A while back, during the earlier part of the media uproar surrounding the Flint water crisis, claims began to circulate on the internet. Claims that CPS was going to be taking children away from Flint parents because they had chosen not to pay for their poisonous, lead-loaded water, which they couldn’t safely use to begin with, and so it had been turned off. But is that actually true?

A recent post by Snopes.com, also known as the “urban legends reference pages”, addressed this concern. And according to their site, this is a false rumor.

When the Flint water crisis hit the headlines in a big way, it garnered attention from celebrities, politicians and conspiracy theorists alike, not to mention the general, nation-wide scrutiny that has engulfed social media. But as with any major issue that gets people angry and lathered up for one reason or another, there are always those who will use the opportunity to further their own agenda.

In this case it appears that the claim, which raced across social media like a wildfire, originated with The Free Thought Project. This is an online forum that describes itself as being dedicated to the “promotion of liberty and the daunting task of government accountability.” According to Snopes, their article was the sole source for the claim that CPS had threatened to remove children in Flint from their families for having no running water.

Not every rumor on the internet is based in fact.

Snopes explains that what is probable, is that a writer at the Free Thought Project took two unrelated factual pieces of information and extrapolated from there to reach a third, hypothetical conclusion. However, whether or not the conclusion is true is another matter entirely.

As of now, the Flint water crisis has not yet been resolved, which means that there are most likely many families who have unpaid water bills, and thus, have had their water turned off. Additionally, it is a well-known fact that Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services has a list of issues and concerns that they consider to be “red flags” for possible abuse and neglect. One of these is the lack of clean, running water in a home, which could constitute grounds for possible removal of a child from that home.

But the Flint situation is somewhat different. Snopes.com went so far as to contact CPS and find out if there was any truth in this allegation, and they were told no. Thus far, it seems, no children have been removed from their homes in Flint for the sole reason of having had the water shut off. Nor are they likely to be.

However, if you have any questions or concerns about other reasons for children being removed from their parents care, or CPS has threatened to remove your children from your custody, please contact us immediately. We can help you.