transcript of audio visit – CPS ABUSE

The following visit took place December 2004 at a Texas CPS Children’s Advocacy Center between an 8 year old child and his mother.

This child’s case was ruled out for physical abuse at his natural home, but the same cannot be said for his foster home. Nevertheless he had been removed and placed in foster care where he was…actually… abused…

The day before this visit, the mother arrived on Tuesday, her normally scheduled visitation day. The mother was left waiting in the lobby for over an hour before the CPS worker came out to inform her that the visit would not be taking place because the foster family “forgot to bring the child.”

The caseworker apologized and stated it would be another two weeks before a visit would take place due to the holidays (it was 3 days before Christmas). This was unacceptable to the mother. The mother refused to leave the facility without answers, knowing that her child would not have let the foster parents forget to take him to see her. Finally, the CPS worker reluctantly agreed to a special visit the next morning., at which time the mother brought a tape recorder.

The child arrived covered in blood with a black eye, heavily medicated and carrying a realistic looking capgun in his pocket. The gun was realistic enough that if a parent carried it into the facility, that parent would be arrested. If it had been carried into an airport, flights would be shut down. Still this child had it in his pocket, given to him by the foster family.

Upon questioning throughout this visit, the mother learns that the child had been told by the foster family that he didn’t go to the visit the day before because the mother did not show up. That simply was not true. The foster family “forgetting to bring him” wasn’t true either.

Were they trying to cover up his injuries…..?

The child was, after this visit, removed from that home, and placed in kinship care, however, the mother only saw her child one more time after this visit….

Ruled out for physical abuse at home, taken and placed in state’s care to be abused… and then his injuries attempted to be covered up…. child protective services …? protecting who?

Its been nearly 5 years since this incident occured.

The case has been closed for some time now, but nobody was ever held accountable for the abuse against this child, nor to the family for the suffering it caused. The mother has not seen the child in over 4 years, and remember – no abuse had occurred at home. The mother was ruled out  for abuse – the mother ‘s administrative review sustained a finding that the mother had a history of a drug use and was uncooperative with a non-conforming attitude towards the system; but no injuries to the child.

In fact, the caseworker herself states that the mother interacts appropriately with the child, that the case is not so much a case of child abuse, but rather an ongoing custody battle, and in the child’s interview with the social worker the child specifically states that he is not abused, unhappy, harmed, afraid, or otherwise feels in danger with his mom.

4 years since she’s seen him.

Now its time for the truth.

Click here to listen to the audio recording as you read the transcripts below.

TRANSCRIPTS

mother: hey you…hi baby

child: i bought it

mother: you bought it?

mother: <gasp> what happened to your eye??

child: something really horrible

mother: what happened baby?

child: i was throwing rocks into the creek and my foster brothers hit me in the eye with the rocks

mother: when did this happen?

child: a few days ago

mother: did you go to the doctor?

child: my foster father was in the army and he knew what to gave me a butterfly bandaid on it and put stuff on it

mother: can you see ok?

child: yeah, except this eye’s still a little blurry

mother: look up ..no look up with your eye not with your whole head

mother: was it an accident?

child: nuh uh (indicating a negative response:ie.no) they were throwing rocks straight at me

mother: who?

child: my foster brothers

mother: it looks like you had a bloody nose

child: i didn’t

mother: no you have blood in your nose

child: i do?

mother (to cps worker): he has blood in his nose

child: i do?

cps worker: I didnt see

mother: come here

child: probably because of the…its so cold outside

cps worker: mine are a little dry too

child: i have in my pocket there’s this really cool capgun i got

child: i have it in my pocket …you know whats really cool about it, it sounds like a real gun its really loud

mother: there’s blood on your shirt

child: this is water

mother: no this is blood

child: it is?

mother: water is not that color

child: i didn’t know my nose was bleeding

mother (to cps worker): are they gonna do something about removing him from these kids if they’re throwing rocks at him?

cps worker: i have no idea

child: Pam said that i need to get along with them

mother: no, not if he’s got a black eye from rocks

cps worker: I have… i’m not… i don’t know anything ..my only time is transporting so..i don’t know…

child: its a fake gun

mother: but you know i don’t let you play with guns

child: its fake

mother: i don’t care…here…eat your food

mother: Merry christmas baby, i know you’re…I love you …I love you

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