Fort Bend parents' lawsuit led to changes calling for court orders before state pulls alleged victims from homes in abuse cases

By JANET ELLIOTT
Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

Aug. 27, 2008

AUSTIN — Texas child abuse investigators are being advised to seek court orders before removing children from their home in all but the most dangerous situations, one of several major policy changes demanded by a federal appeals court.

The new standards, lauded by parental rights advocates and decried by prosecutors, arose out of a ruling late last month by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in a long-running lawsuit against the state filed by a Fort Bend County couple and their 13 children.

The court found that state and local officials who removed the children during a child abuse investigation may have acted improperly but were protected by government immunity.

But the court set out new legal requirements for child abuse investigations in the three states covered by its jurisdiction — Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

"The decision will require us to make some extremely difficult decisions," said Carey Cockerell, commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in an "urgent legal advisory" sent Friday to all Child Protective Services personnel.

The memo, obtained by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News, said the new policies must be followed to protect staff from being sued for monetary damages if children are removed in violation of the new policies.

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