Politicians Hear A Lot On Cps Families Tell Their Stories To Committee Scrutinizing Embattled State Agency
They stood up, one by one, Tuesday night and tried to describe their personal horror stories to a panel of politicians.
Along the way, they accused state Child Protective Services workers of kidnapping infants and ripping families apart for no good reason.
In trembling voices, they cast CPS workers as callous incompetents, liars and bigots who discriminate against the poor.
About 80 people attended a hearing in Spokane, held by the state House Subcommittee on Child Protective Services to scrutinize the embattled agency.
The recent death of Lauria Grace - a Seattle 3-year-old who was under CPS supervision at the time intensified criticism of the agency in Olympia.
“We are striving to limit any abuse of power or any abuse of the system,” explained committee chairwoman Rep. Val Stevens, R-Arlington, before the hearing.
Stevens said she hopes the Spokane hearing, and four others across the state, help legislators control an agency with the power to enter homes and decide whether children are safe.
Maria Radan testified that CPS recently pried away her 8-day-old baby and her two other children.
Radan’s husband, Cameron, said: “I’ve learned to trust no one ….CPS is our worst nightmare.”’
The Camerons and others received applause and handshakes for telling their stories.
David Ellis testified he was abused by his parents for 13 years and as a result ended up on the streets and at Morningstar Boys Ranch.
Ellis had a question. “Now my mother is an employee of CPS and I would like to know why we have the foxes guarding the chicken coop?”
One man said he asked CPS for help with his wild son and ended up losing custody. “I went to (CPS) for help … and my family was torn apart!”
Another man scolded the agency for not investigating allegations that his son-in-law had raped his grandson. Still another attacked CPS for its failure to sniff out bogus sexual abuse allegations.
Some CPS supporters also spoke.
“We have nationally recognized CPS experts in our community,” noted Pat Early, director of Spokane County’s Head Start program.
Paul Mann, a foster parent, said he finds CPS very professional and reluctant to pull children from even dangerous homes. “If anything they have been slower than we would have been,” he said.
Mann also cautioned against making hasty decisions on how to solve CPS’s complex task. He quoted social critic H.L. Mencken: “For every complex problem there is a simple solution. And it’s wrong.”
CPS supporters were calm and measured. The agency’s critics often were shaking with anger.
Carla Jones said her two children were taken from her two years ago. She said she went to parenting, anger management and alcohol treatment classes to try to convince CPS to give them back.
“I’ve done everything they want me to do,” she said. “I don’t know what else to do. I can’t hire a fancy attorney.”
She said her last conversation with CPS ended with the caseworker telling her she was going to put her children up for adoption then hanging up.
“I want my children back,” Jones said. “When they took them they took my heart. I want my heart back.”
, DataTimes