Arizona Child Protective Services Failed Us

The Corruption of Arizona Child Protective Services

One online petition forum has become a place for Arizona citizens to share their horror stories of how Arizona Child Protective Services has “kidnapped” their children. These people are crying out. They’re demanding a thorough investigation into Arizona Child Protective Services, now known as the Department of Child Services.

Concerned parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents tell similar tales of government corruption and kidnapping. Common factors of apathetic courts and a child welfare department with no oversight pop up on repeat. These public forum testimonies go back years.

Melissa S. of Phoenix writes, “My daughter fell off the bed and now [DCS] has paid doctors who never met me or my kids to say they believe my rights should be severed. We had to find doctors outside [of DCS] to do a fair evaluation, which said to reunify immediately.” The Petition2Congress website forum titled Arizona CPS/DCS Corruption contains thousands of posts like Melissa’s.

Arizona Child Protective Services Fails Families

We’ve been told all our lives to trust our government. To believe they have our best interest in mind. CPS agencies are in place to protect children from potential abuse and neglect at the hands of their caretakers. Many CPS branches in many states save the lives of children who otherwise may have died. They remove the children from the dangers of their caretakers and their home environment. However, that was never the case for Arizona CPS.

It’s difficult to know who to believe in a case like this. There are some very bad parents out there. And some dangerous parents will do anything to get their kids back. Of course, we want to be sure children are safe. However, there is an uncanny level of public outcry against Arizona Child Protective Services. We have to ask ourselves how many unfit and dangerous parents are willing to put themselves not only on government agency radar but under the scrutiny of the public spotlight.

Amanda J. writes, “I live in Kingman AZ and my daughter was taken a year and a half ago. I have completed my case plan and the department refuses to give my daughter back to me. They abuse their power and don’t really care about family reunification.”

These forums are filled with similar accusations aimed at Arizona Child Protective Services. Many of them ask for lawyer recommendations. Some people allege that their children were actually sold to foster parents. In fact, one individual wrote that her daughter “was taken and put in a foster home with a previously accused child molester.”

Lies & Fabrications

Keep in mind the possibility that not all these people on the forum are who they say they are. When it comes to the internet, it’s nearly impossible to verify that anyone is who they claim to be. That said, we’re talking, as of this article, 2,861 messages in this one online forum titled Arizona CPS/DCS Corruption. And it’s safe to assume that not every affected family in Arizona is aware of this one online forum. Decide for yourself how likely it is that all of these people are trolls wasting their time on BS accusations.

The common plot of these stories is that Arizona Child Protective Services allegedly fabricates complaints of child abuse and neglect in order to remove children from their families. Arizona CPS then allegedly tells the families, authorities, and the courts that the children say they’re being abused, neglected, and don’t want to go home.

Further Allegations & Deceptive Practices

Parents allege that if and when the children are permitted to return home, Arizona Child Protective Services just opens another case based on similarly fabricated reports of child abuse and neglect.

Again, this sounds like something too evil to be true. Child Protective Services tells the world that you’ve been abusing your children so that they can kidnap them and give them to people who will actually abuse them? On the other hand, that’s pretty terrifying. If it happened to you, who would believe you? It’s the kind of thing that a bad guy in a movie might get away with because it’s so unbelievable.

Justin W. from Tucson, AZ writes, “My son has been not only taken from me but moved to [another] state.” Justin claims the DCS caseworker lied as well as altered and withheld documents, ending his account with, “the system is a failure.”

A Far-reaching Problem

Additionally, some people claim that the lawyers are in on it too. It seems unlikely that all the lawyers in Arizona are working to cover up this alleged child trafficking conspiracy, so perhaps it’s just the lawyers these people have had contact with. However, there are quite a few reports and accusations. We personally know this to be true in multiple cases. First hand!

At the same time, there are complaints of Arizona Child Protective Services not investigating legitimate reports of child abuse and neglect. In 2016, five Arizona child welfare managers were dismissed in response to a 2013 finding. Furthermore, nearly one in twelve reports of child abuse made to Arizona Child Protective Services were categorized by the agency as “not investigated,” and never pursued. Arizona state law requires that every complaint meeting the criteria for investigation be investigated, but thousands of child abuse reports never were reported.

The five upper-level managers of Arizona Child Protective Services used the same attorney, Terry Woods. Woods claimed in 2016 that these five individuals were merely scapegoats, taking the blame for a larger failure of perhaps the entire agency.

This is Nothing New

Complaints against Arizona CPS go back several years. In 2014, Arizona CPS was disbanded in response to its public scandals after 6500 shelved abuse complaints were discovered. However, there were many other complaints as well. No investigations had taken place. They misplaced children. Children died. CPS destroyed lives. Plain and simple.

They destroyed evidence. And they did everything in their power to cover their tracks. That’s why Arizona Governor Jan Brewer stated, “It is evident that our child welfare system is broken, impeded by years of structural and operational failures.”

It’s tough to hear. We don’t blame you for being skeptical. However, it’s the reality of the situation and a testament to the failures and corruption of Arizona CPS. It’s a sad reality, but reality non the less.

Is it possible that Arizona Child Protective Services is trafficking potentially thousands of children? Have they been ignoring legitimate reports of child endangerment? How is something that big possible? If any of these allegations are true, it appears this gross injustice has been happening in Arizona for decades. And if we know anything about money and power dynamics, it’s reasonable to assume it’s probable.

Help Us Fight the Good Fight

Costs to document this historical government tragedy have been excessive. However, they are far from over. Our personal expenses to fight the powers that continue to victimize our children and their families have exceeded over $1,000,000. They continue to grow by the day. In order to save face, the state of Arizona continues to blame the victims of corruption. They do so at great damage to their reputations and credibility.

Any contribution you can make to aid our cause is most appreciated. You can donate to Saving Grace Advocates using the link provided. Please help us fight Arizona CPS corruption and bring justice to the families and children who have suffered at their hands. Thank you for your continued support and contributions.

Sincerely,

Saving Grace Advocates

Arizona Child Protective Services was an Embarrassment