hardheadjarhead
Senior Master
I suspect much of their (DSS/CPS) reluctance to act is a fear of litigation. They are constantly accused of trying to break up families and ruining the reputation of stalwart citizens.
Some of those stalwart citizens are hurting their kids pretty badly, too. I saw a situation of this first hand when I witnessed a mom (a woman, by her own words, of reputation) pick her obstinate four year old off of the floor by her hair. The girl's feet left the ground. Mom then carried her to the family SUV like that...like she was luggage. We called CPS, to no avail. The daughter and her sister denied it happened.
One problem is the "he said, she said" situation. Often the kid won't make a claim against the parent (even in the face of pretty nasty abuse), and it becomes difficult to make a case. See above example.
In the case I listed in a previous post concerning my ward, it was his word against his father's. His sister stood with the father and claimed she didn't witness any abuse. The father, a disgusting sociopath with a record of unprosecuted sex offenses, also claimed that nothing happened. CPS's hands were tied.
We managed to get the boy into the Youth Shelter with CPS's recommendation and then three days later an attorney convinced the judge to give us custody. Even then, the limits of the law were somewhat stretched. We had but ONE precedent for making the case. She bought it based on the boy's affadavit...but she knew that if the father had contested it, we would have lost and she would have had egg on her face. The father didn't contest it. A pro bono attorney apparently told him he'd lose. Good thing the pro bono attorney didn't want to really work for free for a guy the likes of the father.
So CPS had a positive role in this insofar as getting the kid into the Youth Shelter. I can say they did what they could do, and the reps were genuinely concerned for our ward. Still, their investigation brought nothing to light that a prosecutor could use against the dad.
The dad is dead as of last year. Heart attack. I mourn his loss, as I had fantasized about killing him myself. I say with no hesitation that the only thing that kept me from doing this was a respect for the law.
Maybe I play too many video games.
Or not enough, given how long he lived.
Regards,
Steve
Some of those stalwart citizens are hurting their kids pretty badly, too. I saw a situation of this first hand when I witnessed a mom (a woman, by her own words, of reputation) pick her obstinate four year old off of the floor by her hair. The girl's feet left the ground. Mom then carried her to the family SUV like that...like she was luggage. We called CPS, to no avail. The daughter and her sister denied it happened.
One problem is the "he said, she said" situation. Often the kid won't make a claim against the parent (even in the face of pretty nasty abuse), and it becomes difficult to make a case. See above example.
In the case I listed in a previous post concerning my ward, it was his word against his father's. His sister stood with the father and claimed she didn't witness any abuse. The father, a disgusting sociopath with a record of unprosecuted sex offenses, also claimed that nothing happened. CPS's hands were tied.
We managed to get the boy into the Youth Shelter with CPS's recommendation and then three days later an attorney convinced the judge to give us custody. Even then, the limits of the law were somewhat stretched. We had but ONE precedent for making the case. She bought it based on the boy's affadavit...but she knew that if the father had contested it, we would have lost and she would have had egg on her face. The father didn't contest it. A pro bono attorney apparently told him he'd lose. Good thing the pro bono attorney didn't want to really work for free for a guy the likes of the father.
So CPS had a positive role in this insofar as getting the kid into the Youth Shelter. I can say they did what they could do, and the reps were genuinely concerned for our ward. Still, their investigation brought nothing to light that a prosecutor could use against the dad.
The dad is dead as of last year. Heart attack. I mourn his loss, as I had fantasized about killing him myself. I say with no hesitation that the only thing that kept me from doing this was a respect for the law.
Maybe I play too many video games.
Or not enough, given how long he lived.
Regards,
Steve
