Legal Question in Family Law in Tennessee
Illegal interview of a minor
My child is 4. The director of his daycare has been accused and arrested for allegations of physical abuse. The day this happened, a lady with DHS came to the center and took some (not all) children one by one outside on the playground alone. I feel like my child's rights were violated and I want to do something about it. I wrote a letter stating I wanted some legal proof that this is legal to do without parent's consent--I received a letter stating that it is procedure. The letter also had several discrepanies re: what the DHS worker discussed with me. I need some guidance. Also, the investigation from day one has been very unfair and definitely not impartial. To hear the allegations and know the family that made them--anyone in their right mind would have dropped the case immediately. Instead, our taxes are being put to work to investigate an obvious false allegation--meanwhile, the director of the center is wasting a large amount of money defending herself because of this. As a parent, what can I do about the interview with my child and as a friend, what kind of help can I give her? Can she sue to get the money back she had to spend on this case?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Illegal interview of a minor
What you describe happening in unfortunately typical in Tennessee with the Department of Children's Services and with similar departments in other states.
And there's probably next to nothing you can do about what happened to your child.
The reality of life is that if you filed suit and were able to get the case heard by a jury the caseworker would talk about how important it is to protect children from abuse and the jury would gobble it up.
The public attitude toward child abuse today is little different from the withhunt mentality of the 1600's.
Virtually nothing a child saver does will be punished, and certainly not an abuse as minor as the one you describe.
Give support to your friend, complain to your state legislators and that's about it.
I do a lot of work in this area.... and the way society has chosen to ignore the rights of the accused AND the rights of parents and of children in this area is shocking.
Jes Beard
Jes Beard, Attorney at Law
737 Market St., Suite 601
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