{"id":8649,"date":"2022-11-21T21:11:48","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T21:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=8649"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:59:20","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:59:20","slug":"fostering-controversy-does-child-protective-services-unfairly-keep-parents-from-their-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2022\/11\/21\/fostering-controversy-does-child-protective-services-unfairly-keep-parents-from-their-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Fostering controversy: Does Child Protective Services unfairly keep parents from their children?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Kellie Smith wants to spend the holidays with her children.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI missed my kids having their first steps, them crawling for the first time, them saying their first words,\u201d she says outside the Durham County Courthouse, tears streaming. \u201cI\u2019ve missed so much of their life. I\u2019d be damned if I missed another second of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n It is a Tuesday in early October, and Smith\u2019s fourth trip to the courthouse in a week. Her children, Ah\u2019miyah, 3, and Phillip, who turns 2 in December, were taken into custody by Durham County Child Protective Services (CPS) in 2019 and 2021. Smith is at the courthouse because she has requested a hearing to ask to have her kids with her for Halloween or Thanksgiving. Her request is denied.<\/span><\/p>\n Smith, 20, lives with her fianc\u00e9 and baby boy, Takiel. Every other week, Smith sees Ah\u2019miyah and Phillip for two hours.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On December 15, Judge Doretta L. Walker will oversee a hearing that will determine whether Smith regains custody. For now, Smith is one of hundreds of parents in Durham \u2013 many of them Black and brown mothers \u2013 fighting court battles to get their kids back. These mothers are navigating a child welfare system whose legal hurdles and decisions seem to them, at times, arbitrary. Smith\u2019s journey with CPS offers an inside look at one of these cases.<\/span><\/p>\n The 9th Street Journal contacted five staff members from the Durham Guardian Ad Litem’s office;\u00a0 a senior assistant attorney with Durham County; former Durham County Department of Social Services Director Ben Rose, who retired Nov. 1; interim DSS director Sarah Bradshaw; two social workers on Smith\u2019s case; Smith\u2019s former public defender; Judge Walker; and the family court coordinator. They either did not respond or said they were not allowed to comment on any current cases.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Joy Cook, a spokesperson for DSS, said the agency would not comment on the controversy surrounding CPS for confidentiality reasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A Weaponized Agency?<\/b><\/p>\n In 2020, <\/span>632,000<\/span><\/a> children entered the foster care system in the United States. The federal government spends nearly <\/span>$8 billion<\/span><\/a> on foster care each year.<\/span><\/p>\n As of September 2022, in Durham County, 292 children were in regular foster care (ages zero to 17) and 31 young people in extended foster care (ages 18-21).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency page on the North Carolina Judicial Branch website says that if \u201cthe facts reported fall within the legal <\/span>definitions<\/span><\/a> of abuse, neglect, or dependency,\u201d CPS will investigate the case and determine \u201cwhat is needed to ensure the child\u2019s safety.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Foster parents help scores of\u00a0 children, but the system is imperfect. Studies show that nationwide, children in foster care are at a <\/span>higher risk<\/span><\/a> for unemployment, involvement in the criminal legal system, mental health disorders, sexual abuse, and homelessness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Anti-CPS organizations have popped up throughout the country. They include national groups such as The upEND Movement, as well as local organizations in New York and Wisconsin, among others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Former Wake County CPS investigator Amanda Wallace created Operation Stop CPS in 2021. The organization is currently helping six women\u2014three in Durham, one in Raleigh, one in California, and one in Kentucky\u2014 to get their children back. The group has come under <\/span>scrutiny<\/span><\/a> in recent months for its protest tactics, which include showing up at government officials\u2019 houses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n