Family

Kirsten Gillibrand’s ‘family bill of rights’ has a faulty premise: Government ‘help’ is actually helpful

Dark horse presidential candidate Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., recently unveiled her “family bill of rights,” a plan she claims “will lift many of the financial burdens on families and help level the playing field for children” within her first 100 days as president. Unlike the actual Bill of Rights, Gillibrand’s proposal expands the role of government while...

June 9, 2019

Family

Whitman’s Successor Has Tough Road Ahead

Just one day after the conclusion of the 86th Texas Legislature, Hank Whitman announced that he will be retiring as commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective Services at the end of this month. Appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2016, his tenure as the head of the state’s child welfare agency was a...

June 7, 2019

Family

Shadow removals: How safety plans allow CPS to avoid judicial oversight

An investigative report by WDRB in Louisville, Kentucky recently exposed a particularly innovative — although likely illegal — method that the state’s child protective services caseworkers came up with to remove children from their families without court approval. According to the report, Cabinet for Health and Family Services workers kept stacks of blank emergency removal orders that...

May 31, 2019

Family

The Future Is Looking Bright-er

It’s what many Texans remember about summers as a child; there’s no relief from the Texas heat like playing in the sprinkler. But for the Bright family of Tomball, a summer sprinkler session led to an ordeal involving Child Protective Services, a baseless prosecution and—eventually—a fine against the agency for misconduct. In July of 2018,...

March 19, 2019

Family

Letter to the Office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Regarding Parental Rights

The Texas Public Policy Foundation writes to support Representative James White’s November 27, 2018 request (RQ-0258-KP) seeking your office’s opinion on the elements, factors, or standards courts have considered and applied when balancing the rights of the state against the fundamental right of parents to raise their children free from government intrusion. In light of...

January 8, 2019

Family

State should have to meet higher bar before removing children from home

When Dillon and Melissa Bright’s infant son fell from a chair and bumped his head, they rushed him to Texas Children’s Hospital to get him checked out. It began a months-long nightmare encounter with Child Protective Services that reached its climax on November 8, when state district Judge Michael Schneider issued an unprecedented sanction of...

December 16, 2018

Family

When playtime is illegal

Most kids, at least in my generation, played some variation of “Cops and Robbers.” Some hid, some chased. The goal was to bring evildoers to justice. The lawlessness of “Cops and Robbers” was make-believe, of course, but the freedom for kids to play with their friends is becoming illegal in more and more instances. The...

November 27, 2018