It is the call every parent dreads, and Susan* remembers it clearly more than 20 years later. Her 10-month-old son was being rushed to the hospital from daycare, and she needed to get to the ER as soon as possible. "They said he had a blood clot on his brain," Susan explains. "And I didn't know anything at that time. I thought, oh my God, my cousin just died of brain cancer. What if it's brain cancer?" Doctors transported her son via Life Flight to another hospital where Susan was met by police and Child Protective Services upon arrival. "I really didn't understand the severity of any of this," says Susan, who was 20 years old at the time. "You've been taught your whole life, tell the truth and everything will be okay, so I was extremely forthcoming." Susan and her husband, Jim,* learned their son had suffered a traumatic brain injury that would leave him permanently disabled. But the harder news was still to come. The authorities believed Susan and Jim were perpetrators of abuse and must surrender custody of their children immediately.
"They went to my sister's house with two police officers and dragged my daughter away from her, kicking and screaming. It was so terrifying for her that she couldn't sleep-wouldn't eat," says Susan. "I wasn't allowed to be in a room with my son by myself."
After a month in the hospital, their baby was placed with a foster family five hours away, and their daughter was placed with Susan's parents. Meanwhile, Susan and Jim submitted to a slew of requirements, including lie detector, drug and psychological testing, parenting classes and therapy.
Even after the police dropped all charges against the couple, CPS continued with a plan to sever custody. Susan's parents raised $30,000 to pay an attorney to defend them. After six months, the couple regained custody of both children, but it came at a cost. The family lost its home, income and peace of mind. Meanwhile, the real abuser was never brought to justice.
"Statistically, I met the normal profile-being young, married young, poor," explains Susan. "I understand they did what they did to protect my child and future children. However, because I was so young and naïve, I felt entirely taken advantage of."
System in Texas
In 2004, CPS was placed under the purview of the Department of Family and Protective Services, which also handles protective services for the elderly and disabled, licensing for adoption, foster and daycare agencies, and early intervention services. Texas also underwent comprehensive legislative reform to improve CPS investigative practices, keep children safer at home and find permanent homes for children in the foster care system.
Child welfare is no small thing in Texas. The state has the second largest child population in the U.S. (more than 7 million), and almost 27 percent live in poverty (the national average is 22 percent). About 300,000 children are subject to CPS investigation annually, and statistics show many live in poor, single-parent households.
Each state is given some autonomy about how they address child abuse, but all states must submit an annual progress report to Congress. These reports are used to compare the success of different measures across the U.S. and identify struggling areas.
For example, in 2011, CPS removed almost 20,000 children from their homes in Texas; however, this removal rate is lower than the national average (2.4 removals per 1,000 children compared with 3.4 nationally). Of the more than 70,000 Texas children in open CPS cases in 2011, 72 percent were not removed from their homes. Moreover, 76 percent of children removed by CPS were either reunited with parents or living with relatives instead of in foster care by the end of 2012.
"Our No. 1 goal at CPS is family reunification. The last thing we want to do is remove a child and put them into foster care," says Justin Schaaf, who has been a CPS investigator in Parker and Tarrant counties. "I have been with the agency for five years total, and I've done two removals."
Schaaf is in a specialized unit that handles sexual abuse cases. His caseload is between 15 and 20 cases, compared with upwards of 60 cases he dealt with regularly as a general investigator in Parker County. His unit works very closely with law enforcement (who investigate any criminal charges), and all CPS investigations must be completed in 30 to 45 days.
"Most of the time, if we have one protective parent, we can close our case," says Schaaf, "as long as the parent is not going to allow the child to have any contact with the offender, or supervised contact, or whatever we deem necessary."
CPS may also ask the parents to voluntarily complete family-based safety services like drug treatment or parenting classes, or relocate children to a relative's house until the situation is safe. If a parent agrees to be protective and later allows the child back into an unsafe situation, removing the child becomes a possibility.
The child will then be placed either in foster care, or preferably, in a "kinship placement" (with a relative or family friend). Schaaf's wife works in the kinship department at CPS and helps relatives who take in children get additional help, such as daycare assistance and Medicaid. CPS recently increased financial support to relatives who become permanent guardians or adoptive parents.
"I've heard several people through the years say that [CPS investigators] get a bonus for every child we put into foster care, and that is absolutely false," says Schaaf. "I wish our clients understood that we are there to help….We're there to gather the information, listen to what you have to say, do the investigation and help the family."
Careful Navigation
Rachel* took a proactive approach when she learned CPS was investigating her family in 2008 during her divorce. Rachel's now ex-husband had filed criminal charges against her and convinced the police department to issue a restraining order. Although all charges and the restraining order were eventually dropped, she was denied access to her children, aged 6 and under, for two weeks.
"I was finally able to have a brief conversation with my kids over the phone that was arranged by my attorney," says Rachel. "Somehow, in my conversation with them, my kids started telling me about when the people came to ask them questions. I was livid."
Although CPS never called her, Rachel learned the name of the investigator who interviewed her children from their school.
"My attorney said, you need to schedule a time to go in and make yourself available for whatever questions they might have," Rachel recalls. "I was so nervous because I was certain my soon-to-be ex had filled them with a lot of false information-which he had. And then you're just left with this person to make a decision on what they believe."
After that day, Rachel never heard from CPS again, though the experience showed her that anyone could be the victim of bad facts or malicious intent. She still doesn't know who made the initial report or when they officially closed the investigation.
"CPS has a duty to investigate, and they're doing their job, but I don't know if I would have gone without an attorney," Rachel says. "I'm in the legal field so I had access to folks who were giving me really good deals on the time they were spending on my case....I don't know how the average person of average means navigates situations like that without some repercussions."
Breaking a Cycle
"I see myself as a guide," says Renee Sanchez, who serves as a court-appointed attorney for parents and children in CPS cases. "Some of these parents have never had a positive role model, so it's just a cycle that continues."
Sanchez has been in family law for eight years but started working CPS cases about four years ago. Her caseload usually hovers around 30 cases; and most cases last a year to 18 months, longer if children remain under state guardianship.
"The more you see, you realize [parents] are just as much a victim as a child is a victim. They were in CPS care themselves. There is a lack of education and a lack of exposure," she explains. "You become more compassionate about what led them here."
Her unique perspective as a Spanish-speaking attorney also gives her unique insight into how language barriers and illiteracy can complicate cases.
"I've had kids removed from grandparents because CPS says they weren't following the safety plan, but they technically did," she explains. "They just mistranslated or didn't understand what they were saying."
The economic downturn is negatively affecting her clients as well. Parents are waiting longer to receive drug treatment and mental health services, and they are having difficulty maintaining regular employment and housing.
"We had one service where we could actually send out a mentor that would sit at the house with parents and the kids, giving hands-on parenting. That is one of the things that we've lost," says Sanchez. "Now parents have to do parenting classes online….Things you actually need, like hands-on parenting, they're not providing, but they're providing childcare when [a parent"s] not even working."
According to a 2012 report from the Center for Public Policy Priorities in Austin, only six cents of every dollar in Texas" CPS budget is spent on keeping children safe in their homes. In a CPS budget that will top $2.4 billion next year, that number can be hard to comprehend.
This dilemma is due, in part, to the fact that half of this budget comes from fixed federal funding. Federal funding streams are restricted to specific uses, and not necessarily allocated where CPS needs it most. Most federal funds require state "matching," meaning matched money is also restricted.
Essentially, Texas controls less than half of its annual CPS budget, according to the CPPP. More than 90 percent of the budget supports administrative, foster care and adoption costs. Only 5 percent is allocated for family services, 1 percent to relative caregiver support and 0.5 percent to abuse prevention.
"Higher-ups have no idea what it is like in the field," says Brandi Williams, who was a CPS caseworker prior to taking a job with CASA of Tarrant County, a volunteer organization of court-appointed advocates for abused and neglected children. "I think if there were more funding and more intense training, we would have less repeat offenders. That is why a lot of children come back into [CPS] care."
Mandy Tanner, who in the past 13 years has worked for CPS, a foster agency and CASA, agrees that more support is needed. One common scenario is an alcoholic or drug-addicted parent who relapses.
"She should have gotten the proper drug intervention and been trained on appropriate coping mechanisms for when her children come back home, but that's not happening. She's given quick in-and-out drug rehab. She's given four to eight sessions of counseling about how the weather is outside, and then she gets her kids back," says Tanner.
In fact, substance abuse factors into the majority of child abuse and neglect cases.
"You often find whole families with CPS and criminal or drug histories. It is a cycle that repeats itself through the generations," Williams says. "Parents are doing what they are familiar with and grew up with."
Foster children aren't always getting the depth of counseling required to overcome the trauma either. Many children are not only dealing with the abuse, but also feelings of rejection.
"The children get removed from the home when their parents did something wrong-not the parents. The child thinks they did something wrong," Tanner explains. "The quick-fix solution is medication…and the internal part of what the child is going through is never addressed."
The plight of teenagers is particularly troubling. Often, they've been through several placements (and sometimes adoption) but end up back in foster care. Since 2008, there has been a dramatic decline in the number of children in foster care for more than three years, but CPS remains concerned about teens who are "aging out" (becoming adults) in foster care. In 2011, 9 percent of foster kids in Texas aged out.
"The more these kids are rejected, the more they are going to act out. I counsel foster parents to hang on and let these kids work through their situations instead of rejecting them," says Tanner. "Show that child you aren't going anywhere."
Labor of Love
"These children are dealing with a lot of trauma," says foster parent Troski Murphy. Her family has taken in close to 100 children in the past 19 years. "They've already had abuse or neglect in their own home, but then are pulled out and put with strangers. They feel like they have no power. That is why a lot of them will act out in the foster home, because they want to assert some of that control."
Being a foster parent is not easy. Parents must care for the unique and varied needs of each child, while satisfying extensive CPS and foster agency requirements. This includes regular training, time-consuming paperwork and a demanding schedule of mandatory appointments for each child.
"It's a labor of love. You've got to really like children and have a lot of patience, and not be thin-skinned," Murphy says. "I don't think you can stay involved in this unless your heart is in it. Because it is too demanding and too important. You have to do it for the love of the kids."
Murphy is on the advisory board for a foster and adoption agency called SAFY in Arlington. She serves as a listening ear and mentor for parents, as well as a go-between to communicate parents" needs to the agency.
"You have to have 50 hours of training a year, so they provide that for you," she explains. "They also have babysitting, which is the biggest issue for foster parents because we can't use Jane next door to babysit. We have to have licensed babysitters."
Although doctor visits, psychological evaluations and therapy are all covered under Medicaid, the per diem parents receive for all other expenses is lacking. Foster agencies organize fundraisers to help subsidize necessities such as winter coats, school supplies and dental braces.
Christmas is a particularly poignant time for foster kids, which is why Murphy organizes a toy drive every year with her friends and neighbors to supply gifts for children in care.
"Everyone is coming home and visiting their family…and no matter how good that foster home is, it's not their family. It is a really sad time for them," explains Murphy. "I feel like Christmas should be an extra special time for them. They need it more than most kids."
Foster parents are in high demand, especially those willing to care for teens. There is also a need for licensed babysitters, parents who can provide respite care, and surrogate grandparents for children in care.
"It's not about you and your feelings," Murphy says when people ask her how she is able to let go of kids she's grown attached to. "It's about the child and what you can do for them while they're in your home. You take care of them and do a good job. And when it's time for them to leave, you know you've done something wonderful for somebody."
A Closer Look
Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), which is overseen by Texas Health and Human Services, investigates the abuse of children, the elderly and disabled, provides services for affected families, and regulates daycare, foster care and adoption agencies.
Child Protective Services is the DFPS division charged with protecting children from abuse. Texas statutes and legislative oversight guide CPS operations and priorities. The federal government also regulates CPS through state performance reviews and funding requirements.
A major influence on budget priorities comes from federal entitlements and grants, which make up more than half of CPS funding. The remainder comes from state and local general revenue. Although funding is not directly linked to child removal numbers, the majority of the budget is allocated to administrative, foster care and adoption costs, all influenced by the number of children in the system.
* Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
