| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 4/2/2003 3:41:30 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Texas--Hearing Tomorrow on Child Protective Services Reform Bill |
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- April 2, 2003 Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, Homeschoolers have a tremendous opportunity to "jump start" legislation to curb the power of Child Protective Services in Texas and protect parent's rights. House Bill 1752, sponsored by Representative Hupp, will be heard at 10:30 AM tomorrow before the Juvenile Justice & Family Issues Committee. We need your calls immediately to this committee to ensure passage. Your calls really do make the difference. ACTION REQUESTED Please call as many members of the Juvenile Justice & Family Issues Committee as possible (listed below) and urge them to vote in favor of H.B. 1752. Please give them this message: "Please vote for H.B. 1752. This bill will restore due process protections for families subjected to investigations by child protection workers. It will also help keep children from being wrongly removed from their families and protect the innocent." You do not need to identify yourself as a homeschooler but simply as a concerned parent. Juvenile Justice & Family Issues Committee Chair: Rep. Harold V. Dutton, Jr., (512) 463 0510 Vice Chair: Rep. Toby Goodman, (512) 463 0562 Rep. Todd Baxter, (512) 463 0631 Rep. Joaquin Castro, (512) 463 0669 Rep. Jim Dunnam, (512) 463 0508 Rep. Terri Hodge, (512) 463 0586 Rep. Joe E. Moreno, (512) 463 0614 Rep. Geanie Morrison, (512) 463 0456 Rep. Elvira Reyna, (512) 463 0464 You can also send an email to the committee members by going to: http://www.house.state.tx.us/committees/340.htm. Click on the committee member and select "Send Email." BACKGROUND HSLDA has been working on H.B. 1752 since last Fall. Texas Legislative Counsel, Tom Sanders has lobbied the chairman and worked with the sponsor. We at HSLDA believe that abuse by the Child Protective Services (CPS) is the single greatest threat to homeschoolers in Texas. We handle member investigations, based on false allegations, by CPS workers on a regular basis. We have worked on the federal level and are on the verge of passage of the "Keep Families Safe Act" which requires all child protective workers throughout the country to reveal the allegations to the person being investigated at the initial contact. Texas CPS workers routinely refuse to tell allegations unless the family allows them entry their home to interrogate the children privately. Another federal HSLDA amendment will require all social workers around the country to be specifically trained in their duty to protect the statutory and constitutional rights of those they are investigating. This requirement is long overdue! Representative Hupp has indicated her willingness to amend H.B. 1752 to add these two amendments. We hope to report on the progress of these amendments soon. At this time, H.B. 1752 will: 1) Removes all discretion from the CPS workers to conduct medical, psychological, or psychiatric evaluations. This bill will require either consent of the parent or a court order. 2) Requires videotaping of all children interviewed by the CPS and a copy made available to the parents. This will help prevent CPS workers form twisting the words of children. 3) Gives parents, who are threatened with having their children temporarily removed during an investigation, the right to choose who the child will stay with during that time. This will protect children from being traumatized at juvenile homes and by foster care providers. For more information on this bill visit our website at: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=782 Thank you for your calls! And thank you for standing with us for freedom. Sincerely, Chris Klicka HSLDA Senior Counsel {{JoinAd}} ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
