Letters to the Editor
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Protective services workers have extraordinary authority
They can interview your children without your knowledge or consent and have the authority to temporarily remove children from any home they think is dangerous.
They are usually very experienced, however, with revenge calls and angry neighbor accusations and quickly recognize unfounded calls.
There is no substitute in your situation for legal counsel. You need to consult an attorney immediately.
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Not An Unusual Experience
I used to be a 1st/2nd grade teacher and have had to deal with CPS situations. This case really didn't cross any lines or do anything different from cases that I've been involved with. CPS is legally bound to investigate any and all complaints - regardless of how much 'evidence' there is. It is also standard practice to visit the child without the parent there. I mean think about it - if a child *is* being abused, the chances that they will disclose it in front of the parent is very slim. Thus, the usual practice of talking to the child with the teacher or counselor present.
I know that you are outraged by this obviously retilitatory acusation by the other parent, but rest easy - CPS will figure it out and close the case.
Stay positive and don't let it keep you up at night - you're ok and did nothing wrong and that will come out.
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Child protection
Depending on the laws in the specific state, child protective services can be required to investigate any and all complaints. This is because too often, due to a number of reasons, complaints have not been investigated with serious consequences. In some states all complaints are logged and then after a certain benchmark is reached, complaints are investigated. Once the investigation has taken place, a case will remain open for for a period of time to see if there are more complaints.
Your letter writer needs to call the social service agency and find out what the status of her case is. Chances are that nothing more will happen and eventually the case will be closed. But, Cary, you need to better understand child protection. It changes from state to state and the highest priority is on protecting children. After all, what if the complaint had been valid and child protection had not investigated? And how do you think child protective services find out about child abuse? From complaints.
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Wonderful suggestions
Cary Tennis you did a great job w/out once invoking the necessity of hiring a lawyer. I wonder if the letter writer is from Northern WI. Many years ago when my youngest son was in middle school, a friend's mother called social services about his bloodshot eyes. Before they contacted me they pulled him out of class and interviewed him before the social worker, school counselor and cops. Since I am a lawyer I went ballistic and called the head social worker and told her I would not come down to talk to them and they were not to interview my son again without a lawyer present. That was the end of it as far as they were concerned. But it was very traumatic for my son. He was very afraid that I was in trouble and made up stories that he thought would protect me. I was taking evening courses so they thought he was alone and taking drugs.
While there are really important things that ought to be investigated, there is a right way and the usual way. The people with the power in the agencies have very little training but have gone to seminars and think they know how to handle these things. I spent most of my career representing children in horrible situations. Often the mothers (never the fathers) get the attention of social workers and totally scam them into believing that the fathers are sexually abusing the children. Often it can be overcome w/ good lawyering on behalf of the children. It's a really difficult line to walk between not taking action where needed and interfering with people doing a good job. I'll never understand why they will interview a child before interviewing the parent. I don't understand why they take the word of a person who doesn't care sufficiently to give their name.
Since I can only look at it from my perspective as a lawyer/parent I really appreciate that you have suggestions that accomplish the same thing with sensible, non-lawyerly actions.
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You're all overreacting
Now, I don't know what state you're from, but I know how things work in my state and I imagine the process is similar across the country.
Anyone can phone in a report of child abuse and ask to remain anonymous. Regardless of whether they ask for anonymity, the caseworker is not going to tell you who made the complaint.
The social workers that field these complaints are called screeners. It's their job to decide which complaints merit a visit by a caseworker. If the accusations are of actual abuse, they usual try to err on the side of caution and send a caseworker.
Yes, they can interview your child at school without your permission. How many children do you think would admit to being abused if their parent were in the room with them? This practice only makes sense.
Maybe your caseworker didn't have the greatest people skills. She or he probably could have said more to put you at ease. But I really don't see anything to worry about. Social workers rarely remove a child from the home. Most likely the caseworker has too many cases to deal with, and she hasn't followed up on the references you gave because she doesn't believe you abuse your child. If you can't get in touch with the caseworker over the phone, I would ask the operator to connect you with the caseworker's supervisor. Ask if the case has been closed, and, if so, request that in writing.
Cary, I have to say I'm really disappointed with your response to this letter. I am so tired of hearing about how evil social workers are. Give them a break! It's a very stressful and demanding job. But they make the world safer for our children. They deserve much more respect than they get.