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| Witnesses testify in favor of the Maryland "Know Before They Knock" bill. You can watch the entire video here. |
If you don’t know your rights, you don’t have your
rights. When impoverished families hear that pounding at the door in the middle
of the night from a worker for child protective services, often they don’t know
their rights.
A lot of CPS agencies want to keep it that way. But five states have passed what are commonly
known as “family Miranda laws,” requiring the agency to tell families their
rights – including their right to consult a lawyer. In Maryland, a bill to do that, HB
223, is called “Know Before They Knock." It was the subject of a hearing before the
Maryland House of Representatives Judiciary Committee last week. It’s
well worth watching the hearing, available here.
Below, I’ve reprinted the testimony of one of the many
witnesses speaking in favor of the bill.
Prof. Shanta Trivedi teaches and writes about the child welfare system
at the University of Baltimore School of Law. She is the faculty director of
the Meyerhoff Center for Families Children and the Courts. She has also
represented parents who have had their children removed without knowing their
rights. [Emphasis in original]:
Imagine CPS knocks on your door in the middle of the night. They say that they’re going to search your home. They will search your medicine cabinet, your bedroom. They’ll ask questions about your romantic partners, about how many glasses of wine you have each week. They’ll ask to speak to your children without you being present and to inspect their naked bodies. How would you respond? Welcome them in? I doubt that. I know that I would tell them come back with a warrant, and I would call a lawyer immediately, because I know my rights. You know your rights. But, of course, not everyone does.
This bill simply puts marginalized families on equal footing with their more privileged counterparts. This bill would establish that constitutional protections apply in child welfare investigations and would allow parents to make informed decisions throughout the process.
To date, Connecticut, Texas, Florida, Montana and Arizona have all passed these laws and New York and Delaware have introduced similar legislation. The question is whether we want to join those states in respecting parental rights for ALL parents or just for the privileged few.
Rather than making children less safe, states that have passed similar laws have found that they keep children safer because transparency from the agency encourages families to be more forthcoming. Further, the law already provides for law enforcement and DSS to be able to enter in emergency situations. This bill would not change this.
I know that opponents do not want DSS to be perceived as a policing agency but unfortunately, many parents already feel this way because of the intrusive nature of investigations and the threat that their children can be taken. Regardless of what the perception is, the fact remains that removing one’s child directly impacts both the parent and child’s rights to family integrity and the parent’s right to care, custody and control of their children. This is true regardless of whether the police do it or if DSS does it. Whether or not we advise parents of how to protect those rights, they still exist.
The goal of the child welfare system is to protect children, and research shows that most children do best with their families. Because I believe this bill is an important step toward protecting family integrity. I urge you to support HB223.
P.S. I just caught up with Sunday's edition of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. In the course of discussing immigration raids he said something that could apply to any government agency that pounds on people's doors in the middle of the night and demands entry:
