We ask that you respectfully email the Governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp and his Chief of Staff, Lauren Curry to demand action on this appalling situation.

• Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia –Brian.Kemp@Georgia.gov
• Lauren Curry, Chief of Staff – Lauren.Curry@Georgia.gov

Governor Brian Kemp,

As a citizen of ________ (enter your state here), I am calling on you to meet with Spike Cohen and You Are The Power, as well as the families that your Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) is tearing apart!

I am concerned about how Commissioner Candice L. Broce, the director of DFCS, the department responsible for the safety and well-being of our state’s most vulnerable families and children, allows her employees to seize children from factually innocent parents and place them into foster care.   

The catalyst for this wrong is the reliance on the opinions of child abuse pediatricians (CAPs), a relatively new subspecialty officially recognized by the American Board of Pediatrics in 2009. Between 2009 and 2019, the rate of reported abuse by medical professionals has increased by 55%. Although CAPs’ opinions are not legal decisions, DFCS treats them as such. The subjective opinions accepted as fact, often made within just hours of the child coming in for care, have extraordinary influence over the decision of DFCS to seize a child, even without a lawful supporting basis. Often, the evidence of abuse is refutable, and secondary medical opinion by DFCS is not sought until after a child has been seized, causing unnecessary trauma for children and their parents.  

DFCS partners with CAPs at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA), where annually, 1,900 suspected victims of abuse and neglect are evaluated by a handful of doctors.

Independent investigative measures were undertaken by You Are The Power (YATP), a membership-based nonprofit whose network encompasses all 50 states, and found that a mistaken or overstated diagnosis of abuse by a CAP failed to present a factual basis for their findings and instead offered their opinion which resulted in the fracturing of numerous factually innocent Georgia families. CAPs did not identify themselves as such or notify parents that they were being investigated for potential child abuse. Unaware that a CAP was questioning them, parents offered ideas about the cause of their child’s injury, and the CAP saw this as a shift in the account of why they brought their child to the hospital. Moreover, the diagnosis of abuse was not supported by the totality of evidence: all medical records, the testimony of immediate family, or testimony from independent physicians or pediatricians who treated and cared for these children.  

YATP is currently supporting three Georgia families while vetting several more cases throughout Georgia, where DFCS, under the leadership of Commissioner Broce, relied on the sole opinion of a CAP and seized children from factually innocent parents. The fractured families are Matt and Tuckey Hernandez from Forsyth County, Brady and Carrie Timms from Gordon County, and Corey and Diana Sullivan from Camden County. These loving parents brought their medically fragile children to the hospital, seeking answers, and instead were falsely accused by a CAP of abuse. DFCS failed to investigate the claim properly, and the result of their negligence is a nightmare no parent should have to endure. They have had their children seized, were arrested for crimes that never occurred, and faced decades in prison. This could have been avoided if DFCS had done their lawful due diligence and adequately investigated the cases. Instead, DFCS has fractured these families, harming the very children they were supposed to protect. 

The national average for family reunification once a child protective agency has seized a child is 47%. Georgia has one of the nation’s lowest at 30%.

An alarming 4% of the 11,000 plus children in DFCS custody are reported as receiving “maltreatment in care.” Almost 5% of the children in DFCS custody are subjected to a “reoccurrence of maltreatment,” the majority are children of color. Statistically, doctors over-diagnose abuse in children they perceive as being lower-income or nonwhite.

Would you allow your family to board a plane with a 4% to 5% chance of crashing?

During Child and Family Services Reviews, case managers are regularly cited for not properly assessing all home members, updating assessments at critical junctions of the case, monitoring safety plans, conducting drug screenings where needed, and providing the proper supporting case documentation.

CAPs work directly with DFCS lawyers in cases where the state is seizing children, and their opinions help shape false narratives against innocent parents. This is questionable practice because cases where DFCS wants a child seized are heard in juvenile court, where the burden of proof is low, and parents have limited legal rights. Juvenile court judges, who side with DFCS recommendations upwards of 70% of the time in Georgia, allow CAPs to go well beyond their medical expertise and offer speculative testimony about their diagnoses in ways that attack and erode the cardinal rule of our criminal legal system: all are innocent until proven guilty.

The de facto position by DFCS against innocent parents is often adversarial, punitive, and antagonistic because case managers, juvenile court judges, law enforcement officials, and prosecutors accept a CAP’s opinion without question and fail to do their lawful due diligence and adequately investigate the allegations of abuse. The result is an imbalance of power that heavily favors the state and destroys the lives of innocent families.

One child and their factually innocent parents harmed by DFCS and its partnership with CAPs at CHOA is appalling. Still, dozens more represent processes that permit DFCS and CAPs to wield unilateral power in labeling abuse—even though none occurred—in dire need of reform and appropriate oversight.

We ask that you, Governor Kemp, meet with Spike Cohen, the President and Founder of You Are The Power, along with members of his Georgia leadership team and the families that DFCS has fractured, to engage in respectful, meaningful dialogue and discuss ways to move forward, heal, and prevent this nightmare from happening again.

These are Georgians. Not just numbers and statistics; they are human beings and deserve your respect.

Please meet with You Are The Power and these families to talk about their cases, the problems with your system, and fixes that can be made to put an end to this travesty.

Thank you for doing the right thing in this matter.

Respectfully submitted,

YOUR NAME

Email the Acting District Attorney, Erle J. Newton III at enewton@pacga.org

Dear Acting District Attorney Newton,

(Introduce yourself HERE if you are directly connected with the family.)

As a citizen of __________ (County/State), I am concerned about a family that has been kept in legal limbo by the Cherokee Judicial Circuit. Brady and Carrie Timms were unjustly arrested in March 2022 and charged with Cruelty to Children and Aggravated Battery (under FVA). The catalyst for their arrest stemmed from a visit to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA), where they took their infant son, Jameson, for treatment and evaluation. Two years later, they have not been indicted. DFCS was present in Boston, Massachusetts, when Pediatric Endocrinologist and Director of the Ehlers-Danlos Clinical Research Program, Dr. Michael F. Holick, diagnosed Jameson and his mother, Carrie, with the rare genetic condition Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. The diagnosis, confirmed by other independent medical experts, explains the symptoms Jameson exhibited at six weeks old at Erlanger-Baroness Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and again at CHOA at twelve weeks old. Furthermore, it highlights the complications Carrie experienced during pregnancy. Despite this conclusive medical finding, the family remains separated. Due to restrictive bond conditions, the Timms are left with little hope of reuniting their family.

I followed a similar case involving the Hernandez family from Forsyth County, Georgia – one of which Governor Kemp’s office is aware. Their young child also has a medical condition, yet DFCS worked tirelessly to remove their parental rights. Thankfully, in January 2024, a juvenile judge ordered the reunification of the Hernandez Family, and I, too, want to see the Timms Family reunited.

I ask that your office dismiss this case so Brady and Carrie, who have no criminal records, no longer have to live, fearing an impending felony indictment. The elements of the crimes for which the Timms have been charged are not met, and, therefore, successful prosecution is unlikely. Moreover, a jury of their peers will not find them guilty. Brady and Carrie, once free from criminal charges and who, at the assertion of a juvenile court judge, reluctantly agreed to give temporary guardianship of their son to his paternal grandparents, ending DFCS involvement in the case, will petition the court to have Jameson returned to their care.

Please ensure this happens quickly; Jameson does not need to grow up in this situation. He needs to be with his loving parents! These are human beings, a family, and they deserve your respect.

Thank you for doing the right thing in this matter.

Respectfully submitted,
YOUR NAME

Email to the Chief of Police of Calhoun, GA, Tony Pyle at tpyle@calnet-ga.net

Dear Chief Tony Pyle,

I am concerned about a husband and wife arrested by your agency in March 2022. Sgt. Jody Faulkner arrested Brady and Carrie Timms and charged them with Cruelty to Children and Aggravated Battery (under FVA)—Calhoun Police Department case number 22010657.

Their arrest stemmed from a visit to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA), where they took their infant son, Jameson, for treatment and evaluation. Pediatric Endocrinologist and Director of the Ehlers-Danlos Clinical Research Program, Dr. Michael F. Holick, diagnosed Jameson and his mother, Carrie, with the rare genetic condition Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. The diagnosis, confirmed by other independent medical experts, logically explains the symptoms Jameson presented at six weeks old at Erlanger-Baroness Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and again at CHOA at twelve weeks old, definitively refuting the allegations of abuse.

The Timms, who have no criminal records, constantly fear a felony indictment.

The catalyst for this injustice: Sgt. Faulkner’s lack of independent investigative efforts and his insistence on relying on the opinion of a single doctor from CHOA and the forensic interview of a six-year-old child unrelated to the alleged abuse of Jameson.

The elements of the crimes for which the Timms have been charged are not met, and, therefore, successful prosecution is unlikely. Moreover, a jury of their peers will not find them guilty—they are innocent, loving parents.

The Mission Statement of the Calhoun Police Department is clear: “we exist to serve and that by enforcing the law justly and fairly, we can bring stability into our society, as no other agency can.” Sgt. Faulkner’s arrest of Brady and Carrie has had the opposite effect—there is nothing just or fair about what they have endured, instability abounds, and trust in law enforcement is at an all-time low.

As chief, you are uniquely positioned to help heal your community. Jameson does not need to grow up in this situation. He needs to be reunited with his parents. These are human beings, a family, and they deserve your respect.

Respectfully submitted,
YOUR NAME

Give directly to the Timms family via GoFundMe by following the link below.

Donate to the Timms Family

Brady and Carrie Timms are the parents of a two-year-old boy, Jameson (JT), who began having health concerns when he was just six weeks old. He was taken to his pediatrician each time, landing them at Erlanger-Baroness in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on one occasion for unexplained purple markings on his extremities that ultimately disappeared within 48 hours and, unfortunately, CHOA for the last instance, which, after a misdiagnosis, ripped their family apart.

At the request of their pediatrician, the Timms took Jameson to CHOA at three months old. There, CHOA found three rib fractures in various stages of healing. Doctors refused to show the alleged injury to Brady and Carrie but immediately accused them of abuse. CHOA notified DFCS, who, in turn, requested the assistance of local law enforcement.

Without due diligence or proper independent investigative measures taken, Brady and Carrie were arrested and charged with two felonies each.

Carrie knew something was seriously wrong with her son; she could not understand why Jameson was ripped out of her arms. Nor could she understand how or why she and Brady were arrested and charged with felonies for doing what they’re supposed to do: take their sick baby to the doctor.

Carrie researched what was happening and found a group on Facebook called Parents Behind the Pinwheels. Carrie felt that the stories were like someone was telling the same incident repeatedly but inserting a different location and family name.

Knowing they were not alone helped steer Brady and Carrie in the right direction. The Timms knew Jameson’s symptoms were identical to those of other infants in the stories shared by Parents Behind the Pinwheels on their Facebook page. They knew their son had a genetic mutation to the COL1A2 gene that CHOA found but argued it was irrelevant. They knew Jameson’s blood work was abnormal. They felt Erlanger-Baroness and CHOA deceived them and withheld pertinent information about their son’s health.

Brady and Carrie petitioned the juvenile court judge to allow them to take Jameson to an independent doctor for additional testing. The Timms were granted permission to take Jameson to Boston Children’s Hospital, one of the best hospitals in the world. DFCS accompanied the Timms to Boston.

There, in the presence of DFCS, Carrie and Jameson were both diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). Carrie just knew her baby was coming home.

But she was wrong. DFCS doubled down and ignored the independent medical diagnosis, which logically explained the symptoms Jameson presented at Erlanger-Baroness and CHOA and the complications Carrie experienced during pregnancy.

Moreover, the specialists at Boston Children’s Hospital advised the Timms and DFCS that the doctors at CHOA overlooked many indicators of Jameson’s underlying health issues.

Wanting their son out of DFCS custody, where he was not receiving proper care, the Timms decided to sign over temporary legal guardianship to Brady’s parents.

The Timms are over $50k in debt due to compounding attorney’s fees.

Two years after being arrested for aggravated battery and cruelty to children, the Timms have not been indicted and face 40 years in prison. Jameson’s health condition was and is still being ignored by DFCS and the criminal legal system.