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In Texas, the government can take your children – and keep them forever – without ever proving that you abused or neglected them.
It’s called the “O” ground. So named for its citation in the Texas Family Code (§ 161.001(b)(1)(O)), one of 22 different “grounds” in CPS’ litigation toolbox. Here’s the full text:
The court may order termination of the parent-child relationship if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the parent has:
(O) failed to comply with the provisions of a court order that specifically established the actions necessary for the parent to obtain the return of the child who has been in the permanent or temporary managing conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services for not less than nine months as a result of the child’s removal from the parent under Chapter 262 for the abuse or neglect of the child;
That’s fair, right? If your children get taken from you because you abused or neglected them, and you didn’t follow a court order designed to fix the problem, you should lose them to the government. Right?
Two problems, though. First, your children don’t get removed for proven abuse or neglect. They get removed for little more than the suspicion of abuse or neglect. The level of evidence required to get a removal order from the court is the same as that required for a search warrant: some evidence that points to the possibility that you abused or neglected your kids.
Don’t believe me? Then believe Texas Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock in his State of the Judiciary address, who urged the legislature to abolish this awful law:
“Look at repealing subsection “O”… It allows parent rights to be terminated forever if the parent fails to check every box on a long list of things the state wants them to do to get their child back. But the thing is, there’s another provision right next to it in the code that allows termination of rights if the parent endangers the child. So the state only needs to use subsection “O” if it can’t prove that the parent has endangered the child. But if the state can’t prove that, then why on Earth would we destroy that family?”
You can see the full speech here. (His discussion of “O” starts at 47:12.)
Second, many parts of this court order (known as a Family Service Plan) have nothing to do with fixing the alleged abuse or neglect. At least some of it is for the convenience of CPS personnel. A recent client was ordered to:
Get a job (despite the fact that she was a stay at home mom)
Stay in steady contact with CPS personnel.
Refrain from illegal criminal activities (exact quote)
Submit to a psychological exam (without evidence of mental problems)
Attend all court hearing and CPS-required meetings.
Submit to drug testing (without evidence of drug problems)
None of these have anything to do with the alleged abuse or neglect. But fail to do them and the state can make your kids orphans – regardless of whether you ever abused or neglected them.
And here’s the ugly reality: CPS will argue, and courts will often agree, that you can’t successfully complete even relevant tasks, like professional counseling, unless you admit to having abused or neglected your child. How can you solve the problem, they will ask, if you don’t even admit that you have a problem?
Enter House Bill 116. You can read it here. Section 2 of the bill does one simple, beautiful thing: it strikes “O” from the law books. A simple, beautiful piece of legislation that is long overdue.
Call your state representative. Call your senator. Demand that he or she support this bill. Demand an end to this outrageous law. It’s time.