A recent investigative journalism piece published by the Lansing State Journal did an admirable job of shedding light on the struggle that many families face when CPS becomes involved in their lives. The reasons for this are many and varied. Some of the most common ones are also the most confusing, and sometimes the most unethical.

For example, one of the issues raised in the article is the fact that CPS workers who are assigned to work with families in addressing their needs, are allowed to testify in court against that same family. This is the equivalent of the law insisting that you get therapy to address a personal problem, and then requiring that your therapist share the details of your therapy sessions in court.

As you can imagine, this would seriously hamper your willingness to be honest with your therapist about problems that need addressing. In the same way, why should families be honest and upfront with their assigned CPS caseworker when that same caseworker can testify against them at their next court hearing?

Another factor is the issue of evidence. In a criminal case, the prosecution is required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of a crime in order to gain a conviction.  But because CPS cases are not criminal cases, the standards for evidence are much lower. A Judge can order a child removed from their parents care, or even a parent’s right to parent their child terminated based on a preponderance of the evidence rather than beyond a reasonable doubt.

In essence, the state can take away your children and remove your right to parent them based on evidence that would be insufficient to convict you of a crime in court. And this is often what happens. A parent is accused of abuse, but even though there is not enough evidence to convict them criminally, CPS could still be able to take away their children.

One other issue that families face when dealing with CPS is the fact that public defenders usually spend very little, if any, time with their clients. Most public defender offices are hugely understaffed and underfunded, which means that poor families or families who cannot afford top notch attorneys are almost always the ones who suffer.

Unfortunately, what this often means is that if you can’t afford to hire your own attorney, you don’t get to keep your children. Which is heartbreaking. But with more cases than they can handle and not enough time to build relationships with their clients or develop proper defenses for the people they are assigned to defend, court appointed defense attorneys are, more often than not, very little help to those who need it most.

These are only a few of the many reasons why Michigan’s child welfare agency is so desperately in need of a massive overhaul, starting from the ground up. We can only hope that this and similar investigative articles bring to light the terrible injustices faced by so many families in Michigan, and will help to raise awareness and advocate for change in the future. After all, children are our future, and we are doing them, and thus ourselves, a terrible disservice by allowing CPS to tear families apart when it isn’t necessary.