Protect Abused and Silenced Children: Reform CPS and Family Court NOW

Created by Rosanna Smith, Founder of The Silenced Children Advocacy Group

 

In 2022, the SCR reform required Child Protective Services (CPS) to increase the requirements for indicating reports of child abuse, from adequate evidence to a preponderance of evidence. 

 

 

⁉️ What does this mean for children ⁉️

This caused reports that would otherwise have been indicated, allowing for proper intervention, to be unfounded.

A child stating physical and/or sexual abuse is now considered inadequate, and without indicated reports from CPS, family court cannot intervene, leaving abused children silenced and helpless.

 

IN 2022, THE SCR REFORM RESULTED IN 80% OF CHILD ABUSE REPORTS BEING DEEMED UNFOUNDED, highlighting the extreme dismissal of reports and silencing of child victims. To make matters worse, previous indicated cases were overturned resulting in child victims being returned to their abusers. 

THESE CHILDREN NEED OUR HELP! 😢

 

❗️WHERE THE SCR REFORM FAILED ❗️

❌ Prevented cases with credible evidence of child physical or sexual abuse from being properly investigated and litigated

❌ Caused prior cases of physical or sexual abuse to be overturned, returning child victims back to the abusive situations that they were removed from

❌ Ignored children’s physical or sexual abuse disclosures due to unfair, unethical, and unobtainable evidence requirements

❌ Left Family Court powerless to intervene, leaving abused children helpless and at risk for ongoing worsening abuse and potential fatalities 

❌ Allowed child abusers to extort loopholes in the broken system to get away with physical or sexual abuse, causing thousands of children to be silenced and fall between the cracks 

 

❕️ WHAT WE DEMAND❕️

✅️ Comprehensive overhaul and reform of the Child Protective Services ( CPS ) and Family Court systems to ensure that children's rights are protected and upheld, and that laws, statutes, and regulations serve to protect, not infringe upon, those rights

✅️ Lower the burden of evidence for CPS to take action on abuse cases and ensure proper intervention for abused children, focusing on helping families provide safe environments for children with free programs and resources for struggling families

✅️ Require Family Court, CPS, Law Enforcement, and medical professionals to collaborate on child abuse investigations, with a neutral third party overseeing how cases of abuse are handled, alleviating any corruption and ensuring proper measures are being taken so no more children fall through the cracks

✅️ Pass the ‘Silenced Children Act’ – Initiating CPS Reform and Family Court Reform for how disclosures of child physical and sexual abuse are handled; mandating forensic evaluations and polygraph testing for abusers, and Lincoln Hearings to give abused children a voice

✅️ Increase funding and implement new programs to offer free services for abused children and struggling families in our community, such as trauma therapy, childcare, meals, safe housing, secure supervised visitation centers, and more

✅️ Hold abusers legally accountable for child abuse and litigation abuse; stop their false allegations and weaponization of family court to punish the protective parents of abused children and prevent the abused children from receiving help

✅️ Recognize offenders of domestic violence, previous offenders, and previous orders of protection as a high-risk indicator for child abuse, and establish safeguards and preventative measures to decrease the liklihood of child abuse, revictimization, and child fatalities from occurring

✅️ Prioritize Children's rights to have a voice and a choice, to be heard and believed, to be protected from all forms of abuse, neglect, and maltreatment, and receive the help that they need to survive and thrive

 

WE NEED CHANGE

CPS NEEDS TO CHANGE

FAMILY COURT NEEDS TO CHANGE

EVERYTHING NEEDS TO CHANGE

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A CHANGE

 

🚨 NEW YORK MUST ACT NOW TO FIX THESE FAILURES AND PROTECT OUR CHILDREN 🚨

Act NOW! Sign this petition to demand justice and initiate The Silenced Children Act. Be the voice of the vulnerable until they are heard. 🗣📣

 

🔗 Sign & Share NOW!✍️

 

 

This is just the beginning! These issues exist at a national level. Our mission is to start locally in New York and then expand to help children nationwide. 🙌

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information or to be a part of this journey to create a much needed change for children, please follow The Silenced Children Advocacy Group on Facebook.

Interested in helping the cause? Contact the founder, Rosanna Smith. 📨

 

Donations are NOT required in order to sign, but are appreciated. All donations made through this site go directly to Change.org to sponsor promoting this petition to help get more signatures. Thank you for your support!