"The agency told caseworkers this month that they can no longer remove children from homes without an in-person court hearing, a process that can take days — or longer in some rural areas — and potentially leave a child being abused or neglected in dangerous homes until a judge can review the case.
"Before the federal ruling, caseworkers and their supervisors could decide on their own to remove a child from a home, but had to petition a court within 72 hours for a hearing to review their actions — a policy that the Sixth Circuit decision made clear is unconstitutional....
"Caseworkers can't just make a judgment call and say, 'Well, I don't like this, and with the power of the state, I'm taking these children,' " said Jay Crook, Kovacic's attorney. He said the now-grown children in the case suffered abuse in foster care and had to undergo years of therapy for the trauma of being removed from their mother. "Without that neutral arbiter, that magistrate, that judge — even over the phone — you have lost all your due process safeguards."
Short on time? Use our Category Search page.
Comments (0)