when the CPS social worker has to prove the county’s case. When writing your declaration of facts, keep two things in mind: 1) NEVER write any self-incriminating statements into your declaration as this can be used against you. You’re trying to prove your innocence, and not give evidence to prove your guilt. 2) Keep it as brief as possible. The judge is far more likely to read it happily and thoroughly if your sentences are short and to the point, and if no unnecessary information is included. Brevity is golden when writing court documents. You want the judge to like you, not hate you because your statement was too long. Focus in on the most important issues and leave out everything else.
12. Everyone must ask for their CPS Discovery from the County Attorney / Prosecutor prior to filing your Federal Lawsuit. Do this is writing and copy the Judge. Send it certified mail with return receipt requested. Keep this for your records. I asked for my CPS Discovery from the county attorney / prosecutor 3-months into my CPS case because I felt the entire process was wrong and illegal, I asked again at 12- months into my CPS Case, and at the end of my case when it was finally dismissed. I received over 600 pages. READ EVERYTHING and make note of all of the lies and/or fabricated evidence that you can prove is false. REMEMBER go through every page of your discovery and pull out the evidence in your favor. CPS lies, and there will be direct contradicting evidence in Case Files because they cannot remember all of the lies they have told throughout the case.
13. READ YOUR STATE STATUES ON CPS MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS AND CPS TIMELINES. NEVER be afraid to Motion the court if CPS is not in compliance with your State Statues!!! SHOW THE JUDGE THEY ARE LYING WITH THEIR OWN DOCUMENTS. THIS IS HOW I GOT MY CHILDREN BACK! I FILED 3 MOTIONS PRO SE WITH THE COURT FOR THE FAILINGS OF CPS AND HAD MY CHILDREN BACK IN LESS THAN 30-DAYS. Before this I was being dragged around the court room by CPS like a rag doll because of their lies, fabricated evidence and my inexperience. DO EVERYTHING IN WRITING AND KEEP COPIES. KEEP EVERYTHING ORGANIZED IN A NOTEBOOK OR COMPUTER FOR QUICK REFERENCE.
14. Know Your CONSTITUTIONAL Rights and How the Bill of Rights Protects You! Contact your Congressman or Senator for help. Write you local newspaper. Seek out information on the internet. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR WINNING YOUR CASE. READ, READ, READ CPS case law on Scholar Google for your State.
CONTROLLING YOUR ATTORNEY
15. Everyday I am getting emails and messages from members telling me that their attorneys are not fight back. I TOO WAS A VICTIM OF THIS! I literally fired my attorney for ineffective counsel and got my children back Pro Se on my own within two hearings or 30-days by filing a Motion to Dismiss my case and showing the judge all of the lies and fabricated evidence from the CPS case workers and supervisors. I was only able to do this after I requested my Discovery or case files from the county attorney. You can also request your Discovery or case files directly from CPS. When you get them read every page looking for lies or fabricated evidence.
16. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT...... Your attorneys, especially Public Defenders make more money the longer your case stays open. They have no incentive to close your case quickly. Public Defenders are paid by the State government with federal funds. THEY WILL ALWAYS TELL YOU TO COOPERATE AND GO ALONG TO GET YOUR CHILDREN BACK SOONER. THEY WILL TELL YOU TO SIGN PAPERS FOR A CASE PLAN. THE MINUTE YOU DO THIS CPS HAS GOT YOU FOR AS LONG AS THEY WANT. Also, your attorney makes money for the next 2-years.
17. THE ONLY THING YOUR SHOULD SIGN IS A SAFETY PLAN TO PREVENT THE CHILDREN FROM BEING REMOVED FROM THE HOME. If they do not give you a safety plan to sign first, YOU or your attorney should file a written opposition to the court immediately. If it is not an emergency situation, they must give you a safety plan for the child to remain at home, They can only take you children from the home if your fail the safety plan. CPS must prove to the judge why you do not qualify for a safety plan or failed a safety plan. Look up Minnesota Statute 260.012 DUTY TO ENSURE PLACEMENT PREVENTION AND FAMILY REUNIFICATION; REASONABLE EFFORTS.
18. CPS writes a Report & Recommendation to the court 10-days before each hearing. The are required to provide you a copy at least 7-days before. For every hearing YOU or your attorney must write an opposition report to the court from your side along with a declaration of facts. IF YOU DO NOT, YOU ARE ESSENTIALLY AGREEING WITH WHAT CPS IS SAYING. SILENCE FROM YOU MEANS CONSENT OR AGREEMENT. THIS IS THE NUMBER ONE WAY CPS IS ALWAYS WINNING. Parents do not fight back because they think they will get there children back faster, but the exact opposite is true. You must show the court in writing that you have done everything that CPS has asked that is LEGAL! (Look in the file section of this group page for an example objection to the court report & Declaration of Facts.) MAIL EVERYTHING FROM THE POST OFFICE - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED. Keep the receipt and staple it to your copy to prove you mailed it to everyone and they received it.
19. IF YOUR ATTORNEY DOES NOT DO WHAT I HAVE STATED ABOVE, THEY ARE NOT WORKING FOR YOU. FIRE THEM. if you have a public defender and he refuses, write down your opposition to the court report and declaration of facts and mail it to the court and prosecutor. Tell them that your attorney refused to follow your instructions, you are submitting the request yourself and you want the Public Defender or your attorney replaced.
FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS CASE
20. If you are filing Pro Se, make sure you attach all of your Discovery evidence to your original federal civil complaint. I MADE THE BIG MISTAKE OF NOT DOING THIS ALTHOUGH I HAD ALL OF MY EVIDENCE SEPARATED FOR LATER SUBMISSION TO THE COURT IN THE CASE.
21. In your federal complaint, in the summary section after you state all your facts, make sure you state why the defendants are NOT entitled to Immunity based upon the facts alleged and evidence presented. It is hard to win Pro Se without direct evidence you can submit to the court. You cannot just say CPS did something to you. You have to be able to show it to the court in writing. This is where most people fail. Right at the beginning, when they file their original federal civil rights complaint.
22. Read a book on Section 1983 civil rights claims and understand each “cause of action” and know the elements required to prove the civil rights complaint. THIS IS EVERYONE'S SECOND BIGGEST MISTAKE WHEN FILING PRO SE. They do not list the elements of their cause of action 1,2,3 and provide their evidence 1,2,3 showing the court that they were harmed by CPS.
23. Hire an attorney if you can afford one!!!! After reading hundreds of CPS cases, no Pro Se Plaintiff has ever won a case that I could find. But, I’m sure it can be done. It’s just an uphill battle, because you have to work full-time and study at night. Based upon my circumstances, reference material, and experience, I now know the reason why so many Pro Se lose. After reading hundreds of judges’ opinion along with the case law presented in the opinions I was very enlightened on WHAT NOT TO DO. Conspiracy must be proven with facts, witness statements, (not the plaintiff statements alone), and documents. Everything must be worded correctly and each sentence must be correctly structured. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Law Suits is a game of words. Even with evidence you can lose if the lawsuit is not worded correctly. SEEK LEGAL AID IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD AN ATTORNEY.
24. Guide your attorney through every aspect of your case along with the Discovery evidence to prove your case.
25. YOU ARE IN CONTROL, YOU MUST READ AND UNDERSTAND THE RELEVANT CASE LAW, AND YOU MUST WORK WITH YOUR ATTORNEY TO WIN TOGETHER AS A TEAM. YOU KNOW THE FACTS, AND YOUR ATTORNEY HAS THE LEGAL EXPERIENCE. NEVER BE AFRAID TO QUESTION YOUR ATTORNEY REASONS FOR DOING ANYTHING IN YOUR CASE. ASK HIM TO SHOW YOU THE CASE LAW BEHIND ALL OF HIS DECISIONS.
26. Read all of the documents in my case below, starting from the bottom, to understand what to do and not to do when filing Pro Se. Learn from my mistakes. See first had what the Defense attorney will try to prove, anticipate this and get it on paper first. I read every CPS civil rights case to see why they were losing and what they did wrong and still it was hard. I am still reading and learning daily.
27. IF YOU FEEL LIKE THINGS OR THE CASE ARE NOT GOING YOUR WAY, especially after the Magistrates Judges Report and Recommendations, do like I did and Notice the court that you want to voluntarily dismiss your case without prejudice. This will allow you to correct all of your mistakes and re-file your civil rights case again from the beginning and it will be treated like a new case. You will get a new case number. YOU MUST DO THIS BEFORE THE CIRCUIT JUDGE ENTERS A FINAL ORDER / RULING ON THE CASE. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! If the Judge enters a final order on your complaint then you will have to go the Appeal Judgement route and this is harder to win because you have to show the Judge made an error in your case as a matter of law. CHECK YOUR STATE LAW ON VOLUNTARY DISMISSALS, STATUE OF LIMITATIONS AND READ THE CASE LAW!
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