This incredible story has hit the media like a tsunami in the last few days, and people are responding with understandable outrage. We agree. If this is true, then it is indeed terrible. However, what ‘s surprising to us is not that it happened, but rather that no one seemed to suspect this before now. CPS has a long history of fabricating evidence to support its own claims, so this really shouldn’t come as such a surprise to anyone.

According to the Lansing State Journal, they have uncovered evidence that in at least three Michigan counties, CPS supervisors intentionally logged inaccurate data about active abuse cases in the system. Why, you wonder? Because according to a number or current and previous employees, supervisors are trying to make it look like the agency is in compliance with a federal court order when in fact they are not.

What’s that, you say? Faking data and lying about facts in order to engineer the outcome they want. Good heavens, CPS would NEVER do that, would they? Hmmmm……

The LSJ reported that in Muskegon and Marquette counties, there is documentation to prove that cases were assigned to employees while they were on an extended leave of absence. This is in direct defiance of the federal court order that requires that all active cases be assigned to workers who are available to handle them. In cases where CPS workers are out on medical or maternity leave, for example, their active cases would have to be reassigned.

In 2015, state investigators confirmed that a Barry County CPS supervisor had falsified records of required meetings. However, despite the fact that this issue was pointed out almost two years ago, it apparently continued until as recently as December of 2016. When confronted with the allegations, department officials said that the issues were probably not intentional misdirection, but rather misunderstandings.

In 2008, Children’s Rights, a national advocacy group focused on reforming child welfare systems, filed a class action lawsuit in federal court against Michigan, with the intention of reforming the state’s foster care system. The group won and Michigan was required by the federal court to make certain changes to their child welfare system. In order to ensure compliance, Public Catalyst, a New Jersey firm, was appointed by the court to monitor the state’s progress.

Part of the concern about the recent allegations of record falsification is that in addition to the ethical concerns involved in making false reports to a federal judge, it steals resources from case workers. As Kristie Carpenter told the LSJ, “By looking like we’re in compliance, we won’t get the additional staff that we desperately need.” Carpenter is a Marquette County child welfare specialist who claims that her caseload has been misrepresented in the past.

If you believe that your CPS case has been mishandled, or that a CPS worker has falsified information about you or your family, we can help. The abuse and neglect defense attorneys at The Kronzek Firm have spent years battling CPS, and we are intimately acquainted with their tactics. Call 866 766 5245 24/7 to discuss your CPS case with an experienced CPS defense attorney today.