Got a visit from Child Welfare services last Friday.

[TimBone]

My wife and I both work evenings. When we arrived home from work Friday night, there was a letter on the door saying that Child welfare URGENTLY needed to meet with us. This was extremely odd. We have one son, that is 2 1/2 years old, and I consider him to be taken care of very well. I immediately went into panic mode, as I assume a lot of parents would. I do spank the kid when necessary and use time out with it. Never hard spankings, though. Just enough to get the message through.

So, I ask my wife if he's had any weird bruises(I assume all young kids get a lot of bruises because kids are a bit reckless on their own). She say no.

I next start to worry if some random weirdo driving by didn't like something I was doing in the yard with the kid. Our driveway is off of a highway, but the house sits back about 200 yards. He is outside working with me a lot. He loves riding the mower, so we do that quite often. Sometimes it's spur of the moment, so he's not always wearing his ear protection. We also check the mail with the mower which requires driving right up to the highway. I always make sure there's not even any cars in sight though, so that there's no danger. Anyways, I started nit picking stuff like that to see if there was any way some random asshole reported us as they drove by.

I also worried that maybe the babysitter was under investigation. Maybe he was being harmed there. Lots of crazy shit went through my head.

Like I said, we got this notice on Friday night. Their offices are closed until Monday. We were left to worry about this all weekend.

I called them first thing this morning. The lady who left the note was out in the field, and she didn't call back until 1:30 this afternoon. She casually explained to me that they put the notice on the wrong house.

I was relieved and pissed off all at the same time. I calmly explained to her the worry that note caused and that maybe they should create a policy of not leaving those kinds of notes on the doors of people on Friday afternoons if they have yet to have any initial contact with those people. If it's someone who already knows there is an investigation going, then fine, leave a notice if you want. But leaving us that note left us on the dark and worrying for 72 hours.

Am I crazy for suggesting that?

[Mav]

Originally Posted by Count Zarth

I don't whine.

You have been whining since the very first moment you stepped onto this forum though. Leave Alex alone! Leave me alone! Waaaa!

I've never said leave me alone. Bring it. I said leave my family out of it. No different than you.

And I definitely don't whine.

I bitch complain argue and bicker.

[Loneiguana]

Originally Posted by Flybone McTimmerson

My wife and I both work evenings. When we arrived home from work Friday night, there was a letter on the door saying that Child welfare URGENTLY needed to meet with us. This was extremely odd. We have one son, that is 2 1/2 years old, and I consider him to be taken care of very well. I immediately went into panic mode, as I assume a lot of parents would. I do spank the kid when necessary and use time out with it. Never hard spankings, though. Just enough to get the message through.

So, I ask my wife if he's had any weird bruises(I assume all young kids get a lot of bruises because kids are a bit reckless on their own). She say no.

I next start to worry if some random weirdo driving by didn't like something I was doing in the yard with the kid. Our driveway is off of a highway, but the house sits back about 200 yards. He is outside working with me a lot. He loves riding the mower, so we do that quite often. Sometimes it's spur of the moment, so he's not always wearing his ear protection. We also check the mail with the mower which requires driving right up to the highway. I always make sure there's not even any cars in sight though, so that there's no danger. Anyways, I started nit picking stuff like that to see if there was any way some random asshole reported us as they drove by.

I also worried that maybe the babysitter was under investigation. Maybe he was being harmed there. Lots of crazy shit went through my head.

Like I said, we got this notice on Friday night. Their offices are closed until Monday. We were left to worry about this all weekend.

I called them first thing this morning. The lady who left the note was out in the field, and she didn't call back until 1:30 this afternoon. She casually explained to me that they put the notice on the wrong house.

I was relieved and pissed off all at the same time. I calmly explained to her the worry that note caused and that maybe they should create a policy of not leaving those kinds of notes on the doors of people on Friday afternoons if they have yet to have any initial contact with those people. If it's someone who already knows there is an investigation going, then fine, leave a notice if you want. But leaving us that note left us on the dark and worrying for 72 hours.

Am I crazy for suggesting that?

1)Yes, you are crazy for suggesting that.

2) If they were actually investigating you for something serious, they would not have left a note on the door. Do you think they tip off people accused of child abuse? They were probably looking to interview family and friends of someone under investigation. Or it was an assist from another county. Or non abuse call.

3) CPS has deadlines for ensuring children safety, usually 24 hours. Therefore, no one who is actually being investigated will wait 72 hours to learn what it is about. The number one priority is the safety of children. That doesn't wait for the weekends.

4) CPS does not "close" on the weekends, anymore than police "close" on the weekends" They have on call staff and supervisors. If you were so "worried" you could have gotten a hold of a supervisors who would have cleared this up for you. Anytime Friday or Saturday, or Sunday. Even if the worker who left the not wasn't on call, they are still required to work the cases they have on weekends if that is when they get a hold of the party. See number 3 for why.

5) Sorry someone made a mistake and distressed you. We are all human and CPS is one of the hardest jobs out there.

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by Flybone McTimmerson

I think the general theme amongst responses is that you'd understand if you had children.

Children or not, Clay understands that he's trolling the hell out of this thread.


Gotta give him his due for that.

[Mav]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

Children or not, Clay understands that he's trolling the hell out of this thread.


Gotta give him his due for that.

At a certain point, when all you do is troll, you become that. Clay is nothing but a troll. He's a good one. But a troll none the less.

[Loneiguana]

Originally Posted by BucEyedPea

No. It created unnecessary anxiety. They're incompetent boobs.

I challenge you to read this.

IT HAPPENED TO ME: I Worked In Child Protective Services

http://m.xojane.com/it-happened-to-m...edium=facebook

How does child protection work affect social workers?

http://www.theguardian.com/social-ca...social-workers

[Loneiguana]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

I'm going to side with Fly on this. That's bullshit what they did and flat irresponsible. Years ago our 4 year old walked outside our home after I took te dog for a walk. Got back 10min later and cop cars were kn my drive and they said a neighbor brought him back home and called them. We had to do 6 weekly sessions with child services for it. And it only stopped when I finally sacked up and told the case worker I was going to get an attorney if it continued. Closed the next day.

Complete and utter B.S.

CPS is not afraid of lawyers.

Nor does a case being closed mean you have to stop getting services in your home.

[TimBone]

Originally Posted by Loneiguana

1)Yes, you are crazy for suggesting that.

2) If they were actually investigating you for something serious, they would not have left a note on the door. Do you think they tip off people accused of child abuse? They were probably looking to interview family and friends of someone under investigation. Or it was an assist from another county. Or non abuse call.

3) CPS has deadlines for ensuring children safety, usually 24 hours. Therefore, no one who is actually being investigated will wait 72 hours to learn what it is about. The number one priority is the safety of children. That doesn't wait for the weekends.

4) CPS does not "close" on the weekends, anymore than police "close" on the weekends" They have on call staff and supervisors. If you were so "worried" you could have gotten a hold of a supervisors who would have cleared this up for you. Anytime Friday or Saturday, or Sunday. Even if the worker who left the not wasn't on call, they are still required to work the cases they have on weekends if that is when they get a hold of the party. See number 3 for why.

5) Sorry someone made a mistake and distressed you. We are all human and CPS is one of the hardest jobs out there.

1. I don't believe so, but you are entitled to your opinion.

2. Someone who has no prior history with CPS does not know this kind of information.

3. Someone who has no prior history with CPS does not know this kind of information. Also, I wasn't sure it was me being investigated. One of my main concerns was that it was somebody such as the babysitter being investigated, and they just wanted to speak to me. Even if the child is safe for the weekend, I was concerned that he had been in an unsafe environment while at childcare.

4. They were closed. The only phone number left for me was the office number. They didn't even have an answering machine. Just a recorded message saying they were CLOSED on the weekend and that if I had an emergency to call the police. I don't know if policy around here is different because I live in a small town....but I'm telling you I had no way to get in contact with them. The lady acknowledged that on Monday afternoon.

5. Apology accepted, but I do not blame you, good sir. I can only imagine the tough job they have. I would have an extremely hard time visiting families where children were being abused. I was very polite to the lady when I spoke to her. It's not like I unleashed a weekends worth of rage.

Would I be correct in assuming that you work in CPS, or something similar? Or at the very least have been associated with them in the past?

[TimBone]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

Children or not, Clay understands that he's trolling the hell out of this thread.


Gotta give him his due for that.

Yea, I find him funny though, so it's fine.

[Loneiguana]

Originally Posted by Flybone McTimmerson

1. I don't believe so, but you are entitled to your opinion.

2. Someone who has no prior history with CPS does not know this kind of information.

3. Someone who has no prior history with CPS does not know this kind of information. Also, I wasn't sure it was me being investigated. One of my main concerns was that it was somebody such as the babysitter being investigated, and they just wanted to speak to me. Even if the child is safe for the weekend, I was concerned that he had been in an unsafe environment while at childcare.

4. They were closed. The only phone number left for me was the office number. They didn't even have an answering machine. Just a recorded message saying they were CLOSED on the weekend and that if I had an emergency to call the police. I don't know if policy around here is different because I live in a small town....but I'm telling you I had no way to get in contact with them. The lady acknowledged that on Monday afternoon.

5. Apology accepted, but I do not blame you, good sir. I can only imagine the tough job they have. I would have an extremely hard time visiting families where children were being abused. I was very polite to the lady when I spoke to her. It's not like I unleashed a weekends worth of rage.

Would I be correct in assuming that you work in CPS, or something similar? Or at the very least have been associated with them in the past?

A quick google search would have calmed the majority of your fears and would have been the first thing I would have done had I not already known this.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...s%20guidelines

From that google list:

After a report of suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation has been made to the Hotline, the information is referred to the appropriate CD county office. The law requires that a CD children’s service worker initiate an investigation/family assessment within 24 hours of the receipt of the report, unless the incident relates to educational neglect only, in which case an investigation/family assessment must be initiated within 72 hours. The purpose of the investigation/family assessment is to detect cases of actual or potential abuse or neglect and to help the family and the child. If the child is reported to be in immediate danger, the children’s service worker must immediately and directly observe the child.

http://dss.mo.gov/cd/cani.htm

As you can see, the information is freely available for you.

It is a valid concern to worry about a babysitter being investigated. Again though, I would point out, they still would have contacted you over the weekend had your kid been the subject of a non educational abuse or neglect.

CPS employees do not give out personal phone numbers for obvious reasons. That is why the office phone number was left. But, again, a Quick google search pulls up the supervisor number, who will, if not immediately, check her messages over the weekend.

For example:

http://dss.mo.gov/cd/office/cole.htm

Yes, my wife works as a CPS investigator.

And it is, mentally, the hardest, most thankless job out there for people whose number one concern is child protection.

[TimBone]

Originally Posted by Loneiguana

A quick google search would have calmed the majority of your fears and would have been the first thing I would have done had I not already known this.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...s%20guidelines

From that google list:



http://dss.mo.gov/cd/cani.htm

As you can see, the information is freely available for you.

It is a valid concern to worry about a babysitter being investigated. Again though, I would point out, they still would have contacted you over the weekend had your kid been the subject of a non educational abuse or neglect.

CPS employees do not give out personal phone numbers for obvious reasons. That is why the office phone number was left. But, again, a Quick google search pulls up the supervisor number, who will, if not immediately, check her messages over the weekend.

For example:

http://dss.mo.gov/cd/office/cole.htm

Yes, my wife works as a CPS investigator.

And it is, mentally, the hardest, most thankless job out there for people whose number one concern is child protection.

I agree that I should have hit the internet and did some googling. That is a very fair point. I'm not sure why it didn't cross my mind. It may be because I was working most of the weekend.

I figured you had to be associated with them in some fashion. Like I said before, I could only imagine how mentally taxing it must be to deal with what a CPS worker deals with on a day to day basis. The type of people that they have to deal with must be unbelievable. I couldn't imagine having to be cordial with a child abuser as I'm removing their child from the home. I'm not so sure I'd be able to handle it.

It's fine that you're coming in here to add your perspective, and defend your wife's profession, but it seems as though you don't want to acknowledge at all that this specific situation could send a parents mind spinning. I don't think that is fair.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by Sandy Cheeks

you spank your 2 1/2 yr old????

That's what I'm wondering.

What does a 2.5 year old do that deserves a beating?

[TimBone]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

That's what I'm wondering.

What does a 2.5 year old do that deserves a beating?

Well, he looked at me wrong the other day.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

That's what I'm wondering.

What does a 2.5 year old do that deserves a beating?

Red hair while step-childing?...

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by Rausch

Red hair while step-childing?...

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

That's what I'm wondering.

What does a 2.5 year old do that deserves a beating?

How about repeatedly telling your parents "no."