A family’s federal lawsuit against the Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Families is moving forward.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of Andrew and Lauren Hackney in 2024 names the county, three CYF caseworkers and three CYF supervisors as defendants. It alleges that CYF conspired to take away the Hackneys’ parental rights because of their disabilities.
According to the lawsuit, the Hackneys took their baby to the doctor because she wouldn’t take her bottle. A medical professional then filed a report with CYF, and a foster family was later granted legal custody of the baby.
Andrew is diagnosed with borderline intellectual functioning and post-stroke neurocognitive disorder. Lauren is diagnosed with a mild intellectual disability and anxiety.
Margaret S. Coleman of O’Brien Coleman & Wright is representing the Hackneys. She claims the county has an unconstitutional policy of terminating the familial rights of intellectually disabled parents.
Coleman says the defendants asked the court to dismiss the case because they could not be sued for their actions. But on March 31, a federal judge disagreed, clearing the way for the lawsuit to move forward.
“The Hackneys, like all parents, have a fundamental constitutional right to care for their daughter,” Coleman said. “The County and its caseworkers blatantly violated that right in a way that would shock the conscience of any reasonable person. The Hackneys intend to hold them fully accountable for the pain and destruction they have caused.”
Channel 11 has reached out to the Allegheny County Department of Human Services and is waiting to hear back.
You can read the Hackneys’ lawsuit below:
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