Blair County has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit in which a Hollidaysburg mother accuses several Children, Youth and Families employees of coercing her into signing a blank safety plan under threat of having her children placed in foster care.

The mother, Melanie McCreary, 39, in February filed a federal civil rights complaint, naming as defendants three caseworkers, a casework supervisor and the now-former director of the county child welfare agency.

McCreary, acting as her own attorney, stated in her complaint that the confrontation with agency employees occurred on May 30, 2024, white she was cuffed and in police custody after a child from her home was removed and transferred to the custody of a relative.

She reported that a caseworker demanded she sign a blank safety plan or her children would be placed in foster care.

McCreary stated in her lawsuit, “The threat of foster care placement was imminent and credible. Ms. McCreary reasonably believed that if she refused to sign, her children would be taken from her immediately.”

She contends that the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia had found such threats toward parents to be “blatantly coercive,” citing a 2013 case from Westmoreland County.

She went on to charge that her civil rights were violated by CYF because at no time was she informed of her right to a hearing.

McCreary stated she was not informed of the legal standards involving child protective services intervention, or of her rights as a parent.

“The blank safety plan itself contained no notice of rights, no information about how to challenge the plan, and contained no contact information concerning legal assistance.

She contended she was never given the opportunity to challenge the safety plan.

“Ms. McCreary’s signature was not knowing or intelligent. She was not informed of her constitutional rights, the nature of the document she was signing, or any alternatives available to her,” her lawsuit states.

McCreary filed a six-count federal petition in which she seeks an injunction, ruling that:

— Safety plans have procedural safeguards.

— Parents are informed of their constitutional rights.

— Parents are given notice of their right to challenge a safety plan.

— Written policies ensure due process.

— Caseworkers are trained concerning due process protections under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Blair County, through Hollidaysburg attorney Mary Lou Maierhofer, on Monday answered the lawsuit and asked U.S. District Judge Stephanie L. Haines to dismiss McCreary’s complaint.

The answer points out child welfare workers and attorneys are protected from lawsuits by absolute immunity.

For instance, the caseworker charged with allegedly coercing McCreary to sign a blank safety plan has immunity protection, and must be dismissed from the lawsuit, the county insists.

Three of the other defendants, including a caseworker, a supervisor, and the former director of the agency,

have not been charged in the lawsuit with any acts that “constitute improper behavior.”

Civil charges against them must also be dropped, the county states.

Also, Blair County challenges McCreary’s right to bring a constitutional claim on behalf of her children.

The County argued also that McCreary is unable to establish “deliberate indifference” to her civil rights by the county as no civil rights violations have been established through her civil complaint.

“In addition the county contends that McCreary has stated no cause for injunctive relief.

One of the key points of McCreary’s legal complaint is that Blair County’s child welfare agency has for several years been operating on provisional licenses, noting that the agency “has been subject to threatened state takeover of its operations due to (its) inability to cure longstanding deficiencies in compliance with child safety standards.”

Those failures, the lawsuit states, included “failures to implement constitutional protections for parents, and failures to train staff on due process requirements.”

In April, however, after operating under provisional licenses since 2022, the agency’s license was restored, but at the time of the McCreary incident with agency employees, the county was operating under a provisional license.