Our family was happy and loving, but everything changed when Child Protective Services (CPS) became involved in our lives. That experience showed me how profoundly child-welfare decisions can affect parents and children and how difficult it can be for families to understand,  challenge, or correct decisions they believe are wrong. I know our family is not alone.  Countless families like ours are facing the same fate due to corrupt practices and systemic failures.

The core of this issue lies in the lack of transparency within CPS and family courts. Decisions are frequently made behind closed doors, shrouded in secrecy and absent of accountability. Families are left in the dark, helpless against the machinery of a biased system. This lack of transparency fosters an environment ripe for unfair decision-making, where the rights of parents and children can be brushed aside without recourse.

Furthermore, financial incentives within the system have been argued to encourage the unnecessary separation of families. These incentives possibly skew decisions, favoring outcomes that may not truly reflect the best interests of children. The integrity of protecting families is jeopardized when monetary gain is interwoven with judicial processes meant to be impartial and just.

The effects of these systemic failures are devastating, affecting outrageously high numbers of children, teens, and their parents. For over 20 years, families across the United States have suffered in silence, their voices drowned by the dominating authority of unfair practices. We have seen firsthand how CPS workers and judges can wield their power without accountability, leaving affected families struggling to find meaningful recourse. 

We demand immediate reform of CPS and the family court system to ensure fair and transparent processes. These actions must be taken.

1. Independent oversight and complaint review outside the agency handling the family's case. 
2. Timely access to allegations, evidence, case records, and written findings, while appropriately protecting children's privacy.
3. Meaningful and timely review or appeal procedures when parents dispute findings, removals, service requirements, or other major decisions. 
4. Independent audits and public reporting of child-welfare funding and outcomes, including whether funding structures create unintended incentives affecting removal, placement, or reunification.
5. Greater procedural protections for families, including access to competent legal representation and clear explanations of parental rights from the beginning of agency involvement. 
6. Preference for safe family preservation and kinship placement when children can be protected without unnecessary separation. 

Together, we can push for a fair, unbiased, and transparent system that genuinely protects the best interests of children and supports families. Children deserve protection. Families deserve due process. The two should never be treated as opposing goals. We are asking law makers and child-welfare leaders to create a system that protects children from genuine abuse and neglect while protecting families from unnecessary separation, unchecked errors, conflicts of interest, and decisions made without meaningful review. 

Please sign this petition and stand with families calling for transparency, independent oversight, accountability, and reform.