So what does CPS look for? Can they inestigate over any concerned call from someone? I'm in Canada. - Page 8

[contactmaya]

Originally Posted by mammal_mama 

Well, in my state, there were two different reports made on us, three years apart. in both cases, we were told that no case was even opened. What they did was an assessment as to whether there was a need to open a case, not an investigation. So if no case is opened, no case can be left open.

Of course, I'm sure they still have some sort of a record of the calls and the visits. and it's possible that if the calls had been closer together, a case might have been opened simply because there were two calls close together.

I live in Missouri, though, and they don't seem to discriminate against you just because someone made a prior call. For us, one call was because we homeschool and my sister didn't think we were giving an adequate education, and one call was concern over a messy house.

Did you have the mandatory 2month business, where they keep checking on you for 2 months, and visit your childs school and ask all sorts of intrusive  questions?  Maybe that was just an 'assessment'. How did they conduct the assessment in your state?

[mammal_mama]

Originally Posted by contactmaya 

Did you have the mandatory 2month business, where they keep checking on you for 2 months, and visit your childs school and ask all sorts of intrusive  questions?  Maybe that was just an 'assessment'. How did they conduct the assessment in your state?

In Missouri (in my experience), an assessment is just a short visit to the home where they walk through the house and chat in a non-intrusive way with the kids with the parents present, and, of course, ask the parent about issues related directly to whatever kind of call was made. The purpose of the assessment is to decide whether there is any evidence of child abuse or neglect. If they feel they have reason to suspect either abuse or neglect, then that is when they open a case and you get more visits.

In extreme cases where they feel the child's health and wellbeing is in imminent danger, they will remove the child, but CPS here is very knowledgeable and concerned about RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder), so this only happens when they believe that separating the child from the parents is the lesser of two evils -- meaning, the child is likely to suffer greater harm than RAD if left with the parents.

If either of my children had been in school at the time that either of the calls were made, I imagine that the assessment might have included a visit to the school. I mean, I suppose schools can be accused of educational neglect, too -- but I'm not sure how it would really work for a school, since I assume they already get regular evaluations regarding how well they are meeting the needs of their students. With regard to the police officer's report about cleanliness, I'm sure they still would have needed to see the house, but I suppose they might also have wanted to check in with teachers to see what the girls' cleanliness and personal appearance was like every day at school.

Since we've always homeschooled up to this point, my only experience has been with them coming to my house, and they were not at all intimidating toward the children or me, and did not try to isolate my children from me. My overall impression of CPS in Missouri is that they really have a full plate and they don't want to spend any more time than necessary on any family that is clearly doing okay without them.

[mammal_mama]

Originally Posted by zora1112 

Ah sounds like an overwhelming situation. Chickens seem fun though.
Thanks. it's been tough. If I had any kids though I think it would be a wonderful experience

Here's hoping and believing you'll get to enjoy that experience very soon!

About the chickens, yes, they are a lot of fun and we really miss them. We actually hope to start caring for chickens again in the hopefullly not too distant future, but want to make sure we have everything in order this time before bringing the chickens home.