The law specifies that all decisions made regarding children must take into account what the best interests of the child are in that particular situation. This means everything from a custody agreement in a divorce case, to a termination of parental rights petition. Every decision made by the court must be made in the best interests of the child. Yet with CPS’s track record and history, it certain appears that a good deal of those decisions are actually made with the best interests of the state in mind instead.
CPS is a strange juxtaposition. One the one hand, agency employees work tirelessly to save abused children from damaging situations. Children who have no way to save themselves, and no one else to stand up for them. This is very necessary, and very difficult work, and we applaud those who have dedicated their careers to the saving of countless children’s lives.
However, that’s only one side of the story. Like the moon, there is a light side, and a darker side. And it is the darker side that we as defense attorneys tend to encounter on a regular basis. The side of the agency that leaves families torn apart, children taken from the arms of loving parents, and mothers and fathers persecuted for false allegations.
It is a commonly assumed “fact” that CPS only removes children from their homes only under the most extreme of circumstances. Cases of severe abuse and terrible neglect. Cases in which state intervention is completely understandable. Sadly, that is not the case.
One has only to look at a number of cases in the media in recent years to know that this is not remotely the truth.
Maryanne Godboldo is a classic example of a parent who has had to fight the state in a battle that has lasted years and has destroyed her family’s peace and privacy, simply in order to be able to parent her daughter to the best of her ability. And she is hardly the only one. The Greers of Novi lost their children for months because CPS was convinced they were abusing their infant twins.
The fact that CPS receives additional funding for every child removed from their parent’s care and placed in foster care is terrifying when you think about the implications. If their own funding is reduced when CPS leaves children in the care of their parents, what possible incentive do they have to leave families intact? The awful answer is “none”.
Which brings us back to the question of whether decisions are made with the child’s best interests at the core. Unfortunately, while we would like nothing more than to say that every decision is made with the child’s best interest at heart, the sad truth is that the state frequently benefits instead. And often, heartbreakingly, at the expense of the very children they are claiming to save.
If you or a loved one have falsely accused of abusing or neglecting a child, or CPS is pursuing you for parenting your children as you see fit, call us immediately at 866 766 5245. The experienced CPS defense attorneys at The Kronzek Firm have spent years successfully protecting parents rights and defending caregivers against lies and falsehoods. We know what you’re up against, and we can help you!