In 2022, my world forever changed when the police forcibly took my three little girls from our home. No crime had been committed, and there was no imminent danger. The police had no warrant. An unlicensed Child Protection “social worker” lied to them, and they failed to verify.

The child protection worker was impeached in several trials, and I was vindicated. Unfortunately, my family suffered immensely. The trials sent us into years of turmoil that cost tens of thousands of dollars and put one of my daughters in a psychiatric hospital for months. The government refused to allow me to see her. I cannot describe the torture we endured.

My family is not alone. Thousands suffer a similar fate every year. Families have inherent protection from this type of intrusion within the U.S. Constitution, but states have successfully ignored those rights for years. We can and should save parents and children from further harm.

Did you know…

• CPS can open an investigation into your family through any anonymous “tip”?
• CPS can interrogate your child at their school without your permission?
• DHS, DCF, or The Department of Children, Youth, and Families can remove your children from your home at any time without a warrant?
• You could face and win trials in three different courts to prove your innocence and still not see your children?

According to Human Rights Watch, ONE IN THREE children in the United States will endure a child protection investigation by the age of 18. Minnesota removes children at twice the national average for some populations, averaging nearly 17 removals per day. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, less than twenty percent of cases found maltreatment occurred, even with broad definitions of maltreatment and even broader discretion given to the courts.

A 2019 report by the American Psychological Association on child protection reveals that 70% of children and parents suffer negative psychological effects due to separation caused by state intervention—even in the absence of any real threat. Reacting to imagined dangers should never justify terrorizing families or uprooting children from the love and security of their homes.

WE NEED TO PROTECT CHILDREN AND FAMILIES. A State Amendment will codify what the U.S. Supreme Court has already upheld: parents have the right to the care, custody, and control of their children. Criminal laws already exist to protect children from actual harm. No government agency should have the power to traumatize children under the guise of “protection.”

We urge our state representatives to propose an amendment to the state constitution to include the following:

1. The right of parents to direct the care, custody, and control of their minor children shall not be infringed, burdened, or abridged by the United States or by any State without demonstrating that such governmental action is:
   • (a) necessary to further a compelling governmental interest; and
   • (b) narrowly tailored to achieve that interest using the least restrictive means available.
2. Nothing in this article shall be construed to apply to a parental action or decision that would cause serious bodily injury or subject the child to serious risk of death or grievous harm.
3. In cases of marital dissolution or separation, both parents shall be afforded equal protection under this Amendment regarding custody and parenting time of their minor children. Any limitation or restriction on either parent’s right to custody or parenting time must satisfy the strict scrutiny standard set forth above, unless both parents voluntarily agree to such limitation or restriction.

Please join the thousands of parents already calling for action! SIGN THE PETITION to stop unnecessary traumatic removals of children and end the terrorizing of families.