Child Protective Services Demand Submission, Not Cooperation

A few days ago a young married couple appeared in my law office for their first consultation. Their children had been taken into custody by the Kansas SRS, our state's child protective agency. The parents had completed all of the tasks assigned to them by the state's social worker. Nonetheless, the social worker described them as "uncooperative."

The couple had clearly cooperated with the foster care system. They completed all tasks assigned to them. However, in juvenile cases, the label "uncooperative" often means "unsubmissive."

The child protective system enforces social hierarchy. Social workers are, by definition, professionals. They must have at least a bachelor's degree from a university. They must pass licensing examinations and maintain continuing education units.

Everyone else involved in child protection shares their elilte background. The lawyers and judges all graduated from law school and passed bar exams. The therapists completed their college degrees and obtained their professional licensures. Other court officials had to achieve professional or paraprofessional credentials to get their jobs.

In contrast, the families they serve usually come from a different culture. They found fewer opportunities for education and cultural enrichment. They often aren't college educated or professionally licensed.

Child abuse and neglect happens with equal frequency across all income classes, ethnicity and culture. However, the poor and disadvantaged are disproporiationatly likely to lose their children to foster care.

To get their children back home from foster care, these parents must complete the tasks assigned to them on a case plan or plan of reintegration. The assigned tasks often go beyond the reasons for the child's removal. For example, if a child is removed because of the parents' substance abuse, the plan might require more than drug rehabilitation. The plan typically requires steady employment, stable housing, and completion of parenting classes. In effect, the case plan requires the parents to fake for a while the middle class lifestyle that the professionals take for granted.

In short, the plan requires the parents to look and behave like the ideal "Leave It To Beaver" family envisioned by the professionals in the case. Like the professionals' s own elite experience or imagination, this ideal family looks and acts like white, college educated, upper middle class parents.

I don't believe child welfare professionals know that they enforce social hierarchy. As they go about their daily business, they think they are helping children. However, all child welfare professionals-- including social workers, lawyers, therapists and judges-- must acknowledge their deeply held prejudices about their image of ideal parents. A parent does not need to share their elite background to parent adequately.

We encourage parents with children in foster care to "cooperate" (that is, to submitt) to the social worker and other officals in your case. Make your social worker your best friend. Leave the hard advocacy to your lawyer.