First, I want to thank Joseph Homlar, Director, Division of Child Welfare (aka CPS), and his team for the continued dialogue on how CPS can be fixed. There is no question that their heart is in the right place and they sincerely want to protect children and families from harm like we all do. Thank you, Joe!!
With that said, there is a distinct difference in perspectives from those who lead and work for CPS from those who have had their lives turned upside down by CPS because someone called and made a false or meritless allegation of child abuse against them.
CPS believes that most calls to the CPS hotline are a “good faith attempt” to report a true child safety concern. Our belief is that well over 80% of reports to CPS are made with the ill-intent to cause the accused parent intentional harm. Complicating the problem further is that the caller can be a parent, a mandatory reporter, or an anonymous third-party caller.
Because CPS processes don’t include “assessing” a caller’s possible intent or motivation, CPS doesn’t collect the data to show one way or another how big the problem is. CPS data shows that roughly 110,000 hotline calls are made each year with apx 32% (35,000) being screened in (case opened) and 68% (75,000) screened out. Of the 35,000 cases opened, apx 20% (7,000) are substantiated and 80% (28,000) are closed as unsubstantiated. CPS reporting tool link.
We believe that of the 103,000 (93%) calls screened out or closed as unsubstantiated, that the vast majority were made with ill-intent. The call could be a false allegation or someone trying to make a mountain out of a molehill with the ill-intent to intentionally cause harm to the accused parent.
It’s important to recognize that parents with ill-intent commonly manipulate mandatory reporters to make a report to the CPS hotline. For mandatory reporters, instead of assessing caller intent, the level of true child safety concern must be assessed before starting an investigation.
False allegations of child abuse and/or domestic violence are common in family court and CPS. This is a well-known and often used strategy known as the “Silver Bullet”. It’s a fraudulent way to gain immediate and full custody and/or protection orders. Current assumptions that all calls are made in good faith enables this manipulation and weaponization of CPS. It can cause a child to lose an otherwise safe, healthy, and secure relationship with a falsely accused parent.
The greatest risk to children put in the middle of their parents’ conflict/contested custody battle is the loss of their safe and secure relationship with a parent. CPS policies and practices must acknowledge this fact and act to better protect a child’s safety and well-being when a child is put in this situation. Failure to do so is negligent and puts children at greater risk of harm.
CPS must start collecting data and assessing the intent of the caller and or actual child safety concern being reported. It is not enough to simply screen out calls or to close cases as unsubstantiated. We believe this form of child abuse is pervasive in CPS and that CPS must intervene early to prevent it.
We request that CPS immediately add the following to its practices and procedures.
- Give notice to all callers that making a false report of child abuse is a crime under Colorado law and that they can be held civilly liable for malicious reporting.
- Determine if the call/report is related to a past or present custody matter.
- If related to a custody matter and the report is being made by one of the parents, assess the caller’s intent into:
- Good faith report of a true child safety concern
- Intent unknown. Child safety concern minimal.
- Ill-intent. No child safety concern.
- If related to a custody matter and caller is third party or mandatory report, categorize child safety concern into:
- Significant child safety concern.
- Minimal child safety concern.
- No child safety concern.
If a call/report is related to a past or present custody matter, CPS must assess if either parent is emotionally or psychologically abusing his or her child by trying to diminish or sever his or her child’s relationship with the other parent. This form of child abuse is pervasive in contested custody cases and must be prevented with the same vigor and concern as physical child abuse.
Several factors contribute to CPS’ reluctance to make this assessment.
- Many domestic violence (DV) and child protection advocates claim that any attempts to hold people accountable for false allegations would prevent people from reporting DV or child abuse.
- The same advocates mislead policymakers into believing accusers are only “protective parents” and should be believed without question or evidence.
- The same advocates push systems to presume and treat the accused as guilty even after innocence has been proven.
- 80% of CPS case/social workers are female with their own lived experience and biases.
- CPS culture/mentality refuses to acknowledge the fact that bad actor parents intentionally try and weaponize CPS to harm the other parent.
- CYA “cover your ass” mentality of any government bureaucracy. The fear of getting it wrong and being held liable. (The lack of CPS accountability is a BIG problem that we will explore in another article.)
While most people in CPS may try to do their best to protect the safety and well-being of children, the fact is any case worker can cause irreparable harm to a child and family with the above presumptions based on his or her own implicit bias.
Until CPS acknowledges the well-known fact that vindictive parents, moms and dads, use false allegations as a strategy to harm the other parent by weaponizing CPS, children will continue to be at an unnecessarily heightened risk of emotional and psychological abuse.
CPS can and must protect children from this form of child abuse and family violence. CPS can start today! It doesn’t require legislation. It just takes the will and courage to do the right thing.
