In Shasta County, September 2005 my only child was snatched from our home by Child Protective Services (CPS), without a warrant or exigent circumstances. What followed were 14 gut-wrenching, mind-bending, soul-twisting months of fighting a monster I knew nothing about to bring my child home.

The innocence of my daughter was exploited and the department, which was supposed to protect her, lied - not just to me - they deceived and manipulated the very court that held my child in the balance. Their belligerent and brutal conduct led to an tainted Detention Petition and a long, unjust separation.

The beautiful bond I shared with my daughter has yet to recover.

I am not alone. Countless parents across the nation face similar ordeals with child protective services.

This is not an attack on the organizations aiming to protect our children. It is, however, a call for accountability and rethinking the discretion and the will CPS has been allowed to impose, unabated, for generations.

CPS, despite its mandate to protect vulnerable children and reunite families, has shown their willingness to stray from the truth, traumatize the children without compunction, and set parents up to fail time after time.

Moreover, the federal financial incentives offered to county child services have only intensified the problem, encouraging a culture of detention rather than family maintenance. Our system must move towards enforcing the letter and spirit of statutes written for the protection of our children and governing CPS. 

It is crucial that the presumptive integrity and the unfettered operation of CPS be challenged and audited to insure the integrity of the system. I would like to see qualified 3rd parties allowed into the CPS hearings to ensure transparency and fairness.

The frequent stories of deception and manipulation within these closed hearings cannot continue without witness. The department will likely whine that these cases are confidential for the children's privacy - but I'd bet my life that if you asked 100 parents and 100 young adults aged out of foster care, the vast majority would sign off on someone looking into the conduct and quality of the department.

For those who have been fortunate enough to avoid interaction with Child Protective Services, I ask for your deliberation of the heartbreaking narratives of scores of parents. They are not fiction - they are our lived experiences. CPS banks on the common wisdom - that if you are in the system, you did something wrong. I think  the truth will horrify most of the community.

No one can say that these suggested reforms are over reaching or unfairly burdensome to the Department. Even those workers who do their jobs well would benefit by rooting out those that are devious and heavy handed and yes, cruel.

We can bring about these necessary reforms. Signing this petition is the beginning. I need your help to see that our kids really are protected and the priority is preserving our families.

No parent should ever have to endure the aggression and the misused prerogative of CPS. Even the unfit parent has a right to be fairly treated in a court of law - just like someone charged with a crime.