A Black couple in metro Dallas whose newborn baby was taken away by the state in 2023 after they elected to have their midwife treat the child for jaundice instead of taking her to an emergency room has filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS).
The lawsuit, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, filed in Travis County District Court on April 22, challenges several of the agency’s policies that it says threaten the parents’ constitutional and statutory rights, cause them undue stress and fear, and diminish their day-to-day lives.
A few days after Temecia and Rodney Jackson’s daughter Mila was born at home under the care of Cheryl Edinbyrd, a licensed Texas midwife, in March 2023, they took her to see the pediatrician who had treated their other two children for 12 years, Dr. Anand Bhatt.
Bhatt diagnosed the baby with jaundice and urged the Jacksons to take her to a newborn intensive care unit, the complaint says.
If not treated properly, jaundice, a common condition in infants that causes yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes, can cause brain damage and hearing loss.
After consulting with Edinbyrd, who is qualified to treat jaundice, the Jacksons decided to pursue an alternative treatment plan that included enhanced nutrition, phototherapy and monitoring.
Unable to reach them by phone and before learning of their new care plan, the pediatrician called DeSoto Police and Family Protective Services to report alleged medical neglect of the child, who was then taken by police in the early morning from Temecia Jackson’s arms and placed with a foster family.
“Several hours later into the night, [Dr. Bhatt] texts my phone very aggressive — take her to the hospital, or he’s calling CPS,” Temecia Jackson said at the time of messages she received from the doctor.
Dr. Bhatt would set in motion a disturbing series of events that the Jacksons are still enduring, the lawsuit says. In his letter to CPS, he noted the parents are were “very loving” but “their distrust for medical care and guidance has led them to make a decision for the baby to refuse a simple treatment that can prevent brain damage.”
It took 24 days for the distressed parents to get their daughter back, during which time they say they were robbed of the first critical month of postpartum time together. DFPS also began a neglect investigation into their other two children after erroneously not finding documentation of their school attendance.
Edinbyrd likened the incident to kidnapping. “This child was being nurtured. This child was being supported. And this child was being loved. And this child was kidnapped,” she said.
Before a scheduled hearing took place, the agency closed that investigation and issued letters informing the Jacksons that DFPS had “reason to believe” they had medically neglected Mila and that they would be put on the state’s Central Registry for perpetrators of child abuse or neglect.
In May of 2023 the Jacksons requested an administrative review of that finding and sent the agency a flurry of documents — written statements, Mila’s birth records and medical records from her pediatrician, the midwife and an audiologist to establish that she had received appropriate care.
In March of 2024, the state overturned the Jacksons’ previous designation of “reason to believe” and changed it to “unable to determine” if they medically neglected their daughter. That designation, the couple learned, cannot be appealed or changed, as DFPS considers it as “favorable.”
After their attorneys requested their case records, which the state took almost a year to produce, the lawsuit says, the Jacksons learned in March 2025 that the specialist who had reviewed their case had determined that there was not enough evidence to support allegations of medical neglect against either parent.
In her decision summary, the specialist noted that the Jacksons were actively working with their midwife in agreement with their pediatrician before their daughter was taken from them, and stated that “their decision to treat [Mila] at home under the medical supervision of their midwife and not in a hospital is their right as a parent.” She further acknowledged that the girl had sustained no complications related to jaundice such as hearing loss or brain damage.
Still, the specialist changed the designation to “unable to determine” if they are perpetrators of neglect instead of “ruled out” because DFPS believes “there was a significant concern for risk,” the complaint says.
That designation has wrought many negative impacts on the life of the family, the lawsuit argues.
Temecia Jackson cannot stand to be away from her daughter, now 2, has not returned to work, and is “constantly worried that if the smallest thing happens to her,” such as if Mila falls and cuts her knee, that Family Protective Services will take her away again.
That’s because with an “unable to determine” designation, doctors, police, schools, sports leagues and many others in charge of children can request to see people’s DFPS records.
“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 complaint says.
Meanwhile Rodney Jackson has been hesitant over the past two years to be involved in community activities he used to enjoy, such as coaching his children’s sports teams and doing volunteer work “after being in the media for child neglect, albeit erroneously,” the lawsuit says.
He also put his plans for law school on hold during the DFPS investigation, and now worries about being admitted to law school and later the state bar.
Both parents say they have refrained from participating in their other children’s school activities, such as chaperoning school dances and volunteering for field day, out of fear the school will request to see their DFPS records and they will again lose their children.
The lawsuit contends that the agency’s internal rules allow it to assign harmful designations without fair hearings or meaningful opportunities to appeal — even without evidence of abuse or neglect — and that this practice violates the Texas Administrative Procedure Act and the parents’ constitutional rights to due process.
It asks the court to rule that the state’s rules regarding how it classifies its findings of abuse and neglect are invalid and unconstitutional, to change the Jacksons’ designation from “unable to determine” to “ruled out,” and to erase their records from the DFPS system.
The Jacksons aren’t seeking a monetary award beyond their court costs.
“When our daughter was just seven days old, she was taken from our home under an invalid court order,” the Jacksons said in a statement issued by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, which filed the lawsuit along with law firm Jackson Walker LLP.
“She should have been safe in our arms,” the statement continued. “Instead, she was abruptly separated from us, losing the vital bond every newborn needs. We were left fearing for her well-being. She is now a healthy and thriving toddler, but our family is still healing from the nightmare that DFPS caused. We will never get that stolen time back. No parent should ever have to experience the trauma of being torn from their baby. We hope the court’s power to hold DFPS accountable means that no other family has to endure our pain — simply for choosing midwifery.”
Charelle Lett, an attorney with ACLU of Texas, said the Jackson family’s experience “highlights how Black families are often unfairly targeted by a child welfare system that fails to understand or respect their choices,” adding that “Black and Brown families” are disproportionately reported to child protective services “even when they’ve done nothing wrong.”
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services has until May 12 to file an answer to the lawsuit.
