Here is a news item that will make your head spin. Think you are a good parent? What if you made a simple, honest mistake? Do you understand that a simple misunderstanding could cause you to loose the custody of your child to a government agency…even for just a few days? Child Protective Services is such of a powerful agency that even common sense can be overridden, at times, when the zeal to “protect” child from abuse or neglect.
In theory, CPS is in the business of keeping kids safe from abuse and neglect. In it’s worst form….they cause irreparable damage. I read an article today referring to a case of a father who went to a Tiger’s ballgame at the CoAmerica ballfield in Detroit. He had his 7 year old son with him.
The father bought them some Mike’s Hard Lemonade. For those of you who don’t know…it has alcohol in it. The father did not know this. The father works out of the country alot. A security guard spotted the boy holding his bottle and confiscated it…and then, had the boy taken to an ER to be checked out. From there it only gets worse. CPS was called and the child was taken to foster care; this, all because of a lack of knowledge that the lemonade had liquor in it.
The child was checked out at the ER…and there was no measurable amount of liquor in his system. Still the child was placed in foster care. There was an aunt who is a social worker and foster parent, who lived in new england; she drove all night to get to Michigan to take custody of the boy. When she got here…they told her she had to have a hotel room which she promptly went to get.
By the time she got back to CPS they had placed the child into a foster home which they would not disclose to the family. A CPS worker, and a police officer said that placing the child into foster care was not necessary in their opinion; but, the supervisors insisted. The police officer at the hospital after interviewing the parties involved believed it was an honest mistake. I am all for balancing safety and well being for children…but, it must be balanced with common sense.
Eventually, after the department forced the father to leave his own home for a week…the child was returned to his mother after two days of foster care.
Write where you are 