Lies CPS Will Tell You

In no particular order, here are some of the lies, half-truths, and myths of "working with CPS":

1. If you sign the service plan, CPS won't take your kids away. Status? MYTH/LIE - CPS will use your signature as acknowledgement of your guilt, and then even as you work through the service plan (which utilizes people who are paid directly by CPS and know where their pay is coming from), "issues" will keep cropping up that prove you are an unfit parent. Best case scenario? They will string you along for years before finally leaving your family traumatized but "intact" or "reunited".
2. If you don't let us in the house, we will take your kids away. Status? LIE - They cannot enter your house without a warrant, and a warrant takes probable cause. However if you live in a small community CPS works hand in glove with the local authorities and probably can get a warrant based on their lies. If you don't let them in, they will use it against you in court. If you do let them in, they will manufacture lies about your home/living environment and what they allegedly found. It's a no win.
3. If you sign over your kids to us, we won't seize custody. Status: LIE - If they don't prove their case, you can sue them for emotional distress. Once they hit this point, they are going to move heaven and earth to prove you an unfit and/or abusive parent. Part of this means that they need to have custody of your children to use parental alienation techniques.
4. Nobody should be talking to your children about the case. Status: LIE/MYTH/HALF-TRUTH - The only person who isn't allowed to talk to your children about the case is you. The caseworker and the foster parents will talk to your kids endlessly about the case, use parental alienation techniques, and taint your children's memories. Any family members who are cooperating with CPS are also allowed to continue to talk to the kids about the case in a way that is detrimental to you.
5. If you do everything we tell you, you will get your children back. Status: HALF-TRUTH - If you do everything in the service plan, AND have an attorney watching out for your interests, AND do everything that they add on to your service plan, AND you end up with a reasonably good set of foster parents or kinship care that doesn't use parental alienation, AND your children aren't easily adoptable, THEN you will get your children back. I've probably forgotten some of the hoops they make you jump through, but you get the idea.
6. You are the child's parent and still have input and feedback. Status: HALF-TRUTH/LIE - You are only allowed to make decisions or to get reports if you cooperate. Otherwise, the foster parents and the case worker get to make all decisions for your child regarding religion, education, medical care, etc. We even have an email from the DSS attorney to the case worker stating that "unless they let you in the house, don't give them any reports". So they ignored my input regarding my daughter's medical conditions, educational needs, etc. for a year and a half.

This list is a "to be continued" - feel free to leave a comment that adds a new category or expands on one already listed. I will do revisions as we go.

If you were to ask me our particular favorite? The CPS investigator called me on the phone and told me that if I voluntarily signed my children over to him and if I testified against Jon, they wouldn't file charges against me. Last time I checked, that was known as "suborning perjury" and a criminal offense.

Please be sure to visit the article about Jon's trial! CLICK HERE