Has CPS/ social services ever been involved with your family?
By eden32
@eden32 (3973)
United States
August 30, 2007 10:48am CST
The agency has different names in different US states; child protective services, department of social service, etc. I wonder if agencies like this even exist in other countries? In theory their duties are to investigate allegations of child abuse, offer support & assistance to families in need of services, and when needed place children (temporarily) in foster care or other safe homes. In reality they are often too quick to act on subjective opinions of parenting, too slow to act when there is actual abuse and often fail to inspect the foster homes well enough to insure that they are in fact safe.
I think we can all agree that intentionally burning a child with a cigarette is abuse. Not feeding your child for days, is neglect & abuse. Abuse of those kinds are clear, and of course children need to be protected from sadistic, evil people even if they share DNA with them. Those cases are rare. What about sending a child to bed without dinner because the child refused to eat the meal? Or failing/forgetting to put sunscreen on a child when playing at the park? Perhaps those are poor judgment calls. Perhaps those are honest mistakes. Perhaps those are completely reasonable choices parents can make for their children. Should they be grounds for "emergency" removal of YOUR child? How about breastfeeding beyond the one year mark (btw the World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for a MINIMUM of 2 years)? How about refusing to vaccinate your child because your other child had a severe & life threatening reaction to the same vaccine? Are those your rights as parents or should the government make those choices for you?
I don't feel I can share the details of my particular situation at this time, as it's still pending. These examples are based on stories I have heard from others and liberally altered to protect the family's privacy. But I'd like to hear from other parents who have had experiences with these social agencies; whether first hand or a friends experience. Do you feel like the child's needs & best interests were the first concern of all involved? Did the agency help the family with legit concerns & needs? What was the final outcome? Etc.
In my not so humble opinion, I feel these agencies should be disbanded. They're buckling under their own weight & they are failing at their duties again & again. Actual abuse should be a criminal matter. It's illegal to assault anyone regardless of their age. We have police departments & criminal courts to handle these cases. A smaller agency to handle the few families who need temporary foster care in times of emergencies should be established. And the monies now used to fund these agencies should be re-invested in agencies that provide family services & advertisement that lets families know these programs are available. For example DSS in my state can provide referrals for daycare vouchers to families in need; let's just re-direct those families directly to the agencies providing these vouchers? Heck- removing the middle man would probably free up enough monies to provide more daycare slots.
Please share your experiences, positive & negative. If the case is still pending, omit where the case is happening & any identifying details.
2 people like this
4 responses
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
30 Aug 07
CPS hasn't been involved with my current family: as in myself, my husband, my child. However, when I was a child they "investigated" my situation a few times, and always left me in the care of my family. I can't even begin to express how much I wanted to kill those CPS people, when they asked me questions, and I answered them honestly, and then they ignored me and went away and left me with people who were abusing me. I wanted to kill them, I wanted to wipe them all from the face of the earth, because I was being every day sexually abused, physically abused, starved, beaten... and they did nothing. Nothing, ever, no matter how many times they were called. Even when my doctor talked to them, even when my brother upheld my story... nothing.
So I agree with you that in situations of actual abuse these people are often useless, and do not act. And I have known people who lost their kids because someone complained over something very very stupid... and people who lost their kids for reasons that were really about prejudice and not what was best for the children. When I was growing up, the easiest way to lose your kids in the area where I lived was to not be the right religion... and the easiest way to keep them no matter what kind of abuse you did to them was to go to church each week.
Do I sound bitter? I am bitter. I hate that place, with it's prejudices and injustices. Maybe it's better these days... but when I grew up in small-town Kentucky it was a horrible, horrible place to be, because the two main rules were: 1. Hate everyone not like you, and 2. Family problems are ALWAYS to be kept quiet, no matter what they are.
1 person likes this
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
31 Aug 07
*nods* My opinion on the whole system is that it isn't really heavily enough monitored. I mean, my husband lived in foster care some as a kid, and was abused there. Between that, my situation, and the situations where I have seen people lose their kids essentially just because they were unpopular or held unpopular beliefs and opinions... I think the system is very corrupt.
I do believe that there has to be some sort of system in place to protect children, but obviously the one that we have right now needs a severe overhaul, if they are overlooking cases like mine and investigating over stupid stuff.
1 person likes this
@ArsonCuff (3114)
• United States
30 Aug 07
Social services are who my family calls on each other when they are not getting along...so usually they are a negative influence in the situation
1 person likes this
@eden32 (3973)
• United States
31 Aug 07
Another example of how these programs are misused & abused. Anyone can file any accusation against anyone; not offer any proof & not be held accountable if it's shown they lied. It won't even be proven that they lied, just that the department decides there isn't a reason to go forward at this time.
@maildumpster (3815)
• United States
10 Sep 07
I've had several run ins with CPS throughout my life. I don't want to share such personal details here but if you PM me I am willing to do so that way.
1 person likes this
@xfahctor (14113)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
31 Aug 07
Let me say first off that I recognize NO authority over my children but my own. I have often said people willdie removing children from this home. It is a basic mamalian parental protective instinct. It has been my experience that these agencies operate over and above the law. They igonre state laws, ie; spanking is NOT ilegal in this state or Vermont but both state agencies will investigate and often pull children over it. I'm not talking about a BEATEN child, simple spanking. A neighbor of mine had children pulled because of neglect years ago. Now granted, this was a legitimate case, however one of the things cited as neglect and an "unhealthy parenting practice", and I swear this is the truth, one thing they cited was that the parent did not refrigerate the peanut butter. I have never in my life refrigerated my peanut butter nor have I ever known anyone who did, nowhere on the label does it state to do so. Each state agency has it's own handbook on parenting that again, completely ignores and goes above state law, in short they feel they are the law where parenting is concerned. you cannot obtain this handbook nor will any case worker admit it even exists but Ive seen one myself and it is OBSURD. I wish I still had my copy to list example but it was tossed in a cleaning years ago. My advice is to get the biggest, meanest lawyer you can. Also get your area's state represenatives invoived. Many will often agrea to be prexent durring an intreview with these agencies. After all, they are the ones who vbote on the funding of these departments in their respective state houses and legislative sessions. I wish you the best of luck and believe it or not, your voting effects these agencies. after all, they are created and funded by these represenatives. Vote for state reps that favor far less government involvement in your life.
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