WilCo can indict a ham sandwich..

WilCo can indict a ham sandwich!

I couldn't help but crack up for a second when a dear woman sent me a message saying this the other day.  Until I realized she was absolutely right.

We got lucky y'all.  We went up against and fought Williamson County Texas.   The county that boasts on it's own website that it's reputation for being one of the toughest counties in the US on crime.  The county who puts people in jail for simple infractions that may just get a warning anywhere else.  The county that mocks neighboring Travis County by doing the opposite, putting away people for any little infraction.  Evidence is rarely pertinent in WilCo, they don't need it.  DA John Bradley seemingly snaps his fingers and the bars close around people for years.  More than their actually being tough on crime is their need to constantly remind everyone they are tough on crime.  

I personally know people who will not so much as drive through Williamson County.  They will go out of their way to drive AROUND the county when going to Austin from the north.  I also know a guy that sat in WilCo jail for MONTHS while waiting for the judge to decide on his case.  His crime?  Driving without valid proof of insurance.  That's right, no insurance=jail time in WilCo.

Never mind CPS and other government agencies.  Last year CPS took a families son from them.  Their charge?  Teaching the child to mistrust government by not allowing CPS to enter his home.  They also claimed the child (age 7) had emotional problems because he cried when CPS and law enforcement entered the home in SWAT gear to take him.

I don't know how.  I don't know why.  But somehow we did it.  Austin's charge now reads "Dismissed" and our CPS charges "unfounded".  I don't know how we did it....

But we BEAT WILCO!!!!!

And now begins processing and healing.  It'll be a long road.  My son saw and experienced things as a child sitting 2 months in adult jail that will never leave him.  That he will never be free of when he closes his eyes to sleep at night.  We lost time we can never get back, all of our children lost a big peice of their innocence this summer.

But we will survive.  Because in beating this corrupt county we all learned that we are tough as nails and can face any challenge that comes our way.

CPS and qualified immunity

CPS and other government agencies are protected by something called Qualified Immunity.  Qualified Immunity protects public officials from being sued unless they violate a "clearly established" law that a reasonable official in their position should have known.

Seems kinda..... wishy washy doesn't it?

I hear time and time again people in cases with CPS saying "I'm going to sue their asses off once this is over!"  My response is always, good luck.

This is where my rule #1 comes into play for your benefit though.  Always record EVERY conversation with any CPS worker.  (Again, check your states wiretap laws for information on doing this LEGALLY). If you don't have that audio/video you cannot prove anything, it's your word against theirs and who do you think a judge is going to believe?  A government employee or the person who "abused" their children?  Easy enough.

In the past few years there have been some supreme court cases on this where parents have won and removed the qualified immunity of CPS workers.  Most of them stem from the 4th amendment.  You see, no government official (not even police!) can enter your home without  your consent, a warrant signed by a judge, or exigent circumstances.  If they do, and a judge finds that they violated your constitutional right (as in the FLDS case and in Gates Vs. TDCFS) they lose their qualified immunity and can therefore be sued for damages.

Exigent circumstances are defined as:  reason to believe an illegal or abusive act is currently occuring, or will be occuring in the imminent future.


Below is a link to the CPS memorandum after the Gates case that went out to all CPS workers.  It basically states "stop violating civil rights", but I'll let you read it for yourself as it pretty clearly outlines what cps can or cannot do and what defines exigent circumstances.


http://www.thsc.org/images/pdfs/CPSmemoAug2008.pdf

Arm yourself with information.  Your family depends on it!

What to do when CPS comes to your door. Part two. You are STILL in control

Continued from http://amiracleinmypurse.blogspot.com/2011/08/what-to-do-when-cps-comes-to-your-door.html

So now the initial visit with your significant other is complete and the CPS worker wants to meet your children.  And you really start shaking in your boots and want to throw up on her shoes.  Again, remain calm and play the game.


"Sure Mrs. Duck.  This week is pretty busy for us but I would be happy to set up a time for you to meet my children, how does the end of next week sound?


If you've set her at ease with the first visit she may accept waiting.  You NEED to get yourself some time here at all costs.  Because the minute she leaves you are going to get on the phone with your pediatrician and have the children fully examined.  I don't care WHAT the allegation is, a FULL examination is needed, you don't know what they are going to make up later.  Make an appointment for the kids and at the appointment explain to the Pediatrician that there has been a frivolous report to CPS and you would like your children examined and it thoroughly documented.  This includes checking their private parts, I know that's invasive but you want your bases covered and your kids trust their doctor.  You'd rather have THEIR doctor doing it than some stranger in the ER when CPS has it done.  Then tell the pediatrician that you will be by tomorrow to pick up a copy of her notes.  


If it's during the time of year your kids are in school you also need to GO to the school and speak with the receptionist, the school nurse, and the children's teachers.  You dont' need to tell them what is going on, just tell them that if ANYONE, and you mean ANYONE, even a government agent comes to speak with your children at school they must call you.  Print a copy of your state's CPS laws on this and bring it with you.  (Most school officials believe they have to turn a child over to CPS for questioning, they DO NOT.  And YOU need to inform them.  Again if you need help finding this information please let me know.


Now, it gets sticky because if CPS has not had an opportunity to see the children and the allegations are of a serious nature they may say "i'm sorry, but I need to see the children tonight and make sure they are not in immediate danger nor have been abused recently".   


It's sticky because right now, if she feels the children may be in danger she can exercise "exigent" reasoning to have your children removed, today.  *shudder*.  Thank goodness laws have very much tightened on them with some big court cases (see Gates. VS. TDCFS links below) but they still have the power to yank, then prove so walk lightly.


https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:k6v8IKDni4YJ:www.hope4kidz.org/pdf/Gates_06-20763-CV0.wpd.pdf+Gates+vs+texas+cps&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShJlImkh3jzHhJZX9R5gNuD_8yXnUrn0xsLG5FfLNhi3YFVZ3fILTurpsYlAVAs05pvSOCtPOPBh_td-Q1KCAbYnmKQl80EFe8_XproGZVw7VJZLTyUHimz4Pr0qtDle6rHCvzA&sig=AHIEtbQRyrqSGTxEObGdok5wTlA7hxy0BA


https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:JikLHvqXlKEJ:www.hope4kidz.org/pdf/cps_memo_08222008.pdf+texas+cps+Gates&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjvfopKmvpe6loY2OfFrRfTvDReWClKUv-cMbs2MX_MhMhm8cUCDsWEgPEmMVl4UdFyk5MGNF3cMFKBQ-0JRFhd0QiI_HeAMxsc9BJEFx45a7op8BAegEUo9YExlOHGms7dZBfr&sig=AHIEtbTZs5JUfOMFfHFn8fYJuXJf24TTgQ&pli=1


If she says this, this is not defeat.  YOU are STILL in CONTROL.


"Ok Mrs. Duck.  I can understand that and would very much like you to see that my children are healthy and happy."  As you know, my children are currently at a friend's, and it's almost lunch time so how about I pick them up and meet you at XYZ restaurant and we can chat while we have a little lunch, on me?"


She won't like this for a couple of reasons, #1 being that you are showing her YOU are in control and she has very little.  She may agree or disagree to this, likely she will disagree and state that next week is fine.  The reasoning for this is you want her to see the kids in neutral territory with as many people around as possible.  ALL of those people become witnesses later.  You want that.


As I said she'll probably not like that and agree to next week as discussed.  BUT, this MAY be a ploy to gain back control.  Watch out.  There are two ways you can proceed and I would suggest the first one.


After she leaves you go in the house and pack an overnight bag for your family, then you pick your kids up and go stay with a friend (NOT a family member, too easy to find you) for the night.  If she's going to cite "exigent circumstances" and yank your kids she's going to do it in the next few hours.  
Or simply leave your kids at the trusted friends' house for the night while you and your husband stay home.  


OR, you can call their bluff which can be dangerous.  


You can get your kids and stay home.  And wait for the CPS worker and the Sherriff to show up.  Contrary to what you may think, she DOES NOT NEED A WARRANT TO YANK YOUR KIDS!  I dont care what anybody tells you, I repeat, SHE DOES NOT NEED A WARRANT TO YANK YOUR KIDS!  


So leave for the night, or until you feel safe.  However keep in contact with her so she doesn't suspect that you fled the country.  A simple "Hi this is Mrs. Smith, I'm just confirming our meeting for Thursday May 24th at 9am at XYZ, please call me back at 343-7ii-2345"  Will suffice.  


Continued.....

What to do when CPS comes to your door. First meeting. YOU are in control.

When we first became involved with CPS I scoured the internet with questions.  What do I do?  How will my reactions affect their decision.  Should I cooperate with CPS or should I fight?  


I found many answers.  They ranged from something like


"Hand over your children, kiss them goodbye and move on" 


to


"put bars on your doors while you pack your kids and everything they own, plant bombs in your yard and move your family to a remote island, learn how to grow grass for food, and never be heard from again."


Ok, maybe slight exaggerations there, but only slight.  


It seemed one common thread was to tell you don't pass go until you've retained an attorney.  Well this is great advice, however there are some issues with that.  CPS rarely targets affluent, powerful members of society.  Usually the people on the ass side of CPS are poor or middle class folks living paycheck to paycheck.  Also, there are few lawyers who will take your case, the ones that will are usually NOT working for you.  The one's that are working for you, the ones who "hate" CPS can actually make things much worse for you.  


I happened to have the unfortunate decision making to move to Williamson County, Texas.  Otherwise called WilCo. (That's right, they are so important they get an acronym).  Any google search will show you that WilCo is as corrupt as they come, a fact I didn't know upon moving there.  When I called lawyers to help us, 8/10 refused to take a WilCo case, PERIOD.  1/10 said Suuuuuuure, I'll take it!  Thankfully I was able to find a diamond in the rough who said "girl, you are better off on your own.  Any lawyer that will take a WilCo case is definitely NOT on your side, the few that take WilCo cases are, in fact, very well compensated by the powers you are trying to fight to help you lose your case.


Now your county is probably NOT as corrupt as WilCo.  But I'm here to tell you that you CAN fight CPS without an attorney, and you're probably better off that way.  


So what should you do when CPS comes calling?  #1 remember YOU are in control.  ALWAYS be the one in control of the conversation.  You will be shaking inside and want to throw up on her shoes but remain composed and in control.  You can fall apart later.


If the allegation against you isn't life or death they may start with a phone call.  It will go something like this...


"Hello Mrs. Smith.  This is Daffy Duck from the department of family services and I would like to come and talk with you and your husband, can we set up a time that works for you?"  Your response should be.  "Sure, can you hold one moment while I grab my audio recorder?  I will be recording our conversation".  (It is NOT required that you inform them of this in every state, but for your own protection it's always best to inform them).  Then you should say "Ok, I have begun recording, can you restate what this phone call is about?"  She will then reiterate what she just said.  Next you should say.  "I absolutely would have you come and speak with my husband and I, I know we can clear this misunderstanding up in short order"  (Always speak in your sickeningly sweet voice btw).  Then you and Mrs. Duck will set a time to meet at your home.  


You might have cringed when I said At. YOUR. Home.  Don't.  Because 1 hour before Mrs. Duck arrives you are going to bring the children to a trusted friend or family members house and you and your spouse/significant other will be sitting on the front porch (or if it's cold outside in the garage with the door open) waiting for her.  She will pull up and walk to the house and you both should walk to meet her, shake her hand politely and invite her to a seat outside.  You will inform her that you will be again recording (video this time if you have the capability to do so) your meeting.  Again check your state laws on this or email me and I'll look it up for you, in most states you need to INFORM, not gain PERMISSION to record.  


Offer her something to drink and sit down.  She will likely pull out a computer to type on or maybe just jot things down on a piece of paper.  She will likely begin asking you questions about the children and the allegations at hand.  Keep your answers very concise.  Yes or no will work 99% of the time.  Resist the urge to spill your guts and tell the whole story, as interesting as it may be.  Also resist the urge to say things like "My husband would NEVER do that".  While you know he wouldn't, it makes it seem like you are taking the side of your husband right off the bat, and that's NOT what she wants to see.  Bite your tongue right off if you have to, but shut your mouth and think before you speak.


After the line of questioning about the allegations she will launch into her "Sometimes we get called for one problem and there's bigger problems in the home" schpeel.  "I just need to ask you a few more questions about your family to close the case".  Don't fall for it.  She's going to ask you how you discipline, which, unless the allegation is REGARDING your discipline is irrelevant.  She's going to ask you about drug and alchohol use, again unless it's relevant it's irrelevant.  She's going to ask you if you have ever been treated for mental illness like depression.  This is NEVER relevant.  You can simply tell her.  "I understand that sometimes there are bigger issues in a family, and I respect your desire to make sure all children are safe, but can you please explain to me how that question is relevant to the allegation?"  Keep her on task or you will open up a whole NEW set of allegations.  Simply stating "yes, 8 years ago when my grandmother died I was on medication for depression" red flags you. 


Here's a bit on how these answers are documented.  Each CPS agency has a standard form they use.  It will have questions like "Do parents have mental health issues".  The answer will be "yes".  That is all.  Nothing to state that your "mental health issue" was situational from losing your grandmother 8 years ago.  Now, the investigator knows your answer, but SHE doesn't make the decision on your case, the supervisor does.  And that "yes" answer is all the supervisor is going to see.  So shut up.


The next thing she will do is tell you she needs to tour your home, again, "to close the case".  Again this is where you must consider the relevance to the allegation.  If the allegation was that you have no food or that your kids live in squalor then by all means you should allow her to tour the home (I'm assuming you in fact DON'T make your kids live in squalor and DO feed them.  If not, then you're on your own and your kids DO need help tyvm!).  If you decide that her touring the home has some relevance to her allegations and allow her in I have two very good tips for you.  #1, do NOT invite her into the home and do not VERBALLY give her consent to enter right away.  Simply opening the door is NOT consent to enter and if she takes it as such and enters (and remember, you'll have it on video) she has just given you the hope diamond in defense later on (more on this in an upcoming post called "Constitutional rights and qualified immunity).  


If she's aware of this she may wait for you to give verbal consent.  Damn.  But that's ok really, that means she's doing her job right.  At least that part.  That's a good thing, I promise.  


When y'all enter the house make sure you bring the video camera with you and use it behind her to document the state of every room and every cabinet she may look into.  That way if her report reads "dirty clothes on the floor in bedrooms" you have video evidence that is not true. Chances are she's going to take a quick sweep through the house and then get out quickly, they don't like being behind walls with people who hate them.  It's scary.  


The final thing she's going to do is tell you that she needs to interview the children.  This is where it gets very sticky and I'm going to leave it for another post because it really deserves it's own space.  Stay tuned!


*I am not a lawyer, just a mom who fought and beat CPS.  NOTHING in any post I write should be taken as legal advice!!!*

My CPS and WilCo story part 4

My big mistake.


I woke up the next morning in a panic.  What had we done?  Not allowing them to interview the kids would certainly arouse suspicion, right?  OMG what had we done.


So I made my biggest mistake.  I called and left Christy a voicemail saying I would have the kids at the advocacy center at 9.


And so we went.  Hailey went first, then Chris, then Jack, then Nate.  When Nate was in there Hailey and I becan texting about how it had went and she told me they asked her all sorts of weird questions and non were about Austin.  They were yes or no questions.  Do your parents hit you?  Do they get drunk and act crazy?  Do they do drugs in front of you? and on and on and on.


Mommy instinct took over and I walked down to the interview room and demanded my son back.  I sent Nathan back to the play room with Hailey and told the Mr. Battencort I wanted to speak with the CPS worker who was in the next room immediately.  He told me to hang on and entered the room.  30 seconds later I walked into that room, sat myself down at the far end of the table and said "let's chat".


I asked them what they thought they were doing and why they were NOT in fact asking "open ended" questions.  It was apparent our definition of "open ended" was completely different and I took my children and went home.  The kids were very upset, all 5 of them crying and confused.  My 4 year old was in hysterics and asking me why they thought he was bad.  It was all I could bear.  I called the CPS worker, her supervisor  and the head of the advocacy center and was told that what they had done was appropriate.  I informed them that I had every single conversation documented on video and audio and was not afraid to use them in court or in the media.  (Legal to record with 1 party consent in Texas).


I truly believe this last statement is what led to the outcome of our case.


I had no idea if someone was coming to my house to take my children, and so I made the decision that they needed not live in that stress and we left with a couple suitcases and some toys.


The kids and I went to stay with a friend for a few days until we could sort things out and then we packed up our belongings and moved back to Wisconsin.  We knew the CPS investigation would likely follow us, and we knew we could be charged with interfering in an investigation.  We were willing to accept this risk.


We settled into our home and yesterday in the mail came the most blessed letter.


From the TDFS:


We have found 5 counts of sexual assault by Austin- UNFOUNDED
We have found 5 counts of neglectful supervision by Kat- UNFOUNDED


CASE CLOSED.

My CPS and WilCo story part 2

So.  Austin and I left the police station and got the travel permit for our Monday trip to Wisconsin from his probation officer.  Then returned home for a relaxing weekend in the pool.

Fast forward to Monday, June 17th.  Our trip to Wisconsin was put on hold while things unrelated to any of this got worked out.  So while Craig was at work the kids and I just hung out.  At 1pm there was a knock on the door.  It was that same "I'm hercules" knock I had heard Friday morning so I was not surprised to again see Detective "good ole boy" Pascoe and Vasquez standing on my porch.  They asked if Austin was there and as Austin stepped out onto the porch they handcuffed him and Vasquez led him to the police car.  Pascoe told me he was being charged with failure to register as an S.O.  His bond was $25,000 (which I later learned was  lie).  And said "Are your kids safe?"  "I replied to him that they were very much safe with a quizzical look on my face.  "Come down to the PD at 3:30, we'd like to talk to you".

In this interview were a few of the mistakes I made in my case.  Mistakes I learned from and know now not to ever make again.  I'm not perfect.

So I show up at 2:45.  If there's anything I like more than being prompt it's being just early enough so that people haven't fully prepared for my arrival.

Detective Vasquez greeted me and took me back to an interview room and shut the door.  Detective Vasquez asked me if my children had ever been harmed by my son.  "Absolutely not" I told him.  "We have talked with all of them about good touch, bad touch a few times, they have all denied anything".   Detective Vasquez asks me about Austin's contact with a girl he had met in school and asks that I show him the cell phone Austin had been using to communicate with her.  I hand him the cell phone and he reads the text messages.

"Well, given their age difference this wouldn't be a crime in Texas even if they had a sexual relationship so there's nothing there that pertains to me, however I would like to look at the photos on the phone since usually if they are texting they are sending pictures".  I inform him that mms messaging and data is blocked on that phone so there would have been no way for that to happen but he was welcome to look.  He looked through the pictures and said that our cat must be very popular, as there are about 80 pictures of the cat on the phone and that's about it.  He handed the phone back to me and I put it in my purse.

Then detective Vasquez asks me for the names and birthdates of everyone in the home.  This is where I probably should have shut up.  I gave the information to him and he told me that since Austin was living in the home and "as careful as we try to be things happen" he wanted to arrange forensic interviews of all of the children.  Just to be sure.  I informed him that my 8 year old is Autistic, and this may prove to be very stressfull for him and he told me he would gladly arrange a tour beforehand to acclimate our son to the environment.

As we were finishing up he asked me if any of the children had any "odd" behaviors.  "Define, odd" I said.  "Like bedwetting...." he said.  "I told him that my autistic son has occasional bedwetting accidents as most autistic kids do".  He informed me that "this is a very big red flag for us".

Then he said.  "Now I'm going to tell you something, and I don't want you to get upset because well, some people hear certain words and they freak out.  I'm going to have to make a report to CPS about this."

I asked him if we were finished and he said we were.  I got in my car, burst into tears and drove home.  Upon returning home I noticed that detective Vasquez had deleted all the text messages off the phone.

So the waiting began, and the cringing everytime the doorbell rang, and the not sleeping at night.  And the waiting, waiting, waiting.

I decided to take the children to their pediatrician to have them examined.  She did not notice any signs of abuse and I asked her to refer us to a therapist to speak with the kids.  I figured (wrongly) that if I could present this information to CPS this would all just be overwith.

15 days after speaking with detective V, with multiple calls and emails to him from my husband and I, I finally emailed him informing him that since there was no allegation we would be declining the forensic interviews and if he would like the children's pediatrician's report as to their physical state I would gladly provide that to him.  2 hours later Mandy Shaw from DFHS called me to set up to come talk with us.

She comes to the house on Thursday and of course we video tape the entire meeting.  The meeting took place on my front porch with the kids having a pizza picnic in the front yard.  She asks why we are refusing to have the kids interviewed and we tell her that we are not entirely, however putting our children, especially our autistic son through that was a big concern for us and that we had taken measures to secure an appointment with a therapist they could follow up with longterm and we would be happy to allow her to speak with that therapist.  She had us sign a release  (and tried a bunch of crap, see ideo below).  which we made a photocopy of and she went on her merry way.

Continued in next post....

A world away

So my last post was a while ago.  I've been going through a lot and, well, we've moved back to Wisconsin.  Over the next few days I will make updates to let everyone know the details of what the great *instert sarcasm* state of Texas put my family through in the few short months we lived there.  For now, I give you the jist of it with this youtube video.