Child protective services:

Child Protective Services (CPS) is the name of a governmental agency in many states of the United States that responds to reports of child abuse or neglect. Some states use other names, often attempting to reflect more family-centered (as opposed to child-centered) practices, such as "Department of Children & Family Services" (DCFS). CPS is also known by the name of "Department of Social Services" (DSS) or simply "Social Services."^[1]

Functions

CPS agencies operate under authority assigned to them by the individual state legislatures, and generally perform a series of functions that can be identified as follows:

Laws and standards

Federal

State and local

Definitions: Each state must also have statutes that provide more detailed definitions of what child maltreatment means, for instance, defining terms such as:

Activities: States must articulate how a CPS agency is to respond to alleged maltreatment including:

Additionally, state and local CPS-related institutions will develop policies and practices that further shape communities' response to child maltreatment. Examples include:

History

In 1655, in what is now the United States, there were criminal court cases involving child abuse.^[2] In 1692, states and municipalities identified care for abused and neglected children as the responsibility of local government and private institutions.^[3] In 1696, England first used the legal principle of parens patriae, which gave the royal crown care of "charities, infants, idiots, and lunatics returned to the chancery." This principal of parens patriae has been identified as the statutory basis for U.S. governmental intervention in families' child rearing practices.^[4]

In 1825, states enacted laws giving social-welfare agencies the right to remove neglected children from their parents and from the streets. These children were placed in almshouses, in orphanages and with other families. In 1835, the Humane Society founded the National Federation of Child Rescue agencies to investigate child maltreatment. In the late-1800s, private child protection agencies – modeled after existing animal protection organizations – developed to investigate reports of child maltreatment, present cases in court and advocate for child welfare legislation.^[5]

In 1912, the federal Children's Bureau was established to manage federal child welfare efforts, including services related to child maltreatment. In 1958, amendments to the Social Security Act mandated that states fund child protection efforts.^[6] In 1962, professional and media interest in child maltreatment was sparked by the publication of C. Henry Kempe and associates' "The battered child syndrome" in JAMA. By the mid-1960s, in response to public concern that resulted from this article, 49 U.S. states passed child-abuse reporting laws.^[7] In 1974, these efforts by the states culminated in the passage of the federal "Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act" (P.L. 93-247) providing federal funding for wide-ranging federal and state child-maltreatment research and services.^[8]

In the public eye

The CPS system has numerous detractors, including those who believe that the state forcibly removing children from their homes and families is the ultimate dehumanization.

Brenda Scott, in her study of CPS concluded, "Child Protective Services is out of control. The system, as it operates today, should be scrapped. If children are to be protected in their homes and in the system, radical new guidelines must be adopted. At the core of the problem is the antifamily mindset of CPS. Removal is the first resort, not the last. With in-sufficient checks and balances, the system that was designed to protect children has become the greatest perpetrator of harm."^[9]

Many experts who work in the industry meanwhile believe the government fails to do enough.^{[citation needed]}

Professor Ted Melhuish in his research of December 7, 2006 presents the case for additional government intervention in terms of "Rates of Return to Human Capital investment." Citing a 1993 study of 123 young African-American children he finds early intervention ultimately contributes to greater tax revenue and also identifies possible cost savings in the areas justice, mental health and welfare. The study concludes that every dollar invested in Child Protective Services produces a return of $7.16 Why Early Intervention?

Texas 2008 Raid of YFZ Ranch

In April 2008, many raised questions as the CPS in Texas removed every minor child and infant from the YFZ Ranch polygamist community, with the assistance of heavily armed police with an armored personnel carrier. They convinced a judge that they had sufficient evidence to conclude that all of the children were at risk of suffering from child abuse as they were being groomed for under-age marriage.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services had itself been an object of reports of unusual numbers of poisonings, death, rapes and pregnancies of children under its care since 2004. The Texas Family and Protective Services Crisis Management Team was created by executive order after the critical report Forgotten Children of 2004. Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn made a statement in 2006 about the Texas foster care system.^[10] In Fiscal 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively 30, 38 and 48 foster children died in the state's care. The number of foster children in the state's care increased 24 percent to 32,474 in Fiscal 2005, while the number of deaths increased 60 percent. Compared to the general population, a child is four times more likely to die in the Texas foster care system. In 2004, about 100 children were treated for poisoning from medications; 63 were treated for rape that occurred while under state care including four-year old twin boys, and 142 children gave birth. It should be noted that Ms. Strayhorn's report was not scientifically researched. Much of what was reported was anectodal and gleaned by the investigations of untrained interns from the State Comptroller's office visiting private child care facilities. Interestingly, the majority of problems found in the system were at private child placing agencies, but Ms. Strayhorn's recommendation was to transfer all of the child placement work in Texas to private agencies. She demonstrated little understanding of the depth of the issues related to child placement and the true nature of problems within the system. The report was heavily biased and many believe it was an effort on Ms. Strayhorn's part to gain public attention to help her in a planned run for Governor of Texas. Texas has instituted many reforms to its child welfare system since 2005 in an effort to improve services to families. The investigation function has received much financial support and caseloads are signficantly reduced allowing investigators to take more time and make better decisions. Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to the need for more caseworkers for children who are in foster care. These children continue to share a caseworker with anywhere from 30 to 100 other children. Their cases do not get the attention they deserve. Until major reforms are put in place to assure that children in the conservatroship of the state get as much attention as those at risk in their homes, the well-being of these children will continue to be in question.

The report stated that children were being unnecessarily neglected and abused and dying. A 12-year-old boy died in December 2005, suffocated while being restrained from behind by an employee of the facility. Another died May 30, after drowning in a creek during a bicycle outing. A three-year old was treated for poisoning from an atypical, mind-altering anti-psychotic drug.

Gene Grounds of Victim Relief Ministries reported no hysteria or crying children from children removed from the ranch. He commended CPS workers as exhibiting compassion, professionalism and caring concern.^[11] However, CPS performance was questioned by workers from the Hill Country Community Mental Health-Mental Retardation Center. One wrote "I have never seen women and children treated this poorly, not to mention their civil rights being disregarded in this manner" after assisting at the emergency shelter. Others who were previously forbidden to discuss conditions working with CPS later produced unsigned written reports expressed anger at the CPS traumatizing the children, and disregarding rights of mothers who appeared to be good parents of healthy, well-behaved children. CPS threatened some MHMR workers with arrest, and the entire mental health support was dismissed the second week due to being "too compassionate." Workers believed poor sanitary conditions at the shelter allowed respiratory infections and chicken pox to spread.^[12]

Cases of CPS abuses against families

Responsibility for misconduct

In May 2007, the United States 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found in ROGERS v. COUNTY OF SAN JOAQUIN, No. 05-16071 that a CPS social worker acting without due process and without exigency (emergency conditions) violated the 14th Amendment and Title 42 United State Code Section 1983.

Child protective services

Contents

Functions

Laws and standards

Federal

State and local

History

In the public eye

Texas 2008 Raid of YFZ Ranch

Cases of CPS abuses against families

Responsibility for misconduct

See also

Notes

References

External links

United States

Canada

Criticism