Excerpts from THE CORRUPT BUSINESS OF CHILD PROTECTIVE
SERVICES  by former Georgia State Senator Nancy Shaefer

Throughout this case and through the process of dealing with multiple other mismanaged
cases of the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS), I have worked with other
desperate parents and children across the state because they have no rights and no one with
whom to turn. I have witnessed ruthless behavior from many caseworkers, social workers,
investigators, lawyers, judges, therapists, and others such as those who “pick up” the
children. I have been stunned by what I have seen and heard from victims all over the state
of Georgia. …

I believe Child Protective Services nationwide has become corrupt and
that the entire system is broken almost beyond repair. I am convinced parents and families
should be warned of the dangers…

In one county in my District, I arranged a meeting for thirty-seven families to speak freely
and without fear. These poor parents and grandparents spoke of their painful, heart
wrenching encounters with DFCS. Their suffering was overwhelming. They wept and
cried. Some did not know where their children were and had not seen them in years. I
had witnessed the “Gestapo” at work and I witnessed the deceitful conditions under which
children were taken in the middle of the night, out of hospitals, off of school buses, and out – 3 –
of homes. In one county a private drug testing business was operating within the DFCS
department that required many, many drug tests from parents and individuals for profit. In
another county children were not removed when they were enduring the worst possible abuse…

I have come to the conclusion:
• that poor parents often times are targeted to lose their children because they do not
have the where-with-all to hire lawyers and fight the system. Being poor does not mean
you are not a good parent or that you do not love your child, or that your child should
be removed and placed with strangers;
• that all parents are capable of making mistakes and that making a mistake does not
mean your children are always to be removed from the home. Even if the home is not
perfect, it is home; and that’s where a child is the safest and where he or she wants to
be, with family;

• that parenting classes, anger management classes, counseling referrals, therapy classes
and on and on are demanded of parents with no compassion by the system even while
they are at work and while their children are separated from them. This can take
months or even years and it emotionally devastates both children and parents. Parents
are victimized by “the system” that makes a profit for holding children longer and
“bonuses” for not returning children;
• that caseworkers and social workers are oftentimes guilty of fraud. They withhold
evidence. They fabricate evidence and they seek to terminate parental rights.
However, when charges are made against them, the charges are ignored;
• that the separation of families is growing as a business because local governments have
grown accustomed to having taxpayer dollars to balance their ever-expanding budgets;
• that Child Protective Service and Juvenile Court can always hide behind a
confidentiality clause in order to protect their decisions and keep the funds flowing.
There should be open records and “court watches”! Look who is being paid! – 4 –
There are state employees, lawyers, court investigators, court personnel, and judges.
There are psychologists, and psychiatrists, counselors, caseworkers, therapists, foster
parents, adoptive parents, and on and on. All are looking to the children in state
custody to provide job security. Parents do not realize that social workers are the glue
that holds “the system” together that funds the court, the child’s attorney, and the
multiple other jobs including DFCS’s attorney.
• that The Adoption and the Safe Families Act, set in motion by President Bill Clinton,
offered cash “bonuses” to the states for every child they adopted out of foster care. In
order to receive the “adoption incentive bonuses” local child protective services need
more children. They must have merchandise (children) that sell and you must have
plenty of them so the buyer can choose. Some counties are known to give a $4,000
bonus for each child adopted and an additional $2,000 for a “special needs” child.
Employees work to keep the federal dollars flowing;

• that there is double dipping. The funding continues as long as the child is out of the
home. When a child in foster care is placed with a new family then “adoption bonus
funds” are available. When a child is placed in a mental health facility and is on 16
drugs per day, like two children of a constituent of mine, more funds are involved;

For the full report see: http://fightcps.com/pdf/TheCorruptBusinessOfChildProtectiveServices.pdf