Cary's column today relates to one of the many difficult aspects of drug use - when children are removed from their home based on a parent's positive test for the use of currently illegal drugs.  The column mentions the Children's Bureau, which is a federal agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.  Their stated mission is to, among other goals, "... provide for the safety, permanency and well-being of children..." 

On a state-by-state basis, these efforts are managed by an agency typically called Child Protective Services, or CPS.  When families are investigated for abuse or neglect, CPS is the agency responsible.  In the rest of this article, I will refer to the agency that fulfills this purpose generally as CPS.  Where I live, Texas CPS is within the Department of Family and Protective Services.  Where Cary lives, California CPS is part of California Department of Social Services.  For just about any state, searching for "CPS" alongside with the state name will get you pointed in the right direction for the resources of that state. 

If you would like to learn more about the how this process works, some states provide a handbook or guide for parents geared toward understanding the CPS investigation process on their websites.  For example, here are guides for Texas and Maine explaining the process that those states' agencies will follow.

When a report is made to CPS about a particular family, the perspectives of a large number of people come into play that will have influence on the outcome of a case including social workers, CPS supervisors, police officers, judges, doctors, counselors, advocates, lawyers, teachers and possibly more depending on the particular circumstances of a given case. 

Every case that comes under the jurisdiction of CPS is different, and correspondingly, the progression and outcome for each case are different, despite seeming similarities.  In the case Cary addresses, a child was removed from each parent at various different times based on the marijuana use.  The same outcome might might not happen in other cases where one or both parents uses marijuana.  In another case, with different people working on it and the tiniest of differences in circumstances, a child might not ever be removed from their parent.  While CPS operates under strict laws and guidelines, interpretation can mean a very different outcome for each case. 

I spoke to a retired social worker, Marion Stuenkel, who worked in the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department in the Child Abuse division from 1979-1984.  According to Ms. Stuenkel, when she was working within this division, she worked very hard to keep children with their parents whenever possible.  It was their basic presumption that children will do better when they are in the care of their parents, and if not their parents, then a family member.  So as a social worker, she would offer counseling, classes or other services to a parent in order to keep that child at home.

But Ms. Stuenkel also stated that various CPS departments around the country do not have adequate staff or money to keep up with the workload they have.  As a result, mistakes are made.  She personally knows of cases where children have been removed when they should have remained home, and some cases where children are left in homes that are truly harmful. 

The modern era of child protection began with the case of Mary Ellen Wilson.  As a legacy of this case, the American Humane Society is one of the best resources for statistics and studies on child protection in the US.  Henry Bergh, the founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), was involved in the Mary Ellen case as a concerned citizen, and helped bring publicity to the issue of ill-treated children.  After that case successfully removed Mary Ellen from her abusive home and put her in a more supportive environment, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was created.  Eventually, this new organization and the ASPCA merged with other groups committed to similar goals and formed the American Humane Society. 

The American Humane Society has a long history of research and evaluation of child abuse and neglect in the US.  They have 6 major areas of study: Child Protection Research Center; Workload; Child Abuse and Neglect Data; Child Welfare and Substance Abuse; Program Evaluation and Training Evaluation.  You can read about one of their substance abuse related research studies, the Rocky Mountain Quality Improvement Center, on their website.  

From my own time as a volunteer with CASA of Travis County, I've worked first hand with the children in this situation.  CASA is a group that trains volunteers to speak on behalf of children removed from their home in court.  Since children aren't legally allowed to be able to speak on their own behalf, their parent will usually be responsible for advocating for their best interests in a court setting.  However, in a case where a children has been removed from his or her parents, the parents lose the right to speak for their child, and so I took on that role for the specific cases I was given.  This involved learning as much as I could about the child, and talking with the parents, and observing everything I could about the family and circumstances.  I would then make suggestions to the judge for that case on behalf of what I determined to be in that child's best interests.  Many hours of training are required before you can work on a case, where you learn a lot about the issues of abuse and neglect as well as the legal structure in place to protect children.  It is a complicated and difficult area of the law.

I saw how economics come strongly into play for families working to address issues of alleged abuse or neglect.  The families I worked with were often quite poor, and my fellow volunteers saw a similar trend in their cases.  In my experience, working with CPS can be easier for families with more money.  With money, you can hire an experience lawyer, who is knowledgeable in the intricacies of family law, and can help navigate the very complicated landscape of constraints put into place for the protection of children.  For a family unfamiliar with "the system", it can be daunting, and having a qualified guide is an advantage in securing a favorable outcome. 

Ms. Stuenkel passed along an anecdote shared with her by a parole officer with whom she is acquainted that also illustrates how economics affects the progression of CPS cases.  The parole officer remarked to Ms. Stuenkel that in her experience, it was much more common for a poor person to call the police when they are having difficulties with a child than it would be for middle-class person having that same problem. In her experience, a middle-class person would be more likely to call a friend, a family member or to deal with the situation on their own.  In the case of a person who calls the police when there is a problem, they may unwittingly open their household to investigation that goes beyond the scope of the original problem.

Issues of child custody and family law are complicated and distressing, and it is wide-ranging topic of our society.  This truly is just a beginning primer.  If you're interested in learning more about specific aspects of this topic, please leave a comment with your suggestions.