Complaint Review: Child Protective Services

My Husband was found guilty of negectful supervision by making his twelve year old daughter sleep in a tent close to the porch in our fenced in back yard. For the last year or so she would refuse to clean her room. It was disgusting. She was hiding food in her closet, which brought bugs. She had torn up little gummy type toys and ground them into the carpet. She would tear up crayons, pencils, and pens on the floor. It was a total nightmare.

The petrified dismembered gecko was the last straw. As he had threatened her for the last year that he was going to move her out and put her in a tent, He did. She came in to use the restroom, shower and eat like she normally would have. He made her work for everything.

Like pulling weeds, mowing, dusting, moping, etc. to try and teach her respect for herself and others as well as maybe if she really had to earn it she would take better care of it. CPS found my husband guilty. We also had to go through social services on post and be investigated, which came back as unfounded. His daughter has been going to counseling for years due to neglect by her bio mom and a couple of years ago while visiting with her bio mom was molested by her bio moms dad. She has been in counseling for years and also has been seeing a psychiatrist for about 2 years. Both the therapist and the psychiatrist new that she had slept in a tent and did not feel that there was any abuse or neglect but Mrs. Walker did.

As soon as my husband deployed they came to me and said I was also guilty and that I had to follow their "rules and do this family plan" or else! I infomred Mrs. Walker that I wanted to appeal her decision. After two months and several attempts to get her to send me the paperwork to appeal, that paperwork which was "always in the mail" I asked her if my mom could pick it up. She said yes and never asked my moms name. The following day my mom went to the office and went up to the reception desk and went to tell the girl that she was here to pick something up and when she looked down the envelope was face up in a CPS envelope with mine and my husbands name written across it. My mom said that she was looking for "that" and the girl just handed it to my mom. It would not have mattered if she had asked my moms name because no one at the office new it. It states that you have to request the paperwork to appeal in writing. I typed up my request and low and behold there is no phone number or address to send the request to appeal. I called the office and left a message with Mrs. Walker whom never called me back. I called the reception desk and was informed that an addressed evelope was suppose to be included. Mrs. Walker has yet to return my call. Also, I had to give them the only copy I had of the medical power of attorney. I was told that they would either bring it back that afternoon or they would put it in the mail that afternoon. A week later I was calling requesting the only medical power of attorney that I had. I was informed that they would bring it by the following afternoon. I never heard from them. A week later they finally brought it back. I would like to know, number one, how can one persons opinion override the opinion of a psychiatrist and therapist who had been treating the individual for over a year? Number two, how can you be tried twice for the same offence and when one individual does not like the result they override, again. Number three, how can one individual break several of the confidentiality and HIPPA laws and not be fired or be guilty of neglectful supervision of private information.

Army Spouse
Killeen, Texas
U.S.A.