Arizona - The number of children being removed from homes by ChildProtective Services is increasing at a rate 10 times faster than the numberof new cases. But Gov. Janet Napolitano said the statistics are irrelevant.

CPS removal of children from homes on rise

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/95635

Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services
The number of children being removed from homes by Child Protective
Services is increasing at a rate 10 times faster than the number of new
cases. But Gov. Janet Napolitano said the statistics are irrelevant.

Figures analyzed by Capitol Media Services show that in the four years
ending this past March, the number of reports investigated and closed
was up just 4.7 percent.

At the same time, the number of child abuse and neglect reports actually
substantiated actually has declined.

But during the same period, the number of children removed from their
homes went up nearly 25 percent. And the number of youngsters currently
taken out of their homes because of CPS investigations has gone up more
than 43 percent in that same four-year period.

Napolitano said the change is no surprise.

She pointed out that a 2003 change in state law specifically requires
CPS workers to "promote the safety and protection of children.''

"Prior to that, child safety was not even a statutory criterion,'' the
governor said.

Napolitano declined to discuss the numbers themselves, saying they don't
really address the issue.

"You can look at overall statistics,'' she said. "But the key decision a
caseworker has to make is not where does a particular case fit in a
statistic but where does it fit in terms of child safety.''

"We want to make the system as good as it can be,'' she said. "But I
think taking isolated statistics out of thin air without attachment to
particular cases is not helpful.''

The role of CPS has been a perennial debate at the Capitol.

Prior to 2003, legislators spelled out that the agency was required to
give some deference to keeping family units together when deciding how
best to deal with allegations of abuse and neglect. That emphasis came
after lawmakers concluded the state was moving far too often to take
children from their homes.

That 2003 measure followed several high-profile incidents of children
who CPS left with their parents ending up injured or dead.

Now some lawmakers are questioning whether the pendulum has again swung
too far in favor of removal.

That discussion has been fueled, at least in part, by a recent study
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology which showed that
children who were the victims of reported neglect did better long term
when left in their homes than those placed in foster care. Children left
in their homes were less likely to get pregnant or be declared
delinquent, and they were more prone to hold a job.

Napolitano acknowledged there are factors other than safety which
determine whether a caseworker will decide to take a child from a home.
One of those is whether there are sufficient support services to keep a
child with the family.

The governor would not commit to asking the Legislature to provide more
funds for these kinds of services. But Napolitano said that's a possibility.

"There's a good case to be made that we need more resources for things
like substance abuse treatment,'' she said, "be it drugs or alcohol that
really overlays a lot of these cases.''

Napolitano said she hopes some of those issues will be addressed as part
of legislative hearings set for next month to review the deaths of
several Tucson youngsters whose families had come to the attention of
CPS. She said lawmakers need to look at more than the individual deaths
and how caseworkers operate and extend that to "what needs to be around
CPS to help it do its job.''


CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.


CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...


BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...