In 1997, President Bill Clinton signed the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) into law. Originally intended to help children with disabilities find adoptive families, the act provided financial incentives through federal funding (taxpayer money) to those who adopted.
However, since its enactment, millions of children have been wrongfully removed from loving families and adopted by strangers, often without ever seeing their biological families again. This practice has left both children and their families devastated, leading to lifelong trauma and grief.
Child Protective Services (CPS) across every state in the U.S. plays a key role in this troubling system. While there are certainly cases where children must be removed from abusive environments and placed with caring families, CPS often targets innocent families, particularly those facing poverty, to meet federal quotas for funding. Although it is illegal to remove children solely due to poverty, CPS continues to disrupt families that may simply need support, not separation.
Worse still, a network of social workers, case workers, Guardians ad Litem (GALs), lawyers, and judges allegedly collude in family court to permanently sever ties between children and their biological families. Once a child is removed, the chances of reunification with their parents or relatives become exceedingly slim, leaving families torn apart forever.
My children were removed from me for nothing in East Texas. I had to threaten the local TDCFPS with a 5 million dollar suit to make them leave me alone! I had my whole world crushed because I never saw my children again. CPS in all states needs to be stopped! Stop CPS!!!
Unfortunately, I’ve been personally affected by this. There is a growing concern regarding the practices within Child Protective Services (CPS), particularly with regard to the disproportionate removal of children from loving, capable parents. Many families experience significant barriers to reunification, despite making efforts to meet the conditions set for return. There is a widespread belief that, in some cases, financial incentives linked to the foster care system may be influencing decisions, leading to practices that prioritize monetary gain over the well-being of children and families. This issue warrants urgent attention and reform to ensure that the primary focus remains on preserving families and supporting children in the least disruptive, most supportive manner possible
I have personally endured a deeply painful experience with Child Protective Services (CPS), witnessing firsthand how their practices often prioritize federal incentives over genuine family reunification. CPS seems more focused on achieving adoption outcomes than on supporting families in overcoming challenges and reuniting with their children. Families facing these cases frequently find CPS using any available detail against them, while the judicial system appears to favor CPS’s perspective over giving parents a fair chance to demonstrate their efforts toward improvement.
The current structure, including the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) laws, unfortunately promotes separation rather than support. These laws need to be repealed or reformed to place family preservation and reunification at the forefront. Additionally, there should be a simplified, more accessible process for families to appeal decisions from district courts, as many are unfairly left without a voice or recourse.
True justice requires a system that values families and recognizes the importance of keeping them together whenever possible. The time for change is now.