Public commenters accuse county child-welfare system of wrongful removals and call for County Counsel review

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors heard public comments July 23 accusing the county and Child Protective Services of wrongful child removals and calling for a performance review of County Counsel Claudia Stauber. Chair Lawson Reimer opened the special meeting, noting the agenda contained only closed-session items, then allowed six members of the public to speak before the board recessed into closed session.

The comments were sharply critical and framed as personal accounts and allegations. Commenter Audra told the board it was allowing “fraud to get entered into the record” and accused county employees of enabling “child trafficking,” saying, “you take away the power that they have by having somebody there to support them.”

Parent Evelyn Lopez identified herself as the mother of two children she said were taken by the county. Lopez held up photographs and named the children, “Malaika and Ziah,” and asked that they be returned, saying the children were removed while she was seeking help for postpartum issues and that medical visits had been misconstrued as evidence of abuse. “They weren’t taken because of, and because they were abused or neglected,” Lopez said.

Grandfather Ricky Robinson urged immediate return of the children, calling his family victims of “a conspiracy, retaliation, and child trafficking by San Diego County.” Robinson also said the family had “uncovered over 500 medical reports,” a number he stated on the public record.

Two callers who spoke by phone at the meeting broadened the criticism. One caller called for accountability for County Counsel Claudia Stauber, saying Stauber had “not only misled the public, but enabled unlawful, unethical, and deeply questionable conduct” and arguing the performance review should be based on outcomes rather than “loyalty to dysfunction.”

Clerk Andrew (first name given in the meeting record) told the board there were six requests to speak on the closed-session matters: three in person and three by phone. Supervisors present for the special meeting were Supervisor Aguirre and Supervisor Anderson; Supervisor Desmond was noted as absent. Vice Chair Montgomery Stepp and Chair Lawson Reimer presided over the meeting.

After public comment, the board recessed into closed session to consider the items listed on the special meeting agenda. Chair Lawson Reimer said any reportable actions would be reported after the conclusion of closed session; the transcript ends with the board entering closed session and does not record any reportable actions or votes.

The statements made during public comment were allegations and expressed opinions of the speakers. The board did not make public findings or take voteable actions in the transcript provided; the closed-session items themselves were not described in the public record during this meeting.