Brittany Patterson, a devoted wife and mother of four from Fannin County, Georgia, was unjustly arrested and charged with Reckless Conduct on October 30, 2024. 

The arrest occurred at her home in front of her children. 

Brittany was handcuffed and taken to jail, where she was fingerprinted and dressed in a prisoner’s jumpsuit while a female Deputy watched.

Her alleged crime? 

Earlier that day, Brittany drove her oldest son to an appointment. While she was away, her youngest son, 11-year-old Soren (nine days from turning eleven), left the house and walked to downtown Mineral Bluff, less than one mile away. The city has less than 400 residents.  

Soren walked along the shoulder of the road, where the speed limit did not exceed 35 miles per hour. For part of this walk, he took a dirt path below, far from the road.  

A woman stopped Soren and asked if he was okay, to which he responded yes. She asked if he needed any help. He said, “No.” Nevertheless, the woman called 911. The woman also went into the Dollar General and asked the clerk about Soren who was there earlier (the boy did nothing wrong in the store or anywhere else). A deputy responded, phoned Brittany, and asked if she knew her son was in town. Brittany said she did not and assumed he was at home, likely playing in the woods on their property. At no point did Brittany panic or become upset—she knew that Soren was mature enough and could walk into town alone—even though the deputy told her that Soren could have been hurt or even kidnapped. [Visit https://letgrow.org for actual statistics about sources of risk for children]

The deputy drove Soren home and returned him to his grandfather. Brittany’s husband works out of state (returning monthly and talking with everyone daily), and the children’s grandfather lives with them and Brittany. When Brittany returned home that afternoon, she spoke with Soren about what had happened. She only wanted him to communicate better with her. Otherwise, he wasn’t in trouble because he had walked to Mineral Bluff, a town without any stoplights and a single 4-way stop at the only intersection of note.

At around 6:30 that evening, the deputy returned and arrested Brittany.  

Brittany was in shock. She had grown up in the area and enjoyed a “free-range” childhood that she and her husband extended to their children. 

Twenty-four hours later, a case manager with the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), a state agency responsible for child welfare, visited Brittany’s home for interviews. She even interviewed her oldest son at his school.  

Days after those interviews, the case manager returned to Brittany’s home, this time with a Safety Plan for her to sign. The state intended to mandate that Brittany delegate another adult as a guardian who would watch over her children when she left the house. The plan also mandated that Brittany install a tracking app on Soren’s phone (without someone with DFCS watching her do so). Standing firm in her belief in parental autonomy, Brittany did not want the state to mandate how she and her husband chose to raise their children, so she refused to sign the safety plan.  

Brittany retained the legal assistance of David DeLugas, the founder of Parents USA, a nonprofit that assists parents wrongly arrested and charged with neglecting their children and otherwise, does legal work for parents across the USA (two amicus curiae briefs, one from Montana and the other from Wisconsin, are being filed this month in the US Supreme Court supporting parents).

 

 

Personally experiencing the distress and damage caused by the current system, we feel compelled to shed light on the grave issue at hand. Brittany Patterson, like many other innocent, caring parents, has suffered at the hands of Child Protective Services. False reports, often triggered by revenge or personal beliefs, are alarmingly common, causing many children to be unfairly removed from safe homes and loving parents. 

The devastating effects of these illegitimate reports are significant, even visits from these organizations alone can lead to harmful effects on families. More often than not, the damage resulting from these unfounded accusations far outweighs the harm caused by any supposed "violations." This leads to the breaking down of marriages and leaves lasting psychological effects on the children involved.

Today, we fight for Brittany Patterson's justice, pushing for the urgent necessity of her charges to be dropped and all records of the alleged "crime" to be erased. However, this is more than just one person's battle; this issue extends to a systemic level that needs rectification. We request ending the abuse of power by organizations like Child Protective Services, implementing stricter verification parameters, and increasing transparency in their operations.

We aim to restore justice for Brittany Patterson and others like her, who've been victims of this broken system. But, more significantly, we aim to protect the countless families that could fall prey to this issue in the future. We implore you to raise your voice alongside ours, sign the petition today. Let us shield our families from the damaging intrusions of ineffective child protection systems.