Child protective services is EVIL?
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- Start date
Divide by Zero
The Living Force
It happens at times depending on the agent. Way back, my neighbor had to fight to prove everything was ok.
Some agents look for every little issue. In this case a neighbor (who was always causing trouble herself!) that disliked her called CPS on her and they saw that his room was somewhat a mess, but liveable. The agent deemed this as abuse because he was looking for a problem to start a case on. I have never saw anything wrong with that family, of course you never know but in this case there was someone who is known to make things up call CPS on her.
Later on, another CPS guy came and saw no problem and reported things are ok.
So, yes this happens because the child protection funding is based on how many "customers" they have.
Some agents look for every little issue. In this case a neighbor (who was always causing trouble herself!) that disliked her called CPS on her and they saw that his room was somewhat a mess, but liveable. The agent deemed this as abuse because he was looking for a problem to start a case on. I have never saw anything wrong with that family, of course you never know but in this case there was someone who is known to make things up call CPS on her.
Later on, another CPS guy came and saw no problem and reported things are ok.
So, yes this happens because the child protection funding is based on how many "customers" they have.
H
Hildegarda
Guest
Some background: Nancy Schaefer was a former GA senator, a staunch Republican, an anti-abortionist and an anti-CPS advocate. After living in Atlanta all her life, she and her husband retired to an upscale golf club community.
Last year in March, they both were found dead at home from an apparent murder-suicide. There was some talk among the conservative conspiracy-minded that the PTB took her down right before she was going to drop a major revelation about cPS corruption. A more likely reason was her husband's financial trouble and stress due to illness. He had cancer, and their 600+K home went up for foreclosure on their burial day.
_http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/murder-suicide-considered-nancy-schaefers-death/story?id=10219809
_http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2010/04/05/nancy-schaefer-and-spouse-were-under-financial-stress/
Last year in March, they both were found dead at home from an apparent murder-suicide. There was some talk among the conservative conspiracy-minded that the PTB took her down right before she was going to drop a major revelation about cPS corruption. A more likely reason was her husband's financial trouble and stress due to illness. He had cancer, and their 600+K home went up for foreclosure on their burial day.
_http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/murder-suicide-considered-nancy-schaefers-death/story?id=10219809
_http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2010/04/05/nancy-schaefer-and-spouse-were-under-financial-stress/
H
Hildegarda
Guest
As for CPS being evil, it is certainly bureaucratic and inefficient. Many well-meaning and kind-hearted people who work there burn out way too quickly. On the other hand, it employs a fair number of jerks too.
There are always some high profile storied of CPS overreacting and bothering innocent people. As Divide By Zero pointed out though, the overzealous busybodies among neighbors or mandatory reporters (teachers, doctors etc), often play a role in such cases.
In other cases, CPS workers themselves stereotype people or approach them with a Big Brotherish, anti-family attitude, and it's extremely hard to counter that once a case moves on too far. But it seems that even more often they are negligent and do not give help when needed. Each time a child dies from abuse, and it turns out that the social services were visiting family and saw nothing wrong, is one time too many.
It would be easy to hide corruption and criminal activity in this mess. Yet, the ignorance and defects of the system alone are enough to cause harm.
fwiw
There are always some high profile storied of CPS overreacting and bothering innocent people. As Divide By Zero pointed out though, the overzealous busybodies among neighbors or mandatory reporters (teachers, doctors etc), often play a role in such cases.
In other cases, CPS workers themselves stereotype people or approach them with a Big Brotherish, anti-family attitude, and it's extremely hard to counter that once a case moves on too far. But it seems that even more often they are negligent and do not give help when needed. Each time a child dies from abuse, and it turns out that the social services were visiting family and saw nothing wrong, is one time too many.
It would be easy to hide corruption and criminal activity in this mess. Yet, the ignorance and defects of the system alone are enough to cause harm.
fwiw
Mayb
Jedi Master
Well ,
the news we are getting here is Serbia those days deffinetly confirm that:
the link below I find in quick search so Im not familiar with this web site, but explains long drama in short story.
Just to mention that this subject is not finished yet , and now ,after all this drama , which ends with Nastic family victory , CPA is asking from Nastic family to quit from court procedure against CPA otherwise they will not be able to see their kids anymore.
http://en.wikinoticia.com/lifestyle/social-criticism/71082-us-serbia-couple-struggle-to-regain-their-children
U.S.: Serbia couple struggle to regain their children
Society & You - Social Critic
Monday, 10 January 2011 02:03
of Sasa Milosevic · Translate by Gabriela Garcia Calderon Orbe · View original post [en]
And V. V. N., a partner based in the United States Serbia, has been suffering a lot since June 20, 2010, when the Child Protection Agency (CPA, for its acronym in English) of that country took their children D., 8, and Na. of 5 years due to alleged neglect and sexual abuse.
According to media reports Serbs, the drama began when they found photos of naked children on the laptop of V., after which the police and representatives of the CPA stormed the house of the N. in California. V. and V. handcuffed and led away to prison, while the children were sent to live with a Mexican host family and then with an Arab family.
In the end, V. N. was released on bail of $ 18.000, his wife was released six days later.
According to a statement issued by the family N., was the small D. who took the photos while playing with the camera while her parents were downstairs.
On September 1, lawyers for the traditional family and the CPA N. signed an agreement whereby N. were guilty of negligence (because they allowed their children to use the camera), and other charges were dropped.
The N. have called a team of psychologists Serbs, who sent a letter to the California court to explain cultural differences between Serbia and the United States: "In our culture, children are perceived as completely asexual and do not bathe infrequently with their parents. It is not uncommon that they take pictures and I think they all have in your family photo album of her own nude photo (of children), or their children. That does not generate any feeling erotic, but they are perceived as little children. "
the news we are getting here is Serbia those days deffinetly confirm that:
the link below I find in quick search so Im not familiar with this web site, but explains long drama in short story.
Just to mention that this subject is not finished yet , and now ,after all this drama , which ends with Nastic family victory , CPA is asking from Nastic family to quit from court procedure against CPA otherwise they will not be able to see their kids anymore.
http://en.wikinoticia.com/lifestyle/social-criticism/71082-us-serbia-couple-struggle-to-regain-their-children
U.S.: Serbia couple struggle to regain their children
Society & You - Social Critic
Monday, 10 January 2011 02:03
of Sasa Milosevic · Translate by Gabriela Garcia Calderon Orbe · View original post [en]
And V. V. N., a partner based in the United States Serbia, has been suffering a lot since June 20, 2010, when the Child Protection Agency (CPA, for its acronym in English) of that country took their children D., 8, and Na. of 5 years due to alleged neglect and sexual abuse.
According to media reports Serbs, the drama began when they found photos of naked children on the laptop of V., after which the police and representatives of the CPA stormed the house of the N. in California. V. and V. handcuffed and led away to prison, while the children were sent to live with a Mexican host family and then with an Arab family.
In the end, V. N. was released on bail of $ 18.000, his wife was released six days later.
According to a statement issued by the family N., was the small D. who took the photos while playing with the camera while her parents were downstairs.
On September 1, lawyers for the traditional family and the CPA N. signed an agreement whereby N. were guilty of negligence (because they allowed their children to use the camera), and other charges were dropped.
The N. have called a team of psychologists Serbs, who sent a letter to the California court to explain cultural differences between Serbia and the United States: "In our culture, children are perceived as completely asexual and do not bathe infrequently with their parents. It is not uncommon that they take pictures and I think they all have in your family photo album of her own nude photo (of children), or their children. That does not generate any feeling erotic, but they are perceived as little children. "
theos
The Living Force
I don't think that CPS is the benevolent society many people make them out to be. I worked as a caseworker at one for one year. It was all I could stand. (The environment and the nature of the work was just so negative.) It matters a lot which worker you get. Some of them are really disordered and it seemed like it was fun for them to make people's lives miserable. The more confrontational you are the better job you are perceived to be doing.
I think CPS served as a policing/harrassment agent for black and especially poor families. I'd say at least 80% of the "clients" were black and all of them were poor no matter what their race. If ever a family hired a lawyer CPS would all of a sudden back off and close the case. Unfortunately, few people could afford this. Of all the families that I met with over that year I would say there were no more than 3 cases of legitimate abuse or neglect on my caseload. The rest were people struggling financially, emotionally with not so great parenting skills etc. Nothing that would justify the trauma of snatching a child from their home and placing them with strangers. Assistance and family counseling needed? Yes. But breaking up the family? No.
And then you have the hystericized mandatory reporting that has to be done and the warring spouses reporting on one another. The workers get so burned out and overloaded with crap that they miss things that really need attention.
I think CPS served as a policing/harrassment agent for black and especially poor families. I'd say at least 80% of the "clients" were black and all of them were poor no matter what their race. If ever a family hired a lawyer CPS would all of a sudden back off and close the case. Unfortunately, few people could afford this. Of all the families that I met with over that year I would say there were no more than 3 cases of legitimate abuse or neglect on my caseload. The rest were people struggling financially, emotionally with not so great parenting skills etc. Nothing that would justify the trauma of snatching a child from their home and placing them with strangers. Assistance and family counseling needed? Yes. But breaking up the family? No.
And then you have the hystericized mandatory reporting that has to be done and the warring spouses reporting on one another. The workers get so burned out and overloaded with crap that they miss things that really need attention.
Yes it is a legal form of kidnapping you see the state has your consent to make rules for you, and as you signed over ownership of your child to them at birth you are only taking care of them for the state and if the state feels at any time you are not doing it the way they want they have every legal right to take back their property. This is a bit of a long story but it based on the state getting consent from you to take care of you and rule over you but no man or man made entity can rule over a free will being unless that being consents (give up his or her free will) to them/it. Now there are many ways to consent and most of us consent several times a day but the gold standard of consent as I see it is voting. You see the law and government and authority are all an illusion but if you believe that you need it and you consent to it then you are creating reality.
The illusion is so deep and near complete on planet earth that trying to remove yourself from it is very difficult it is truly the Matrix.
Loud John
The illusion is so deep and near complete on planet earth that trying to remove yourself from it is very difficult it is truly the Matrix.
Loud John
Hi,
I am the actual person discussed in this forum! Can someone please remove this forum from the web, as it's fairly old, but it keeps showing under my name's search, and I am thinking it is hampering my job search. I am not sure if this could be done, but an alternative would be to take out our names from the forum, as the rest of the discussion would still hopefully help raise awareness of the danger of CPS in America. And, to clarify this from my own experience, CPS is EVIL to the core and should be dismanteled. The only reason it still exists is because it's first generation defense lawyers are still NOT ready to publicize their experiences on the web/in a book as they are not done making their money from this evil system yet...how pathetic!
I am the actual person discussed in this forum! Can someone please remove this forum from the web, as it's fairly old, but it keeps showing under my name's search, and I am thinking it is hampering my job search. I am not sure if this could be done, but an alternative would be to take out our names from the forum, as the rest of the discussion would still hopefully help raise awareness of the danger of CPS in America. And, to clarify this from my own experience, CPS is EVIL to the core and should be dismanteled. The only reason it still exists is because it's first generation defense lawyers are still NOT ready to publicize their experiences on the web/in a book as they are not done making their money from this evil system yet...how pathetic!
I thought about posting a thread about CPS but found this one, and it's not too terribly old . . .
There is a woman on the DV support board I'm a member of who's teenage daughter was seized a year ago for "neglect". Her home was a giant mess due to having just moved in and a bunch of stuff she was sorting for her flea market booth. Her story was so outrageous that the membership shied away from her. She told of blatant lies from the social workers, her court appointed attorney, the judge AND the social worker who seized her child were "friends" on Facebook, and that now they were reuniting her child with her estranged exhusband. The man who gave her a head injury, and violated protective orders over and over, and then got his parental visitation court terminated for threatening their lives. We get "trolls" and phoney "victims" often enough, and the calling card is an over-the-top, gruesome story. You hang around DV forums long enough and you'll meet a couple of them, it's difficult to describe unless you are there. The written word alone makes determining trolls, in this kind of forum, very tricky and God forbid if you are wrong :(
I detected both "over-the-top" as well as something else being genuinely wrong, so I contacted her via private message because I wanted to know whether she was for real or not. I challenged her a bit, knowing that a pathological person will usually either disappear or lash into you when you hint at disbelief. She kept on answering my questions, in a grateful kind of way, which made me feel kind of bad, but we kept up the PMs and I got to know her and her story.
So far, everything she said is true. The judge, attorney and SW are indeed Facebook friends. Her exhusband has four separate charges of violating court orders and/or threat of bodily harm. She sent myself and another member who can ID herself if she wants the court docs from this case while we did internet searches that did support her story too.
Every six months she goes before a review board, and is told although she continues "comply" with her "case requirements" (being treated by a therapist for her "hoarding") that she's not "done enough". Her last court appearance was last Friday, I believe, and again, the social worker agreed before the foster care review panel that yes, "H" has completed the requirements of her case requirement . . . but believes she is only going through the motions to get her daughter back. "H" refuses to agree with the premise used to seize her daughter, which to the SW belied "deeper issues" and only superficial cooperation with the requirements.
Up until this point, the "goal" was "parental unification". The SW announced to the review panel this goal is being re-evaluated.
In February, the father will be granted weekend visits with his daughter, whom he has not had any contact with for the last six years. "H" will have weekly one hour, supervised visits on Thursday afternoon.
I kept thinking that "H" was keeping some dark ugly truth about herself from me . . . why on Earth would all of these people be so obviously cruel? NO allegations of abuse against this mother. Just "disguised noncompliance" and "bad attitude" toward the agency who took her daughter away.
Tonight for the first time, I spent a few hours going from one parent's advocacy rights website to the next, and read "H's" story, the same story, over and over and over again in all states. It was easy to see that "H" having lost her daughter a whole year ago means NOTHING about how soon she'll get her back, it's more like, IF she gets her back at all.
All but seven states close records concerning child custody/intervention and other kinds of family law. It's a great idea to provide privacy for children so they grow up free from their pasts. But it's allowed ADULT idiots to utterly pervert this system from a good thing to have around into some kind of monster. We all know what governments without public scrutiny are capable of.
For each child taken into custody and put into foster care, thousands of dollars (depends upon the state) of federal money is awarded to the district where the children are fostered. There were many, many stories of grandparents or siblings of the "accused" who can't figure out WHY they are denied "first rights" to care for their own flesh and blood, but that's pretty obvious to me now :(
Families with a bit of money or access to it hire their own attorneys, and CPS sort of decides the "accused" parent(s) met their treatment goal and backs out. The accused with court appointed attorneys (so new they are still kissing the judge's fanny) are unlikely to make dents in their own paychecks.
Just as bad . . . I've spent the last couple of months in daily contact with "H", supporting her mostly, keeping her focused, so she knows someone cares. Her family is as penniless as she is. All this time I've been thumping my head against the wall to figure out WHAT is REALLY going on, why this makes no sense at all, fears "H" is maybe yanking my chain a little. I just feel sick. I really had no idea :(
I'm going to apologize to her, but I'll wait until I'm not so upset, because my upset isn't HER problem, she has plenty of her own.
The CPS system is definitely, at least potentially an evil system. Just like any other "system" that can be corrupted and hijacked by the psychopathic ideal :(
There's a ton of information out there, some really smart and self-educated ex-victims of CPS who have set up hubs and blogs and clearinghouse type sites with free information and advice on navigating the system. There are also genuinely good attorneys and social workers and judges, but they aren't working in CPS :(
This next bit is a little OT . . . my "home" community of DV survivors, whom I've been involved with daily for the last five years, have reacted to my interest in helping "H" with puzzlement and in one case, getting angry enough with me that they reported me to the admin staff for encouraging them to give "H" support (no one was even replying to her posts). Sounds crazy? I still can't wrap my mind around it. I was told by admin to be more sensitive to other people's wishes to support or not support whomever they wish, and got myself a formal warning for it.
Real victims scare the hell out of people, I guess, like what they have is catching. So we turn our backs on them, and let the "evil" among us eat them up. Advocacy amongst a group of victims for an even more pathetic victim than they themselves are is worthy of getting a thump on the head. Don't rock the boat.
Sorry this is so long, I need to go journal the rest of this out I guess :/
There is a woman on the DV support board I'm a member of who's teenage daughter was seized a year ago for "neglect". Her home was a giant mess due to having just moved in and a bunch of stuff she was sorting for her flea market booth. Her story was so outrageous that the membership shied away from her. She told of blatant lies from the social workers, her court appointed attorney, the judge AND the social worker who seized her child were "friends" on Facebook, and that now they were reuniting her child with her estranged exhusband. The man who gave her a head injury, and violated protective orders over and over, and then got his parental visitation court terminated for threatening their lives. We get "trolls" and phoney "victims" often enough, and the calling card is an over-the-top, gruesome story. You hang around DV forums long enough and you'll meet a couple of them, it's difficult to describe unless you are there. The written word alone makes determining trolls, in this kind of forum, very tricky and God forbid if you are wrong :(
I detected both "over-the-top" as well as something else being genuinely wrong, so I contacted her via private message because I wanted to know whether she was for real or not. I challenged her a bit, knowing that a pathological person will usually either disappear or lash into you when you hint at disbelief. She kept on answering my questions, in a grateful kind of way, which made me feel kind of bad, but we kept up the PMs and I got to know her and her story.
So far, everything she said is true. The judge, attorney and SW are indeed Facebook friends. Her exhusband has four separate charges of violating court orders and/or threat of bodily harm. She sent myself and another member who can ID herself if she wants the court docs from this case while we did internet searches that did support her story too.
Every six months she goes before a review board, and is told although she continues "comply" with her "case requirements" (being treated by a therapist for her "hoarding") that she's not "done enough". Her last court appearance was last Friday, I believe, and again, the social worker agreed before the foster care review panel that yes, "H" has completed the requirements of her case requirement . . . but believes she is only going through the motions to get her daughter back. "H" refuses to agree with the premise used to seize her daughter, which to the SW belied "deeper issues" and only superficial cooperation with the requirements.
Up until this point, the "goal" was "parental unification". The SW announced to the review panel this goal is being re-evaluated.
In February, the father will be granted weekend visits with his daughter, whom he has not had any contact with for the last six years. "H" will have weekly one hour, supervised visits on Thursday afternoon.
I kept thinking that "H" was keeping some dark ugly truth about herself from me . . . why on Earth would all of these people be so obviously cruel? NO allegations of abuse against this mother. Just "disguised noncompliance" and "bad attitude" toward the agency who took her daughter away.
Tonight for the first time, I spent a few hours going from one parent's advocacy rights website to the next, and read "H's" story, the same story, over and over and over again in all states. It was easy to see that "H" having lost her daughter a whole year ago means NOTHING about how soon she'll get her back, it's more like, IF she gets her back at all.
All but seven states close records concerning child custody/intervention and other kinds of family law. It's a great idea to provide privacy for children so they grow up free from their pasts. But it's allowed ADULT idiots to utterly pervert this system from a good thing to have around into some kind of monster. We all know what governments without public scrutiny are capable of.
For each child taken into custody and put into foster care, thousands of dollars (depends upon the state) of federal money is awarded to the district where the children are fostered. There were many, many stories of grandparents or siblings of the "accused" who can't figure out WHY they are denied "first rights" to care for their own flesh and blood, but that's pretty obvious to me now :(
Families with a bit of money or access to it hire their own attorneys, and CPS sort of decides the "accused" parent(s) met their treatment goal and backs out. The accused with court appointed attorneys (so new they are still kissing the judge's fanny) are unlikely to make dents in their own paychecks.
Just as bad . . . I've spent the last couple of months in daily contact with "H", supporting her mostly, keeping her focused, so she knows someone cares. Her family is as penniless as she is. All this time I've been thumping my head against the wall to figure out WHAT is REALLY going on, why this makes no sense at all, fears "H" is maybe yanking my chain a little. I just feel sick. I really had no idea :(
I'm going to apologize to her, but I'll wait until I'm not so upset, because my upset isn't HER problem, she has plenty of her own.
The CPS system is definitely, at least potentially an evil system. Just like any other "system" that can be corrupted and hijacked by the psychopathic ideal :(
There's a ton of information out there, some really smart and self-educated ex-victims of CPS who have set up hubs and blogs and clearinghouse type sites with free information and advice on navigating the system. There are also genuinely good attorneys and social workers and judges, but they aren't working in CPS :(
This next bit is a little OT . . . my "home" community of DV survivors, whom I've been involved with daily for the last five years, have reacted to my interest in helping "H" with puzzlement and in one case, getting angry enough with me that they reported me to the admin staff for encouraging them to give "H" support (no one was even replying to her posts). Sounds crazy? I still can't wrap my mind around it. I was told by admin to be more sensitive to other people's wishes to support or not support whomever they wish, and got myself a formal warning for it.
Real victims scare the hell out of people, I guess, like what they have is catching. So we turn our backs on them, and let the "evil" among us eat them up. Advocacy amongst a group of victims for an even more pathetic victim than they themselves are is worthy of getting a thump on the head. Don't rock the boat.
Sorry this is so long, I need to go journal the rest of this out I guess :/
Gimpy
The Living Force
People react that way, because deep down they know real danger when it crops up....and they also know it CAN happen to them. So the monkey-mind says "Run away NOW!"
While that's understandable, its also quite cruel. We need to get back to the place in which seeing and then really knowing the truth of the matter brings people back together in the face of that kind of evil.
Journal away...break a few dishes (those make great design elements in cement garden steps btw ;) ) and thank you for speaking out.
Now that I've mellowed out a bit . . . what I'm perceiving is the same ole same ole "human evil" that corrupts any kind of system of thought or deed. No matter the original ideal, individuals who seek to have power over the intimate aspects of other people's lives will seek positions where this kind of "power" is a possibility.
Because most juvenile and "dependency" court activity is closed to the public, evil individuals can dig themselves in and operate without oversight. People are hired, and either stay or go based upon their personal tolerance or "agreement" with the prevailing mindset.
As an RN I've worked in many different "settings", and after a while you can walk onto a unit and get a whiff of the prevailing mindset. I walked off the job in the middle of the night once (lol, I was young and LUCKY) when I was told about a revenge plot against me and my co-worker for reporting a staff member for sleeping on the job. I turned down a job offer once when the nurse manager interviewing me raised her voice at me because I'd already committed to working weekends elsewhere :D . That was a no-brainer. Usually it's a lot more subtle and if you have any personal desire for the opportunities or money the job offers, it's easy to talk yourself out of noticing that something stinks.
CPS is a great example of a humanitarian idea, which is why when it does evil things it is that much more "evil".
If your state or jurisdiction has "closed" juvenile and family court proceedings, the lack of public scrutiny creates a potential for misuse of power. It may or may not be there, but finding out if it IS ought to be a priority!
I might as well admit I am one of those types who off the cuff assumes "the best" in others. Here's the logic
: Since you work for CPS, you must wish to protect children and preserve families by offering services and support to those ends.
When the results of CPS intervention are long term foster care, termination of parental rights and "adopting out" in the ABSENCE of criminal offense . . . well, by their fruits and all that :( That is what is happening to my friend in Kentucky. She expects her parental rights to be terminated on the fifteenth of February, a year after her fourteen year old daughter was removed because the apartment she'd just moved into was so messy it was "unsafe". My friend's therapist has given the court her professional assessment, that her client is NOT a hoarder (a "diagnosis" made by the undergraduate social worker whose report allowed the child to be seized), had consistently rectified the mess over the last year, and has no mental illness necessitating psychiatric treatment.
I've seen the court documents my friend has in her possession, which don't include the documents the court has refused to give her copies of due to the "closed" nature of the proceedings. I even saw the letter written by the therapist TO the court admitting she is "confused" by the continued foster care in spite of the mother's cooperation with the case plan, and lack of evidence supporting an untreated mental disorder (the other "diagnosis" provided by the undergraduate social worker).
When the mother found out (at the one year mark) her daughter would not be returned home, she posted a blog about her experience and what she felt was unfair or outright lies. The judge put a gag order on her, so that she had to take down the blog and risks contempt of court to even VENT her fear and concerns in a support forum!
CPS isn't evil . . . but the judge is, and so is the Master's level social worker who must co-sign the undergraduate social worker's documentation, and so is the undergraduate social worker who lacks the basic conscience and empathy for a fellow human being who's had her only child taken away. In fact, the undergraduate social worker formally, in court, recommended custody remain with the state of Kentucky because, and I quote "XXXX (mother's name) is disingenuous, meeting the case plan requirements only to regain custody of her daughter. She denies the gravity of her prior situation, and will likely return to it without supervision."
This, to me, is unchecked insanity?
Because most juvenile and "dependency" court activity is closed to the public, evil individuals can dig themselves in and operate without oversight. People are hired, and either stay or go based upon their personal tolerance or "agreement" with the prevailing mindset.
As an RN I've worked in many different "settings", and after a while you can walk onto a unit and get a whiff of the prevailing mindset. I walked off the job in the middle of the night once (lol, I was young and LUCKY) when I was told about a revenge plot against me and my co-worker for reporting a staff member for sleeping on the job. I turned down a job offer once when the nurse manager interviewing me raised her voice at me because I'd already committed to working weekends elsewhere :D . That was a no-brainer. Usually it's a lot more subtle and if you have any personal desire for the opportunities or money the job offers, it's easy to talk yourself out of noticing that something stinks.
CPS is a great example of a humanitarian idea, which is why when it does evil things it is that much more "evil".
If your state or jurisdiction has "closed" juvenile and family court proceedings, the lack of public scrutiny creates a potential for misuse of power. It may or may not be there, but finding out if it IS ought to be a priority!
I might as well admit I am one of those types who off the cuff assumes "the best" in others. Here's the logic
: Since you work for CPS, you must wish to protect children and preserve families by offering services and support to those ends. When the results of CPS intervention are long term foster care, termination of parental rights and "adopting out" in the ABSENCE of criminal offense . . . well, by their fruits and all that :( That is what is happening to my friend in Kentucky. She expects her parental rights to be terminated on the fifteenth of February, a year after her fourteen year old daughter was removed because the apartment she'd just moved into was so messy it was "unsafe". My friend's therapist has given the court her professional assessment, that her client is NOT a hoarder (a "diagnosis" made by the undergraduate social worker whose report allowed the child to be seized), had consistently rectified the mess over the last year, and has no mental illness necessitating psychiatric treatment.
I've seen the court documents my friend has in her possession, which don't include the documents the court has refused to give her copies of due to the "closed" nature of the proceedings. I even saw the letter written by the therapist TO the court admitting she is "confused" by the continued foster care in spite of the mother's cooperation with the case plan, and lack of evidence supporting an untreated mental disorder (the other "diagnosis" provided by the undergraduate social worker).
When the mother found out (at the one year mark) her daughter would not be returned home, she posted a blog about her experience and what she felt was unfair or outright lies. The judge put a gag order on her, so that she had to take down the blog and risks contempt of court to even VENT her fear and concerns in a support forum!
CPS isn't evil . . . but the judge is, and so is the Master's level social worker who must co-sign the undergraduate social worker's documentation, and so is the undergraduate social worker who lacks the basic conscience and empathy for a fellow human being who's had her only child taken away. In fact, the undergraduate social worker formally, in court, recommended custody remain with the state of Kentucky because, and I quote "XXXX (mother's name) is disingenuous, meeting the case plan requirements only to regain custody of her daughter. She denies the gravity of her prior situation, and will likely return to it without supervision."
This, to me, is unchecked insanity?
Briseis wrote: << the same ole same ole "human evil" that corrupts any kind of system of thought or deed. No matter the original ideal, individuals who seek to have power over the intimate aspects of other people's lives will seek positions where this kind of "power" is a possibility. >>
I think that's it. "Is CPS evil?" seems to me to be the wrong question, like asking are the police evil, is the justice system evil, is the department of public works evil? CPS is a government authority, so like all others, it is probably entirely corrupt at the top, directed for evil purposes, and thus not really what it appears to be. As an authority, it is wide open to abuse because they get to "define" things like "abuse" and "best interests" of others. Because of that power, and the gov't connection, it can directed at innocent people who displease someone somewhere in the system, with the intent of breaking them, and redirecting all their energy away from the unwanted behavior and into fighting CPS. Similarly, any gov't authority such as police, military, TSA, fusion centers, the courts, the IRS, etc. can be used for this purpose.
Like other authorities ostensibly existing for the public good, it surely does some of that for public relations purposes. But just as police and soldiers mostly don't understand how they're used, it seems reasonable that CPS is also made up mostly of useful idiots. Some are surely attracted because they want to do good, but at the same time, it must attract authoritarians and petty tyrants like crazy. Because it involves children, it probably attracts pedophiles, too. I've read more than enough negative stories about CPS to get those impressions, and it harmonizes with things we learn here about expecting STS behavior in an STS world.
_http://fightcps.com/ is an organization working against CPS. They have information about Sen. Nancy Shaefer, mentioned earlier.
There are several videos of Shaefer explaining her charges against the CPS, starting here: _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nkgezojsgo
She says there are financial incentives offered by the government (money taken from you, the taxpayer) for getting more kids into the CPS system. On the surface, the incentives look like they might mean well, so it can be plausibly deniable that they are darkly intended. You probably know this is how it works with juvenile halls and prisons, too, with corrupt judges in control. Where there are financial incentives (profit in adoption), we should probably expect that psychopaths take over, cash in, ratchet up the abuse of the system, and then protect that status quo with lies, deceit, and worse.
I don't really know about the alleged CPS/Dyncorp connection, as I have never looked into it. The allegations are that CPS contracts Dyncorp (a $3 billion-dollar company that receives, according to Wikipedia, 96% of its money from the gov't contracts, including the military). This would be very scary because we know that Dyncorp is implicated in sex-slavery profiteering overseas. On this matter, there is the famous cross-examination of Donald Rumsfeld by Rep. Cynthia McKinney before Congress in which Rumsfeld pretty much admits this was going on, yet Dyncorp is allowed to keep getting public money. That video here: _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RvLL--vSsA
I think that's it. "Is CPS evil?" seems to me to be the wrong question, like asking are the police evil, is the justice system evil, is the department of public works evil? CPS is a government authority, so like all others, it is probably entirely corrupt at the top, directed for evil purposes, and thus not really what it appears to be. As an authority, it is wide open to abuse because they get to "define" things like "abuse" and "best interests" of others. Because of that power, and the gov't connection, it can directed at innocent people who displease someone somewhere in the system, with the intent of breaking them, and redirecting all their energy away from the unwanted behavior and into fighting CPS. Similarly, any gov't authority such as police, military, TSA, fusion centers, the courts, the IRS, etc. can be used for this purpose.
Like other authorities ostensibly existing for the public good, it surely does some of that for public relations purposes. But just as police and soldiers mostly don't understand how they're used, it seems reasonable that CPS is also made up mostly of useful idiots. Some are surely attracted because they want to do good, but at the same time, it must attract authoritarians and petty tyrants like crazy. Because it involves children, it probably attracts pedophiles, too. I've read more than enough negative stories about CPS to get those impressions, and it harmonizes with things we learn here about expecting STS behavior in an STS world.
_http://fightcps.com/ is an organization working against CPS. They have information about Sen. Nancy Shaefer, mentioned earlier.
There are several videos of Shaefer explaining her charges against the CPS, starting here: _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nkgezojsgo
She says there are financial incentives offered by the government (money taken from you, the taxpayer) for getting more kids into the CPS system. On the surface, the incentives look like they might mean well, so it can be plausibly deniable that they are darkly intended. You probably know this is how it works with juvenile halls and prisons, too, with corrupt judges in control. Where there are financial incentives (profit in adoption), we should probably expect that psychopaths take over, cash in, ratchet up the abuse of the system, and then protect that status quo with lies, deceit, and worse.
I don't really know about the alleged CPS/Dyncorp connection, as I have never looked into it. The allegations are that CPS contracts Dyncorp (a $3 billion-dollar company that receives, according to Wikipedia, 96% of its money from the gov't contracts, including the military). This would be very scary because we know that Dyncorp is implicated in sex-slavery profiteering overseas. On this matter, there is the famous cross-examination of Donald Rumsfeld by Rep. Cynthia McKinney before Congress in which Rumsfeld pretty much admits this was going on, yet Dyncorp is allowed to keep getting public money. That video here: _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RvLL--vSsA
