Anthony and Lisa Demaree lost their children to CPS agents after a clerk at Walmart reported that they had bath-time photos developed there. CPS didn’t accept that the photos were innocent. The parents were charged with child sexual maltreatment of their children. Apparently they requested a trial and fought the charges because their children were returned after only a month. The judge agreed that the pictures were harmless.

Unfortunately a lot of damage was done by that time. Lisa Demaree was suspended from her job at a school for a year, and they’re both now on the Arizona list of sex offenders.

They’re fighting back with a lawsuit against Walmart and the city of Peoria, Arizona.

Source: Innocent Bath-Time Photos Get Kids Taken Away From Parents by Susan Avery, published September 21, 2009 at ParentDish.Com. (This link includes a video and a place where you can comment.)

I like this video because it show two people who have probably never had CPS problems… and they see how CPS has totally overstepped its bounds. The public is realizing that CPS is taking children that have never been abused.

I received this email from Greg Smart of “No More Family InJustice”. He is working to build a nationwide organization for victims of CPS false accusations.

Just a reminder… there’s a request by the owner of another family rights website for letters to be sent to President Obama and his wife. Here’s what I received in email:

Washington grandparents Doug and AnneMarie Stuth have every right and reason to be caretakers of their three-year-old granddaughter, yet caseworkers at Child Protective Services are making up unreasonable justifications to keep the cute little blonde girl in foster care. They say the Stuth’s aren’t making an effort to support the child’s reunification with her teen mother, the Stuth’s daughter. Yet a KING5 news video report proves they have done everything in their power to help the mother have access to her child.

The Stuths made their case high-profile through going to their state legislators including Senator Pamela Roach, and to the news media. They are fighting the case in court. They are a good example for the many thousands of other grandparents who want custody of their grandchildren who have been placed in foster homes. The denial of kinship care rights to grandparents is one of the worst aspects of current child protective services corruption. CPS agencies want to adopt children out to strangers so they can qualify for federal subsidy bonuses.

Source: Investigators: Grandparents passed over in favor of foster care by Susannah Frame on December 11, 2008, for KING5 News. Be sure to read through all the related content on this article! This is a major exposé!

A word to CPS workers: The word is out… everyone knows how corrupt the CPS agencies are. Come out of your dark offices and admit to the world and to yourselves that you’ve done wrong. Good always triumphs over evil. The love of family overcomes the evil of family destruction. In time you will see this is true.

This was originally posted here.

By aleo966 at yahoo.com:

I would like to organize a rally similar to the one on Nov 25. I am in Los Angeles. We should target the Appeals courts.

Here are 2 locations I propose for a rally:
Ronald Reagan State Building
300 So. Spring St. 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90013

and

925 N. Spurgeon Street
Santa Ana, California 92701-3724

I need to get feedback regarding who can attend during the month of January and which dates. We should try to rally there daily.

In 2003, most of Albertsons and Vons Employees demonstrated daily for months in front of their local stores and refused to go back to work. They were fighting for higher wages and their pension funds. They were only fighting over money, and not for their children’s lives, and yet they were willing to stand out for hours in the cold and give up their jobs until they got what they wanted. And they did!

I can’t imagine why the people who are complaining all over the internet and on this site are not out there with a sign in front of the court houses, the State Capitol or even the Judicial Council.

We should organize this to attract media attention and do it all over the country.

Anyone interested for Los Angeles and Orange County, please email me at aleo966@yahoo.com. Include the dates in JAN 2009 you can attend and whether LA or OC location and how many of you will be there.

You should make your own banners.
Suggestions are welcome.

I would like to have daily demonstrations from Jan 15 til at least Jan 31. Others should organize their own rallies around the same time.

Complaining on this site will get you nowhere, so pick yourself up and go out and do something!

About a year ago I made a Squidoo Lens (page) featuring this website. As of this time, my lens, Fighting Child Protective Services False Allegations, is getting about 125 visits per week. I also made a few other Squidoo lenses on other topics that interest me.

This month I got my first payment from Squidoo. It came as a surprise because I’d forgotten about the site, and wasn’t working on making any new lenses for almost a year. They paid me $55 through PayPal.

I went back to Squidoo this month intent on making a few more lenses. Anything that pays me of course gets my interest because I’m just like most of you - a working person barely making it from month to month. A little extra income helps a lot! Well, I noticed that a lot of people had signed up for Squidoo from my FightCPS page, yet not one of them had made any pages of their own.

So I’m here to ask you all to consider making some Squidoo pages about your feelings about CPS. If you write about fighting CPS, I will feature your Squidoo lens on the front page of this site where I get over 700 visitors daily. All you have to do is make that lens!

I’ve also created a Squidoo “group” for us: Family Rights Lenses. I will add your lenses to this group (or you can add them yourself.)

Let’s make Family Rights a better-known issue on the Squidoo website.

Start here: Fighting Child Protective Services False Allegations

As part of my outreach - my effort to help CPS victims find this site - I’ve joined a number of social media sites using either my own name, or the name of FightCPS.

I hope you’ll help me in supporting these efforts.

Do you have a MySpace profile? Fight CPS At MySpace wants you as a friend.	This is a blog promotion site. I’d very much appreciate your votes in getting FightCPS listed on the front page there so more people can find out about our issues with Child Protective Services false allegations.
Technorati is a site for finding blog postings that are on a topic you want to read about. If everyone who came here registered at Technorati and added this site to their favorites list, this blog might reach the top-100 list, and become an issue many thousands of Americans would notice.	Is anyone else here using Twitter? If so, feel free to follow me there: Linda at Twitter. This is my personal Twitter account and you’ll see I’m interested in numerous topics, not just fighting CPS - but that’s something I’m always willing to write about. If you want to get to know me better and find out where my head is REALLY at, this is the place.
Check out the Fight CPS Squidoo Lens for information about the history and goals of Fight CPS. You can make a Squidoo Lens web page to tell people about your CPS case and information. It is very easy to sign up and create a page, plus you may earn some money by doing it.	Fight CPS is on Hover Spot

A wheelchair-bound mother in Montana won a special needs trust of $50,000 from the state. Her child will receive $100,000, and her attorney fees and costs will be paid. The lawyer gets $180,000. The Health and Human “Services” agency, also known as Children and Family “Services” (CFS) gets mud on its face and a debt to pay.

Geri Glass filed suit against the state of Montana because CFS social workers violated her rights and then retaliated against her when she complained.

Very important to those of you fighting false child abuse and neglect charges, it should be noted that when Geri Glass’ case was reported on in the media, the CFS agency dropped its investigation. They were apparently more worried about their own reputation than about possible problems with Glass’ child.

Source: State settles with disabled mother by Matt Gouras of the Associated Press, published May 10, 2008 in the Helena Independent Record.

…
Written by Linda Martin for Fight CPS.

Today I’m opening this space for you to tell us about some of your favorite places on the web where you’ve found information about Fighting CPS.

Or you can tell us about your page, mailing list, petition, MySpace, or whatever else you’ve got that is on-topic.

I know there are dozens of new sites out there since I last spent a lot of time looking at other people’s sites, so I’m looking forward to looking at the sites you tell us about.

This will be a permanent ongoing resource of links for people to explore.

If you don’t know how to make a link, that’s okay - I will edit postings and create hot links where they are missing.

Recently I introduced two site features: one, a place for people to post referrals to good CPS-fighting attorneys, and the other, a place for people to make a request for an attorney. Both posts have had good responses, yet I know without a doubt that most of the people asking for legal help will not find it by posting on this website. I’m sorry to say that, but it is true. There are few attorneys who are so hard-up for work to do that they’ll come here to pick and choose clients who are probably broke and looking for someone to work pro-bono (for free).

Get over the idea that you might find a good pro-bono attorney. It rarely happens. In the seven-plus years since I started this site I’ve seen it happen only once. An attorney represented a very high-profile case in Oregon AFTER the couple became so desperate they kidnapped their own children from state custody. That attorney lost the case and the couple has been imprisoned ever since.

The alternative to finding the dream-attorney is to take that court-appointed freebie do-nothing attorney the county provides, and make that person WORK for YOU.

The main problem with these court-appointed attorneys is that they are paid by the county; that same county that is your adversary in juvenile court. So how motivated can they be to go against the county and help you?

Turn the tables. Take charge of your case.

A way to control how your attorney handles your case is to decide, yourself, how you want it handled. Then sit down and write your attorney a comprehensive letter detailing exactly what you want to have done with your case.

A keyword to remember is proactive. YOU take the lead. Rather than REacting to what others are doing to you, start thinking ahead to what your next move should be. Keep your attorney informed with a series of letters.

Remind this person, your attorney, that you are the client and you need and demand request the attention your case deserves. If your attorney doesn’t do the things you request, that person is setting himself/herself up for a legal malpractice lawsuit. But if you don’t set forth your requests in writing, there’s no proof you asked for anything in particular to be done.

Let’s face it. These court-appointed attorneys are known for what they don’t do. They often meet a client at the door on the way into the courtroom. They look through the case file as if it were the first time they’ve seen it, trying to orient themselves to what’s going on. Of course there’s no time for them to do any type of adequate defense of the case. They don’t know you, your children, or your situation. They don’t know the truth and don’t know who’s lying. And it seems they just don’t care.

My apologies to all court-appointed attorneys who don’t fit this description, but I’m sure you know that these are the facts about many if not most court-appointed attorneys in juvenile law cases.

You have to do something to get a dead-beat court-appointed attorney’s attention. Writing letters is the way to go. It puts them on notice that (1) you have some legal knowledge, (2) you want your children back, (3) you want a better quality of representation than they are giving to most clients.

If I were to write a letter to an attorney in a new CPS case, it might go something like this:

You have been appointed to represent me as an attorney in the county juvenile court. Be on my side; I need your help. I am fighting for the release of my three children from state custody. I am innocent of any wrongdoing. The caseworker made assumptions about me that are false. My children need to be at home with me, for their well-being - mentally, emotionally, and physically.

While you are my attorney, please keep in mind that you are working for me, not for the county that pays you. As my attorney I expect you to give me the best legal representation available. I therefore request face-to-face meetings with you at least once monthly to make sure you are actively working on my case, and not letting it slide between the cracks.

I understand that many court-appointed attorneys tend to simply guide parents through the juvenile court system, advising them to plead guilty to charges to make things easier for everyone else in the courtroom. This is not the kind of representation I’m requesting. I’m asking you to be actively involved in proving my innocence.

I’m hereby asking that you take my case to trial and make the caseworker prove all charges. Since they are false charges, I think it would be in my best interest, and the best interest of my children, if I were to fight to prove my innocence with a full trial. Do not under any circumstances ask me to plead guilty to false charges against me.

As you know, parents involved in CPS cases have to complete a ’service plan’ yet many do so and still do not get their children returned. I would like to avoid doing any kind of ’services’ and request that you refuse all services, and/or force the caseworkers to prove the need for any services requested. I do not want to be in the position of many parents in these cases forced to have psychological evaluations when there is no evidence of mental illness, or forced to do drug testing when there’s no evidence of drug abuse. Please honor my request, protect my best interests, and see that my time is not wasted by unnecessary court-ordered ’services’. Of course they would also be a waste of taxpayer money. Do everything you can to resist these services in my case. As you are my attorney I’m trusting you to fight these issues individually and fiercely.

I expect you to be 100% aware of what is happening with my case at all times, and to inform me immediately of any changes.

I expect you to obtain and share with me a complete copy of the case file including all case narratives.

I expect you to help me compile substantial evidence to prove my innocence in this case by preponderance of the evidence.

I expect you to produce legal paperwork including a complete response to all caseworker reports, declarations supporting my side of the case, and other documents as needed, and to present those documents to the judge or juvenile court referee who hears our case.

I expect you to do everything you can to prevent my name from being included on the central index, blacklisting people from working with children. I am innocent and my name should not be included on that list.

Please respond to my requests in writing within ten days; I will need your written response for my records in this case.

Sincerely,

Name of Client

…

NOTE: Some of these suggestions are for people with NEW cases; if your case has gone beyond the initial phases your needs will be different. Don’t just copy what I wrote; put these ideas into your own words. TYPE your letters. MAKE COPIES FOR YOUR RECORDS and keep them in a safe place.

…

Comments? I would like to get other ideas from the people reading this on what could be included in letters to attorneys. What do you want from your attorney? Let’s brainstorm this and come up with some great ideas that people who come here in the future will be able to benefit from. Are there any phrases all letters should contain? Anything you think we shouldn’t ask the attorney?

An astute judge, Melba Marsh of the Common Pleas Court in Hamilton County, Ohio, discovered her orders were not being followed by CPS social workers. Last month she wrote a letter to three county commissioners about it. She wanted a child to live with relatives and to have supervised visits with parents, but her orders were ignored for more than four months.

Because of this incident, CPS social worker Angela Harrison was found negligent and fired. She lost a $35,900/yr. job. Her supervisor, Michael Battle, retired from his job which brought him $57,137 annually.

What To Do If Your CPS Social Worker Neglects To Follow Court Orders

In my years of running the Fight CPS website I’ve heard from many people who say their social workers were not following court orders. A common scenario is that a judge orders a list of services - such as counseling, psychological testing, and parenting classes. Many CPS social workers drag their feet in getting these services started. Then, when they go back to court after six months they can say, “The parent has not complied with services.” Though technically it is the caseworker’s fault for not getting services started, the parents are blamed for not having had enough services to earn the right to have their children home again.

If your caseworker is playing this game, be sure to keep good records of all contacts with the CPS social worker, write letters requesting that the services be started immediately, and phone the social worker every couple of days until you get what you need. By keeping good phone records and copies of your letters you may be able to use this documentation in court to show your judge that it is your caseworker’s error, not yours. Remember, good documentation is essential to fighting a CPS case in court.

If need be, you can file an Administrative Hearing Request with your state department of social services, telling them that your CPS social worker isn’t providing services ordered by the judge. You have the right to this “Fair Hearing” process any time you’re dealing with an agency in the USA. If you request a hearing, an Administrative Law Judge from the state offices will go to your county to meet with you and CPS employees to review the case and make a decision about your complaints. I have done this several times as a representative for parents, and found it to be an effective way to get a case back on track when the caseworkers are doing their own thing and making families suffer because of it.

The Importance of Child Protection

According to an article about the Ohio CPS social worker firing, posted at Enquirer.Com, a Hamilton County administrator, Patrick Thompson, said, “It is imperative we send a message that this county will not stand for neglect of duty and that child protection is of the utmost importance to our Job and Family Services Department.”

I too believe child protection is of the utmost importance. And I believe one thing we need to protect our children from is institutional child abuse perpetrated by the child welfare industry. Children forced into a life of suffering in foster homes when they yearn for their parents, grandparents, and siblings; children forced to take drugs to control their tantrums and traumatization brought on by the legal destruction of their families; children forced into mental hospitals because foster care providers can’t handle them; children abused in foster homes; - this is the kind of institutional child abuse that Fight CPS is concerned about.

In most cases, children are better off at home where they are loved and cared about. Leave foster homes for those few children with no relatives who can care for them, who have been severely physically abused. Every other case of family destruction is abusive.

Source: Caseworker, boss out of jobs; Actions follow judge’s criticism by Kimball Perry for the Enquirer.

I received this a few days ago from a mother on MySpace. She gave me her permission to publish this here:

“I am from Tuscolsa County, Michigan and I have been fighting CPS my whole life and I am only 23 years old. CPS got involved with my family when I was about 5 years old.

“CPS has harassed us for years and in 2003 I became a proud mother of a new baby boy. Of course CPS tracked me down again and took my son on May 19, 2004. CPS came to my home at 7:30 AM and ripped my son right out of my arms.

“I fought them so hard they placed me under arrest until they left my home, then the police officer said he was very sorry and that he never wanted to handle this kind of issue and he let me go, but he told me he was sorry and that he was only doing his job.

“Anyway, I was court ordered to follow the case plans to get my son back. I did everything I was told but I had a caseworker that didn’t like me because I would not play her game, so she worked against me and made up lies about how my son was scared of me, and how I was causing him to become sick. However that’s not true.

“My rights were then terminated December 5, 2005, just before Christmas. How sad. I later appealed my rights before the Michigan Appellant Courts and they agreed to follow the termination, so my rights are terminated, and I still keep fighting and will never give up hope, ’cause that is all I have. I love my son and I miss him so much. He’s my life!!!!!!!!”

Thank you, Lisa, for sharing your story with us.

I hope that Lisa’s son will be returned to her loving arms, and that someone who knows him will see this here and know that he is a wanted, loved child whose mother did everything she could to keep him.