Does Requiring Admission of Abuse as Condition for Regaining Child Custody Violate Parents’ Rights?
In the Matter of: T. M., Case no. 2007-2317 12th District Court of Appeals (Madison County) ISSUE: Does a provision in a children services agency case plan requiring that one or both parent(s) of an injured child must admit abusing the child as a mandatory condition of regaining custody violate the parents’ constitutional right against self-incrimination? BACKGROUND: In August 2004, the Madison County Department of Child and Family Services (MCCFS) obtained temporary custody of a four-month-old girl identified as T.M. after emergency room doctors treating the child for a swollen leg found five different fractures in her extremities that were at different stages of healing. An expert in childhood injuries who examined T.M. determined that the injuries were not accidental, but the result of abuse. Following treatment for her injuries, T.M. was placed in the home of a foster family under the supervision of MCCFS by order of the local juvenile court. MCCFS established a case management pla
