I have a friend of a friend who was a caseworker for CPS..
Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 5:12 pm
I have a friend of a friend who used to work as a caseworker for CPS. Then she got her Master's in social work and was working training CPS workers. She got out of the CPS work entirely after being disgusted with what took place, now she is working independently and does pre-adoption home study as a freelancer.
She was moderately helpful to us when we were battling CPS but for the most part she was just shocked and horrified. She totally believed us though, which was something. She said that when they were training the future CPS workers they tried to weed out or discourage those with extreme views of any kind, those who were abused as kids and on a mission to "save babies" in order to heal their own childhood traumas, basically any who were not stable but that she knew that some nutjobs made it in regardless.
What's interesting to me is that she fully admitted that CPS workers do NOT have to have any understanding of child development, and I witness that first hand. I can't remember what exactly the discussion entailed now, it's been years, but I remember specifically having a discussion with our caseworker, in our living room, where I was horrified at her lack of basic knowledge about child development. I was no "expert". Just a mom, but I'd taken the time and effort to educate myself when I first got pregnant at age 19, even taking child development classes in college, and just reading all I could about parenting and what was normal and just trying to have a better understanding of how children grow and develop. This woman had no clue!
What's also interesting to me is that this "friend of a friend" with the Master's in Social Work has a child of her own, and while she's a nice enough person, like I said, and she is NOT working for CPS, it's noteworthy to me that she is IMO an awful parent. Not in any way mean or abusive, but the opposite extreme; one of those so afraid to discipline at all that the child is obnoxious and intolerably spoiled rotten!
Ironic huh?
She was moderately helpful to us when we were battling CPS but for the most part she was just shocked and horrified. She totally believed us though, which was something. She said that when they were training the future CPS workers they tried to weed out or discourage those with extreme views of any kind, those who were abused as kids and on a mission to "save babies" in order to heal their own childhood traumas, basically any who were not stable but that she knew that some nutjobs made it in regardless.
What's interesting to me is that she fully admitted that CPS workers do NOT have to have any understanding of child development, and I witness that first hand. I can't remember what exactly the discussion entailed now, it's been years, but I remember specifically having a discussion with our caseworker, in our living room, where I was horrified at her lack of basic knowledge about child development. I was no "expert". Just a mom, but I'd taken the time and effort to educate myself when I first got pregnant at age 19, even taking child development classes in college, and just reading all I could about parenting and what was normal and just trying to have a better understanding of how children grow and develop. This woman had no clue!
What's also interesting to me is that this "friend of a friend" with the Master's in Social Work has a child of her own, and while she's a nice enough person, like I said, and she is NOT working for CPS, it's noteworthy to me that she is IMO an awful parent. Not in any way mean or abusive, but the opposite extreme; one of those so afraid to discipline at all that the child is obnoxious and intolerably spoiled rotten!
Ironic huh?