Regular readers will recall that my wife and I were recently accused, via an anonymous complaint to Child and Family Services, of child neglect. Details of our first encounter with CFS and sheriff’s deputies can be found HERE
My biggest fear about this whole thing wasn’t so much how this particular incident itself would play out. I reluctantly allowed the sheriff’s deputies to inspect my home and interview my kids, to their complete satisfaction. But what concerned me was that there was now a report out there, which I haven’t seen and which might some day be used against me should one of my kids fall out of a tree or otherwise hurt themselves in a normal childhood accident.
And sure enough, that’s exactly the threat a CFS supervisor issued to me in a letter I received over the weekend responding to my formal request for a copy of the complaint filed against me.
The supervisor first informed me, falsely, that she couldn’t release any information on my file; that it was completely confidential. She then informed me that passing an inspection by the sheriff’s department wasn’t good enough; that my file would remain open unless I subjected myself and my family to an inquisition by CFS itself. Furthermore, I was threatened that if I refused to voluntarily agree to participate in such an inquisition, then “any future reports received will be looked at in a much more serious light.”
Exactly what I was afraid of.
At first I was willing to give CFS the benefit of the doubt, recognizing they have an obligation to look into any complaint having to do with the welfare of children. But my request for specific information from them about the exact complaint which was filed against me elicited a “pound dirt” response, followed by the threat.
So much for the right to confront your accuser. So much for probable cause. So much more a presumption of innocence. Apparently, unless I subject myself to a full CFS investigation of a baseless charge and “prove” my innocence, despite the sheriff’s investigation, I am assumed to be guilty. And CFS won’t even tell me what I’m assumed to be guilty of, other than “Neglect, Lack of Supervision,” whatever the hell that means.
So we are now officially at war. Defcon 2. My personal homeland security threat level has been raised to orange or fuchsia - I can never keep them straight. I may not win this fight with the all-powerful child welfare bureaucracy, but I can’t think of a more important fight to wage. So, let’s get it on!
Here’s my response to the CFS threat letter, mailed yesterday…
November 19, 2007
Mickie Turner
Division of Child and Family Services
1677 Old Hot Springs Road, Suite B
Carson City, NV 89706Dear Ms. Turner,
I am in receipt of your letter dated November 13, 2007 regarding “Child Protective Services Investigation of 11-2-07 regarding Lack of Supervision of minor children.” Please be advised that I consider both the tone and content of your letter - “any future reports received will be looked at in a much more serious light” - to be a dangerous and unwarranted threat to me, my wife and my family and am proceeding in this matter as I deem necessary to protect the welfare of my children.
In denying my formal, written request for information concerning, as you describe it, the “referral” against me and/or my wife, you cite NRS 432B.300 and included a copy of that statute with your letter. I’m assuming that all actions by your office are, therefore, dictated and regulated by NRS. If there are other controlling or relevant authorities other than NRS relating to this matter, please advise.
NRS 432B.030 defines “Agency which provides child welfare services” in a county of less than 100,000 people as “the local office of the Division of Child and Family Services.” As I reside in Carson City, and Carson City has a population of less than 100,000 people, I’m assuming your office - described on the letterhead of the November 13 letter from you as the “Division of Child and Family Services” in Carson City - falls into this category. If that is incorrect, please advise. Otherwise, I assume that your agency and its actions are controlled by and subject to the provisions of NRS 432B.
In reviewing NRS 432B, I cannot find a definition of, or any other reference to, “Neglect, Lack of Supervision.” If such a definition appears in NRS 432B, or elsewhere in the Nevada Revised Statutes, please advise. The closest thing I could find regarding “neglect” was a definition of “Abuse or neglect of a child” in NRS 432B.020: “Abuse or neglect of a child” means “physical or mental injury of a nonaccidental nature” or “sexual abuse or sexual exploitation” or “negligent treatment or maltreatment…under circumstances which indicate that the child’s health or welfare is harmed or threatened with harm.”
The only information my wife and I have been provided about the nature of the complaint against us is what your intern, Jenifer Forero, told my wife at our door on November 2nd before I ended the interrogation. According to my wife, the complaint is that our kids were allegedly playing in the street in front of our house without their shoes on. If that is indeed the crux of the complaint against us, please advise as to exactly which definition of “neglect” referenced above we supposedly have perpetrated. Or if the “neglect” we supposedly perpetrated is defined elsewhere in NRS, please advise as to exactly where such a violation is described and defined.
Which brings me to the interaction my wife had with Ms. Forero before I arrived and ended it. I’m assuming that Ms. Forero was investigating “a report of alleged abuse or neglect of a child.” As such, NRS 432B.260, sub-section 5, stipulates that your agency “shall inform the person responsible for the child’s welfare who is named in the report as allegedly causing the abuse or neglect of the child of any allegation which is made against the person at the initial time of contact with the person by the agency.”
Frankly, I don’t know if I’m named in the report or not. If so, I hereby request that your agency comply with NRS 432B.260 and inform me, specifically, as to “any allegation” of abuse or neglect which has been made against me. If you do not believe you are required to inform me as to exactly what abuse or neglect I’ve allegedly committed, please advise as to why you don’t believe you need to comply with NRS 432B.260.
In addition, your letter of November 13 states that “On 11-2-07, this office received a referral of ‘Neglect, Lack of Supervision’ of minor children living at your address.” For clarification purposes, does this mean the alleged “Neglect, Lack of Supervision” incident took place on 11-2-07, or that you received the report of alleged “Neglect, Lack of Supervision” on 11-2-07. If the latter, please advise as to the exact time and date that the alleged “Neglect, Lack of Supervision” allegedly took place.
Your letter of November 13 also states that “an investigation (of the alleged “neglect”) was not done, as you (me) were not open to speaking to a representative of our agency.” For the record, this is not entirely accurate. I told Ms. Forero that I would not consent to such an investigation and interrogation without a court order or my lawyer being present, which, I believe, is my right. At that point Ms. Forero sent two armed sheriff’s deputies to my home.
You continue in your letter that “a conclusion (determination) cannot be made at this point as to whether or not there was a ‘lack of supervision’ issue regarding your children.” You further state that “A welfare check by the Carson City Sheriff’s Office does not constitute a Child Protective Services investigation.”
With that in mind, I refer you to NRS 432B.260, sub-section 2. The statute requires that you initiate an investigation if the child in question is “5 years of age or younger” or “there is a high risk of serious harm to the child” or if “the child has suffered a fatality” or is “living in a household in which another child has died.” Please inform me as to exactly which of these triggered your investigation.
Sub-section 3 of NRS 432B.260 states that an investigation is not warranted if “the child is not in imminent danger of harm” or “is not vulnerable as the result of any untreated injury, illness or other physical, mental or emotional condition.”
As you note in your letter, officers from the Sheriff’s Office, at your agency’s request, came to my home and conducted an investigation. They informed me that they would report back “positively” to your office. Assuming this is, in fact, what these sheriff’s deputies reported to your office - that my children are not in any imminent danger or harm and that they are not vulnerable due to any untreated injury or illness - please advise as to exactly why you believe an investigation is still warranted. Am I to assume this means you don’t believe the sheriff’s deputies?
All of which brings us to the “meat” of this situation, my request for information concerning the reports your office now has on file on me, my wife and my family.
You state in your November 13 letter that “Reports of allegations of child abuse or neglect are confidential and are not able to be released.” I hope the fact that this assertion is not true is a mere oversight on your part and not intentional deception or ignorance of the very law you cited to me regarding this investigation.
I refer you to NRS 432B.290, titled “Authorized release of data or information concerning reports and investigations” in which there are 21 specific individuals or entities to which copies of reports of child abuse and neglect may be made. Specifically, according to Sub-section 1, “data or information concerning reports and investigations thereof made pursuant to this chapter may be made available to: (m) A parent or legal guardian of the child…if the identity of the person responsible for reporting the abuse of the child to a public agency is kept confidential” or “(n) The persons who are subject of a report.”
Although I do not yet know if I am specifically listed as a person subject to this report, I am clearly the parent of the children in question.
Sub-section 2 of NRS 432B.290 clearly stipulates that “An agency investigating a report of abuse or neglect of a child” - that would be you - “shall” - not “may” - “upon request” - which I’ve made - “provide a person named in the report as allegedly causing the abuse or neglect of the child: (b) “A written summary of the allegations made against the person who is named in the report as allegedly causing the abuse or neglect of the child. The summary must not identify the person responsible for reporting the alleged abuse or neglect.”
In light of NRS 432B.290, please advise as to what authority you believe allows you to withhold the data and information about this incident - other than the identity of who filed the initial complaint - from me despite my formal request for such which was submitted to you, in writing and via certified mail, in a letter dated November 8, 2007.
And just so there is no misunderstanding, I am again requesting copies of any and all data and information you have concerning this or any other report and investigation as it relates to me and my family.
In addition, sub-section 2 of NRS 432B.290 stipulates that your agency shall provide me a copy of “Any recording made by the agency of any statement made orally to an investigator for the agency by the person named in the report as allegedly causing the abuse or neglect of the child.” I do not know if your investigator taped her conversation with me and my wife without our knowledge or permission, but if she did, I am hereby requesting a copy of any and all such recordings, and caution you against destroying such recordings should they exist.
Finally, any accusation that I or my wife have neglected or abused our children in any way is categorically false. Please advise as to exactly what I need to do to have this outrageous complaint against me and my wife expunged permanently from your files.
Sincerely,
Charles Muth
cc: Craig Mueller & Associates
Carson City Sheriff Kenny Furlong
District Attorney Neal Rombardo
Posted on November 20th, 2007 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: National
Sounds like some cranky old “Mr. Wilson” neighbor got his depends in a wad over your kids … a problem with our aging population in CC.
Smacks of retatliation, doesn’t it? Pretty damn scary if one has an opposing political view and the other sics the authorities on you.
If you need your faithful viewers to write, put the word out.
Best of luck to you on taking these people on. They strike more fear into a person than the IRS. Too bad they can’t save the children who really suffer from neglect - oh, wait. They’re the protected classes and cannot be responsible for their actions. Stupid me.
Chuck, I believe you are on the wrong side of complainant’s political views. Political fanatics resort to fabrications when they can’t win with facts.
GO GET ‘EM!!!
Take no prisoners Chuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chuck, you weren’t hard enough on CPS. You were too apologetic. These agencies are out of control across the country. Utah DFCS had to have federal oversight for the last 10 years and just a couple years ago a family had to move out of state and go into hiding to protect their son from them. They wanted to force the boy to undergo chemotherapy for cancer (which he didn’t have) that would have stunted his growth and sterilized him. The former Director of DFCS lives a couple streets away from me and I know him (I go to church with him). He is a nice guy but I think the “System” is in serious need of fixing. I don’t think those who file reports should be anonymous. We have the right to face our accuser. If a false report was made the accuser’s name should be released and should face jail time and restitution of any and all your legal costs, and punitive damages for “pain and suffering” and frightening your children, certainly a more serious matter than playing in the street without shoes.
Chuck, I know how you feel as I went thru it with Senior Protective Services in Texas. I would advise that you talk in depth with your lawyer concerning their authority and go on the attack because they think they have unlimited authority to do what they want. If left unchecked, they will make your life miserable. I hope you have better results than i did. Welcome to the USAR (United Socialist American Republic).
Chuck, what a GREAT response. All I can say is I certainly hope I never make you mad at ME!
Go Chuck Go!!!
CPS is a very scary organization. I hope that they get the light of exposure cast on them nationallY
Let us know if we need to write them!!
Go Chuck Go!!
Go for the throat. These kind of Gestapo tactics must be stopped. Everyone has heard of horror stories like this. Many have lived it. The “Brush Fire Brigade” is awaiting your orders. God be with you.
D & L
Chuck, It is a marvelous comeback you have written, to have endured such a preposterous situation is tragic.
I know you will persue this to the bitter end. And I know you will win!
Get em Chuck! My family has 2 lawsuits pending against CPS for their blatant disregard for CONSTITUTIONAL rights. I guess that’s what happens when you let a bunch of indoctrinated socialist high school graduates run those agencies!
Chuck, I read your column every day. I cannot believe this - what an underhanded, sneaky, and most of all COWARDLY thing for someone to do. Seeing as this was an annonymous complaint, obviously the cowards making it know it’s a lie and do not want to be prosecuted themselves once this is found to be completely false. I loved your response and am glad you retained an attorney. Keep this going and actively go after these people legally. Don’t let these morons win - as another reader said, these agencies have way too much power. Stay strong!
Well , this is not the way its should go. I can’t understand how children contiune to be abused and the CPS don’t do anything. Then good people getted hassled. Maybe its “IT takes a Village” I heard the other day thjat when a child is born it has to be turned over to the government. If they didn’t have freedom of Choice they would have they own children to raise. God Bless
Bill
Sue they for you time and cost
Chuck,
Awesome reply– obviously well-researched.
Perhaps the next crusade should be to unmask these “anonymous” dirt bags so they can face the repercussions of filing a false report. I think jail time and complete financial destruction would be appropriate!
Good luck with the fight. I echo everybody else’ sentiments… I can’t think of a better need for a brush fire alert!
Chuck — You were set up in the style of the Clintons. Don’t back off and if you need a legal defense fund to penetrate their bureaucratic shield, then just ask us. They think they are above the law and spew their bovine excretia irresponsibly. Stay after them.
Chuck, someone out there has very thin skin and must fight without honor. You go get ‘em.! Went thru a few weeks of hell because a Judge and the sheriffs dept. believed a lie. And I was only 14 at the time. Government agencies need to do the right thing. It is too bad some agencys think they have so much power. The Judge appoligized in open court for his mistake but that didn’t heal the emotional scares. Your letter to all involved, and your postings are the best way to fight this. The light of day does marvelous things for any arguement.
Chuck, like many government agencies/employees think they’re all-powerful and are not subject to the laws that govern them (just like the majority of our legislators). I hope this time they’ve bitten off more than they can chew.
The aggressive and unapolegetic behavior of CFS after the deputies visit informs us that this is indeed political. They are not protecting a source, but themselves, for they are one and the same.
It is inevitable that the shield designed to protect those willing to report abuse would come to be used as a tool for other purposes. It would be incomprehensible only if it weren’t.
Since this is political, it seems to me you must fight them with the political. A prosecutor and a grand jury, at whatever level, could not be accused of breaking confidences while investigating the potential for misuse of extra-constitutional powers. Who will watch the watchers?
You must first enable the government to control the governed, and in the next place, enable it to control itself. Ambiton must be made to counteract ambition.
Where have I heard that?
Where there is smoke in this one, opening the door will produce a backdraft of fire. There’s got to be enough worns in this can to go fishing.
I’ve been through the system. There are just enough good people in it to provide light with gratitude for finally having the opportunity.
Go get the sonsabitch’s.
Can’t disagree with most preceding comments. Good luck in your fight. Have you contacted legislators? You are not isolated with this problem. The country is awash with similar situations…and the other side of the issue…children not protected by the same system that is making life hell for people such as yourself. It’s time to expose the flaws in a system that hides behind “child welfare” as an excuse for anything they do. Sounds like you have the kind of voice that has to speak out before those who can make changes will even listen, and then acknowledge that they need to take action.
A Child is Waiting,
Take care…be aware,
Nancy Lee
I cannot possibly say what I feel since it would be along the lines of ‘The Guy from Boston’ ranting about Mexican truck drivers. I pray rhe legal pendulum is swinging in the conservative direction. We have had far too many years of 9th Circuit types.
Holler if you need letter writing, or?
Been there, done that, got the T-shirt! Never did find out for sure who made the complaint but our personal references which included the Mayor, Chief of Police, City Judge and State Representative made the complaint disappear rather quickly.
So-called “Childrens Protective Services” representatives (in any state) appear to consider themselves to be above the law. It’s really nice to see someone other than myself take exception to their “presumption of guilt” strategy.
Way to go Chuck! As many before me have already said, just let us know if you need their server brought to its knees through mass complaints about this injustice…
Chuck, you are totally right to take the offensive because if you ever let them get you on the defense, watch out. I have long thought that “child protective service” agencies were much more dangerous than the IRS. While children who really are abused are returned to homes and many times killed, protective services investigate any anonymous complaint leveled without asking for anything more than something like a child playing outside without shoes. (Is that illegal now?) Cowardly isn’t a strong enough word for someone to try to get at you in this manner.
Chuck, I have read your columns for years, and to say that I was appalled at what you are going through with the CFS is a huge understatement. Your reply to them was amazing. I so agree with the others who are hoping you fight this to the end and win. This is clearly an out of control agency that uses intimidation and force to control and manipulate people. I know that you love your children dearly and would never do anything to put them at risk, and to be accused of something like this is just horrible. Please keep us abreast of what happens in the future with this and if you need any assistance in the form of emails, phone calls or letters. This kind of thing just can’t be allowed to happen to good parents like you and your wife.
Chuck,
If you were an anti-military protester in the state of Washington then
the Child Protective Services would allow you to use children as a human
shield like terrorists and protesters:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,310544,00.html
“On Friday, protesters, including several small children, were able to
keep two trucks from leaving the port. Olympia police said the
department did not have enough officers available to remove the
protesters Friday, and that they were not prepared to physically remove
children.”
Benton Bain
Hopefully when Ron Paul gets elected President he can get rid of these departments along with the IRS, CIA, FBI and Department of Education.
Ron Paul seems to be our only hope of restoring the United States of America to it original core values.
I went through the same kind of investigation in the middle 1970’s and eventually found out it was a neighbor who was mad at me because I refused to allow her to babysit my children. I had childcare in place and she wanted me to change and allow her to keep my children in her home. She made a mistake by telling another neighbor that she had turned me in to CPS and that neighbor told me.
Keep your ear to the ground and maybe you’ll eventually find out who started this. I would immediately suspect the neighbors across the street.
Chuck, Sic ‘em. But in so doing, be aware that the REAL enemy in this country isn’t the politicians. It’s the bureaucrats. Lawmakers write laws in whatever fashion they, in their idiocy, deem best. But when you and I are confronted with those laws we discover that the enforcement of those laws bears little or no resemblance to their stated intent . The bureaucrats, who are not elected, and are usually unionized and can’t be fired or easily disciplined, will do what they darned well see fit, regardless of the law. In their defense, should you be irritating enough to actually READ the law and understand it, they will quote “regulations”. Get a lawyer, a GOOD one, and pay them well. Then pray, HARD! CFS has more money than you, and it “ain’t their money” so they will spend it forever to beat you. Good luck. But I’ll bet it’ll be a long haul before this is done. Heck, it’s likely that the kids won’t be minors when it’s done. May God bless you and yours.
Good letter, Chuck. Should you have added your Senator & Assembly Person to your cc list?
Frank Beers
I find it hard to believe that you are being treated this way. This person has to be very mean spirited.Small person who thinks they are big.
Chuck,
Good job! You have to hit back hard with these guys. My family went through this crap with Florida DCF a few years back and if we hadn’t mounted a vigorous defense we would have lost our niece to the “system” called DCF. We even got Governor Jeb Bush involved. Because of our spirited defense and Governor Bush’s personal order, DCF got rid of us as quick as possible.
Once we knew our niece was free and clear from these goons, we went on the offense and sued their pants off. They settled and my niece will not have to worry about college. Her parents are still paranoid when she goes to school or the doctors though. All it takes is one false, malicious complaint done anonymously to start this nightmare all over again.
Keep holding their feet to the fire Chuck. Don’t give them time to breath and watch your kids closely. These bastards are not above out and out kidnapping.
Be safe and be well.
Let us see. If they are really after you, they will send a parcel of people around to harass you on an hourly basis. If you report it, they will insist on a mental examination. The examiner will ask if have heard these people harassing you. You will say yes. The examiner by law in California is not allowed to verify the truth of the allegation, only to report/treat the “symptom,” and if you are dealing with Family Court Services or Child Protective Services in California, you automatically lose. This is the next step in the battle, and if this tactic is employed you must hire a private investigator and must gather hard evidence and proceed with legal force against the perpetrators. Notice the plural. You will have no other option. I assure you, the enemy knows this.
Chuck:
Fight the good fight. In my city we have a police Lt. who puts on seminars dealing with CFS and how to confront them when they show up at your door with some cock and bull story. The bottom line is they are used to people rolling over and a long fight isn’t in their plan. Sic’em and make it very personal with the CFS lady who flat out lied!
Chuck,
Eight years ago my wife and I were forced to take emergency custody of our two grand children here in Nevada to save them from their alcohol and drug dependent mother (my daughter) and their missing drug dealing father. It took almost a year to gain permanent custody and during that time we, not the parents, were required to endure weekly visits (inspections/interrogations) from Child Protective Services who insisted on permitting the parents to visit the children.
CPS (Washoe County) advised us that they would continue their inspections and the parental visits even after we were granted full custody of the children. I threw them out, terminated any parental visits, and told them never to come back without a court order. That was seven plus years ago and we haven’t seen or heard from them since.
We have since adopted the children and they are doing great. It was a long frustrating and expensive process.
The bottom line is that these petty bureaucrats are adept at intimidating the weak. They run and hide when you stand up to them. Good luck and kick their butts.
Heaven help us all. We are too far from the days when my Mother could send me (a 10-year old) down to the nearby saloon to buy a six-pack of beer for the family dinner when we were out of home-brew.
Keep up the good fight.
Sounds like the Gestapo out of Nazi Germany prior to and during WWII.
I think you should have copied the State Attorney General and the Governor’s Office.
These little people with inflated egos need to be reminded that THEY work for the PEOPLE; not the other way around.
Please do not accept just an apology; demand a public retraction on all media forms and some form of punishment for the bitch in charge.
Chuck, this sounds like a Glen Beck segment to me, expose them to the nation for their gestapo tactics. These people need to be taken to the mat over this unrighteous infringment of your Constituional rights.
Did they wear Brown Shirts when they ‘came for you?”
Let us know how we can help.
I feel that you were very properand mild in your response. When my political enemies tried this with my kids 13 years ago I confronted the SOB at CPS that threatened my wife and kids. I told him that I realized that because of stupid laws that I could not prosecute or sue him. I told him he would be held personally resonsible for his actions, and he did not have any furhter threats as he finally realized he was facing a very angry man, who knew a lot more of the law than he did, who had the large bulge of a legally carried 45 auto under my shirt. They kept a dossier on my for years up to present day, but never tried to mess with my kids again.
Chuck,
I got to see your children at the CLC and they seemed like very happy, normal children. It was a pleasure to see them there. Good luck with this, your a brave (even though your absolutely correct in pursuing this) guy. Go get em!
Number 1, you were way too nice, provided too much ammunition for them to protect themselves. Number 2. The NRS, (Nevada Revised Statutes) exist as an ancillary provision to keep you from invoking your 6th Amendment Right under theConstitution to confront witnesses against you as applicable to each state through the 14th Amendment Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. Number 3. My guess is that Nevada has something similar to California’s Govt Code Section 6500 et seq. which is known as the “Public Records Request Act”. This is not be mistaken as the “Freedom of Information Act”, which is reserved to the requests of the Federal Government. These people are wrongfully picking on you. You have every right to know who your accusers are as well as the substantive basis of their complaints. In California and other jurisdictions, state governments failure to respond can result in your going into a court room, usually within 10 days, and require a Court to award attorney fees and legal costs of your action. They don’t necessarily have to give you information within the 10 days but they do have to respond with their excuses as to why they may redact certain information or refuse to comply within the statutorily required period. I would run, not walk to the best attorneys you know and start forcing the governments compliance with what is likely the NRS. These are your own children. I can’t think of a better reason to clench your fists and take them on. Patrick Henry, an anarchist who threw the tea off the mother country’s ship at Boston Harbor took on the good fight. It’s not often we get the chance to take on the good fight. Mr. Henry also allegedly said at one point, if we let the Mother Country take away one right today, they will be back tomorrow to take the rest of our rights away. These words were not some meaningless recitation by Jane Fonda or Rosie O’Donnell. If you need some financial assistance to pursue your rights, I will send you a check as I’m sure many of your other supporters would to protect you and your family from unwarranted searches and potential seizures, (4th Amendment.) I agree that plenty of parents do not protect their children’s best interests. However, we all have the Constitutional guarantees to assure that government intervention into our families child rearing is with merit and without undue harassment by individuals too cowardly to confirm the complaints they may make against us. This is bullshit! I hope you pursue this fight if necessary all the way to the Federal District Court for a Writ of Mandate to make the government of Nevada follow the law.
The problem with the system Chuck, is that you can lose and still be right.
While YOU may have the means to launch the good fight, the general public at large can not.
A mere action by the DCFS can bankrupt a family quicker than interest only mortgage.
Good luck trying to get the government to cover your legal expenses, it will never happen.
This is a daily hell for any non-custodial parent (read ex-Dad). This governent agency will attack you to the fullest extent of the law, simply because they will NEVER be help responsible.
Mr. Muth:
I know not whether you are guilty as charged or innocent as you allege but that is not the point with which we, as bystanders, should be concerned. Our concern, whether we live in Nevada or one of the other 49 states, should be with the likeness of the strategies and tactics of Child and Family Services, as you describe, to those of the Gestapo and KGB. Our beloved country spent thousands of lives and trillions of dollars to defeat the countries which fostered those two organizations. Both nations were threats to our very existence.
Our governments - city, county, state and federal - and the bureaucracies they spawn are growing by leaps and bounds. We have not only a right but an obligation to ourselves and our progeny to oppose such outrageous bureaucratic intrusion on our daily lives.
Please continue to keep us posted as to the progress of your involuntary involvement with CFS, and eventually the courts if you pursue this matter.
You have the guts, education and wherewithal to stand and fight - most people do not and could not. Therefore we should be thankful for your courage.
Joe Miller
Chuck
Our govt out of control and screwed up as usual. Big brother watching you. Go for the throat!!
Hang tough old buddy. It is possible to beat these bastards at their own game. Keeps throwing those references to the NRS at them and they will be so confused they won’t know what is happening.
In the meantime get a damned good attornet to assist in every way possible.
Good Luck and have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Chuck;
What a shame. Someone (you) finally stands up for we residents of Nevada (and the USA) and this is the thanks you get. I am sure that your following both here on the web and those on the street are behind you 150%.
If we can do anything, letters, Fax’s, calls, or financial support, I am sure “we” can help.
God bless and Happy Thanksgiving.
Bill & Carla
CHUCK, Looks like you rubbed someone wrong, but the TRUE will do that. In trying to protect children we have let the fed and state agencies get out of control. They are not accountable to anyone, this reminds me of how the BLM takes illegal actions against ranchers. It should be if unfounded, then you should be able to know who is making the complaint. Best of Luck with this. Dale Andrus Elko, NV
Fight ‘em all the way…they can’t win!
As a Peace Officer in Alaska, I have had to deal with these boneheads(DFYS - Division of Family and Youth Services). I have referred kids (as a last resort) to DFYS that I believed were need of intervention and assistance. To which nothing was done. I lived in Anchorage and it was amazing how DFYS would focus on non-native people and harrass them to no end, while turning a blind eye to the abuse of kids in the bush villages. Don’t get me wrong we need people that can protect the kid in danger. The problem is most DFYS workers are trained social workers trained by our liberal colleges and universities. They are not peace officers that are trained in law enforcement. I have seen people singled out for the wrath of DFYS because of their religious beliefs, politically or upset neighbor motivated complaints, and even for home schooling their kids. My experience has been AK-DFYS is out or control with accountability to no one. Hold them to the law, it applies to them as much as to you. Make the follow the due process, if they don’t go after them legally - They don’t like there actions reviewed by the legal system. There are attorneys out there who have also been targets of unfounded complaints to DFYS.
What you should do is make any future requests for information through your state legislature or representative.
The state is required to provide that to you, but they will make you jump through hoops to get there. You have a right to that information. Otherwise, your case is quite typicol.
[…] The story about someone calling the Nevada Department of Child and Family Services on political writer Chuck Muth is a chilling example of how due process can be bypassed and a quasi criminal charge created simply on the basis of an anonymous tip. There are abused children out there who need protection and who need to be taken away from negligent parents, but the authority to make those decisions should be subject to the same Constitutional restrictions placed upon law enforcement agencies. […]
You need to be worried that the social worker has put your name on your states central registry of child abusers.
Under the Adam Walsh bill; social workers can substantiate a case and list a private citizens name as a recognized state child abuser without a criminal trial.
In Kentucky the inspector general issued a report stating that there are many people on Kentuckys central registry known as CAN child abuser database that were not given due process, or even noticed by social workers.
My name was placed on the KY CAN registry because of political reasons. Think about it. What better way to ruin your credibility than by listing a person as a child abuser and then letting state employees to access the supposedly confidentail information and distribute it.
Oh, the only way I found out that my name was on the CAN database was that an anonymous person believed to be my ex husband put on the internet that I wouldn’t get custody of our children when the judge found out that I was a child abuser.
After that, I investigated and found out about the substantiation against me. Even then it took an additional five months to have my name taken off the list, while the whole time state officials wrote that my name should have never been placed there in the first place.
Your unfortunate encounter with CFS is only the tip of the iceberg of American Fascism and its attempts to take control of our children, as in Hitler’s institutionalization of children during the Nazi Regime. In far too many cases across the USA, parental and child rights are being denied. Government and its agencies, including the public school systems, are interfering with health, religious and lifestyle freedoms that should be left to individuals. We must stop this dictatorship.
As an American citizen, I will fight for mine, and everyone’s elses’, Constitutional and Human rights. I believe liberals and conservatives, alike, must stop slinging mud and take hands in the battle against a too big government that is stripping us of all our rights that we were guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America.
I do hope that they either get you the data you requested, or drop the charges.
More dirty politics, Just what we need!
Keep up the faith..The truth will set you free.
Chuck,
You were absolutely dead on with your responses to this situation. As usual you wrote a very accurate record of the events in this nightmare of bureaucratic snafus.
However I am sure you know the source of political power for permanently fixing problems with Child Protective Services lies with the Nevada Legislature.
You are a very skilled political operative and I am sure you are quietly investigating that option for later!
The best method for stopping these types of outrageous situations is to remove the protection & hold harmless clauses in the NRS which currently insulate ‘public employees from personal liability & responsibilities for their actions on third parties’!
Chuck,
Are you aware of SB123, signed into law 2007? It is the Public Records Request Policy, dated October 22, 2007. It may or may not apply…
policy
www.dcfs.state.nv.us/DHHS-PublicRecordsReqPolicy.pdf
….and her boss is Fernando Serrano, the Administrator of DCFS, (775) 684-4400; email; webmaster@dcfs.state.nv.us.
Tell her boss what is going on, it may be that she has been in trounble before for this same behavior.
Chuck,
I also refer you to the 10th item of the Child and Family Services Program IMprovement Plan, dated March 2005 to help you determine if you were treated in accordance with “recognized standards”. Read, “Item 1: Timeliness of Initiating Report of Child Maltreatment”….it deals with statewide standards. Page 3 of this subsection will be of interest to you, too. In the whole of the PDF file it is page 14 of 97.
improvementplan
Does an intern have lawful authority to conduct an investigation?!
As your lawyer has undoubtably told you, in Nevada any member of a conversation can tape said conversation without disclosure to other parties in the conversation (not over the phone, but face to face conversations).
Sorry to hear you had to go through this type of harrasment. The CFS personnel need to get some training in diplomacy. Something our entire government needs help with. When rebuffed they decided to retaliate using scare tactics. This is totally unacceptable especially when the Deputies reported no problem after meeting with you. After years in law enforcement I am sure the officers wondered why they had been sent on such an unwarranted complaint. While the CFS was wasting time on your situation I wonder how many others that are legitimate complaints are being neglected.
…while at the gym, I was thinking about all the comments on this thread about the CFS being, “bureaucrats out of control”, Nazi’s; brown Shirts; Communists; Socialists; Chuck being denied due process; denied the right to confront his accuser and on and on.
Welcome to America today.
Under Bush we have wireless wiretaps….now a judge says to stop, but the telecommunication companies (and Bush) want immunity from prosecution for all those 4th Ammendment violations. Do they think that the ‘terroists’ that they monitored are going to sue them? Or Americans that had their basic Constitutional rights violated?
Under Bush and Congress we have the Patriot Act. With any reason at all, EVERY ITEM OF YOUR LIFE, is open for a bureacrat to review and pass around; bank records, library selections, e-bay, visa purchases, emplyment records, dental and medical records, internet habits and viewing sites, tax returns and on and on. No subpoena needed.
Right of habeous corpus? DENIED.
Some say, well we have to keep America safe, and those with nothing to hide, hide nothing. Do you believe Chuck should answer any and all questions and submit to any requirements of the CFS? After all, if he has nothing to hide…….
Yes, brown shirts and nazis and gestapo indeed. Orwell 1984. Keep all of this in mind next time you are given the right to vote.
These CFS (in some states called CPS) outfits are largely well meaning but often misguided. As a 37-year veteran cop, I do support the practice of keeping the informant’s name confidential, distasteful as that may be, as otherwise many legitimate cases of child abuse would never see the light of day. However, I agree wholeheartedly that you should be fully apprised of the nature, date and time of the allegations. I also feel that if the allegations prove false, the records should be expunged. Lastly, if the allegations are proven to be false and motivated by anything other than legitimate concern for a child’s welfare, the informant’s identity should be revealed and he or she should face consequences. These two requirements would eliminate false reports but still protect credible informants. Remember, people who harm animals and children have no compunction about harming anyone who interferes with their enjoyment of cruel behavior toward defenseless victims. Your letter is well constructed and lays a good foundation for legal pursuit of justice from these well-meaning (I hope anyway) but misguided and incompetent civil servants in your local CFS.
I am appalled by what you have written back to cfs, I am currently undergoing a long battle with this same crocked agency in hawaii, which has become a fighting epidemic here as well.
I have no doubt in my mind that a strong fighter and articulate educated person would loose in a battle with a bunch of undereducated fools, working for the corrupt state in which they call , I have learned alot in the journey with them and my prayers be with you and yours.
Good that you experienced CFS terror, Chuck!
To explain: it is good that someone of your stature and influence has witnessed first-hand such state-sponsored terror … because that increases the probability of eventual reform. As in the Salem witch trials, the whole spectral evidence nonsense only lost its charm … after higher echelons were charged.
Today we have ill-defined “abuse” and “neglect” subject to the whims of individual CPS fanatics, who are indemnified by statute for any indiscretions unless resulting from “bad faith”.
I know this terror — having lost my 4 year old twin girls for five months while waiting for the false accusation to be disproved. Had it not been for my reliance on God and the aid and comfort of a very few, the allegations could have succeeded in destroying virtually every aspect of my life.
Luckily, as in Job, all was restored, including my dear children. But my faith in government has been shaken to the core and I recognize that every American family whether it knows it or not is a hair away from harassment of the most destructive nature.
Reform won’t happen until it gets worse, I suspect.
-J.B.
[…] Read the letter Chuck sent here. […]