Kibosh CPS!

Change the Guard!!!

2012-01-15T16:47:00.001-08:00

Despite Child Protective Services nationwide being in a constant state of “change,” nothing ever actually changes. Specifically and most importantly I speak of the unnecessary removal of children and destruction of families. Einstein’s definition of insanity (and I paraphrase) applies here most readily: “Why would SOCIETY work with the same bureaucrats who led us to our current unsatisfactory state and expect different results?”

To exemplify the resistance SOCIETY will experience in working with these bureaucrats, look no further than the fervent opposition a worker faces simply for trying to BALANCE parental rights with home safety. Every effort is made to terminate these workers. No resource or underhanded strategy is spared.

I simply ask, is it logical to think that those who will go to such lengths to silence a current employee for simply advocating balance and equity will help you, SOCIETY, to propagate the same nation-wide?

What CPS needs are those who would like to help SOCIETY understand the REAL barriers to positive change in CPS. Those who actually care about protecting children AND respecting the sanctity of family… not simply preserving a self-perpetuating bureaucracy. What CPS needs is to stop expecting different results from the same myopic bureaucrats!

What’s Wrong with Child Welfare?

2011-11-03T06:18:00.001-07:00

Despite the theories on internet chat boards that we chose this profession because we hate children and families and want to spend our lives destroying them for shitty pay (albeit, I can understand from whence this speculation arises), I work for the agency because I care about kids. As a result, my decisions with regards to kids are child-welfare-driven (i.e. the welfare of the children takes precedence) rather than CYA-driven. This is not the typical “CYA” that is inspired by self-preservation and that we all do, though we shouldn’t be proud of it, to some extent. The type of CYA to which I refer is not borne of self-efficiency and diligence, rather this pervasive CYA is much more insidious. That is cover your agency at all costs and the lives if children and families are but incidental considerations.

I have been in CW only 10 years, yet I have always been at odds with it. As vocations go, it’s a whole different animal. I have had the same argument with every supervisor(and most of my co-workers) in every division and in two different states. The irony is that I know I’m right and they know they’re right. The difference is that I base my opinion on the research of the experts. I am not arrogant enough to simply assume that I know what’s right for children and families. I consult the “experts.”

What is new, for me, is the realization “why?” Why have I always felt like a fish-out-of-water in Child Welfare? Why do I have friends that couldn’t remain in Child Welfare? Why am I in constant vocational turmoil and threat of termination when the average American and congressional subcommittees and child protection experts agree with me consistently and emphatically, It has, to my chagrin, finally become evident that the majority of the American public, those that agree vehemently with me (and Wayne Holder, etc.) cannot tolerate working in Child Welfare for any length of time. So, the status-quo continues, and always will. Children and families be damned.

from WASTED by Patrick T. Murphy

2011-11-01T06:15:00.001-07:00

It’s probably important to remember when you read these quotes that Mr. Murphy was an immediate response worker in New York City…where they really don’t have time to micro-manage marginal families…

“In truth, public Child Welfare agencies will never be satisfactory. We give them children who’s spirits have been crushed by oafish parents and expect the agency to put the kids’ psyches back together.”

“The Child Welfare system has failed children because it refuses to distinguish between parents who are ill-equipped to raise there kids adequately without help, and parents who are too immature or thuggish to raise children even with help. To the system, all parents are victims, irrespective of their crimes or potential for reform. And, the parent, not the child, is the client.”

“Guilt and responsibility, pillars of the criminal justice system, are alien concepts in the juvenile justice arena…the parent’s abusive acts become irrelevant once the juvenile court determines that the child has been abused. Instead, the courts and the child welfare bureaucracy are responsible for providing services to the parent(s).”

“In the present system, the parent’s victim status becomes more important than the child’s neglect.”

“Self-described child advocates have sloganized ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ in order to relieve bad parents of blame for abusing their children or of the responsibility for raising them as adequately as their resources permit. Indeed ‘it takes a village’ has become an incantation to ward off those who dare to suggest that with parenthood comes individual responsibility. The village can indeed provide the family with a friendly environment, but only a parent can raise a child.”

“In juvenile court, parents who have abused their children are frequently sent to parenting classes. I have always thought this was a waste. The time to teach people to parent is when they themselves are children. Classes ought to be held regularly for all children at the grammar school and high school levels, concentrating on the responsibilities of parenthood.”

“Too many child welfare types can’t bring themselves to admit that there are cowards and bullies who are good at having babies but incapable of nurturing their children, with or without multiservice centers. They abuse their kids and ultimately lose them because down deep they never wanted them.”

“We force children to stay with people whose only connection to parenthood is a roll in the hay nine months before the child is born.”

…true enough, but Mr. Murphy need remember we ‘force’ children to stay with their parents because we have no where better to put them! The state makes an even lousier parent!

Two-Headed Dragon

2011-07-23T07:34:00.000-07:00

“Starting today, every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information, but those who seek to make it known”
-President Barrack Obama 1/25/09

Powerful (sounding) words that, in reality, amount to nothing more than lip-service and political/bureaucratic rhetoric. Of course, when our current president uttered these words at his inauguration, he never said they would be without sacrifice.

Now I know, first hand, that my union is not interested in protecting the Constitutional rights of individual workers. Rather, like government itself, the sole purpose of contemporary unions is to grow, in wealth and power.

Of course, why would a worker in opposition to the state’s abuse of power, expect his rights to be protected when those same rights, among Child Welfare clientele, are violated on a daily basis?

In ten years as a Child Protective Services caseworker, it had already become evident to me how, for 35 years, CPS has been able to run unopposed from within despite an egregiously un-American mode of operation: Simply get rid of those insiders who raise concerns about the status-quo. And, apparently with Union help.

State investigates response to Ore. child abuse

2010-11-28T16:48:00.000-08:00

State investigates response to Ore. child abuse

GUEST VIEWPOINT: Oregon rips apart too many families | One reason for the high rate of abuse in the foster care system is the high number of kids torn from their homes

2010-11-28T12:58:00.000-08:00

GUEST VIEWPOINT: Oregon rips apart too many families | One reason for the high rate of abuse in the foster care system is the high number of kids torn from their homes

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Agency!

2010-11-03T17:05:00.000-07:00

This irony has only recently occurred to me...we in CPS work extensively with victims as well as perpetrators of domestic violence...I've wondered about the motivations of my colleagues at the "front end" of the agency (investigators, mostly women), and the frightening truth is...they possess the same power-and-control issues as do the perpetrators of DV...SCARY!...

Kids before Career

2010-05-25T06:24:00.000-07:00

Few are surprised to hear a CPS-worker say “Child Protective Services is a nasty business!” But most would be surprised by the reasons why. The reason that CPS is a grueling, depressing and downright vile place to work has nothing to do with atrocities committed upon children. Thankfully, these are much more rare than most think. The primary reason CPS is so loathsome (for most) is the reality that neither parents’ rights nor what’s actually best for children are ever considered.
Once in a (great) while, someone remains in CPS that actually cares more about kids than career advancement. Most of us, those who share the majority societal views of justice and family sanctity, quit early on. However, some of us gluttons-for-punishment, or those who stay on for any of myriad reasons (none of which is job-satisfaction, of course) can either “go-along-to-get-along” or be outspoken about ideals that most Americans adore and, as a result, become pariahs.
Those of us that stay on, (us pariahs) quickly develop glass ceilings and therefore never attain positions where we might initiate change that would actually help children. Perhaps not becoming a “bureaucrat” is reward enough for this limited or truncated career path, however, as I frequently and in all seriousness utter to my superiors: “Sucks for the kids!”
That said; if those of us with more mainstream-American political proclivities always precipitously quit how might a government agency that does more harm than good ever change? If the public never hears the truth about CPS, how might it be expunged? Who will stop this monolith?
To oversimplify the equation (albeit, not by much) workers can either focus (often with the benefit of ignorance or cowardice) on being a “company-man” OR (with the benefit of copious self-study and research) focus on actually helping kids and families. To chose the latter and stay, fight the good fight, is to live under constant threat of termination and family upheaval. But hey, courage is doing what’s right even when it hurts, right?
Of course, a big-picture perspective, and outside self-study, is required to inform oneself towards effectively helping kids. The Child Welfare agency will never teach its minions the truth about removal usually being the worst thing these kids experience. There is too much money to be had from adoption, that most lucrative end-result for removed children. That most glorified culmination that corral’s the greatest possible federal subsidies.
Further, as Nancy Schaefer dared to utter prior to her execution: in order to maintain the (federal) funding-flow the agency needs fresh “merchandise.”
“Fresh merchandise” (i.e. removed children) is not acquired by CPS investigators that attempt to maintain families. It is only the overzealous, myopic and, of course blessedly ignorant and/or cowardly, CPS workers that believe they’re doing the child a favor by removing them from their non-abusive parents…(popularly known for years as “erring on the side of the child”)…that maintain a steady influx of “merchandise.”
These are your valuable (monetarily speaking) CPS caseworkers that the agency prizes so highly. This MO is what makes one a “company-man” (or, more likely, woman). This is what prevents a worker from acquiring a glass-ceiling and/or ending one’s career. If you chose not to prioritize the money over the kids…well…you’re done.
Who knew “Child Protective Services” was not a good place to work for those who hoped only to devote their careers to children.
So…from one who has sacrificed his/her career…and yet (so far) continues to fight the good fight from within CPS, I can tell you, every day could be my last. But, in the meantime, I am gratified by helping children one “starfish” at a time.

PEOPLE BEFORE PAPER!

2010-04-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

Not to be glib or oversimplify, but the reason children “known to CPS” die is because evil exists.

That said, the reason CPS* has very little chance to help protect children known to the agency is not so sensational or complicated as caseworker incompetence or indolence. Some, not all, deaths of children “known to CPS” occur because caseworkers miss the opportunity to protect children-at-risk because caseworkers are pushing papers instead.

Upon taking a job with Child Protective Services, it didn’t take me long to realize how to balance the always overburdened budget. Simply fire half the caseworkers and replace them with clerical workers because most of what caseworkers do is clerical.

Caseworkers can do clerical work, that’s fine (though not good stewardship of tax dollars). The problem is, clerical workers cannot do child protection. Who’s protecting the children if their caseworkers only have time to push papers?

For every minute that those charged with protecting America’s children are performing data input…or playing taxi-cab…or monitoring custody cases or cases open only to subsidize services…or covering visits for families that are not on your caseload…or attending to any number of other redundant and/or superfluous minutiae better done by non-casework staff, caseworkers lose a minute that could be spent protecting children.

When we read on the front page of our local newspaper about a “child known to CPS” dying, an oft-overlooked factor in the horrifying tragedy is that the caseworker -- who could have been resonating with the child’s and family’s case, actually reading the case file, connecting the dots of the family’s history and dynamic, interviewing credible collateral contacts, in effect: piecing together the big picture that reveals imminent danger -- was doing clerical work instead.

The ugly truth is that children always have and always will die at the hands of their parents, whether they are “known to CPS” or not…whether CPS even exists or not.

The important thing is that we not, as we typically have, let these well-publicized deaths, provide license for us to ruin the lives of thousands more children by “erring on the side of the child” and removing them from their less than imminently-dangerous homes. Instead, we need to focus more closely on the true, albeit mundane problems, including: caseworkers pushing papers, rather than protecting kids.

Children “known to CPS” die, in part, because those charged with protecting them were pushing papers instead.

_____________________________________________________

*Note: Although “Child Protective Service” agencies continuously change their name (one can only assume in an effort to fly below the radar) I will use the abbreviation “CPS” throughout as it is the most descriptive and recognizable of what the agency’s intention was originally.

This just in from Everywhere, USA…

2010-03-29T12:59:00.000-07:00

CPS WORKER FIRED FOR EXPOSING THE TRUTH*

Child Protective Services prides itself on striving to be “transparent” (probably lip-service)… This is what caseworkers who care are attempting to do when they go public with THE TRUTH.

A CPS caseworker published his article, “Child (or agency) Protection”
(http://familyrights.us/bin/white_papers-articles/child_or_agency_protection.htm ),
on the American Family Rights Association website last November.

Apparently “transparency” sounds good so long as no citizen knows enough to challenge it. When the truth emanates from within, that becomes a bit too close to home for those bureaucrats that have no intention of being transparent because they have everything to hide.

*actually the agency was not successful in its attempts to fire this caseworker (yet)…but, not for lack of trying!

Selling Point...(?)

2010-03-14T09:01:00.001-07:00

I might as well mention right up front that this is not a blog that will accrue many friends and/or “followers.” This website is for those who can “Handle the Truth.” I fear there are few of those in either camp: CPS-apologists or CPS-haters.

The TRUTH about Child Protective Services lies somewhere between the contentious poles of these two camps, somewhere between “CPS is an honorable government entity that protects brutalized children” and “All CPS workers are closet sadists who hate children and families.” That is, this blog will piss off employees of CPS as well as those in the myriad and sundry Hate-CPS groups.

TRUTH has been my biggest nemesis since I joined CPS because no one seems to want to hear it. For those of you who can handle the truth, I think you can gain some valuable perspective from an insider that hates CPS but is helping people in spite of the bureaucracy. Or, better said, protecting children and families from the bureaucracy.
There are two types of people that flourish in CPS: obsequious bureaucrats with blind-ambition and myopic, sadistic megalomaniacs. If you can simply ignore the systemic truth in order to worship ambition or power, you might have a lengthy and satisfying career in CPS. The rest of us (those who share the mentality of about 90% of the US populace) leave, are fired or suffer the fools gladly in order to save some of the kids from them (whilst raising our blood pressure and shaving years off our lives!).
You will not receive any training about civil or constitutional rights, much less the deleterious effects of foster care, in “CPS-school.” TRUTH cannot be known, much less understood, unless an individual takes it upon him or herself to do independent research. Lord knows you WILL NOT learn how to maintain families at any point (even in a ten-year CPS career).

Advocating for pesky things like the United States Constitution or other inconvenient civil rights will make you a pariah. You see, other workers see you as a reminder that they’ve sold their soul.

And, alas, laws and rules are only effective if enforced. So, if you find yourself at the mercy of CPS, you may as well not cite them. Because no one, your caseworker, the judge, or even your own attorney, wants to be the one that helps send a kid home to his/her death. “CYA” is King! So, unfortunate or not, the ubiquitous advice that you simply humble yourself and cooperate is sound…at least it’s the most effective we have to date.

"I Hope to help..." OR "CPS Sucks"

2009-11-23T18:06:00.000-08:00

where to begin...where to begin...

Perhaps with a brief synopsis from a social worker that understands (and therefore) hates CPS...

It is indisputable, based on empirical evidence, that Child Protective Services (nationwide) is an abject failure of 35 years. As a CPS caseworker, this is utterly consistent with my experience in the field.

There is a reason that criminal jurisprudence has safeguards that sometimes drive each of us crazy. For example, sundry dirt-bags get off on various crimes due to technicalities. It drives all of us crazy. However, the alternative can be overzealous cretins kidnapping children from their parents for no good reason. We have a Constitution, People! Many, like me, think it's pretty good!

It has become evident that this alternative has resulted in Child Protective services wreaking more harm upon society than good. It does not serve the purpose for which it was intended. CPS need be abolished for the good of children, parents and society.