What are My Rights With CPS/DCYF?

Examiner Bio What are my rights with CPS?
November 25, 4:15 PMFamily Rights ExaminerLeonard Henderson

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As I have said several times, I learn a lot from checking our web stats at the AFRA website to see what people are looking for, and if they found it. When I see an interesting series or pattern of search criteria, I try to do something to help those people find the answer to their question.

Lately, I am seeing several queries along the line of What are my rights with CPS?"

I asked the same question myself in 1999. The answer I got from the nasty CPS witch was a bunch of sickening threats of the terrible things she would do to me if I didn't "cooperate".

So what does their actual Policy say?

Back in those days, Oregon CPS offices manually compiled their Policies Manual in huge 8" thick binders. Each new directive sheet from HQ came in the mail. At the top right corner of each page is an indexing number to indicate where this page should be inserted into the binder. Getting a hard copy of this manual was impossible.

Fortunately, Oregon CPS had recently put the materials ONLINE. Still, it wasn't really publicly available. It was buried in their WAN system. Lucky for me at the time, it wasn't behind a wall of password security. So I downloaded every page and assembled my own digitized version.

That's no longer a problem. Every state (so far as I know) puts their CPS Policy Manuals online, available to anybody with the interest in reading them.

Back to the question What are my rights with CPS?", what I found was DUMB-FOUNDING. I thought there would be lots said about Constitutional Rights, Miranda Rights, Federal and State law CPS was required to observe.

Here's what I found-

NUMBER: I-A.1
POLICY - CLIENT RIGHTS

Discrimination Prohibited. No individual shall, on the grounds of race, national origin, religion, martial status, gender, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, political affiliation, language or disability be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under programs and activities for which the Department of Human Services has responsibility. This same policy of non-discrimination is equally applicable to all department contractors, grantees, agents and providers of services funded in whole or in part with federal funds

Isn't that sweet? Everybody has the RIGHT to receive CPS "services"!

If you read on down through, you will find them referring to the above as "Civil Rights".

Please allow me to point out that "Civil Rights" are NOT the same thing as CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.

What does the entire Oregon Policy Manual say about Constitutional Rights?

NUMBER: I-A.5.2

(4) The Department, subject to the approval of the Attorney General, has authorized its employees to represent the Department in these contested cases.

(5) A Department employee acting as the Department's representative may not make legal argument on behalf of the Department.

(a) "Legal argument" includes argument on:

(A) The jurisdiction of the Department to hear the contested case;

(B) The constitutionality of a statute or administrative rule or the application of a constitutional requirement to the Department;

What does that mean? I don't know. Doesn't look good to me.

I do know they care nothing about THIS LAW-

ORS418.010 - "Children not to be taken charge of when parents object. Nothing in ORS 418.005 shall be construed as authorizing any state official, agent or representative, in carrying out any of the provisions of that section, to take charge of any child over the objection of either of the parents of such child..."

So the answer to the question What are my rights with CPS?"

Certainly not your Constitutional Rights or Miranda Rights. It's pretty much UP TO YOU to KNOW and DEFEND YOUR RIGHTS. Use them or Lose them.

"The privilege against self-incrimination is neither accorded to the passive resistant, nor to the person who is ignorant of his rights, nor to one indifferent thereto. It is a FIGHTING clause. It's benefits can be retained only by sustained COMBAT. It cannot be claimed by attorney or solicitor. It is valid only when insisted upon by a BELLIGERENT claimant in person." McAlister vs. Henkel, 201 U.S. 90, 26 S.Ct. 385, 50 L. Ed. 671; Commonwealth vs. Shaw, 4 Cush. 594, 50 Am.Dec. 813; Orum vs. State, 38 Ohio App. 171, 175 N.E. 876. The one who is persuaded by honeyed words or moral persuasion to testify or produce documents rather than make a last ditch stand, simply loses the protection. . . . He must refuse to answer or produce, and test the matter in contempt proceedings, or by habeas corpus."

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