#cps cases

[victimsofcps]

When Power Meets Parenthood: How a California Politician Destroyed Yolo County’s Child Welfare System

By An Anonymous Davis Citizen Of ~ 40 Years Time In The Community

In Yolo County, California, one powerful man’s personal heartbreak has reshaped an entire child welfare system — and many families are going to suffer now because of it.

The person responsible for the changes just referenced is Matt Rexroad, a longtime Republican political consultant, former county supervisor, and former mayor of Woodland. He did not begin his foster care journey with a plan to reform the system. He and his wife took in a baby boy from the foster system, whom Rexroad publicly referred to as “Bonus Baby” — a term that soon became a symbol of a larger, more controversial movement.

After parenting the boy for over two years, the Rexroads petitioned to adopt him. But the county’s Child Welfare Services (CWS) disagreed. In line with California’s state-mandated priority of family reunification, the agency determined that the child could safely return to his biological mother just days before the deadline in which her parental rights were set to be taken. The decision prompted a legal battle. The Rexroads fought the reunification plan in court but ultimately lost as foster parents have very little rights to the children they volunteer to help prior to adoption. It is generally the accepted principle that if you decide to volunteer as a foster parent, you’re aware that there may be a multitude of systemic inequities that you will witness when caring for foster children. However, the average person doesn’t generally concede of a vengeant plan born of ill will afterward that is with the intent to make everyone else in society have to suffer because of your emotional turmoil or in this case, emotional instability and incapacity to handle loss in a mature way.

Rather than walk away, Rexroad then effectively used his political leverage to launch a crusade against the county’s child welfare agency and against any and all families that would be seeking reunification or otherwise granted that privilege as Mr. Rexroad sought to take it from every family and child in Yolo County involved with CPS who should have benefited from this opportunity. And he did this to get even for the fact that he wasn’t allowed to adopt a child that wasn’t his from the get go. As a result, the doctrine of family reunification itself has now permanently changed in Yolo County. The end result is that Yolo County’s approach to child welfare has now dramatically changed and raised alarming questions about due process, judicial independence, and the real cost of political power in CPS decision-making.

A System Under Siege

What followed the court’s denial of the Rexroads’ adoption petition was an unprecedented campaign. Rexroad publicly lambasted the social workers and judges involved in the case. He argued that the child welfare system placed ideological allegiance to family reunification over the actual well-being of children. With the support of conservative networks and growing public sympathy, he called for sweeping changes to the way Yolo County handled foster care cases.

Rexroad’s criticism extended to the courtroom. He targeted Judge Steven Basha, a respected judge known for adhering to California’s reunification-first legal framework. Rexroad accused Basha of bias and used unethical maneuvers to have him removed from hearing child welfare cases by being forced to have to recuse himself from working in the juvenile detention court in order to avoid termination after most likely a lengthy term of legal proceedings that would have put his entire career under a microscope and traumatized him and his family in the process. He had no other reasonable option but to resign from the child welfare court in order to avoid being crucified in Rexroad’s witch hunt. Shortly thereafter, Judge Basha retired completely from practicing law.

Meanwhile, changes were happening behind the scenes. The county’s Department of Health and Human Services saw a leadership shake-up. The agency’s director resigned, and her replacement implemented a policy direction far more aligned with Rexroad’s views and the new policy director was more or less put in place by Rexroad pulling political shoestrings to line up circumstances as they would need to be set forth in order to guarantee a successful forward momentum on his personal vendetta.

Although Yolo County counsel warned the Board of Supervisors that a policy limiting reunification efforts would be illegal, the Board — influenced by Rexroad — still moved forward with directives that effectively discouraged returning children to their biological families.

A Dramatic Shift in Numbers — and Consequences

The results were swift and jarring.

Between 2016 and 2017, Yolo County saw a 70% increase in children removed from their homes and placed into foster care — all this at a time when statewide foster care numbers were on the decline. Most of these removals cited “neglect” as the reason, a charge that can be vague and often stems from issues related to poverty and substance abuse, but not necessarily abuse or any factual harm or overt harm to the children involved - in the majority of cases. Of course there are exceptions and these exceptions are not the majority nor the children whose families are being victimized unnecessarily by these changes.

While child safety should be paramount in any child welfare system, the data from Yolo County paints a concerning picture. As more children have been removed from their homes, rates of repeat maltreatment have now also begun to rise. This metric is a key indicator of system effectiveness, and the spike suggests that more removals do not translate into better outcomes for children. Rather they overwhelm child welfare social workers causing them to not have the necessary time needed to devote to their cases so that nobody ends up being able to get the appropriate services they need nor the social support and assistance for families that is necessary for the families and clients being served by this agency in order to be able to succeed.

Critics argue that rather than addressing root causes — such as lack of family support services, economic hardship, or housing instability — the system now simply defaults to removal. And with this shift, the very goals of child welfare may have been turned on their head.

The Broader Implications

What has happened is impacting people in every aspect of child welfare in Yolo County. For example, it has made the remaining juvenile dependency court judges in Yolo County such as Judge Daniel P. Mcguire, obviously far too nervous to rock the boat or to even dare to disagree with the recommendation of CPS social workers in the courts now, no matter how false or unjustified their claims and recommendations may be* because they have seen their colleague get ousted now for having stood up for what’s right. You can hardly blame these judges for trying to protect their own assets as surely they have their own families to consider and mouths to feed.

The bottom line though is that this sort of political manipulation is causing the citizens of Yolo County to suffer as a result of this man’s ethically wanton disregard for the taxpaying families of Yolo County. These citizens who initially supported him having his position here in our county chose to support Mr. Rexroad because they trusted him to look out for the betterment of our community and yet he has betrayed everyone and used legal power to undermine everyone, but particularly harming the children and their mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and friends and neighbors because the damage caused by frivolously terminating the rights of parents who otherwise could have easily reunified with their children is far reaching and impacts the entire community for the entirety of those people’s lives.

Matt Rexroad’s campaign has become a case study in what can happen when political influence supersedes policy expertise and judicial independence. While some parents and advocates have praised his willingness to challenge a broken system, many others warn that the reforms he inspired may have created a more punitive, less accountable CPS apparatus — one where removing children from their homes has become not just easier, but encouraged, and where reunification is just a buzzword in the court and no longer an actual incentive where families are concerned.

The case underscores the delicate balance CPS must strike: protecting children from harm without unnecessarily destroying families. When that balance is disrupted by personal agendas or political pressure, the consequences ripple far beyond a single case.

Yolo County’s experience is a cautionary tale. It highlights the vulnerability of child welfare systems to powerful individuals, especially when those individuals operate from a place of personal grievance and hold the levers of government.

What We Can Do To Prevent This From Happening Again

At the heart of it all, a boy known only to the public as “Bonus Baby” — now home with his family where he should be — we are all being forced to now pay a terrible price for this child and his family’s due process because of a powerful ex-foster parent’s inability to handle the emotional burdens of the job they chose to volunteer for. Perhaps child welfare workers should be subjecting potential foster parents to a far more rigorous requirement of psychological evaluation before allowing people to become approved and perhaps the emotional devastation that may be a potential cost of helping children via foster parenting is something that ought to be better communicated to potential foster parents beforehand because clearly some people are not cut out for such an emotionally demanding task.

…And there’s nothing wrong with that either. It takes a very special kind of person to be able to handle the ups and downs of foster parenting without becoming emotionally broken inside. But when individuals show that they cannot handle it, we as a society cannot permit them to destroy whole sections of our society on an emotional rampage as an acceptable response to their suffering.

The political changes that have occurred we must now work diligently to undo and everyone must do their part to make sure no one is ever allowed to victimize a community in this way ever again

[eve-was-framed]

I was just reminded of the Gabriel Fernandez case (parents torturing their 8 year old son to death bc they apparently thought he was gay). he was living happily with his gay uncle and his uncle’s partner but the grandparents didn’t want him around gay men so they made him live with his mom and his mom’s bf and they literally tortured him to death because they I guess thought the gayness rubbed off on him or something and to them that meant he deserved to be killed.

one of the most evil cases I’ve ever read about and honestly I think his murderers should be forced to endure everything they put him through. extreme homophobia kills, not just gay adults but children as well.

[hellamorte]

we should absolutely adopt it as canon (mcu included) that old ass logan uses this old ass god-forsaken website (affectionate. probably)

[sage-nebula]

Current headcanons for Friede's and Orio's childhoods:

They grew up as next door neighbors in Vermilion City.

Orio's parents were in the shipping industry. Her father was a sailor, while her mother was an engineer down at the shipyard. (And, occasionally, the local Gym when Lt Surge blew the power again.) She had two younger twin sisters.

Friede's father was (and is) unknown. Friede was never told why his father wasn't around, only that he wasn't. His mother, who had inherited the house from her grandmother, resented that her (she felt) promising career as a trainer got cut short by her pregnancy. So as soon as Friede was old enough to be able to make cereal and sandwiches for himself (about four or five or so), she told him that she was going to the store . . . and then never came back.

Fortunately, Friede and Orio were already playmates by that time, and her parents weren't about to let him starve. Though Friede insisted he stay in his own house for when his mom came back, he ate many dinners at Orio's house, and her parents made sure that he stayed clothed and healthy.

(If one were to wonder if perhaps Friede's open door, "stay as long as you need" policy on the Brave Asagi had anything to do with how Orio's family gave that to him after his mom left, well . . . perhaps the idea is not so far off.)

When they were ten, Friede and Orio applied for (and received) their Trainer Licenses. They also received their first partner pokémon, albeit in different ways; Orio's father brought her a beldum from an overseas trip he took to Hoenn, while Friede applied for a starter pokémon from Professor Oak, who accepted his application and allowed him to choose a charmander.

The two planned to travel around Kanto together to collect badges, but Orio's mother received a job offer in Slateport City, Hoenn. Naturally, she wanted Orio to move there with the family, and Friede was invited . . . but he turned the offer down, wanting to explore Kanto first and see all that it had to offer, and promised to reunite with Orio someday.

("Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I want to investigate that haunted tower in Lavender Town. I heard that trainers who go in never come out. Doesn't that sound interesting?"

"Are you stupid?")

So Orio moved to Hoenn, where she accepted first a scholarship to the school in Rustboro City, and later an internship at Devon Corporation. That experience allowed her to get a job at the local shipyard, not because of her mother's experience there, but by her own merit. (She was actually hired to a higher position right off the bat; her mother was never so proud.)

As for Friede, well, he did collect the eight Kanto badges, though he had no desire to enter the League. (When asked why he collected the badges, then, he said, "Why not?") He did investigate Lavender Tower, and was only a little disappointed he and Char survived their sleepover. When he was sixteen, he took the entrance exam for a prestigious Kantonian university on a lark and passed with near perfect marks. He received a full ride, and it was there that he was taught and mentored by Lucca.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

[flipwizardstarlight]

Out of context snippet from a DPxDC fic im writing that i liked a lot:

"Why does this sound like you are fighting a war?" Jason asks quietly.

Danny, Ash, and Ember share a look.

"Because we have been for two and half years now," Danny says tiredly. "It didn't start quite so... organized. It was mostly me and my two friends fighting to keep Amity safe, then it was the three of us fighting to keep ghosts and amity safe from each other, and then I beat the ghost king and the number of people helping keep civilian injuries down started to climb while I made sure none of the ghosts coming through were caught by the humans.

"Once word spread through the Realms that i wasn't even crowned yet despite the Realms having transferred the title of King to me, almost everyone who wanted to challenge me and hadn't yet changed their minds. After the big guys stopped coming out to play, the GIW started noticing the liminals in and around Amity and the kidnappings started."

"Once the kidnappings started, we organized," Ash finishes.

"Jesus," Jason says as he runs a hand through his hair.

Danny grimmace sympathetically towards him. "Welcome to the world of Ghosts and Liminals."

[dalekinapaintedparadise]

Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (2023)

[spirit-sys]

im abt to crash the fuck out

[there-will-be-a-way]

I talked to my support worker about the cp and that I want to do something. She immediately jumped into support mode which felt so nice. We'll drive to our local police department on Tuesday plus she'll make an appointment for me at Der weiße Ring (support organization for victims of violence) to see if I can get some form of financial compensation. Plus she knows three people who work for the KriPo and she'll contact them too. Just a couple of days ago police busted a huge child sex ring in the state where I grew up and where he still lives. There is this tiny voice of hope inside my head that says that maybe they will arrest him too. Or that some evidence will lead to him.

I don't know if I should report him to the police or not. My other support worker said that I have to consider the possibility of him not getting convicted. That I could possible be made to look like a liar - and I fear them hunting me down for speaking up. There are so many obstacles.

[sunriseverse]

i think what pisses me off so much about the (tumblr) bflf fans (using this term so it doesn’t show up in searches and also because i personally see bflf fans as a separate (mainly english language) phenomenon from 双xuan fans) is that like. so much of what is held up as “proof” and “canon” is just like………seventh degree extrapolation. i say this as someone who DOES ship them and DOES think their narrative is fascinating. but also like. that narrative is about class and privilege and how deeply deeply damaging it is that rich people (aristocracy in this case) are capable of literally stealing the fate of people from poor families, and how no one will do anything, for centuries, or care, because those poor people don’t matter in the eyes of society. hx is plagued by a ghost that torments him as a human, by calamities that take his betrothed and his family from him, that turn him, ultimately, into a ravenous ghost who can think of nothing but grief and anger and hunger and revenge. and sqx gets to have his title, his destiny, for centuries. yes, because swd loved him, but that doesn’t change how deeply unjust this is. it doesn’t change the fact that sqx was only afforded this fate at the cost of a common person. and when you reduce their narrative down to “bflf are in love!” “bflf are doomed yuri!” etc, you’re ignoring the very intentional narrative message being sent, nevermind my personal thoughts on whether they were in love (probably not in canon) or wlw (lol. this one would get me fifty years of hate comments).

also if you’re convincing people to read the novel by telling them all about bflf i think you should be subjected to ten hours of nail clipping asmr because you’re just fucking doing false advertisement and i hope for your sake the friend who trusted you on this topic doesn’t begin to secretly distrust you based on lying to them to get them to read your favourite book.

[faulix]

"we're relabeling the warning so now you know for a fact and without a shadow of a doubt that the fic does indeed have child pornography"

[howtobeamagicalgirl]

They put a new girl in my classroom today bc my coteacher is out again for the third time this month which is fine. And this new girl literally just stands in a corner and looks at the kids like this 😐 until she thinks you aren't looking and then she pulls out her phone and scrolls gleefully while I supervise 7 children by myself

We were outside on the playground and she kept asking me when we were going in (10:00) (we play outside for an hour) (it's literally the best and easiest part of the day and I'd make it longer if I could) and she said it was too cold (68°F and sunnyyyyy). And then she just scrolled on her phone until we went inside

[dalekinapaintedparadise]

V in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Official Launch Trailer

[glitchfang]

look i’ll defend the existence of books like lolita and the bluest eye, i dont believe those authors should be persecuted, i think having these books around is a good thing for literature. i hate banned books. but itd be great if you could stop plugging our ears and going “lalalalalala i cant hear you” when someone criticizes a book that’s very obviously the author trying to explain why csa is fine and sexy, actually

[the-capos-daughter]

[im2tired4usernames]

You know if your church has an attitude that child education is a waste of time because God and revolutions is coming anytime and the world's just gonna end so the children don't need to waste time to know math and that you need to train them up right they just need to study the Bible and love God your church is lit just a dooms day cult and not even trying to hide it

[fangjuexias]

Save Our Spirit Audio Drama || Theme Song "Confession of a Heartless Man"

策划：冷子 作曲：涟蕴 编曲：阿泰 作词：LauHa 演唱/和声：醉雪 混音：CY 监制：卿雪 制作：希声原创音乐工作室 海报设计：雪梨 字幕组：OCIR·字幕组

谎言粉饰的灵魂 只识饥渴与体温 无心者理论不知双唇 还可用作亲吻 扮演千万重身份 喜怒也恰如其分 楚门舞台上的木偶 也曾灿若星辰

你问为何执迷“你我” 涉险如飞蛾 罪孽与鲜血如都湮没 真相迟来有如何 你问火雨燃过荒漠 为何不退缩 若忏悔是他唯选择 是否都太过蹉跎

谎言粉饰的灵魂 竟也渴望他亲吻 无心者引申奋不顾身 还可出自爱恨 扮演千万重身份 不敌他一声“爱人” 这伤痕累累的楚门 落下一颗星辰

原来他执迷与“你我” 并非因善恶 罪孽与鲜血尽数吞没 只为温暖你魂魄 原来他寂寞的荒漠 因你而鲜活 他为你停泊宿命紧握 绝不算蹉跎

这声色万象不过一曲虚伪的交响 使枪口指他背后方向再共舞一场

少年挣脱漫长时间 撕开你假面 被棋局改写的从前 还你以喧嚣世界 千万爱意也都胆怯 他是你深渊 末日来临前吻她双眼 与最高级危险 共犯