My caseworker over at the Division of Child & Family Services continues to stonewall and refuse to comply with Nevada statutory requirements to provide me with copies of the anonymous complaint filed against me, even with the identity of snitch who filed it redacted out. Unbelievably, almost three weeks after showing up on our doorstep demanding to search my home and interrogate my children without a warrant, CFS STILL hasn’t informed us as to exactly what we’ve been accused of.
Does anybody know when the Sixth Amendment to our Constitution - the one where citizens have the right “to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation” and “to be confronted with the witnesses against him” - was repealed?
In the meantime, the Carson City Sheriff’s Department was only too happy to immediately provide me with a copy of the report their deputies filed with CFS after inspecting our home and our children. The contents of that report have caused me to take this matter to a whole new level. I’ve now requested an official CFS investigation of the CFS caseworker who has been investigating me. An interesting twist, wouldn’t you say?
Here’s the text of the letter sent today…
November 27, 2007
Novia Anderson
Division of Child and Family Services
1677 Old Hot Springs Road, Suite B
Carson City, NV 89706Dear Ms. Anderson,
I am following up on a letter dated November 19, 2007 (enclosed), addressed to Mickie Turner. I was informed yesterday that you are Ms. Turner’s supervisor. If this is not the case, please advise. If so, I have concerns about how Ms. Turner has been handling our case and want to bring those concerns to your attention.
In response to my November 8, 2007, written request for copies of the files relating to an anonymous “neglect” complaint made against me and my wife, Ms. Turner asserted in a letter dated November 13, 2007, that “Reports of allegations of child abuse or neglect are confidential and are not able to be released.” However, my reading NRS 432B.290 indicates that this is not true.
Sub-section 1 of the statute states that “data or information concerning reports and investigations” of neglect or abuse may be made available to the parent of the child in question or to the person who is the subject of the complaint. In addition, sub-section 2 of the statute clearly states that CFS “shall, upon request, provide a person named in the report (of abuse or neglect) 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.”
Alas, as Ms. Turner has thus far refused to provide me with a copy of the complaint in question or so much as a summary, I’m not sure if I am personally the subject of the complaint or not; however, I am the father of the children in question, so I’m not sure under what authority Ms. Turner is relying on to withhold copies of the data and information I have requested.
This seems pretty clear cut to me, so I’m not sure if I’m misreading the NRS, or if Ms. Turner knowingly provided me with false information, or if she was unaware of the content of NRS 432B.290. If she was unaware of the statute’s provisions, and the statute indeed provides for me to receive a copies of the data and information surrounding the complaint against me and my wife, I have to question how she can be placed in charge of an investigation of a matter which could so severely damage my good reputation and jeopardize the welfare of our children.
Therefore, I am once again requesting copies of all data and information dealing with this matter as per NRS, including every note, communication log, CFS diaries, recorded conversations, all contacts, all interview transcripts, photographs and any and all other information or documents pertaining to each and every article of our case contained within your files, whether the record was used for external or internal CFS purposes. I understand that certain documents may need to be redacted to protect report sources; however, I am requesting all segretable portions of such exempt or redacted materials.
Furthermore, in the November 13th letter Ms. Turner advises that CFS is refusing to close the file on this complaint despite a satisfactory investigation on November 2, 2007, by Carson City Sheriff’s Deputies John Hitch and Steve Olson.
I requested yesterday, and promptly received, a copy of the report deputies Hitch and Olson submitted to your office subsequent to their investigation or our home and children and am enclosing a copy with this letter. This report raises even more concerns on our part about Ms. Turner.
First, I need some clarification. The CFS caseworker who showed up at our home on November 2, 2007, presented a business card bearing the name of Jenifer Forero. However, the sheriff’s report indicates the request for their office to investigate on your behalf was made by Mickie Turner. I’d like to know exactly who it was who came to our door, Ms. Forero or Ms. Turner?
For the purpose of this letter I’m going to assume it was, indeed, Ms. Forero - who then asked Ms. Turner to actually request the “welfare check” by the sheriff’s department. If not, that presents a serious problem with a CFS caseworker falsely identifying herself. If so, then that raises other concerns about what appears in the sheriff’s report.
According to the report, the “RP” (Reporting Party) was “Mickie Turner/CPS.” The report states that the reporting party “Req (requests) a welfare check on the children at this location (my home address). RP advising female was very uncooperative last time welfare check was attempted, stated female would only deal with law enforcement.”
This report called in by Ms. Turner is absolutely, positively false and I cannot protest it strenuously enough.
First of all, there was no “last time.” The incidence around 3 pm on November 2, 2007, is the first time anyone from CPS has ever confronted us. I have to question whether or not use of the term “last time” was an effort on Ms. Turner’s part to prejudice the deputies before their arrival by indicating we were the subject of multiple complaints.
Secondly, I strenuously object to the assertion that the “female,” who happens to be my wife, was “very uncooperative.”
Since this incident took place I have read multiple accounts by people all across the country who have been subjected to these kinds of investigations. Many claim it is a standard tactic, some say “dirty trick,” of CPS workers to claim the target of an investigation is “uncooperative,” again to prejudice judges, juries and law enforcement officers against the parents. If this was Ms. Turner’s objective, I resent it and ask that you advise her to refrain from such underhanded tactics in the future.
In addition, how can Ms. Turner even make such a subjective accusation about my wife if she wasn’t there herself to witness it?
The fact of the matter is, whoever it was who came to our door on November 2nd told my wife they were there investigating a child welfare complaint. At that point, my wife asked our oldest daughter to go inside and “Get Daddy.” Once I got outside and was informed that the person was from CFS, it was me, not my wife, who informed your caseworker, politely but firmly, that I would not respond to any interrogations or allow any search of my home without my attorney being present or a court order.
Now, while your caseworker may have considered that to be “uncooperative,” I consider it simply exercising my rights in an effort to protect my family. By labeling this exchange as “uncooperative” rather than “exercising his rights,” I believe Ms. Turner was again trying to prejudice the investigation by the sheriff’s department in advance. Again I strenuously object to Ms. Turner falsely characterizing my wife as being “very uncooperative” without first person knowledge of the incident, as well as using such inflammatory code language designed to predispose the deputies against us in an unfavorable manner.
Please also note that Ms. Turner informed the Sheriff’s Department that she would not be joining the deputies in their investigation but “can respond if needed - if children are not Code 4.” I was informed by the sheriff’s department that “Code 4” means “okay.” So it would appear to me that Ms. Turner herself was less than concerned that this complaint was truly of a serious nature.
And indeed, the “Disposition” of the deputies’ investigation of the complaint against me and my wife was entered on their report as “UNF,” which the sheriff’s department informs me stands for “Unfounded.”
Unfounded.
But not “just” unfounded. Please note that Deputy Hitch and Deputy Olson added the following comments to their report: “5491, Completely Unfounded, Very Clean House, Well Stocked, Children Appeared Happy.”
COMPLETELY unfounded.
So my questions to you are: Why is Ms. Turner refusing to close this file? And why is an anonymous complaint - perhaps by someone with an axe to grind against me or my wife - taken seriously, but a Sheriff’s Department report that the complaint is “completely unfounded” is blown off? Which party is more credible here? Two highly-trained law enforcement officers…or an anonymous snitch who clearly filed a false complaint?
Initially I was willing to give CFS the benefit of the doubt in this matter, recognizing, as a responsible parent, the importance of child welfare and that there truly are legitimate claims of abuse and neglect.
But this isn’t one of them.
Ms. Turner’s stonewalling of my legitimate and reasonable request for information about this false complaint, along with what I fear has been an intentional and prejudicial presentation of the facts to the sheriff’s office on her part, has caused me to question Ms. Turner’s motivations and/or competency in this matter. I am, therefore, respectfully requesting that you now step in and investigate this investigation.
I also ask that you direct Ms. Turner to provide me the information I requested in my letter of November 19, 2007, or cite the specific statutory exemption(s) upon which you are relying to continue withholding this information from me.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Charles Muth
cc: Craig Mueller & Associates
Sen. Bill Raggio
Posted on November 27th, 2007 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: National, Nevada
Chuck, we have met a couple of times at republican functions.
If you decide to post this, please leave my name off, it’s not that I really care, but my siblings might not like some of this being public.
You should also know that having the effrontery to stand on ANY of your rights makes you automatically guilty of all charges, and having a “Bad Attitude” in the eyes of ALL authorities.
You will now be their target, your oppressors see themselves as infallible, we mere peons are to do their bidding without question!
Nothing I have seen posted in this matter even begins to touch on the horrors visited on the children by these CSF “it takes a village” cretins.
I know from personal experience, the Kalifornia version of CSF literally kidnapped my siblings and myself from public school when I was twelve.
Once in the clutches of CSF kids get treated like hardened criminals.
CSF cajoles them for ANY statement they can twist for use against their parents, and threatens them with incarceration in “Juvenile Hall” if they do not get what they want.
The kids are split up and grilled separately, SCOTUS recently green-lighted lying to crime suspects, but CSF has engaged in this tactic against children who have done nothing wrong for decades.
They will threaten your children, they will make threats against you to your kids, they will make things up, they will refuse to believe the truth, they will interview your neighbors, and your enemies.
There is no limit to what they will resort to in pursuit of their goals.
The pejorative terminology you have seen in their reports truly is just the tip of the iceberg.
I know from personal experience that a home has to be truly horrible before CSF intervention can be better than leaving the children at home with at least one parent.
I know from personal experience that “Foster Care” , “Group Homes”, and “Protective Custody” are true hell on earth.
Too many foster parents are just in it for the money, so they cut corners any way they can.
At best they engage in benign neglect, at worst, well at worst we have to hope they are only run of the mill pedophiles, not outright murderers.
If children remain in CSF care for more than a few days it is a near certainty that female children will be molested, it is very likely that male children will also be molested.
Both of my sisters were molested, I am fairly certain one of my brothers was, all were under twelve years old at the time.
Taking children from a “troubled” home and putting them into the care of “fosters” who may or may not have children of their own is a certain recipe for disaster.
Take a look some time at how many of our “Troubled Youth” were normal until they were thrown into “The System”, where the “Authorities” and other angry, depraved, or truly criminal inmates got to work them over.
The most lasting effect of my own experiences with the CSF thugs is an abiding distrust of “Authority”, cops, judges, clergy, or anyone else who thinks their position grants them sort of innate power over me.
This may be part of why I am so sincere in my desire for small and truly limited government.
Although I cannot add anything substantive to your post and the first comment above, I wanted to say how glad I am that someone as articulate as yourself, and unwilling to shrivel before the system is speaking out publicly on this issue. So many of the victims of the child welfare system are powerless, lacking even the vocabulary to express basic concerns, the knowledge of where to begin to find help to defend against the abuses, or the economic resources to challenge the status quo. I hope you are able to continue this much needed challenge…not only for yourself but for all those who have no voices…especially the children.
I realize all of the people in the system are not evil…not even as ignorant as it sometimes seems. Still, I am so tired of hearing and reading that “good people work in the system,” how they are overworked and underfunded as though that somehow negates all the abuses that occur within child welfare systems…on a regular basis…world-wide!
Good luck; stay strong. “If not you, then who?”
A Child is Waiting,
Take care…be aware,
Nancy Lee Gray
ChildPersonFromTheSouth
Thought you might want to see this story.
http://lagliv.blogspot.com/2007/11/day-53.html
I sure wish your stories were unique but the only thing unusual about both is ability to express yourselves…
A Child is Waiting.
Take care…be aware,
Nancy Lee Gray
ChildPersonFromTheSouth
Hello Chuck,
As a younger adult I had the pleasure of working for a few years with children in a CSF agency.
The pleasure of working with and helping the children frequently became gravely overshadowed by the type of incidence that you describe happening to your family.
Instead of professional legal remedy and pursuing of the chronic dead-beat, alcohol and drug addicted, child endangering, abusive and difficult characters; it appeared to be much easier to pursue socially established, less threatening, deeper pocketed, members of the community.
I don’t mean to say the latter are never involved in harmful activities to children, for that would be untrue; however, due to the visibility of these more established community pillar types, guilty or falsely accused, they scurried for quiet and quick resolution. The fines for these more able to pay accused were always much higher and most likely to be collected, unlike the social misfits without a pot or window. Fear of personal bodily harm by these social misfits often kept many 98 pound just out of college social workers from knocking on doors in the bad neighborhoods.
Lastly, and certainly not least, threats and charges for use in political blackmail/extortion could be and were being carried out using agencies like CSF. Actual charges or mere threats of charges brought angst and concerns of political, social and economic repercussions.
I still see these kinds of actions today, all across our nation, in corrupt large businesses and organizations and in out-of-control government agencies and officeholders in high places, sadly, even here in Nevada.
Best wishes in seeing this through to the end, Chuck, and when you are vindicated, I would recommend filing a lawsuit in larges numbers, just so it is not soon forgotten.
Merry Christmas and many New Year Blessings to you and your lovely family.
Rick
Chuck,
Have you sent this story to Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh? They and other talk radio/TV hosts certainly would be interested. I’m sure their listeners would be ready to react and put more pressure on the heavy-handed CFS abusers of authority. You might at least keep that option in the box of tools should it be needed. Good luck, and let us know if you need letter-writers and callers.
While they are burning files to cover their posteriors, they don’t have as much time to be causing pain to others. Thank you for your effort.
D & L Newton
I am afraid this is merely the ‘tip of the iceberg’. Soon a ‘from the village’ drone will be assigned to the child prior to its birth.
This is an excellent example of the scary machine that we call government.
The scariest thing that an American can ever hear following a knock at the door is “Hello, I am from the government and am here to help you”.
As a parent of 3 I cannot imagine the terror of CFS getting an interest in my family.
Thank God people like Chuck can expose and confront so eloquently!
Keep it up Chuck!!
Even at age 75 I remember being “fostered” by 3 separate families. And while I was never sexually molested, slave labor always seemed more appropriate in terms of baby sitting, house cleaning and lack of any feeling of parental caring on an emotional level.
You are speaking for so many people less erudite than yourself - and I believe you will prevail. I have to wonder whether this is all politically motivated by someone with clout and an axe to grind against you.
Sounds like something the Clinton’s would do, that’s just my opinion.
God Willing you will win this fight. God Bless you and your family and have a Merry Christmas and a better New Year.
It seems to me that anyone who accuses another in such matters must himself be investigated fully to determine whether there is an ax to grind. The credibility of the witness must be verified beyond a reasonable doubt. It would be interesting to see whether that person was even able to witness an alleged abuse. If, for example, the accuser was known to be physically elsewhere at the time of the alleged incident, then the full weight of the law should be redirected to deal with the false report. Persons making such false reports should be subject to penalties at least equaling those faced by the accused, but I would multiply them not only to make restitution to the accused but also to cover the costs of the investigation that we taxpayers end up funding. I would begin with a minimum $10,000 fine and/or imprisonment of not less than five years.
My grandsons in Austin, TX were the recipients of abuse by their father and when my daughter called CPS they did absolutely nothing. When it was repeated, she didn’t bother to call CPS but called the police and even they did not throw him out but had my daughter and the boys leave.
The following divorce action, of course, has been financially draining but the boys are safe.
Please do not publish my name, you will see why as I narrate another horror story..
Several years ago, my oldest son was falsely accused of sexually molesting his then young stepdaughter. This ended in a trial in which he was found innocent of all charges. The very fact that this ended in a trial haunted him down the road.
The stress of this brought on his 1st heart attack at age 40 and eventually having to have a triple bypass in his mid 40’s.
Child Welfare was not set up to do such devastating things to the innocently accused.
Keep up the fight and God Bless you and your family as we approach the Christmas Season.
My story was linked by a commenter above. I too wish it was unique, but given all the emails I have received from people finding me after googling variations of “falsely accused of child abuse” I know that it is not. I am a 3rd year law student at the University of Chicago with plenty of legal knowledge and contacts to fight DCFS- the problem is, I can’t use them. While their “investigation” is ongoing, any attempt to remind them of their own procedures is seen as not cooperating. After the investigation, they are completely shielded from any suits by a state statute. It is obvious they have been granted blanket legal protection as they don’t attempt to do things in an efficient or professional manner.
It is unbelievably frustrating, demoralizing, and terrifying to be falsely accused of child abuse. Our 4-month old son was taken to a shelter when my mother, already back-ground checked and approved by DCFS, was sitting in the room ready to take our son to an independent residence. This blatantly violates their own procedures and when it was time for the custody hearing 5 days later, the state’s attorney didn’t even take the case to a judge and we had our son back home hours later. The “investigation” for our case continues, but nothing has been done since the hearing on Oct. 16th.
I wish you luck in your ordeal- hopefully the traffic both our stories have received will bring some light to the situation. Unfortunately, stories like this one about the very doctor who made our lives hell (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-kiddoc26nov26,0,6547889.story) are more prevalent than exposes about the damage these overzealous child abuse “specialists” can cause.
Chuck, Many of us are willing to take on “the system” in the abstract. Hardly anyone has the courage to take on the issues of liberty, privacy and good (and appropriate) governance in a very personal battle.
This is why you matter, both in the abstract and in the personal.
Good for you, Chuck. May God prosper your efforts for truth and justice.
One thing I haven’t seen pointed out is that CFS is certainly not the only example of evil, nasty, self-important bureaucrats making people’s lives miserable.
These kinds of people were the operatives who kept the Soviet Union going. They are the foundation of all totalitarian governments.
Chuck, you need to determine if the State of Nevada has a statutory Request for Public Information like California’s Govt Code Section 6500 et seq. You need to determine who is the authorized child welfare agency representative to accept service of your demand which should include the Nevada Revised Statutes appropriate Code Section. Teach them a freakin lesson so this doesn’t happen to anyone else. In CA, local governments failure to respond may result in awarding attorney fees and costs to the requester. Any legal argument espousing the theory that child welfare preempts your legal 6th Amendment right to confront your accuser has been destroyed by the Clark County Sheriff’s observations. So if the child welfare agency attempts to redact the name of the complainant, you may be able to force disclosure with compensation. Then you can sue the piece of human garbage for intentional infliction of emotional distress, with accompanying actual damages, and PUNITIVE DAMAGES! Teach em a lesson in American Jurisprudence! Interesting case.
I hope you will take the advice of Councilman Schoenfield, published above, to follow up and take serious legal recourse against the INDIVIDUALS causing the damages you have and are continuing to suffer.
I also hope you will pursue every possible legal action against these INDIVIDUALS as well as against the corrupt government bureaus. Government bureaus pay damages with our money and don’t really care if they are forced to pay damages, using someone else’s money. Hopefully the INDIVIDUALS will be made to suffer a small percentage of the suffering they have viciously inflicted on you and your family.
Chuck, I’ve been following this since it started. Please try and follow the advise given in a few of the comments left here as you are one of the first I’ve found that has a voice and a ready built following to aid you in letter writing. We are watching closely and will at the drop of a request start an ‘illegal immigrant’ type of letter writing campaign against any government agency that fails to follow our constitution. We all know an agency like CFS is needed but an agency like CFS without oversight is nothing more than a disaster waiting to happen. Maybe we need to create a PFS (Parent and Family Services) as a yng to CFS’s yang.
Randy
Hi Chuck,
I completely agree with Gary Forsberg. I was going to suggest the very same thing, as Bill O’Reilly is a Champion of “Children’s Rights” and families.
This needs to be on TV with the correct type of coverage (FNC).
Thumbs up Chuck, we’re behind you all the way.
Teri
I’m not surprised to read that law enforcement handled this in the usual manner — objectively and truthfully. They have no axe to grind, and are required by law to respond and evaluate the situation. They did, and determined the complaint is unfounded. Unfounded means just that — there is no merit whatsoever to the complaint. And yes, whose word is worth more, an anonymous snitch with a hidden agenda or two sheriff’s deputies who call it as they see it? And, I might add, the sheriff’s deputies put it in writing, stand by what they wrote, and have no problem with the whole world reading it. I’m loving seeing the entire community of your readership focused in on this abuse of your family by a government agency. I spent 36 years in law enforcement, and I’d trust the judgment of a law enforcement officer any day over some tree-hugging, it-takes-a-village, left-wing, bleeding-heart, do-gooder liberal.
Chuck –
We’ve corresponded before on political issues. But I may have a bit to add to your story.
As a lawyer, I worked for a number of years with an organization called “VOCAL,” Victimes of Child Abuse Laws. In that capacity I had a number of experiences that were eye-opening.
One thing I noticed, as observed by another of your correspondents above, was the fact that DFS caseworkers are much more anxious to pursue well-to-do suburbanites than to go into neighborhoods of a more questionable character. They often appeared to me to bend over backwards to keep an unemployed single mother who had clearly abused her kids from losing custody, but were vigorous in their pursuit of the better-off, better-educated parent. I attributed this to a fundamental liberal bent, but perhaps the correspondent above is right.
Clearly, though, there is somethning distinctly Ahabian about your caseworker. Sadly, I believe that nationally that is not the exception but the norm. Every caseworker seems to say to himself or herself, “Apres moi, le deluge!” Each believes himself or herself the last bastion of defense against the mistreatment of children. This is true notwithstanding the fact that well over half of child abuse and neglect claims cannot be verified and are ultimately determined to be unfounded.
But the ultimate, frightening direction of this trend is to a sort of Brave New World, where all babies come from test tubes, are raised by the state, and are essentially clones of one another — and automotons. Sadly, unless the capable people fight this fight, it won’t be fought, and the ponderous evils of this system will not be exposed.
No good parent deserves this, and I’m sorry it happened to your family. But thanks for not backing down.
Paul Ground
St. Louis
Dear Chuck, great letter! This is the type of action Col John Boyd would have taken-hurt does go both ways! Don’t let up on these bureaucrats forget they work for, annd are paid by us. Bob Larrowe
Authorities believe they are above the law and are given unlimiterd authority with no accountability. Web sites seem to be the only way Americans can express their opinion and write about crimes committed against them by government representatives. Many of us have been terrorized by police or the system for many years without recourse on a personal vendetta basis or an ego of the hunters. There are too many freeloading parasites with authority who leap at a complaint without checking the integrity of the complainer.
They will regret the day the knocked on your door…lol Keep up the great work!
REMOVAL FROM OFFICE OTHER THAN BY IMPEACHMENT OR ACCUSATION
NRS 283.440 Removal of certain public officers for malfeasance or nonfeasance: Procedure; appeal.
1. Any person now holding or who shall hereafter hold any office in this State, except a justice or judge of the court system, who refuses or neglects to perform any official act in the manner and form prescribed by law, or who is guilty of any malpractice or malfeasance in office, may be removed therefrom as hereinafter prescribed in this section.
2. Whenever a complaint in writing, duly verified by the oath of any complainant, is presented to the district court alleging that any officer within the jurisdiction of the court:
(a) Has been guilty of charging and collecting any illegal fees for services rendered or to be rendered in his office;
(b) Has refused or neglected to perform the official duties pertaining to his office as prescribed by law; or
(c) Has been guilty of any malpractice or malfeasance in office,
the court shall cite the party charged to appear before it on a certain day, not more than 10 days or less than 5 days from the day when the complaint was presented. On that day, or some subsequent day not more than 20 days from that on which the complaint was presented, the court, in a summary manner, shall proceed to hear the complaint and evidence offered by the party complained of. If, on the hearing, it appears that the charge or charges of the complaint are sustained, the court shall enter a decree that the party complained of shall be deprived of his office.
3. The clerk of the court in which the proceedings are had, shall, within 3 days thereafter, transmit to the Governor or the board of county commissioners of the proper county, as the case may be, a copy of any decree or judgment declaring any officer deprived of any office under this section. The Governor or the board of county commissioners, as the case may be, shall appoint some person to fill the office until a successor shall be elected or appointed and qualified. The person so appointed shall give such bond as security as is prescribed by law and pertaining to the office.
4. If the judgment of the district court is against the officer complained of and an appeal is taken from the judgment so rendered, the officer so appealing shall not hold the office during the pendency of the appeal, but the office shall be filled as in case of a vacancy.
[21:200:1909; A 1949, 113; 1943 NCL § 4860] + [22:200:1909; A 1949, 113; 1943 NCL § 4861] + [23:200:1909; RL § 2853; NCL § 4862] + [24:200:1909; RL § 2854; NCL § 4863]—(NRS A 1973, 417; 1977, 937)