Child Protection at the Crossroads

[Conservative Libertarian]

Child Protection at the Crossroads
Child Abuse, Child Protection, and Recommendations for Reform
Susan Orr
October 1, 1999

Executive Summary

This is a link to the Executive Summary of the subject report. Even though it is dated nearly 10 years ago, it is just as applicable today as when it was written. Only the stats have changed but, I doubt by much. It contains a link to the PDF of the entire rereport.

The primary recommendations are shown below.

The primary recommendations for reform are as follows:

1.Narrow the scope of child abuse and neglect definitions. Scholars and child-welfare experts from across the political spectrum agree that narrowing the scope of child abuse and neglect would allow CPS to focus on the most drastic cases. Much that is now defined as child abuse and neglect does not merit governmental interference.

2.Place the investigatory powers with the police. Police are trained in matters of investigation. It is the nature of child protection to be accusatory. Cloaking the investigation under social services and anonymity does nothing to hide that essential fact. The behavior that we are discussing is criminal in nature; therefore police should gather the evidence. Once the scope of what constitutes child abuse is appropriately narrow, local police would be the best government agency to conduct investigations. If the investigation suggests a crime was committed, the case would then proceed to court for adjudication.

3.Re-criminalize child abuse and neglect. Having already narrowed the scope of child abuse and neglect to serious cases, what remain are cases of assault and serious neglect. That means that the standard would be the same if someone harmed a stranger’s child or her own. Now child abusers are only guaranteed punishment if they harm someone not related to themselves. Most importantly, criminal cases require public records and due process.

4.Repeal mandatory reporting laws that are in effect in all the states. Mandatory reporting laws, designed to encourage those who work with children to report incidents of maltreatment, have had two negative effects. First, they encourage unnecessary reporting because professionals must report all of their suspicions under threat of prosecution. While such prosecutions are rare, one shouldn’t have to report suspicions. Reporting should be restricted to more concrete evidence of a crime. Second, mandatory reporting discourages fellow citizens from taking positive neighborhood action with families in trouble. Citizens tend to consider that their responsibilities have been met when they call an anonymous hotline, because that is what the law tells them to do. Knocking on the door and offering help to a family, which is troubled, but not engaged in criminal behavior, may be the more appropriate alternative.

5.Make child and family services voluntary. Having separated criminal behavior from deficient parenting, we could enable caseworkers to do what they were trained to do and what they do best, i.e., social work. Without the threat of child removal hanging over their heads, parents might more willingly accept services—such as help with parenting skills. Knowing that an agency only provides services, parents might be more receptive to receiving such help. Moreover, these services should be privatized, as private agencies with performance-based contracts tend to work more effectively than state bureaucracies.

An additional recommendation that I would make is the elimination of anonymous reports. That would get rid of lots of wsteful false allegations made by spineles worms that just want to see children and their families destroyed for their own selfish reasons.

I will also post this in the sticky thread.

[warpig]

The Communist Takeover Of America - 45 Declared Goals

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].

[Conservative Libertarian]

The Communist Takeover Of America - 45 Declared Goals

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].

Is this your reply to the existance of CP$ in general or is it your response to the suggested reforms?

[warpig]

Is this your reply to the existance of CP$ in general or is it your response to the suggested reforms?

Existence to the CPS in general.

[Conservative Libertarian]

Existence to the CPS in general.

I tend to agree. If you look a the linked report, the recommendations would effectively take the "investigative" function away from CP$ and give it to law enforcement--where it belongs. Most people would agree that true child abuse is a crime and should be treated as such. Once the crime of child abuse has been confirmed, counselors can then operate for wha they are trained to do--counsel abuse victimes so that they can learn to be survivors.

[ping]

I wouldn't get rid of anonymous reports. They do generate a lot of waste but not all do.

[Conservative Libertarian]

I wouldn't get rid of anonymous reports. They do generate a lot of waste but not all do.

Why would a report need to be anonymous? If a person truly believes that some person is enough of a monster to actually abuse/neglect an innocent child, why would they need to make an anonymous report?

If anonymous reports were to be treated like ones given in criminal investigations where the anonymous tip must be confirmed with hard evidence before it can be acted upon, then my suggestion may be moot. However, within the present system, anonymous reports have been taken as hard evidence, acted upon, and then accepted by the judge--all hidden from public view in the secrecy of the family court. As you have alluded, they choke the system. They are usually some spineless worm that wants to use the system against someone for their own personal vendetta.

If I make a report, it will have my name tacked to it. The accused has a Constitutional right to face their accuser in a court of law.

[ping]

Why would a report need to be anonymous? If a person truly believes that some person is enough of a monster to actually abuse/neglect an innocent child, why would they need to make an anonymous report?

If anonymous reports were to be treated like ones given in criminal investigations where the anonymous tip must be confirmed with hard evidence before it can be acted upon, then my suggestion may be moot. However, within the present system, anonymous reports have been taken as hard evidence, acted upon, and then accepted by the judge--all hidden from public view in the secrecy of the family court. As you have alluded, they choke the system. They are usually some spineless worm that wants to use the system against someone for their own personal vendetta.

If I make a report, it will have my name tacked to it. The accused has a Constitutional right to face their accuser in a court of law.

Simply put some people are scared of retribution. Some of the anonymouse reports I've investigated turned out to be 100% true. Even if just 1 in a 100 turn out to be truthful you don't want to cut off that souce of tips.
Most are false yes but when that happened I left the family alone once I determined there was no abuse.

[Conservative Libertarian]

Simply put some people are scared of retribution. Some of the anonymouse reports I've investigated turned out to be 100% true. Even if just 1 in a 100 turn out to be truthful you don't want to cut off that souce of tips.
Most are false yes but when that happened I left the family alone once I determined there was no abuse.

Good for you. How many other CP$ caseworker do the same? My guess is that the ones that tend not to make it their extended career leave as you did. Others tend to stick around because they don't have a true sense of right and wrong and have a social axe to grind against innocent families and do their best to feed the corruption that drove you away. In my e-travels wrt this topic over the past 13 years, I have noticed the the reason that you left CP$ is same reason most leave--they conclude that the system wthin which they have been working is corrupt and has little concern for "the best interests of the children" as their mantra claims.

Fear of retribution is the only viable reason for an anonymous report. If the changes in the linked report were to actually be implemented, as I stated before, there may be no need to eliminate anonymous reports. As long as CP$ has the "investigation" function that is really a validation of accusations, the anonymous reports should be eliminated. In addition to the tendency for CP$ to be corrupt, your own statement above justify its elimination. I know that what I'm about to say may anger you but, you have effectively bought into the same logic used by the authorities during the Salem witch hunts 0f the 1690's. They were on record stating that if they killed 100 innocent people in order to kill one witch, then they have done a good job. While you may not have conducted your own investigations in such a manner, by your own admission, you have stated that many CP$ caseworkers and/or their superiors do. That, in itself, justifies the elimination of anonymous reports in the present child protection system. You can't justify the needless destruction of many innocent families simply because, it may save much fewer children. Needlessly destroying a family also abuses the childen within it The cure cannot be worse than the disease.