DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY AND REFORM OF MINNESOTA CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES — STARTING WITH CARLTON COUNTY

Minnesota families deserve a Child Protective Services (CPS) system that protects children while respecting the rights, dignity, and well-being of families. No parent should have to live in fear of intimidation, retaliation, or abuse of authority from an agency entrusted with protecting children.

I am calling for statewide CPS reform, mandatory professional licensing, independent oversight, and a thorough investigation into Carlton County CPS.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH CARLTON COUNTY CPS

My experience with Carlton County CPS caused emotional and psychological suffering beyond anything I could have imagined.

I was threatened with county attorney involvement if I did not comply with what CPS presented as directives. I lived in constant fear of retaliation, terrified that questioning their authority or making the wrong decision could have devastating consequences for my family.

Only later did I discover that what had been presented to me as requirements were actually recommendations. I had been living under overwhelming fear and psychological distress without fully understanding that I had a choice.

The emotional toll was unbearable. I experienced severe anxiety, hallucinations, and other serious mental health struggles as my well-being deteriorated. There were moments when I questioned whether I even mattered in this world and whether I would ever recover from what I was experiencing.

I was also too frightened to disclose my disabilities or request the accommodations I needed because I feared doing so would result in further retaliation or consequences for my family.

But perhaps the most heartbreaking consequences involved my father's final days and the loss of moments with my family that I can never get back.

While my father was on life support, I was not permitted by CPS to tell my own children what was happening. Even after he passed away, I was denied the opportunity to share that devastating news with them myself.

Instead of hearing about their grandfather's death from their mother, my children learned it from a stranger.

As a mother who has fought tirelessly for her children, being denied the opportunity to prepare them, comfort them, and grieve alongside them was absolutely devastating.

At the same time, my fear of CPS consequences prevented me from being at my father's bedside during his final moments. I was too frightened to go hold his hand, tell him I loved him, and say goodbye.

My father died without me beside him. My children lost the opportunity to hear about their grandfather's death from their own mother. And I lost precious moments with the people I love most because I was terrified of what a government agency might do to my family.

Those moments are gone forever. No apology, investigation, or court decision can ever give them back.

Although the maltreatment determination against me was ultimately rescinded, the emotional damage did not disappear. Nearly two years later, I am still fighting for answers, transparency, and accountability.

I have repeatedly attempted to obtain answers and meaningful resolution from those responsible, including individuals in positions of authority. Yet my concerns have continued to go unanswered or unresolved.

No family should have to endure this level of fear and psychological suffering without a meaningful way to hold those responsible accountable.

WHY AREN'T CPS WORKERS REQUIRED TO BE PROFESSIONALLY LICENSED?

Minnesota requires professional licenses for nurses, teachers, cosmetologists, electricians, and real estate agents. Even activities such as driving, fishing, and hunting require licenses under applicable circumstances.

Yet individuals working in child protection can investigate families, document allegations, and make recommendations that influence parental rights without being universally required to hold a dedicated CPS professional license.

While certain positions have educational qualifications and some workers may hold other professional licenses, there is no universal, independent CPS-specific licensing system with the professional disciplinary oversight I believe this level of responsibility demands.

These workers can influence decisions that alter children's lives, disrupt family relationships, and create consequences that follow parents and children for years.

If Minnesota requires professional licensing for someone who cuts hair, teaches children, or practices nursing, why shouldn't those entrusted with investigating families and influencing decisions about children be held to equally enforceable professional standards?

Protecting children is an enormous responsibility. That responsibility should come with mandatory qualifications, ethical standards, continuing education, and independent accountability.

WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE

I am calling on Minnesota's Governor, Legislature, and Department of Children, Youth, and Families to take meaningful action:

1. REQUIRE MANDATORY PROFESSIONAL LICENSING FOR CPS WORKERS

Establish statewide licensing requirements that include education standards, background screening, specialized training, continuing education, ethical obligations, and an independent professional disciplinary process.

2. LAUNCH AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION INTO CARLTON COUNTY CPS

Investigate complaints involving alleged intimidation, retaliation, misuse of authority, investigative practices, and the treatment of families. Findings should be documented and appropriate corrective action taken when misconduct is substantiated.

3. ESTABLISH ENFORCEABLE STATEWIDE ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS

Create clear professional conduct requirements and meaningful disciplinary consequences for workers and supervisors found responsible for misconduct or violations of established standards.

4. PROTECT FAMILIES FROM INTIMIDATION AND RETALIATION

Ensure parents can question CPS recommendations, seek legal representation, request clarification, and file complaints without fear of punishment. Workers must clearly distinguish voluntary recommendations from legally enforceable orders.

5. STRENGTHEN PROTECTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES

Require reasonable accommodations where legally applicable, disability-awareness training, and safeguards against discrimination. Parents should never feel forced to hide a disability out of fear that requesting help will be used against them.

6. IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCURACY IN CPS RECORDS

Establish clear procedures for correcting inaccurate records, documenting withdrawn or rescinded determinations, and providing families with timely, accurate written notification of case outcomes.

7. CREATE A TRULY INDEPENDENT COMPLAINT AND INVESTIGATION PROCESS

Families must have access to an impartial authority outside the agency being accused of misconduct, with meaningful investigative powers, transparent findings, and the ability to recommend or require corrective action.

8. REQUIRE ONGOING LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT

Minnesota lawmakers should regularly review CPS practices, worker qualifications, complaints, disciplinary outcomes, and agency accountability to ensure the system operates fairly and effectively.

WHY YOUR SIGNATURE MATTERS

This petition is about more than what happened to me. It is about every parent who has felt powerless, every family afraid to question authority, and every child affected by decisions made within a system that must be held to the highest standards.

Child protection is necessary. Children deserve safety, stability, and protection from abuse and neglect. But protecting children should never mean that government agencies operate without meaningful oversight or that families are subjected to unnecessary intimidation, fear, and psychological harm.

I cannot change what happened to my family.

I cannot go back and hold my father's hand as he took his final breaths. I cannot reclaim the opportunity to tell my children their grandfather was dying or comfort them when he passed away.

And I cannot erase the emotional suffering that followed me long after the allegations against me were rescinded.

But I can fight to make sure another parent does not have to experience the same heartbreak, fear, and helplessness that I did.

I am not asking for child protection to disappear. I am asking for a system where protecting children and respecting families are equally important, where authority is exercised responsibly, and where misconduct is investigated rather than ignored.

No family should have to choose between protecting their rights and living in fear of retaliation.

PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE THIS PETITION

I am asking Minnesota residents, parents, grandparents, advocates, lawmakers, and anyone who believes in fairness and accountability to stand with me in demanding meaningful reform.

Your signature supports mandatory CPS professional licensing, independent investigations, stronger disability protections, greater transparency, and enforceable accountability throughout Minnesota, beginning with Carlton County.

Our children deserve protection. Our families deserve dignity. And those entrusted with such tremendous authority must be held accountable.

It's time for Minnesota to demand better.