Child Protective Services: Big Mother is better than no mother

I got a phone call this morning from a person whose home and life I recently assessed for the State of Texas.  This person and the person's home were being considered as a placement for children who were, and apparently still are, wards of the state.

I can't of course get into specifics of any kind.  That would be unethical.

But the phone call and this person's deep and profound attachment to the children got my emotional engines going - again - regarding the issue of child welfare and, specifically, Child Protective Services.

As I was not allowed to get personal with this morning's caller, in this venue I can.  I should qualify what I am about to write by disclosing that I was employed by CPS in 2005 as a caseworker in a Family Based Safety Services (FBSS) unit.  This is the type of unit that works with families so their children won't be removed.   I had just gotten my master's in social work and felt called to CPS.  In my academy class I was voted the person most likely to still be working at CPS in 20 years.  I was gone in less than a year. 

Our child welfare system is not so much broken as it is permanently flawed.  There really is no fix for it.  What you see is what you get.  While criticism of the system is often valid, real suggestions for improvements are few and far between.

Bottom line: It's the only system we have for this moment in time and we definitely need to have a child welfare system in this moment in time.

Historical context is critical to understanding how child welfare in the United States has evolved into our current system:

1800s:

           - Early in the century, the first orphanages were organized by churches and charitable groups.

           - Later in the century, private agencies began finding homes for orphans out of a belief that it   was preferred to growing up in an orphanage. 

1900s:

           - Early in this century, states began passing laws protecting children from abuse and neglect.

           - Social Security Act of 1935 authorized the first federal money for child welfare agencies in the states.  This was the first real push for states to build their own welfare policy.  This is also           the action that began financial assistance to families with dependent children which was                changed in 1996 to be temporary assistance for families with dependent children. 

            - Amendments to the Social Security Act are so numerous, you must be a wonk to keep up. Two key changes worth mentioning occurred in the 1960s.  First, the courts got involved in child abuse cases and, in 1967, Congress mandated foster care in all states.  

             - CPS may have its deepest roots in the 1974 Congressional act that told states to come up with a child abuse/neglect reporting and investigation system or no dough, as in federal dollars.

When I was a child, there wasn't a CPS to say whether my aunt and uncles or grandparents were appropriate "placements" for me and my 5 brothers had we been removed from our home.  CPS is a contemporary phenomena.

For some, the foster care boom that began in the late 70s and really took off in the 80s and 90s may seem like ancient history.  For CPS it's been a nano second.  And in that nano second, states, including Texas, went from handling a trickle down of reports of child abuse and neglect to a virtual tsunami of reports. 

Get this: in 2011, the most recent year for stats, CPS in Texas got a whopping 255,514 reports of child abuse or neglect!!  This according to a state report. (link below).  I still am looking for a comparison number, but this is just a blog and likely no one is still reading at this point.

Mind you, reports of abuse are not the same as actual abuse.  Non-the-less, they have to be processed.  And by now, processed by a gigantic and policy-laden bureaucracy.   Big Mother making decisions about our most vulnerable citizens.  Who thinks that's a good idea?

I would love to hate CPS and at times I have been critical.  I've made many reports to CPS over the years in my capacity as a social worker, and more than once I have been disappointed in the outcome of a case.  But I can't completely despise Big Mother because I have witnessed good outcomes too.  I've had the privilege of working with or meeting impressive, even heroic, individuals who work for CPS.  They don't quit after less than a year.  Without their dedication, our children would suffer.

So to the person who called me this morning I say this: CPS is an enormous and complicated machine.  Imperfect and flawed.   But it's the only system we've got to protect children.  And I understand this means nothing to you because all you care about are the lives of the children in your small world.

You know what?  If I were in your shoes, I'd feel the same damn way.


http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/documents/about/Data_Books_and_Annual_Reports/2011/DataBook11.pdf