Many individuals come to the wrong conclusion that the parents must have been abusive or neglectful in order for ACS to investigate, this is just a myth. The fact of the matter is that over 80% of the calls that are called in to ACS are false and bogus. Can ACS conduct an investigation in your home without your consent and speak to your child without your consent. ACS employees will lie to you and tell you they do not need your consent. The fact of the matter is they absolutely need your consent to come in your home and speak with your children. If there is no “exigent circumstances” (imminent danger) to your children with “probable cause” (credible witness) to support a warrant, CPS anywhere in the United States cannot lawfully enter your home and speak with you and your children. In fact it is illegal and you can sue the social worker and the police who assist them and they both lose immunity from being sued.
If ACS lies to THE AAG and the Judge in order to get a warrant/order and you can prove it, that also is a 4th and 14th Amendment rights violation which is a civil rights violation under § 1983 and conspiracy against rights covered under § 1985. If a ACS official knocks on your door and has no legal warrant and you refuse them entry and the worker then threatens you with calling the police, this is also illegal and unlawful and both lose immunity. This is coercion, threatening and intimidation tactics even if the police only got the door open so CPS official can gain entry. Both can be sued.
The community must educate themselves and stay informed about unethical practices of ACS.You must exercise your constitutional rights at all times. Foster care has fell on death ears for too long now. Many children & families have suffer at the hands of foster care contracted agencies in NYC. The community needs to be educated and awareness about the human right abuses that are taken place inside these contracted foster care agencies under Administration for Children Services. The unethical practices by foster care agencies ACS and family courts needs investigation. FPA-Foundation started in 2008 has been bringing awareness about injustices that foster youths and foster parents have been facing with these foster care agencies. FPA-Foundation the people movement laughed it's new community organizing program for parents to get involved and take action against ACS and the contracted agencies in order for reform to take place.
Child Welfare Organizing Project is a self-help and advocacy organization of parents who have had contact with the New York City child welfare system. Most of our staff and board of directors are parents who have had children placed in foster care, succeeded in reuniting their own families, and now use this experience both to help other parents facing similar challenges, and to organize for system change. CWOP Parent Leadership Curriculum started in Bushwick in 1999. They have offered approximately annually recurring cycles since in other communities including East Harlem, Highbridge, and Bedford Stuyvesant.
Many families nationally and in the community become victims of the child welfare system.Many parents feel that their rights are violated and are scared to speak out due to retaliation Violations of human rights have occurred in this tragic event but parents feel helpless to do anything about them. Those responsible for these violations seem able to justify any atrocity under the cloak of “protecting the children” and behave as though they were above the law and accountable to no one.
The truth is that those professionals involved should be held accountable for their actions. CPS accepts anonymous complaints and illegally violates parent's and children's civil and constitutional rights. They also assume the parent and child are lying during their illegally held interviews. They also claim that the material gathered from these interviews can be turned over to law enforcement to pursue criminal charges against the parent, but claim they do not have to read Miranda Rights to the parents.
FPA-Foundation is concerned that ACS feels justified in trumpeting federal laws during investigations. Parents and children are told that if they refuse to conduct the interview that ACS can take custody in order to coerce participation in the interview. The two nonprofit organizations located in NYC have collaborated to have Foster Care Town hall meetings throughout the 5 boroughs. These town hall meetings will bring attention and awareness to how child welfare is a human rights issue. These human right abuses toward parents and children in care must be stopped. Over site and Accountability and reform is needed to help children and parents.
The Foster care town hall meetings will start on January 30,2015 through May 2015. FPA-Foundation & CWOP will be organizing the community to come forward and speak out about injustices that they have experience with ACS,foster care agencies and family courts. FPA-Foundation has a youtube channel that has testimonies from people in the community in the 5 boroughs. CWOP has educational support groups every week to help parents stay informed. This will be new movement and both organizations are encouraging for the community to get involved to fight for justice. Foster care has been over looked and the system is broken and does not help children & families that they are supposed to be serving. Know your rights before you talk to anyone from ACS, they won’t tell you your rights.ACS can’t do anything without your consent. Both organization will continue their efforts and fight to reform the child welfare system.