Category: Child Welfare System
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Is Mandatory Reporting Destroying Michigan’s Families?
Reporting something to CPS essentially means that if you “see something, say something”. It’s the idea that if you witness, or even suspect that a child is being abused or neglected, you should report that to CPS so that they can investigate it. Mandatory reporting, on the other hand, is a little different. This is…
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The CPS Cycle: Do Kids in The System Become Parents in The System?
Foster care, while serving a very important need in communities across the country, also puts children in a very difficult position. Removing them from the caregivers they’ve always known, undermining stability and breaking up families, kids in foster care have been shown to struggle with vastly increased mental health and behavioral issues. And that shouldn’t…
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Are Michigan’s in-Home Foster Care Prevention Efforts Failing Vulnerable Kids?
A recent study done here in Michigan reveals some very interesting results when it comes to foster kids in the Great Lakes state. But what do these results mean, and how do we interpret them in a way that best benefits children. According to the Youth Policy Lab and the Child and Adolescent Data Lab…
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CPS is Changing The Way They Handle Abuse & Neglect Cases Because of Covid19 (Pt 2)
Welcome back and thanks for joining us for this discussion on how the current Covid19 pandemic is reshaping the way CPS responds to child abuse and neglect situations. As we mentioned in the previous article, the agency has a history of being reactive, in that they have traditionally waited to hear a report about potential…
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CPS is Changing The Way They Handle Abuse & Neglect Cases Because of Covid19 (Pt 1)
CPS has always been a reactive agency. As in: a teacher or pastor or neighbor sees something they think may be child abuse and they call CPS to report it. CPS arrives to check it out, and the determination they make is based solely on their investigation, which is prompted by that report from outside…
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Has Covid19 Made it Harder For Kids in Foster Care to be Reunified With Their Families?
When a child is removed by CPS because the agency believes they may be in danger of potential abuse and neglect, their immediate safety is the main issue at hand. However, while the initial removal is devastating, in most cases the ultimate aim is reunification, which means that the agency is supposed to work towards…
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Michigan to Shut Down Group Home Where 13-Year-Old Boy Died
Hearing about a child who died at the hands of their own parents or caregivers is tragic. Few things could be more heartbreaking. But hearing about a child who was removed from their parents care, ostensibly for abuse, and placed into the care of the state where they were poorly treated and finally killed, is…
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Keeping Kids With Their Families During The Quarantine
During this very stressful period of life, while Michigan families are locked away in quarantine inside their homes under the “stay home, stay safe” order, the number of calls to CPS have risen significantly. As a result, the number of child abuse and neglect investigations has also increased, and the number of children removed from…
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Does CPS Have More Authority Than The Cops? Some Say Yes!
When the police show up at your door for whatever reason – whether it’s to interview you, arrest you, or simply break some bad news to you, they have rules and regulations they have to follow. Every police officer’s actions are managed by a code of conduct, and by the law. There are things they’re…
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Child Abuse Calls to CPS Have Increased Significantly During Quarantine!
A great many places around Michigan, and the grester US, have seen significant reductions in crime during the quarantine. Murder, sexual assault and burglary numbers have dropped well below the average for this time of year, and that’s great. But when you trap families together in their homes with very little relief and no fixed…