It’s Bigger Than Just CPS

CPS is not alone in its failure to properly assess for and prevent emotional and psychological abuse. Candidly, it’s a societal failure. We can visually see the evidence of physical or sexual abuse, and that makes it easier to address. We can’t see the evidence of emotional or psychological abuse, yet we know it happens.

Society is wrestling with a mental health and suicide crisis for children and adults. How much of the problem stems from ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) from emotional or psychological traumas? My informed guess is a lot.

Society spends billions each year on downstream systems (jail, mental health, addiction, DV, etc..) to treat children and adults who suffered significant childhood traumas. Most of those traumas were emotional and psychological.

We talk about the generational cycle of child abuse and domestic violence, but we’re only talking in terms of physical abuse or violence. We readily acknowledge the higher rates of almost every societal ill for children who are raised by a single parent, but we don’t do anything about it. I can go on and on, but I’ll bring this back to CPS and how it can and must do better for children and families.

CPS is the frontline. It has the vital job of protecting children from harm, most often from their parents. CPS’s decisions can have life-long positive or negative impacts on a child’s well-being. CPS decisions can prevent child abuse or enable it. CPS must get it right, or children are harmed.

CPS must investigate physical and sexual abuse while also assessing potential emotional and psychological threats to a child’s well-being. Most often, the danger comes from one parent trying to harm their child’s relationship with the other parent.

To continue to ignore this risk to children who are needlessly put in the middle of their parent’s conflict is negligent in CPS’s role of protecting children from harm.

To ignore the fact that parents in custody battles are motivated to harm their child’s relationship with the other parent is negligent and must be corrected.

Preventing Child Emotional & Psychological Abuse

I’m not a psychologist and don’t claim to be an expert. But I know that if a parent tries to harm, diminish, or sever their child’s relationship with the other parent, that effort is a clear flag and indication that a parent is attempting to emotionally and psychologically abuse their child. I also know that parents who abuse their children in this way commonly justify their efforts by falsely alleging they are protecting their children from harm.

Whether it is an outright fabrication of the truth or a parent exaggerating to make a mountain out of a molehill, the allegation is made with ill intent to harm the other parent. Parents, moms, and dads do it every day to create bias against each other. It is common practice with CPS and in family court.

False allegations of child abuse are forms of child emotional and psychological abuse and a form of domestic violence against the accused parent. This form of child abuse has serious, long-term negative impacts on child well-being. CPS is in a good position to preempt and prevent child emotional and psychological abuse. It just has to be willing to assess for it and call it out before the damage it done. Here are some simple steps CPS can take to better protect children from harm.

Proposed Changes to CPS Policies and Practices

Change Mindsets and Culture: Recognize that parents in contested custody situations often lie to harm the other parent. This includes both direct reports and calls from mandatory reporters.

Acknowledge False Allegations are Abuse: CPS should view false allegations as an attempt to weaponize its services, harming a child’s well-being and constituting a form of child emotional and psychological abuse.

Provide Automated Notice: Implement an automated notice that making false allegations is a crime and that malicious callers can be held civilly liable. This measure will deter false reports without hindering genuine concerns.

Determine if Report is Custody-Related: CPS should ask if the parents have been or are involved in custody litigation as the first step toward assessing the potential motive behind the report. Ask of every caller including mandatory reporters.

Assess, Categorize, Track and Report on Intent: Assess and categorize the caller’s intent. This should include:

  • Good faith reports of genuine child safety concerns.
  • Reports with unknown intent and minimal child safety concerns.
  • Reports made with ill intent and no genuine child safety concern.

Ask Mandatory Reporters Their Level of Concern: Categorize their level of child safety concern as high, medium, or low to no concern. Ask if they are aware if parents are involved in a custody situation.

Categorize Unsubstantiated Allegations: Include the parent’s intent/motive in the Count of Maltreatment Allegations by Maltreatment Type report, categorizing as:

  • Good faith reports.
  • Unknown intent.
  • Ill intent.

Conclusion

CPS must update its policies and practices to address the significant risk of child emotional and psychological abuse due to false allegations in custody disputes. By implementing these changes, CPS can better protect children’s well-being and ensure that its services are not misused to harm a child’s relationship with the other parent. These steps are essential for creating a balanced system that protects against all forms of child maltreatment.