Olaf Growald
The tears escaping Gary Haas’ eyes aren’t running away from sadness. They’re gently reminding him what a blessed man he is today after years of working hard to put his self-inflicted sorrow behind him. “I had always been able to ‘outsmart’ — so I thought — all of the caseworkers. Due to the lifestyle of an addict who not only used but also sold drugs, DFPS was notified multiple times. “We lived in a rundown motel in Arlington on Division Street that was well known for criminal activity. I managed the motel, so I was involved in pretty much everything that went on there.” A lot went on, most of which was not suitable for his four children, who at the time were ages 11 (Carissa), 9 (Taylor), 8 (Cadie), and 6 (Gary Jr.). But he thought that as long as they were fed, bathed, and going to school, his duties as a parent were fulfilled, and he could get on with other “adult” parts of his life.
The Department of Family Protective Services thought otherwise and did their job. After the DFPS was contacted one too many times, Gary’s children did not get off the school bus one day. They had been taken into custody by Child Protective Services (which falls under the umbrella of DFPS).
He was living the fear of many parents, having their children taken away, even as their behavior as adults demands no other choice.
But Gary learned that DFPS does not want to break up families if another option exists, and that option depends largely on parents like Gary. In fact, the DFPS does all it can to keep families together — after working through the problems, of course — and hopefully to see families in Gary’s current situation, happy and stronger after waking up from their nightmare.
“When your kids have been removed, it’s time to look in the mirror. CPS doesn’t want your kids. They aren’t profiting from their removal,” Gary says. “If you make an honest effort, anything is possible. If this 25-plus-year addict can do it, anyone can.”
Stories like Gary’s are what the DFPS wants more of. While its No. 1 concern is protection and welfare of children, it realizes the best place for any child is in a happy home with loving parents.
“The family is the expert on their children,” says Joanna Golliday, a DFPS program administrator in Fort Worth. “Our ultimate goal is to collaborate with a family, help them during a time of need. If the child has to come out of the home, the goal is to put that child back in the home.”
That possibility is becoming more of a reality with each passing day, says Marissa Gonzales, DFPS media relations spokesperson. She noted that in Region 3 of DFPS, which covers Tarrant, Dallas, and 17 surrounding counties, there were 40,100 investigations in 2019, with 3,776 child removals. Statewide, there were around 163,000 investigations with just under 19,000 child removals.
Olaf Growald
Gary and his "soulmate," Melissa
REMOVAL IS CERTAINLY AN OPTION, THOUGH If a situation is deemed harmful, a child will be removed without hesitation, says DFPS Investigator Christina Salinas. But at the same time, parents are offered opportunities, as was Gary, to get their own lives straight, to prove they want to do what’s best for themselves and their children, she says.
“We’ve removed children because of many reasons — drug use, family violence — but we provide resources to parents to be able to reunite with the child,” Salinas says. “It is up to the parents to take advantage of those, but we’re going to make sure that child is safe no matter what.”
The old adage that children automatically go into orphanages does not hold true. The first choice is to place them with another family member, such as a grandparent, aunt, or uncle. Foster parents are also a viable option, though Gonzales advises much consideration before entering into this field for the sake of the child and yourself.
The qualifications to become a foster parent aren’t so many, though they are stringent. There are many hours of training, one must be 21 years old, and have a clean record with the law.
“They’re going to go into your house, talk to people who know you, they’re going to look for every single little thing that might disqualify you,” Gonzales says.
“This is not something you get into lightly. You’ll have to be support for that child, and that means being strong. You can’t be support for them unless you have everything in your own life in order,” Golliday says. “They desperately need someone they know will be there for them at all times.”
COMMUNITY-BASED CARE A common fear is that when children are removed from a home they are sent to all parts of the state, often meaning the splitting up of siblings and division of greatly needed support. Yes, this does happen, but not as often as before, thanks to organizations such as Our Community Our Kids (OCOK), which has been working with the DFPS for the past few years to implement Community-Based Care.
CBC is a major statewide effort to redesign foster care that focuses on keeping children closer to home and developing the services they need in the community. Within a geographic service area, a single contractor (officially a Single Source Continuum Contractor or SSCC), such as OCOK, is responsible for finding foster homes or other living arrangements for children in state care and providing them a full continuum of services.
The idea for CBC came about around a dozen years ago, says Wayne Carson, CEO of OCOK, a division of ACH Child and Family Services.
“A group in Austin realized there was a foster care system across the state that wasn’t working,” Carson says. “They determined fundamentally that the problem was we’ve got 30,000 kids in the system, and all of the problem-solving was taking place in Austin. The solution in El Paso looks different than Fort Worth or Houston.”
Carson says that some other states have dealt with the same problem, and in places such as Florida and Kansas, the model that worked best for dealing with it was CBC. Now, Texas is giving it a try.
“Of course, there still needs to be someone watching to make sure it’s working and to hold us accountable, and that’s the best job for the folks in Austin,” he says.
But the job of everyone working together is to find a place where youngsters can find comfort and not live in a state of fear and uncertainty.
“We have to show them adults can be trusted, that you can get three meals in a day, and sleep without someone coming into your room at 3 a.m. to hurt you,” Carson says.
While reunion of kids with their biological families is a goal, sometimes that is not possible and not always because of the parents. Sometimes it is the children who need more help before reuniting, if it can ever happen.
But that, too, falls back on the parents, Carson says.
“The behavior of our kids is a result of the trauma they’ve experienced. They don’t feel like the world is a safe place, and it’s our job to show them it can be,” he says.
OCOK is also tackling the challenge of finding places for older children to stay locally, which has been difficult in the past, particularly those with no foster parents to go to and who depend on orphanage-type scenarios. With the help of organizations such as Vision Quest and Camp Worth, Carson said capacity to house such youngsters is around 59 beds.
And while that may not seem like a lot, it’s an improvement from years past, he says.
“It’s the first time we’ve had that capacity locally. Houston has quite a few, San Antonio as well, but we’ve not been so fortunate around here until lately,” he says. “We have about 40 kids in that type of care.
“Once we start getting more kids in a community, it’s easier to get them back into a family.”
Olaf Growald
Gary (center), with his immediate and extended family
DEALING WITH BURNOUT Becoming a caseworker in the CPS system is often a social worker’s first job straight out of college. Many people go into the profession with good intentions but can’t handle the stress from the day-to-day trauma they see. The position requires grit and thick skin.
Frequently, people applying for the job say they “just want to help children,” Spraberry says. But the job requirements go far beyond that.
“This job is just not one of those jobs where you’re just helping children,” she says. “You also have to deal with parents. You have to see some really gruesome things. You also have to deal with people not liking you for the simple fact of the job title that you hold.”
Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress, a condition that stems from observing trauma, are common for CPS employees.
CPS utilizes an employee assistance program that offers individual and family counseling should caseworkers or other staff need help. As an investigative supervisor, Adrienne Spraberry also tries to proactively prevent burnout in her caseworkers by identifying when they’re stressed and prioritizing their mental health.
“You also have to know your staff,” she says. “I can typically tell when something is not right with one of my people.”
She also brings her employees together for roundtable talks following particularly difficult cases. It’s a bit like group therapy in that everyone in her unit has experienced similar trauma and talking about the case together can help relieve stress.
When Spraberry first started working in the field, she learned quickly that work-life balance was essential. Even though the hours on the job are long and hard, she wants to make sure her employees are able to be involved in their own families, too.
“We have a rule in my unit,” she says. “We don’t miss anything that our children are involved in. If your child has a spelling bee at 10 a.m., my expectation is that you are in the audience at that school at 10:00 a.m.”
But sometimes, burnout is just inevitable. Because of this, turnover is high in the profession. Tarrant County, in particular, saw a 22% turnover rate in 2019, according to DFPS statistics. Keeping a full staff can be a challenge, and a shortage of caseworkers can add to an already heavy workload.
“When we have turnover and when we’re understaffed, that doesn’t mean that cases don’t come in,” Spraberry says. “We still get those cases.”
While the job can be emotionally draining, it’s the rewarding times that keep people in the industry going.
“That is what has kept me doing this for almost 13 years,” Golladay says. “You’re impacting a life. You know that you have changed the trajectory of that child’s life and the outcome that they are going to live in for the good.”
WEAPONIZING CPS While most CPS cases are legitimate, there are occasions when a complaint is filed maliciously as a form of retaliation or revenge. This may be in the midst of contemptuous divorce proceedings or due to a tiff with a family member. Golliday says this happens less than you would think, though.
“Most of the time, there’s something true and accurate in the reports that we’ve been given,” she says.
Because of state laws, anyone who suspects abuse or neglect can file a report without proof of any wrongdoing. All reports are investigated.
But the idea that parents or guardians are guilty until proven innocent is more of a societal mindset than that of DFPS. Allegations are just that — allegations.
“When we get allegations that children are hurt or in danger, your hope should always be that it’s not true,” Golliday says.
Claims made as a result of divorce proceedings are handled just like any other investigations. Sometimes DFPS is subpoenaed to present its findings to the court.
“They typically will ask what occurred with our investigation, what was told to us, what our findings were,” Spraberry says. “If there were pictures, they want to see pictures. They can subpoena recordings — anything that we’ve done within a case — it can be subpoenaed.”
Maliciously filed complaints can bog down the DFPS system. Knowingly making a false report is punishable by a fine up to $10,000 or up to two years in jail, according to state law.
“It does take away from us investigating cases where actual child abuse is occurring,” Spraberry said of false reports.
WORKING TOGETHER Along with the necessary treatment, counseling, etc. that parents go through to be reunited with their children is understanding that the DFPS is not the enemy. Gary had to come to this realization on his journey to getting his children back.
“Of course, I was enraged. In my mind I had been a good father,” he says of his initial reaction to the loss of his children. “I ended up with an amazing caseworker who really cared. She adored my children and worked extremely hard to help me understand that my anger wasn’t going to get my kids home.”
It took a few months and a lot of patience on the part of that caseworker, Gary says, but she helped him realize that the lifestyle he was living, the conditions at the motel, and his anger and combative attitude about the whole situation was not helping. Courts were now involved, and Gary had been ordered to comply with a service plan or lose his children.
It was that simple.
“I had been to three drug treatment centers, had three felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance, several stints in Tarrant County Jail, and even served time in prison. And now my kids had been taken by the state. All directly linked to my addiction to meth,” he says. “It was a life-changing realization. I needed help. And more importantly, for the sake of my children, I wanted help.
“I remember laying in their beds after they were removed and crying because I could only imagine what they were going through. I love my kids and didn’t even realize what kind of life I was setting them up for. I decided I was going to do whatever it took to get them home and make a better life for all of us.”
PARENTS NEED A CHANGE ALSO While removing children from the situation is often critical, it is likewise for the parents or guardians. Gary was sent to a fourth treatment center, got clean, and immediately changed his living situation upon release.
“I stayed at my father’s house a few weeks. Then, at my caseworker’s request, I went to stay at the Union Gospel Mission (UGM). It was a short walk to most of my court-ordered services and had many more resources available to me than CPS could offer,” he says.
The judge noticed the extreme change in Gary and granted him a six-month extension on his case. Gary was able to get into a rental assistance program through Community Enrichment.
After completing all of his services and five months at the UGM, where he was also named resident of the month, he moved into a three-bedroom apartment.
“The changes I had made in my life allowed me to mend relationships with my family,” he says. “My grandmother bought me an inexpensive car so I could find work.
“And my case was finally closed after 18 months. I was granted sole custody of all four children.”
Gary followed everything the judge ordered, including attending meetings. And he has advice for anyone else who might someday find themselves in his situation, “Stay away from people still involved in that lifestyle.”
It means finding a whole new set of friends, but it can also mean having your life saved and finding your way back to your family, Gary added.
Golliday said there are also incidents where an adult is being abused along with the child, and that clearly calls for a change in venue. For example, it’s not uncommon for a mother — or even a father — to also be abused if the children are, she says.
“We may have a situation where the mother is unsafe, too, and we are obligated to help provide protection for her. We need to make that mother safe as well,” Golliday says.
And if the mother/father won’t leave the situation?
“We’d never be able to return that child because the mom has never learned or allowed herself to be given a chance to better her situation,” Spraberry says.
STILL MORE TO DO, AND YOU CAN HELP While progress has been made in the battle to stop child abuse and neglect and keep families together as much as possible, the fight is far from over, Golliday says.
“I think we still have a lot of generational things in our community to overcome; that’s how they were reared, etc.,” Golliday says. “We have kids becoming parents at age 14, 15, and 16, and they don’t know how to overcome those challenges, but they have to be taught so that future generations can change.
“We have some hard days ahead, but we’re ready to fight the good fight.”
Golliday added that Texas overall has produced some of the nation’s most groundbreaking work in child and family protection.
“We have 11 different regions, a variety of population in the community we’re dealing with, and we are a large state with a lot to work with,” she says.
And while not everyone can be or wants to be a foster parent, there are numerous other ways the community can help. Rainbow Rooms are always in need of clothing, diapers, etc., including volunteers. Phones need to be answered, and this is a great opportunity for volunteers.
Adults are needed for mentoring, working with youth in foster care, sort of like a Big Brother/Big Sister. Also, parents sometimes need transportation to and from appointments such as court dates or counseling.
Olaf Growald
Gary's family tree. Along with his five children, he also has two granddaughters.
GARY’S LIFE TODAY Gary’s children went through several foster homes. The older two ended up with what he called “some wonderful people” with whom they still have contact. The younger two, because of the emotional strain, did need the help of state behavioral hospitals in Austin and Denton, he says.
But through it all, they are a family — and now an expanded family.
“Eventually I reunited with my soulmate, Melissa, that I had been with on and off since the seventh grade. We also have a daughter together, Courtney. She’s now 26 with a good job and has our granddaughter, Vera [who turned 3 in March],” Gary says.
Gary admits it hasn’t been a storybook ending, per se, but compared to where his life was, it’s magical. And he remains thankful to the DFPS for forcing him into a literal do-or-die situation, one in which he chose to “do.”
Carissa graduated from high school in 2015, is engaged, and has Gary’s other granddaughter, Alona, who turned 2 in March. Taylor is now 20, graduated in 2018, lives with her boyfriend, and has a good job. Cadie is 19 and set to graduate high school this year, and Gary Jr. is 18 and still in school and doing well.
And Gary is with the same company that hired him 11 years ago when his quest for change started. He has risen to the position of operations manager for a nationwide logistics company.
Not only has Gary and the DFPS changed his own life, he’s now helping them help others. He spent several years on the CPS Statewide Parent Collaboration Group and has been the facilitator of the local Parents Empowering Parents support group, which meets every second Thursday of the month at the Ben Street CPS office.
“I’m a volunteer parent, and my role is to help other families successfully navigate the system. I’m 11 years drug free and counting,” he says. “My advice to parents is simple. Get over the anger. Put yourself in your kids’ shoes and imagine how they must feel.”
