Petition Title:

Demand Investigation and Accountability for CPS Corruption in Avery County, NC

Petition Summary:

We, the undersigned, demand an immediate independent investigation into the corruption and misconduct of the Avery County Department of Social Services (CPS) in Newland, North Carolina. This petition seeks justice for families who have been unjustly separated, silenced, and emotionally devastated by a broken and abusive system.

Full Statement/Testimony:

There is a deep sickness running through the system that was supposed to protect families. In Avery County, North Carolina, the Department of Social Services and CPS (Child Protective Services) have failed not only in their mission, but in their humanity. What was meant to protect the innocent has instead become a weapon—used to tear apart loving homes, ignore truth, and leave parents and children broken.

My family is one of the many victims of this corruption.

On July 19, 2019, CPS came into my home in Newland, NC, and took my children—my daughters and my son—away from me and their father, Steven. But they didn’t come with compassion or fairness. They came with force. They arrested both of us—me for truancy, and my husband for a false charge linked to another man with the same name. It was a setup. I was given a $75,000 bond while my husband was released the next day. Before I could even blink, CPS showed up at the jail and placed paperwork in front of me—documents I didn’t understand, under pressure, alone, and terrified.

That day marked the destruction of our family.

CPS didn’t care about the truth. They didn’t care that my children were safe, loved, and cared for. They didn’t investigate fully. They didn’t try to support our family—they tore it apart. My babies were ripped away, and lies were spread about me: that I neglected them, that I was unfit. None of it was true. My children were my life. We were always together—where I went, they followed. I gave everything to raise them with love and protection. But none of that mattered.

Since that day, I’ve lived every moment in pain. I cry for my children. I wonder if they think I abandoned them. I wonder if they know I fought with every breath to get them back. I was treated like a criminal, not a mother. They saw a file—not a family. They saw statistics—not the truth.

This system is broken. In Avery County, CPS operates unchecked. They answer to no one. Families are being torn apart with little to no accountability, and it feels like we’re screaming into the wind. We need transparency. We need investigations. We need justice. No child should be taken from their home without due process, without evidence, without exhausting every effort to keep families together.

This is not just my story. This is the story of many families in Avery County. It is a silent epidemic—hidden behind courtroom doors and sealed records. But I won’t stay silent anymore. I am speaking out not just for my family, but for every mother, father, and child who has been traumatized by this corrupt system.

We, the undersigned, demand:

A full and independent investigation into CPS and DSS practices in Avery County

Immediate review of all recent child removal cases for misconduct or due process violations

Accountability for any social workers or officials who have engaged in unethical or illegal behavior

Reunification support for families that were unjustly separated

Public transparency and oversight for all CPS operations in the county

This petition is not just a cry for help. It is a demand for justice, for truth, and for the restoration of what has been stolen from us.

Sign. Share. Speak out.

Our children deserve better.

Created by: Carrie Townsend

Location: Newland, North Carolina