CPS INVESTIGATIONS – PART ONE OF A SERIES

Far and away the most visited page on my web site is “Ten Things You Must Do if CPS Knocks at Your Door.” It’s so popular that it’s appeared on at least one other attorney’s site. I’m flattered, and it’s good information that people need to have – the more the better. It’s little more than a short list, though, usually read by panicked parents needing quick information.

A more in-depth discussions of CPS Investigations seems in order. What rights and responsibilities does CPS have in conducting an investigation? How are abuse and neglect defined? What rights and responsibilities do parents have? What can CPS do? What can’t it do? We’ll cover this and more in the upcoming series.

The Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect are Vague at Best

Let’s start by looking at two public service announcements that made the rounds a few years ago:

The message is Orwellian: all you need to call CPS on your neighbor is some vague, unformed, uninformed inkling of a speculation that someone might or might not be a child abuser. But beyond that, did you notice anything missing? How about a definition of abuse or neglect? Think about it. Have you EVER heard concrete definitions of abuse or neglect? That’s because there aren’t any.

And that’s by design.

In his book Child Abuse, Family Rights, and the Child Protective System, Stephen Krason writes that

The CPS (child protective system) is a system that in its conception forty years ago had a utopian type of vision: it must be aimed at preventing all possible abuse or neglect. So legislators around the country put in place utterly vague laws, so that no one could tell for sure all that fit into the categories of “abuse” and “neglect,” and the meanings could be infinitely expanded. The CPS would be given sweeping authority and discretion. This arrangement of things became the basis, in theory at least, for a universal monitoring of all American families. All utopias become dystopias, however. Thus, we have the nightmare of so many innocent parents accused and families intruded upon, frightened, separated, and their rights trampled upon. The CPS is a touch of the totalitarian.

Jeanne M. Giovannoni, in her book Defining Child Abuse, writes that

[m]any assume that since child abuse and neglect are against the law, somewhere there are statutes that make clear distinctions between what is and what is not child abuse and neglect, but this is not the case. Nowhere are there clear-cut definitions of what is encompassed by the terms.

She wrote that back in 1979, and her words are true to this day.

I have worked with the Texas Home School Coalition and other groups for a number of years, lobbying the Texas legislature to tighten the definitions. But progress is painfully slow, and there are powerful forces within the child abuse industry who work against us because the vague definitions suit them just fine.

14 Comments

  1. yeah the whole CPS process is baloney… i was accused and had to take a test… anonymously.. what i don’t understand is why i had to prove i’m innocent in the face of a nameless accusation. If they were there to truly help this would not happen. it does more harm than good in a lot of cases

    • I have my son’s father who has called 23 times to CPS on me. They don’t cross reference past calls or phone numbers and once a person has such a large number of calls I automatically became high risk and was put on the central registry with all but 2 cases unsubstantiated. The last one they defined a pair of grass clippers on my sidewalk a safety hazard to my 11 and 25 year old kids. Bam! A neglect charge. The system is a big power tip that wastes its resources on innocent parents.

      • My children have been taken on false allegations – dependency, inadequate shelter, and inadequate supervision. We are fighting and I have an Attorney, but Im in NW Louisiana and there are no CPS DEFENSE attorneys so we are trying to get it dismissed. I am in nursing school and my bf is in IT at a local hospital. We have passed hair drug tests, urine, and they even hair tested my children, negative, of course. Disgruntled family members, and US reaching our for my oldest, 11 y/o who disclosed he was raped by his father, we were concerned about his mental health and the possibilty of what could happen without treatment – solution, Bossier City Police interogated my 11 year old son without my permission or presence, arrested him for RAPE 1st degree of my 2 year, without reading Miranda rights – within a week, my other two children were removed and we were told we allowed “passive and active” sexual abuse. In the past couple of days, my ex-husbands family fpund out the DNA disproved my son’s arrest and there was NO evidence od abuse – has either case been dismissed – NOPE. My 11 year olds attorney (public defender) wont speak to me. Apparently, they want to add him to my CPS case as a child in need of care. I received a letter stating I woukd be on the central registry for 18 years. I am about to graduate nursing school as a RN. I feel defeated, but I am trying to be strong for my children. This has been the most traumatizing event I have ever been through. I just wanted help for my family and now I am the perpetrator. I just pray my children are back home soon and we will be together. Our hearing is scheduled July 22nd so all of you out there who took the time to read this, please say a prayer or send positive vibes our way. We are just devastated. My boys are my world. And to anyone going through this, stay strong. I am also sending out good vibes and prayers for you!

        • Ummm, did you say that your 11 year old was charged with rape? Let me know if I read that wrong, AND get a hold of me if I didn’t. Please.

      • Did you fight the central registry thing and did you get it removed?
        Some stories I have read seem crazy and the family is hassled. Then I read others that sound like horror stories and are legitamite and the kid doesn’t get removed.
        There should be suspecific definations given… Otherwise how are you even supposed to wonder if they are breaking the law or simply being harassed by the government! AND CPS workers that are found to have screwed up should be held accountable. They laugh at the prospect of being sued! Imagine if all the government were given so much freedom of choice when it came to taking our freedoms… The other thing is if people haven’t been involved or know someone that has expierenced the corruption of CPS they just have no clue.
        People need to be made aware starting in HS government class!

        • I tried to help my kids now I’m painted to be some crazy lady with a neglect charge and it’s horrifying how much power CPS has and yet no due process or parental rights along with the public being totally unaware of how much CPS can do without any accountability for actions. I’m so unimaginably in need of help to make sure they stop harassing and I don’t know where to turn now because it’s made life so stressful my family and I have literally been in hell over me taking my kids to the hospital OVER my son who was 6 telling me someone close to us had touched him.. now 9 months later 4 workers later as well I am still trying to get them to let us move forward and when I asked the last worker to leave my house she called right after put me and 3 family members on the central registry as a neglect for hazardous living conditions and the reasons were listed mold and dishes in the sink.. I am literally so upset and I don’t know where to turn after she now did this after months of them promising they were trying to help then going to lie and eventually hold the mold allegation over my head :,(

  2. They took my son dominic 66 days ago and haven’t let us see him besides for the hour visit there trying to say we all yesterday postive for meth when therea no way possable we could have

    • Im going thru the same thing they took my 11 year old and 5 year old saying they was malnutrition and neglected go to court the following day and they tell the judge we tested posatuve for meth whice is not true i have not yet takeing the first test my kids was takeing back in august 2017 and returned in sep 2018 wasnt even home 6 months and they took them again …

  3. There is too many people turning in people for abuse when they know there is no abuse! Then the CPS will lie to have the kids removed telling you they have all this evidence! While the kids are put into a Foster home they are subject to abuse! The first time my grand kids were exposed to any abuse was in Foster care! Then when you tell a worker about the abuse they laugh at you! My son has had to jump threw all the circus hoops only in the end to find it was a false case of abuse! Because he got in trouble towards the end of this made up case they took the kids again! Then the CPS took him to court and was going to take his rights away! After a couple of visits they cut him off from visiting his kids! These people have no idea what my son went through with his divorce and protected his kids from there mom, and her drug dealing boyfriend, and all the crap her family put him through! When this is done they will hit my son for all back pay for Foster care, etc… They had no right to take the kids in the first place, no evidence! What happens to the children that are taken from families that loves them! I feel they are sold to pedophiles!

    • Strange my husband has separated himself from me due to my dual diagnose and they think the best interests is other besides him due to his pass mistakes with his family when he wants to raise his child

    • hi.. What you said just touch me deeply its what i am going thru. I have a worker trying to talk with me about a incident that happen with my 16 year old.. Any advice.. My wife has been lieing on me alot

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