PARENTAL CONSENT

[username]

Needless to say, he went to school with a bright red handprint across his face and of course I got the fully expected call from the school counselor. He had to call CPS and report it, but since it was only a red mark and not a bruise, all was right with the world.

See? A fucking bruise (and again, the kid could just claim you inflicted the bruise...true or not).

Here's a little bit of info on the CPS process in California. As I understand it, it's not necessarily a quick visit and "case dismissed". I've read that CPS workers tend to typically find parents guilty until proven innocent. Further, if they decide to launch an investigation, they may want to interview family members, friends, teachers etc. Who wants their friends/acquaintances getting phone calls saying "hi, we'd like to talk with you about username and find out if you think she might be beating the shit out of her kid"? Awkward. Plus, you can face criminal charges. Wouldn't it be nice to pay attorney's fees for that?

You don't just send your kid off to foster care, as far as I know. You get to go through this wonderful process where you're made out to be the devil incarnate, you might have to participate in certain parenting/anger management programs (for a year) while the child is in the house (see below) and if all that fails, or the case is so severe,then they might take the kid out of the house and put them into foster care in which case you STILL have to participate in outside programs.

I think the government has gotten wayyyyyy too involved in parenting.


The CPS is the major system of intervention of child abuse and neglect in California. Existing law provides for services to abused and neglected children and their families. The CPS goal is to keep the child in his/her own home when it is safe, and when the child is at risk, to develop an alternate plan as quickly as possible.

When a referral is received, the social service staff obtains facts from the person making the referral to determine if the referral alleges abuse, neglect, or exploitation. The Emergency Response staff determines if an in-person response is indicated. Whenever an report indicates the need for protection, CPS will:

Accept the case
Intervene in the crisis, if required
Apply Family Perservation and Support Services for some families
Assess or identify problems, gather facts and clarify the problems
Plan and provide services, set goals, identify resources and timeframes
Document the case
Terminate the case or transfer it to another program
Approximately 12 months of services are provided to children who remain safely in the home while the family receives services. If it is determined that a child cannot remain in the home, even with family preservation and support services, then foster placement is arranged in the most family-like setting, that is located close to the parent's home, consistent with the best interests of the child.

Up to 18 months of services are provided to children and their families when a child has been removed from the home and the family is making progress toward reunification. When a child cannot be returned to a safe home after services have been delivered, the child must be provided with a family-like living arrangement as soon as possible.

FOR WHOM
These services are available to children and their families when children are victims of, or at risk of, abuse, neglect, exploitation, or parental absence.

California law defines child abuse as any of the following:

A child is physically injured by other than accidental means.
A child is subjected to willful cruelty or unjustifiable punishment.
A child is abused or exploited sexually.
A child is neglected by a parent or caretaker who fails to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care or supervision.



I love that one..."a child is physically injured by other than accidental means". Pfft.