Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
My neighbor got upset because a flower in her yard was crushed. She came out to the street and said she is going to call child protective services because children are playing outside without parents. I was on my porch and heard her. There have been false allegations on parents in the neighborhood and many suspect her. However when CPS visits they say they can't tell you who called, or what the allegation is. If someone calls anonymously and makes false accusations resulting in CPS investigations is there a way to find out and take legal recourse. Isn't filing false reports a crime? Wouldn't this fall under harassment? There seems to be lots of malicious reports made in my neighborhood, I myself had one last year. My kids are traumatized and terrified of the lady, because they think her lies can result in them being taken away from their mother. My daughter was crying uncontrollably when the woman told her that in the street. I confronted her and asked her to stay away from my children. What can a parent do? This is ridiculous! People are using CPS as a weapon.
1 Answer from Attorneys
People have used CPS as a weapon since the day after CPS was created. It's a terrible situation.
It is illegal to make false CPS reports. The problems are that you have to prove WHO made the reports and you have to prove that at the time the person made the report, they KNEW what they said was false.
Even if you could prove it was a particular person, if she called CPS and said "There are children running around with inadequate supervision," she could always that in her opinion that is true. Just because CPS ruled it out does not mean that her report was false. I know that makes little sense.
It's different from her saying that she has seen with her own eyes as you have beat your child with a boat oar. Then CPS investigates, rules it out. In that case, she KNEW her report was false.
Does that example clarify how her reports could be inaccurate or non-actionable, but not-false at the same time?
You might be able to get a criminal case going against her, but it would be up to the DA to decide if this is worth the effort from their office.
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