CPS Caseworkers Are Only Human, After All

On another disturbing note related to a previous story I published recently regarding some perplexing actions of CPS, I wrote about a mother who had a visit from a CPS caseworker. During that time, I was speaking with a neighbor, not the mother above, and found the caseworker had brought a dog with her on the trip. This caseworker was in the house with the mother and children for close to half an our. When I spoke with the mother, I asked if the caseworker had brought a dog with her when she came inside the house. The mother said no, the caseworker said she had left her dog in the car. I did a check through wunderground.com, and found that during the time that the caseworker was in my neighborhood, the lowest temperature was 89.5 degrees, with it going up to 91.0.

The humidity was between 40 and 44%. I did some further checking and with information from the American Academy of Pediatrics (yes, I realize it was 'only' a dog, but the information is still accurate), I realized that the interior heat of the caseworker's car must have been at least 117 degrees before she returned to her animal, even if the window had been cracked open.

When I spoke further with the mother, my neighbor, she said the caseworker had told her she had had to bomb her house (never said what for), and that is why her pet was with her. This caseworker obviously cared enough to keep her pet away from toxic chemicals that could harm it but failed to protect it from something that kills several children each year, and yet, she is concerned my neighbor is keeping her house cleaned up continuously, with four children under the age of five.

In my opinion, caseworkers, including this one, would serve families much better if they would take the children for an hour long walk. If they have a pet who enjoys being around children, include it. This would benefit all involved in several ways.

It would give the mother a break, and allow her to do some housework. The caseworker, as well as the children, would get some exercise. The caseworker could see the difference between the 'before' shape of the house, and the 'after'. An hour can mean a lot. The caseworker would get to know the children personally. I think this would also provide other benefits, such as health benefits to the caseworker, which in turn could mean lower insurance premiums, which in turn could lower taxes. I believe that if the federal government funded such a plan, we'd find more caseworkers who were truly interested in stopping child abuse and neglect applying, and retaining, jobs in the Child Protective Services field.

On a darker note, I wonder if she made sure that her dog was ready to leave his or her mother before she brought it home to be a new member of her family, or did she remove him before he was ready, like many children are needlessly removed, well before they are ready to be without their parents' guidance.