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Smith v. Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services9/11/2003
served by the police. As a result of the incident, the Department opened a case to initiate family-based services.
In January 2001, the Smiths' case was assigned to Sabrina Harris, a Department caseworker, who had been with the Department for less than a month. Harris's duties were to make home visits, talk to the children at school, offer services to the family, such as parenting, individual counseling, anger management, drug and alcohol assessments when necessary, and "to kind of basically watch the family and try to preserve it as much as possible to prevent removals."
Harris made her first home visit on January 25, 2001 during the middle of the afternoon. All five children were home with Bobbie that day. Harris testified during the trial that the inside of the house was filthy; the kitchen was infested with roaches and dirty dishes, and the refrigerator was not working; there were clothes all over the living room; the front steps to the house were unstable and missing boards; the yard was strewn with trash; windows were broken; the children were dirty; the two older children were home from school because they had head lice; and the children were running in and out of the house as they pleased, except for C.R.S., who was in a baby carrier. Harris also testified that Bobbie, who had a month-old baby, appeared tired and disheveled. Carlos was incarcerated at the time. Harris instructed Bobbie to clean up the house, and said she would return in one week to check on Bobbie's progress. When Harris returned the following week, she observed that the improvements she had requested were not made. Harris again asked Bobbie to clean the house, and told her she would be back to check on her progress.
Before her next visit, Harris received a call from the principal of the two older girls' school; he expressed concern about the girls' absences. Harris then returned to Bobbie's house to discuss the absences. When she arrived, Bobbie was ill, so her mother answered the door. The house did not look any better to Harris. In addition, the children were running in and out of the house playing, and they were very dirty.
On February 15, Harris visited the two older girls at their school. The girls informed Harris that they had been staying with their paternal grandmother, Beulah Smith, so that they could get to school on time. So, Harris went to Bobbie's house to find out why the girls were staying with their grandmother. When she arrived, C.A.S. answered the door; he was four years old at the time. Bobbie was in her bedroom sleeping with the two younger girls; she never came out to speak with Harris. Later that day, Harris learned that the police had made a safety and health check at the house earlier in the day. The police did not contact the Department to report any problems.
Harris returned to the home on February 22. She brought a co-worker with her, Jackie Morley Webb, to help her assess the family and the situation. Bobbie was home that day with her three youngest children; the two older girls were at school. Bobbie appeared upset because Harris had brought another person with her. At one point, Bobbie grabbed C.L.S. by her arm and dragged her down the hall. C.A.S., the boy, was running in and out of the house with a broomstick trying to "play fight," and both children were very dirty. Bobbie was yelling at her children to stop. After the visit, Harris and Webb called their supervisor "to staff the case for removal." Harris's decision to seek removal was based on her concerns about the condition of the house, the lack of supervision for the children, the condition of the children, and safety hazards in the home. Harris's description of the safety hazards included holes
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