The First Ambush

Scene from Law Abiding Citizen: It's Going to be Biblical

It was just a few days from Christmas when we received a letter from the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS or the Department) telling us that Marla was being placed on the Central Registry for Abuse and Neglect for a child running out of the building. We were shocked as never had a person been accused of neglect or abuse much less placed on the Central Registry for not even being present at the time of the so-called incident of neglect or abuse. This was a clear violation of the Texas Administrative Code's interpretation as to what constitutes neglect or abuse. But we knew that the person that had ordered Marla to be placed on the Central Registry was a person who cared little for the Texas Administrative Code, the United States Constitution, or any form of decency: Adrienne Driggers, the Southwest District Director of the Department of Family and Protective Services Childcare Licensing Division. Marla clearly went above and beyond the State of Texas Minimum Standards for Childcare Centers as we would later prove this emphatically in court. Before I go on I must add that the child was gone from the grounds less than a minute, which given the design of the building and the location of the exit of the building, would have made it impossible for him to have gotten near any road. In fact, given the small amount of time that he was gone it was very likely that he may have only gotten a few feet from the surrounding fence as the staff moved promptly to retrieve him. 

When Adrienne Driggers closed our daycare in San Antonio for Marla speaking to one of the parents about a sale at an HEB Plus, Marla refused to allow me to go after Driggers and the Department. She wanted to maintain a peaceful working relationship with the Department. My argument was that the Adrienne Driggers could care less about any peaceful relationships. She wanted to destroy us and use her power any way she could whether or not it was legal or ethical for her to do so. This time however, Driggers went too far. When Driggers placed Marla on the Central Registry she did so not because Marla deserved to be on it but by being placed on the Central Registry, Marla would not be able to be present at the daycare and therefore not be able to fulfill her obligations as a license holder. Driggers manipulated the rules to deny Marla her right under the 14th Amendment Section 1 of the United States Constitution. Of course, John Specia Jr., the Commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective Services rubber stamped Driggers decision and Paul Morris, the Assistant Commissioner of Childcare Licensing, voiced his approval of Adrienne Driggers tactics. Adrienne Driggers placed Marla in the Registry with child molesters. The gloves were going to be off this time as Marla said these three words to me: "Go After Them." In my response I told her that I was going to paint the whole town red and burn it down ( a reference to Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter). I was going to tear down the entire corrupt system that allowed Driggers to have an unfettered abuse of power.

It was a Friday when we received the letter informing us of Marla being placed on the Central Registry. By Monday a petition on Change.org calling for Marla's daycare to be spared, for the removal of Marla from the Central Registry, and for an investigation of Adrienne Driggers illegal and unethical tactics had gathered over 200 signatures. That number would swell to 1,000 within the next few days. 

At the same time, I launched an investigation of Adrienne Driggers with the Office of Consumer Affairs. While I did not expect much from this investigation as the Office of Consumer Affairs operates under the Department of Family and Protective Services and the staff within this Department are known to cover(protect) for each other my hope was that it would generate some kind of official statement that would be beneficial to us which itt did. We would use this statement to hammer the Department and the Texas Attorney General's Office in court. 

Not only did we launch an investigation of Adrienne Driggers through the Office of Consumer Affairs but we also launched an investigation with the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Health and Human Services a Department who had recently been placed in charge of the Department of Family and Protective Services. Given that the Department of Health and Human Services was very likely not accustomed to hearing of abuse of power and civil rights violations coming from a State Agency in their charge we didn't expect much from them. My goal was to put Adrienne Driggers, the Department, and the Texas Attorney General's Office on the defensive. 

I wasn't finished there as State Representatives Abel Herrero and Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa's offices also became involved. It was Representative Herrero's office that discovered that the reason that "the Department", code for Adrienne Driggers, placed Marla on the Central Registry was because she was not at the daycare at the time of the incident. According to the State of Texas Minimum Standards, a director is not required to be present at the daycare during all hours of operation. "The Department" (Adrienne Driggers) was ignoring it's own rules just to target Marla.

It is my understanding that the phone lines((512)438-4800) at John Specia's office were jammed with people calling to demand a reversal of Adrienne Driggers decision to place Marla on the Central Registry as well as Driggers decision to close Marla's daycare.  These State officials were not going to have the pleasure of being anonymous any longer. The people were going to know of the Departments abuses and were going to be heard.

Adrienne Driggers abused her power to target Marla. Driggers and her entire Department was ambushed and punched right smack in the mouth. This blog that has been exposing Adrienne Driggers and the Department's abuse of power would not have been created if Adrienne Driggers had just left us alone. Now that it has started, thousands of people are reading it regularly and sharing it with their friends and family. It is spreading exponentially throughout Texas and the World. I will continue to fight this Department by continuing to inform the public, until John Specia, Jr. realizes that he does not have a choice but to terminate Adrienne Driggers and the Department makes wholesale changes as to how it operates. I will fight for the lives of every child against this dangerous State Agency.

This ambush was so effective that Patricia Fernandez, the lead attorney from the Texas Attorney General's Office, would in her meltdown at the termination of the hearing before SOAH (The State Office of Administrative Hearings) would mention the tactics that I used against them as if they were unfair. Imagine the horror that they put us through and they were crying foul because for once they were being forced to answer for their behavior. That, my friends, is how you take down a corrupt State Agency. 

Keep reading folks because if you are sickened by the behavior of Adrienne Driggers and the Department you will be ecstatic when you read of the Beatdown that they took in court. It was as brutal as it was beautiful and it is coming very soon!