Back on Mar. 6, 2019, my blog post concerned a case in Harris County TX (Houston area) where a judge slapped a fine of $127,000 onto CPS for its illegal removal of a children from a family. Recently, I found a follow-up article (apparently from the Houston Chronicle) online about the case. Here is what I found:

“Six months after a Harris County judge hit Child Protective Services with a rare $127,000 sanction for wrongfully removing a Tomball couple’s children, the state agency has abandoned its appeal and agreed to pay what may be an unprecedented sum for its handling of the case. But the agency still hasn’t admitted wrongdoing, a fact that irked the family and their attorneys. ‘To this day, they just can’t admit that they screwed up—to me that’s the saddest part for all the children in Harris County,’ said Stephanie Proffitt, one of the attorneys representing Melissa and Dillon Bright. ‘They could have at least said we may have messed this one up and we’ll do better next time. Instead they’re basically taking no responsibility. Shame on them.’

“It’s not clear what prompted the agency to drop the appeal, though in a statement, a spokesman cited the need to focus resources on other local children. Had the court of appeals ruled against them, it could have set a precedent that would make it easier for other families to win sanctions in similar cases. ‘With so many CPS cases pending in Harris County that demand our attention, we had decided to forgo an appeal and to focus our attention on those children and families, and their needs,’ said agency spokesman Patrick Crimmins. ‘We will have no additional comment on this  matter.’

“The Bright case drew statewide attention and raised concerns about the process CPS follows after receiving a report of abuse from a child abuse pediatrician, a small but growing medical subspecialty. The doctors are based at major children’s hospitals across the nation and work closely with child welfare agents and law enforcement officials in cases of suspected abuse.”

While it’s great that this Tomball couple won their case, money can never make up for their disrupted lives and the emotional damage to their children. I am truly happy that they got something. We never got an apology for our family either, and we surely didn’t get any money—rather, we had to spend a lot defending ourselves. DF