Hello

[marilee]

Hello, my name is Marilee and I live in California ... I stumbled across this site by accident. I have experience in the field of social work, and with the dept. of children's services. I have both a bachelor's and a master's degree in social worker, and have specialized in health/medicine/chronic illness issues, and with children and families.

I'd be happy to offer whatever small amount of guidance I can ...

The majority of social workers (and I mean 98%) are not out to steal anyone's children ... and would much rather work to keep a family together, than separate them. Even though, your experiences may indicate otherwise ... I promise to give you as unbiased an answer as I can...

[florida999]

hello, and welcome to the board. anyone who has insight as to how to naviagte through an ordeal with cps is a valuable asset to the board.

[Marina]

This statement by Ann Frisch to the Board of Supervisors shows contrasting ways of Social Workers reacting to families.

Could you describe how you typically would react in a similar situation?



Professor Ann Frisch: Statement to the Winnebago County Board of Supervisors

http://www.uwosh.edu/faculty_staff/palm ... risch1.htm

[marilee]

Unfortunately, what happened to the family in the article is too often a common experience. And one that policy makers and educators are at least trying to reduce.

Most social work degree programs have developed a focus on cultural awareness, and how to access and apply the knowledge of other beliefs, cultures, and practices that differ from our own when evaluating a family and possible abuse and/or neglect allegations.

An example would be a healing ritual called "coining" that is done by many Asian cultures ... the process can cause what appears to be signficiant bruising, usually on the child's chest, back and/or arms. However, the child has not been harmed.

It is important that people who work with a variety of populations (doctors, nurses, social workers, teachers etc.) be aware of those who make up their communities, and to ask questions when in doubt about cultural differences, belief practices etc. Many times, with a few simple questions and explanations ... what was thought to be abuse, is actually an effort at treatment, and care. That does not mean that all folk remedies are harmless though ...

There are many more points that could be discussed from the article, and I agree that it appears that this family's civil rights were violated. Especially, by not having a translator available to make sure the parents understood what was happening, AND to have someone who could accurately explain their perspective to the authorities.

Marilee

[Marina]

Thanks for your reply.

What are the 6 Standards of Child Care that you see violated most frequently?

And please tell us the percentages of your case loads for each one.

[marilee]

Hello Marina ...

Could you please explain further what information you're looking for? I'm unfamiliar with the term you used 6 Standards of Child Care . I received my education in another state and often times terminology will differ from state to state and program to program.

If you're wondering about the types of abuse, neglect etc., that I've dealt with ... I can share that information ... but wanted to be clear about what you were asking first ...

~Marilee

[Marina]

Yes, that is what I meant -- child maltreatment is a violation of some Standard of Child Care.

If children are malnourished, then the Standard of Care is determined by the Department of Agriculture and published in their nutrition charts and minimum standards, etc.

If children are not adequately clothed, then the Standard of Care is determined by somebody like the American Academy of Pediatrics and what conditions can cause frostbite, etc.

If children do not have adequate housing, then the Standard of Care is determined by the National Building Code, or HUD housing standards, and the availability of Public Housing and Subsidized Housing and Vouchers.

If children are not safe or adequately supervised, then one source for Standards of Care would be Caring for Our Children, National Standards for Child Care. Another would be Red Cross Safety and First Aid.

If there is educational neglect, then the Standard of Care is the compulsary schooling laws.

For every case of Child Maltreatment, there is a violation of some Standard of Care.

Since it is considered appropriate to discuss things constructively on this forum, and not engage in character assassination, I worded the question in such a way that everyone here could learn to be a better parent.

So rather than ask what kinds of child maltreatment you have dealt with, I am asking what Standards of Child Care are commonly violated.

[marilee]

Okay ... I see.

My current caseload consists of 32 children ... I have encountered the following: sexual abuse by sibling, sexual abuse by parent, Physical abuse that has included: burning a child with cigarettes, locking a child in a closet for hours at a time, leaving a child under the age of 5 at home alone for 15 hours (no food either), hitting a child in the head with a glass (needed 15 stitches), repeated kicking and hitting of a child in the legs that eventually resulted in a bone infection so severe that it ate away at that bone until it fractured.
General Neglect that included: leaving children alone without supervison, living with children in rat and cockroach infested surroundings w/o running water, electricity, or food (parents were addicted to methamphetmaine).
Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse (alcohol and drugs) has played a part in almost every case I have.

I'm sure there are more, but those are what jumps to the front of my mind right now ...

I would like to point out that being homeless is NOT a reason (only) to remove a child, being poor is NOT a reason to remove a child, being undereducated is NOT a reason to remove a child and many, many more ... living in a "dirty" house is not a reason to remove a child ... the problem comes in with what is considered "dirty" and your idea and mine may differ widely ...

We also strive to follow something called "the minimum standard level of care" which means (in part) to not set the bar higher than where the family started, or can hope to achieve.

As far as percentages ... I don't have the correct data to give you an accurate statistic ...

I can tell you that within the past month, I've been able to return 4 children to their parents and dismiss their court cases. However, I've also recommended for 4 parent's parental rights be terminated, and to free the children for adoption by their extended family members. 2 of the parents stopped visiting their children, and returned to drug use. Another, re-abused their child during an unsupervised visit, and another still refused to leave their convicted sex offender boyfriend.

Sometimes, I'm FORCED by the parents actions or lack there of into doing some really unpleasant things ... like trying to explain to a child why their parent has stopped coming to visits ... sometimes, I don't have the words ...

I'm not sure if this was what you wanted to know ... but it's what I have right now ...

~Marilee

[Marina]

Thanks for your reply. It is hard for a "client" to see the broader view when they are overwhelmed by their own situation.

When substance abuse is a problem, does CPS involvement cause more stress, which in turn causes more substance abuse? If so, how can that be avoided?

If a boyfriend is helping to pay the bills, and the social worker doesn't think he should be there, how does the mother make ends meet without the boyfriend to help out? Will she become homeless? How can this be avoided?

How do help a family that has problems with unemployment?

[Greegor]

1. What would you do if one of your client families presented
you with documents proving the agency committted PERJURY
in order to "make a case"?

I am referring to my own family and a false accusation
that I had a ""sex abuse history"" used to get the
child removal order.

None of the contract ""Social Workers"" in our case
would lift a finger to ask that the LIE be corrected.

Wouldn't a SW have an ethical obligation to ask
the agency to correct such a situation?

A supervisor in another contractor agency
actually, contacted by phone, said he did not
want to see the documents.

If I would have sent them, he intended to
refuse them VIA Return To Sender.

I have done a bit of reading about "best practices"
and the "dual relationship" situation but nothing
seems to excuse them from a professional
obligation to seek correction of a blatant falsehood
used to "make a case".

From the family side of this situation it certainly
appears that the contractors are PROSTITUTE
to the agency political and legal interests in a case.

I even considered privately hiring a SW but
I actually had two tell me that they could not
ask the (less educated) caseworkers to correct
anything like this, for fear that they would never
get any contract employment ever again.

Because of this we have become very determined
to sue all of these contractors as well as the entire
chain of command at the CPS agency.

They all "played along" even when they knew
they were profiting from the perpetuation of
a case that was an atrocity.

Please explain what you would do in this situation and
if you feel ethically obligated to SPEAK UP
to the agency to help a family in that spot?





2. The cases you described were very dramatic,
which is damned peculiar since the legal standard
to start a CINA is merely "at risk of".

"at risk of" Neglect is about 85% and
"at risk of" Abuse is about 10%.

ACTUAL abuse by the way, is not even 1% of removals.
Blood, broken bones, sexual abuse..

Agencies themselves report a rather interesting
percentage where they declare they don't have ANY
reason for the removal whatsoever.

This number is several times greater than the ACTUAL abuse.

You only mentioned the horror stories but
what about the rest where the CPS intrusion
itself is the real horror?

[Frustrated]

That's what I said all along...the Statistics I have looked at are sketchy at best. Higher than normal? Why so high? whereas there are only 1% of actual abuse reported with sexual abuse, physical abuse and such...(real bad ones) and the other ones are not actual abuse by itself, but rather other reasons like Medical neglect, educational neglect and so forth. and CPS has reported in the higher number of Cases, but could not PROVE that it actually "happened" and could not fetch up for confirmation of actual cases. They have been caught claiming 400 cases or 500 cases in California whereas there are BOGUS cases that there were NO ACTUAL CHILDREN REMOVED! It was all made up so they can generate funds from the STATE. this is the famous Class Action Lawsuit to research these California CPS Organizations making up bogus cases and had the indepenedent RESEARCH the Katrina Victims and they said they had over 500 to 1,000 cases which "mysteriously" disappeared but could NOT Vouch for the actual cases...and they claims there are reported higher number of Abuses. The other Independent Research actually found that it was supposed to be reported in the lower numbers of ACTUAL Abuse. The Higher numbers were based on OTHER reasons...Educational Neglect, Medical Neglect and other stuff and all of these were unsubstaninted and they put those numbers into the ACTUAL Abuse Numbers?

Something is NOT right here...I know there are Businesses that actually "cook the books" and I know the CPS Organizations does abuse the System and the Funds, and probably cooked the books with THESE NUMBERS.


More than 520,000 to 530, 000 Children in Foster Care right now and they claim there is only 100,000 cases of actual abuse? What about the rest of these numbers? THey claim that these Children are living there more than 2 years and are NOT part of the Statistics numbers.

I just wish there is an INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER CAN CHECK THESE ACTUAL NUMBERS IN REAL NUMBERS!~ STop them from cooking the books!

[lynn5067]

marilee
i have a few questions maybe you could answer
on a case where a child has stated her stepfather touched her bare butt cheek about 5 or 6 different times how soon should family counseling start if reunificaiton is ordered
how long normally does a case like this take
is it a conflict of interest for a sw to also be fp in another county
arent sw's supposed to be unbiased
if a child is saying she is ready and wants family counseling shouldnt it be started
why is it better to keep the child away from parents for long periods of time
how is it good for a child to believe it is ok to avoid or put off conflict
if a child is in need of so much counseling why is she only seen once a week
why do sw's have so much power over what happens and when
i ask these questions because my daughter has a sw who has refused to meet with me, it's been 3 and 1/2 months and she has met with me once and then did not listen to one word i had to say
she put a report into court completely attacking me personally before even speaking to me she has refused to start family counseling even though my daughter has been requesting it for 2 months now. she seems totally against me and my husband
i thought sw's were suppose to help familys not hurt them
my sw is wonderful and she cannot answer my questions because she is just as confused as i am on what the other one is doing
what are my options

[marilee]

Sorry ... I'm having some trouble figuring out how to post a reply to a question that was several posts "ago" in the thread ...

The person from Iowa with the false sexual abuse report ...
I'm very sorry that this has happened to you ... and I find it difficult to answer ... Yes, SW are supposed to be unbiased. But remember they are people too and have a past etc. I'm not trying to excuse what happened, but just want you to be aware. Many times, the SW may be unaware of why they are having the feelings and/or reactions they are b/c the bias is unconscious.

At any rate, if the report is false (you didn't say what kind of report and where it came from) you should file a complaint, and if necessary obtain an attorney to assist you.

You mention several times "contract sw's" I do not know what this means ... and am unable to comment about the actions of those sw's ... in Ca. if you work for children's services ... you are employed by the County. We do not have contracted services except for therapy, parenting classes, domestic violence classes etc.. but the actual protection services are never "contracted" out.

If, I was presented with a similar situation .. I would speak out to my supervisor and if necessary inform the family. However, this is part of my own personal moral and ethical way of handling my career, and may not be someone else's.

Another avenue you could explore would be contact the SW licensing board in your state and logging a complaint that the social work code of ethics had been violated, and perhaps other components of the licensing regs.

Again, I'm sorry this has happened to you.

~Marilee

[marilee]

You have a lot of questions here and it would be difficult for me to answer each one effectively ... but I'll try.

Do you believe that the stepfather was inappropriate with your child? Do you believe your child?

Family Reunification (FR) happens in a number of ways and is usually ordered through the court, under the recommendations of the SW. The time frame varies on the age of the child, and what the parents need to accomplish. Except in extreme circumstances parents have the right to see their child a min. of 1 time per week (usually for 1 hr.) This may not happen if visitation w/the child is detrimential to the child (meaning is it harmful for the child to have visits right now? does is cause more trauma to the child?)

You asked if it was conflict for a SW to also be a foster parent? You cannot do do both for the same agency or county you work in. But I do know SW's who work in one county and are a foster parent in another. They are dedicated people who love children, and want to give them the best chance possible (the ones I know, that is.)

Yes, SW's are supposed to be unbiased. But so are police men, doctors, nurses etc. However, we are all human beings have had our own experiences, morals, ways we were raised and thoughts about what is right and wrong. Part of my training was focused on learning what MY biases were and knowing how to identify them. NO ONE is w/o bias. It is often difficult to recognize a reaction as a bias.

You asked several questions about therapy, starting counseling, lenght of time away from family etc., I don't have enough information to really answer these ... You have not said, how old this child is ... typically the therapist decides how often and how long therapy should be. Once a week is intensive enough ... children are not capable of handling more ... it is not a case of the faster we get through therapy the sooner we can get on with our lives ... kids don't work this way, and it can actually be more harmful to rush them.

The SW's do have power, but it's the Court who has is the ultimate ruling authority. Almost every decision a SW makes is based on a law, policy, or procedure that has been developed by the "higher ups" and the Government. I am acutely aware of the "power" my role holds, and strive to not abuse it.

Your daughter's SW is from where? You also made reference to another SW that is wonderful ... I'm confused.

For me, I am the SW for the child, and the parent ... I must have in-person contact with the child and the parent, and the foster parent every month (at a min.) I do have parents that avoid monthly contact with me, and usual it's b/c they are not doing what they need to do ... ie: not going to therapy, not doing substance abuse treatment etc... or they are using drugs or alcohol and they don't want me to know ... it's a vicious cycle!

As far as getting the other SW to speak with you ... provided she is required to speak with (I have no way of knowing) You can request to speak with her/his supervisor and explain the problem and see what can be done to intervene.

Regarding the court report ... your attorney is able to "challenge" what is in the reports ... and I try to talk w/my parents ahead of time so they know what may be in a report ... but I still have parents who refuse to cooperate, and won't met with me.

It is my job to help families ... and I work very hard everyday to do this ... However, my number one priority is to the child ... followed by the parents ... and for some, going back to their parents is NOT the best thing ... but I try my damnest to give the parents every chance to fix what was wrong, or whatever it was that happened ... but they need to work with me ...

I hope this helped you a little bit ... Good Luck!
Marilee

[lynn5067]

sorry it took me so long to reply but i havent felt much like sharing lately
your answers were as i expected they would be

i live in Indiana here they have a counselor for the child and one for the parents which to me makes things alot more confusing and difficult since my last post we started family counseling but just with me and my daughter not my husband
i am hearing more of my daughters counselors perspective than on how my daughter actually feels
when my daughter said she was ready for her stepfather to come to the meetings the counselor told her she did not think she was ready yet, if my daughter is saying she is ready what right does the sw to say she is not
this turned into a half hour debate with my daughter speaking up saying it is what she wanted and if it was to hard she knew all she had to do was say so and it would stop and she would not have to see him again until she was ready again
i feel that as long as we work out our feelings to the point that my daughter is comfortable and feels safe enough to come home that, that should be enough why does it have to be someone has to admit something or else
my husband has and will always deny my daughter has talked about recanting her story but i told her not to if this was truely how she felt
i felt that if she changed her story now we would be going backwards no forwards and all i want is for my daughter to be with me again
she is 13 years old
this sw used to be a cps worker for another county as well as she is now a foster parent in that county i think that it should be a conflict of interest for her to work for the state
i say this because she has decided to be the case manager, the case investigator, the judge and the jury she wants to prove my husband is quilty she wants him arrested i dont think that is her job my understanding of a sw job is to counsel the family to help the family work out their problems to see if or if not it is the best interest of the child to be returned to their home
not to do everyone else's job for them too

[Greegor]

caseworkers are NOT social workers, even if they use the title.
Call your board of social work and ask them if the person
is a licensed social worker.

My family experienced ""Family Preservation""
twisted and contorted to be more "inquisition".

The workers knew they had a LAME case, and
turned every service, starting with
""Family Preservation"" into more investigation
vacuuming for things to use to build a case.

Later a caseworker swore to outright LIES
about a ""sex abuse history"" because they
were still desperate to "make a case".

To me, the vacuuming and PERJURY prove
that they did NOT have a case of any substance
or they wouldn't have run the risk of destroying
their case by committing paper perjury.