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Concealment and ambush in Harford County

Last fall, a social worker telephoned the Holman^* family and said she wanted to come to their home the next day to investigate allegations that had been made against them.

When the Holmans contacted Home School Legal Defense Association, Staff Attorney Scott Woodruff immediately sent them a form to sign authorizing the social worker to talk to Woodruff. The form also explained that under federal law, social workers are required to inform parents of the allegations made against them upon first contact.

Woodruff called the social worker after she had received the signed authorization. He asked her to tell him what the allegations were so that he could give the family proper legal advice.

She replied, "The Harford County Department of Social Services has received a neglect referral on the Holman family. Revealing to you the details regarding this referral would greatly compromise our investigation. We are hoping that this family would cooperate with the Department; however, failure to do such could result in the family appearing before the Juvenile Court."

Families generally have no duty to "cooperate" with a social services investigation. The demand to "cooperate" is usually tantamount to a demand that families surrender their rights under the 4th Amendment, and HSLDA seldom advises families to "cooperate" when the social worker is concealing the allegations.

When Woodruff asked the social worker to request permission from her supervisor to reveal the allegations, she refused. "I know that my immediate supervisor would agree with me," she said. "Additionally, I have consulted with the agency's attorney; and he is also in agreement with our position."

The social worker then filed suit against the Holmans, demanding that they bring their children to court and asking the judge to consider taking the children away from their parents. Even in the suit papers, the social worker concealed the allegations.

HSLDA Litigation Attorney Darren Jones and local attorney Bruce Kent represented the family at the hearing. Preparation for the hearing was difficult, since the attorneys did not know what the charges were against the family. However, once in court, the social worker was forced to disclose the allegations. They were of a trivial nature and were adjudicated within minutes. The judge immediately dismissed the lawsuit.

It was precisely to prevent this kind of outrageous social worker conduct that President Bush signed into law an amendment to the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) in 2003. The amendment requires social workers to inform families of the allegations against them upon first contact. It is difficult to imagine how anyone could oppose this simple and sensible law.

Ironically, in two legislative sessions Maryland has rejected legislation supported by HSLDA that would implement the changes in CAPTA to prevent social workers from hiding allegations from families. Because Maryland law is not in line with federal law, thousands of dollars in federal money are in jeopardy. HSLDA urges Maryland legislators to implement the CAPTA changes.

— by Scott A. Woodruff