A Dallas couple whose newborn daughter was taken into state custody with erroneous court documents following a hospital visit two years ago sued the state of Texas Tuesday.
Their lawsuit, filed on behalf of the family by ACLU Texas, alleges the DFPS process that led to baby Mila Jackson’s removal left the family with a label on their record that does not clear them of wrongdoing and disrupts their privacy.
“It hasn't just been, ‘oh, Mila's home and everything is all great,’” Temecia Jackson told KERA News. “It's still been fighting for our reputation in the community. It's still fighting for our mental health and all of that.”
Child Protective Services ultimately returned Mila Jackson to her parents three weeks after a doctor reported Temecia and Rodney Jackson to the state for alleged medical neglect.
Baylor Scott and White Doctor Anand Bhatt diagnosed three-day-old Mila Jackson with jaundice when her parents took her in for a routine postpartum checkup. Later that day, Bhatt called to tell the Jacksons he believed Mila needed to be cared for in the hospital.
The Jacksons opted to pursue an alternative treatment plan at home with their midwife to avoid being separated from Mila. Texas law gives parents the right to consent to their child's health care. Bhatt tried to coordinate a care plan with the Jacksons’ midwife but said he was unable to reach the family after multiple calls, and he reported the Jacksons to DFPS.
When Mila was a week old, an investigator and constables arrived at the family’s DeSoto home and took the newborn from her parents. Bhatt named Rodney Jackson as Mila’s father but named a different woman — Nichovia Nichols — as Mila’s mother, according to the lawsuit.
That name, along with Nichols’ criminal and family history, made it onto the affidavit authorities used to take Mila into CPS custody. The investigator referred to Temecia Jackson as “Ms. Nichols” in texts, according to the suit. DFPS corrected the mistake days later but said it would not lead to Mila’s return.
After just over three weeks in CPS custody — and community backlash — DFPS dismissed the case against the Jacksons and returned Mila home. But their involvement with the state didn’t end.
DFPS told the Jacksons they had “reason to believe” the parents medically neglected Mila and they were being put on the department’s Central Registry for perpetrators of child abuse or neglect, according to the lawsuit — without any opportunity to challenge the allegations beforehand. The parents requested an administrative review of those findings and provided DFPS with records to make their appeal.
Nearly a year later, the designation on their case changed from “reason to believe” to “unable to determine,” which removes the Jacksons’ case from the Central Registry. But their records are still public, and the suit states DFPS gave them no options to appeal that decision and get the allegations removed from the department’s systems entirely.
The DFPS specialist found there wasn’t enough evidence to support allegations of medical neglect against the Jacksons, and they were within their rights to treat Mila at home under their midwife’s medical supervision, but still, DFPS did not rule out the allegations because there was “significant concern for risk,” according to the suit.
Because of the unilateral decision to issue the “unable to determine” designation with no options for appeal, the lawsuit alleges this part of the DFPS administrative process violates the family’s constitutional rights.
“Having a DFPS record is something that DFPS can use against families when determining whether or not to remove a child from the home,” said Charelle Lett, an attorney with the ACLU of Texas. “Having this ‘unable-to-determine’ designation and not being able to have these records removed has a heavy weight on families, especially in situations like this where they literally did things that they were legally entitled to do as parents.”
The ACLU of Texas is seeking a declaratory judgment in Travis County court that the state administrative rules at the center of the case are unlawful and the open-ended finding on the Jacksons’ DFPS record be erased. The civil rights group says this case is emblematic of the struggles Black families face: Black mothers face a much higher risk of complications or death during childhood, and more than half of all Black children experience some form of CPS investigation by age 18.
A spokesperson for DFPS said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
Following Mila’s return, Temecia Jackson said the family resettled in Dallas with Mila and their two older boys to get away from the traumatic memories of Mila being taken from their DeSoto home. Mila, now 2 years old, is healthy, in daycare and goes to a new pediatrician, but her mother said she hasn’t returned to work for fear of being separated from her daughter once again.
Rodney Jackson is now uncomfortable being an active participant in volunteer work in the community and coaching his kids’ sports teams because he feels his reputation has been jeopardized by the DFPS investigation, according to the suit. It also alleges DFPS has visited their home multiple times asking for a “Rodrick Jackson.”
“We have been parents for 12 years,” Temecia Jackson said, “and for this to all of the sudden happen and for them to give Mila back to us with no court hearing or anything like that — so pretty much, 'hey, we're giving her back to you. You're not guilty. Here she is,' yet we still have to almost carry this guilty designation on us, it is, again, more things that we have to heal from.”
Got a tip? Email Toluwani Osibamowo at tosibamowo@kera.org. You can follow Toluwani on X @tosibamowo.
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