Katy mom says her 15-year-old drug addicted daughter was missing for more than 2 months while in CPS custody
Katy mom says daughter was missing for over two months while in CPS custody
FOX 26 Reporter Randy Wallace spoke with the mother about what happened.
HOUSTON - Instead of placing the 15-year-old in a drug treatment facility, CPS housed the girl in a hotel and a CPS office, where her mother says she snorted Xanax.
"You have this organization that has all of these resources, and they are supposed to protect children. And in reality, they are not protecting children. They are harming children," said the 15-year-old girl's mother, Jenifer Knighton.
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Knighton has physical proof of all the times she called the sheriffs department to report her 15-year-old daughter.
"She was doing whatever she wanted to do," Knighton said.
The 15-year-old has a serious drug problem and her mother says she was in fear for her safety along with her 8-year-old and 2-year-old daughters.
"I never wanted her to leave. She wanted to leave by herself and make her own choices," said the teen's 8-year-old sister, Esmeralda Perez.
"My understanding of the law, my understanding how CPS works is, they intervene, and they can take temporary custody of a child, so the child can get the appropriate care they need," said Knighton.
That's what Knighton says she wanted, but says that's not what happened.
Instead of placing the teen in some sort of drug rehabilitation program, the state kept the girl in a CPS office at 9460 Harwin during the day and a hotel at night.
So what did the teen do in the CPS office?
"There was drug use in the office. She walked out, nobody tried to stop her. They did nothing," her mother said.
The girl was missing for almost a week.
"Somebody told me she had been picked up and I told CPS," Knighton said.
Knighton says CPS told her that her daughter was in the hospital for a medical exam. The next day, the teen was taken back to the CPS office and hotel. She and another girl ran away and were missing for two and a half months.
Knighton says her daughter and the other girl in foster care were the victims of a lot of criminal activity.
She says CPS would not give her or her attorney any information about the search for her child.
"They gave me custody of my missing child back while she was missing, and something was given to HPD, they falsified that she had been recovered when she had not been recovered," said Knighton.
Knighton recorded conversations and kept detailed notes.
She says when she questioned CPS about falsified information, they threatened to take custody of her younger daughters, even though the agency's paperwork clears Knighton of any abuse or neglect.
"I got scared thinking something's going to happen, or they'll be screaming at my mom or talking rude to my mom," said Knighton's 8-year-old daughter.
CPS filed a nonsuit in court meaning the state agency wants nothing more to do with Knighton or her troubled teen.
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Knighton wanted to go to trial.
"And I want answers, because I know I'm not the only person that's gone through this, and it's unacceptable," she said.
As far as Knighton is concerned, her troubled daughter is in worse shape after being in CPS custody.
Melissa Lanford with Texas DFPS said, ""In evey case involving a missing youth, Child Protective Investigators file a runaway report with law enforcement, report the child to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and interview friends and family in an attempt to bring the missing child home safely. In cases involving substance abuse issues, DFPS will find treatment programs and offer services to the youth and family."