A Dallas-area couple has filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), alleging constitutional violations and administrative overreach after their newborn daughter was forcibly removed and placed in foster care for nearly a month in 2023.
The complaint, filed April 22 in Travis County District Court, challenges the agency’s internal procedures for classifying abuse and neglect findings and seeks to expunge the family’s record from the DFPS system.
Temecia and Rodney Jackson, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas and law firm Jackson Walker LLP, allege that DFPS wrongfully separated them from their 7-day-old daughter Mila after a pediatrician reported the family for medical neglect. The Jacksons had opted to treat their infant’s mild jaundice at home under the supervision of Cheryl Edinbyrd, a licensed midwife, rather than following the doctor’s recommendation to seek hospital-based intensive care.
According to the lawsuit, the pediatrician contacted DeSoto Police and DFPS without knowing the full extent of the Jacksons’ updated care plan, triggering an emergency intervention that led to law enforcement removing Mila from her mother’s arms in the early hours of the morning. The infant remained in state custody for 24 days.
The couple argues they were denied fundamental due process and that DFPS improperly classified them in the state’s Central Registry for perpetrators of child abuse and neglect. Although the state later changed their status from “reason to believe” to “unable to determine” in 2024, that designation remains on record and is not subject to appeal. The Jacksons assert that this designation continues to disrupt their lives—causing stress, job loss, and fear of future child removal.
“Mrs. Jackson feels as if every parenting decision she makes is under extra scrutiny, with the looming threat of losing her child without justification happening again,” the lawsuit states. She has since left her job and remains deeply affected by the trauma of the separation, while Mr. Jackson has withdrawn from public roles in the community and his children’s school activities due to fears related to their DFPS record.
The complaint highlights that, in March 2025, after a year-long document review delay, the couple learned that a DFPS specialist had concluded there was insufficient evidence to support the original neglect allegations. The specialist found that the Jacksons had been working collaboratively with their midwife in line with parental rights and that Mila had suffered no harm.
Nonetheless, DFPS declined to update the Jacksons’ record to reflect a “ruled out” determination. The lawsuit contends this violates both the Texas Administrative Procedure Act and the couple’s constitutional rights, especially in the absence of a fair hearing or opportunity for appeal.
“This child was being nurtured, supported, and loved,” Edinbyrd, the family’s midwife, previously said. “And this child was kidnapped.”
The Jacksons are not seeking damages beyond legal fees. Instead, they ask the court to declare DFPS’s policy on abuse and neglect findings unconstitutional and require the agency to remove their names from the registry.
“Their experience highlights how Black families are often unfairly targeted by a child welfare system that fails to understand or respect their choices,” said ACLU of Texas attorney Charelle Lett, citing disproportionate CPS reporting rates for Black and Brown families.
DFPS has until May 12 to respond to the lawsuit.
