Disclaimer: When I refer to the CPS process, I am specifically referring to how things are run in Texas. I am not familiar with the differences between Texas CPS and other states. Although I do hear that CPS is a much more efficient machine in other states.
As I mentioned in my last post, the national Social Welfare Action Alliance conference took place this past weekend and I attended several talks. I wasn’t going to write about this but I feel compelled to write this post in light of current events and the way I would feel about myself if I didn’t write about it.
There were several talks about the child welfare system and there were two talks in particular that specifically addressed the problems with child protective services.
The presenters in the first talk spoke about the fine line between poverty and neglect. They expressed that they felt too often, Child Protective Services (CPS) took children away from their parents, not because the parents were neglectful, but because they were poor. While I do believe that this is sometimes a problem with our system and that the government needs to do a better job of helping parents keep their children, most of the people that I have heard criticize CPS are largely ignorant about how CPS operates and base all of their opinions on snippets from the evening news or from personal testimonies of parents who have had their children taken away. I am not opposed to criticizing CPS and pointing out flaws in the system because they do exist. Things don’t improve unless there is honest criticism. I am probably one of CPS’s biggest critics myself.
What upset me was that the presenters portrayed CPS as an agency that takes children away because of too many dirty dishes in the sink or because of a pile of dirty laundry on the floor. I know when you are making a persuasive argument, there tends to be an exaggeration to drive the point home. I get that. But I think it is irresponsible in a professional setting to suggest that CPS would take children away from their parents on the basis of an untidy home.
The neglect cases that I have read have made my skin crawl. We are not talking about dirty dishes in the sink or a pile of laundry on the floor. We are talking about rotting food, curdled milk in babies bottles, severe roach and rodent infestations, animal and human feces scattered or smeared throughout the home, untreated ringworm, painful diaper rashes, failure to dispense prescribed medication, toddlers wandering in the street at night, children who have not bathed in weeks, and in a case I read recently, there were bugs crawling in and out of the children’s noses and ears as they slept. No one ever talks about when CPS rightfully and thanklessly picks children up from those terrible situations.
It’s really a lousy position for CPS to be in. They are criticized for picking children up and tearing apart families and on the other end of the spectrum, they are criticized for not picking up children and allowing children to die on their watch. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
There are a lot of things that people don’t know about CPS. I’d like to list a few of those things so that you can be better informed the next time a coworker or friend shares a shame-on-CPS story.
- There has to be a formal intake report in order for a child to be picked up by CPS. The intake report is screened by trained personnel who determine whether there is reason enough to investigate and what priority each case should take.
- There is an investigations unit that is responsible for following up on cases that the screeners identify and these investigative workers often enter homes bravely without law enforcement, not knowing what to expect.
- When investigative workers pick up a child, they must present their case in front of a judge and show enough cause to remove the child of the home and the judge will either grant CPS temporary custody or he will instruct CPS to place the child back in the home. Judges have more power over this entire process than you can imagine.
- A large number of investigative workers try not to take custody of the children. Instead, depending on the severity of the case, they try to transition their cases to the Family Based Safety Services (FBSS) unit where caseworkers work with families on a regular (sometimes weekly!) basis so that they can provide safe and stable environments in which their children can be returned to them. This process can involve parenting classes, education about hygiene and cleaning, searching for employment, money management– the whole nine. Investigative workers try so hard to help parents keep their children that in more severe cases, they even allow parents to voluntarily place their children with relatives or friends to avoid placing their children in foster care.
- CPS caseworkers are almost always overworked and underpaid. While I’ve met some caseworkers who drop the ball, I’ve met just as many dedicated caseworkers who really care about the children on their caseload and go beyond the call of duty to protect those children. When no emergency shelter or foster home is willing to take in a “troubled” child, the CPS worker is responsible for the child. The CPS worker becomes, for all intents and purposes, the parent of that child.
- CPS also participates in the miracle of adoption. This is an amazing arm of CPS that is not often talked about but does amazing work to find homes for children.
We all fall into flawed conclusions from time to time. I’m definitely guilty of this. I hear a snippet of a news story on a governmental institution and I immediately have an emotional response and I want to enact judgment on that institution. I believe it is perfectly fine to have a reaction– we would not be human if we did not react, but I do believe we have to try our hardest to reserve judgment until we have all the facts of the case. Only when we get a good grasp of the whole scope of the problem can we then make a judgment. And even then, it probably has to be qualified.
Now, give credit where credit is due, the presenters had taken a positive spin on the problem they presented. They have started an organization called Women in Transition in Kentucky that helps parents in poverty navigate through the legal system and the mess that comes along with having a CPS case opened on you. I think that is a wonderful and helpful reaction to the problems they have experienced and publicized. They are doing amazing work and they have helped countless families. I really applaud their efforts.
The second talk was what really set me off. The presenter was drawing parallels between CPS and slavery. I don’t really want to get into a race discussion here but I clearly want to say that I do believe racism is an indictment against the whole world. Anyone who thinks they live in a colorblind world is kidding themselves. With this being said, while racism definitely exists in our child welfare system, it is not appropriate to compare CPS with slavery. It’s almost not worth discussing his talk because his logic was so severely flawed. He made simple comparisons such as, slavery was an institution and CPS is an institution, and therefore, there’s a similarity. And he also made the connection that slave traders profited when families were torn apart and he suggested that foster parents and CPS profit when families are torn apart. Caseworkers are paid very little. If they were paid more, there wouldn’t be such a shortage of them. He then went as far as to read a paragraph out of a book that described the scene at the docks when the slaves were put on auction blocks. It really upset me.
I wanted to write a post about all the good that CPS does. I’m sure you’ve heard about the recent polygamist compound raid that took place (Houston Chronicle news article). CPS workers from Houston volunteered to drive to Fort Concho to help out with the massive situation. They aren’t getting paid extra for this and they certainly aren’t getting any positive media for it. They went because they were genuinely concerned about the well-being of the children.
When Katrina evacuees flooded Houston, CPS workers were on scene to help out. A lot of children had been separated from their parents and CPS worked to reunite families and supervise children who were still waiting to be reunited. It was a round the clock operation with some CPS workers staying up all night to supervise the children as they slept.
Somebody please write a positive article or book about Child Protective Services. And somebody please reform the system at the same time.
