Dark Secrets within Child Protective Services

Rating:
Summary: Another Poor Account of CPS here in Texas
Review: This book is a strong opinion/story of one caseworker's experiences, and although it was not quite what I was expecting, it was still worthwhile to read. I had hoped for more information perhaps regarding what to do when dealing with the agency, and not just another story about how impossible CPS can be to try and work with.
I've been a foster parent for 7 years, and I consider myself to be one of the GOOD ones. I've adopted two of my foster children and I'm very proud of them, because they both survived a system that is so dysfunctional I can't even stand to get started speaking about it. CPS is WAY past needing a major overhaul here in Texas, and I hope I live long enough to see the day when it happens. I do take into account that there are (hopefully) hard working, honest, and caring CPS people out there, but I can truthfully say I have not had the pleasure of meeting but one or two of them in the years I've worked around the program, and I find that to be very sad...

Rating:
Summary: Teresa Cunio showed real courage by speaking out.
Review: An excellent book for anyone who is seeking the truth about child protective agencies. The author demonstrates she is a TRUE child advocate since she knew the system and thus the consequences of telling the truth, yet she chose to speak out boldly and honestly "for the children". She gives a voice to all children who have not only fallen through the cracks...but have been PUSHED through them by the very agency who is responsible for their protection.

Though her story of events may seem unbelievable, I can testify that they are indeed happening since I am living through a similar nightmare with a child protective agency in Connecticut. Such events are not only possible, but that they are happening everyday all over America -- and we as taxpayers support the emotional trauma of children and the breakdown of the family with our tax dollars.

My two year old daughter suffered an emotional trauma, equal to that of being kidanpped, five months ago when she was instantly "abducted" by the Department of Children and Families. To this day, the Dept. has not supplied me with their grounds for removing her from my care; however, their action appears to be due to unsubstantiated and uninvestigated false accusations made against me by a disgruntled ex-husband.

Today, as I advocate for my daughter's return, she continues to suffer from severe emotional trauma. In the meantime, DCF lies, falsifies documents, tampers with evidence, and manipulates the truth in an attempt to cover their ineptness. They hold the "best interest of the child" up as a shield against the laws that you and I must obey; however, the only "best interest" they are concerned about is the THEIR'S!

This book tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth....which is more than I can say for the child protective agency!

Rating:
Summary: angry reaction
Review: Having heard of this book, which purports to be an exposé of child protection bureacracy, I sought it out. Slogging through the most turgid prose imaginable, I discovered it reflected nothing but the professional cluelessness of the author whose marginal literacy was certainly suitable for nothing but vanity press publication. The Texas family service certainly seems awful, but the author was hardly one to propose a remedy for its systemic difficulties, being part of the problem herself. A sure miss. Ugh!

Rating:
Summary: Unbelievably awful writing by clueless author.
Review: Having heard of this book, which purports to be an exposé of child protection bureacracy, I sought it out. Slogging through the most turgid prose imaginable, I discovered it reflected nothing but the professional cluelessness of the author whose marginal literacy was certainly suitable for nothing but vanity press publication. The Texas family service certainly seems awful, but the author was hardly one to propose a remedy for its systemic difficulties, being part of the problem herself. A sure miss. Ugh!

Rating:
Summary: My nightmare
Review: I haven't read the book but wanting to purchase it. Those who speak ill of the author really haven't looked close enough at the job they do or the people they rip apart on false allegations. I too, believe that there are children out there that are being abused and should be removed from the homes. Those were people who maybe should not of been parents in the first place. But unfortunately, children don't get to decide who their parents will be. But those who are uniformed and their duty is to protect the public need to educated more on this subject. When children are removed and they don't have a scratch on them, or maybe a teenage daughter just wants out of the house so that she doesn't have to follow the rules decides to fight her mother. She then calls the police and says that she is abused. The police take the children out of the house because they believe the child. The child has gotten their way and the parents have to go through a mourning period because their children have been ripped out from under them in the middle of the night. The office of DCFS needs something to change about it. They aren't acting in the best interest of the children. They are acting in their own best interest. Because they haven't looked into the situation and investigated the story throughly. They only jump the gun and start removing your children and then have the gaul to put them on a website called "Children in Waiting". Like they are selling them on the slave block. Because they certainly do not come for free. They sell them to you.

Rating:
Summary: angry reaction
Review: This book is about a woman that has a one sided story. She downs an agency that has many hero's working for minimal pay. I know, because I am one of them. The story she tells is her own. Equipped with her own biases and her own uneducated understanding of the system that protects our children. There is no agency that is without its faults. CPS does its best to help families and children everyday. This books evokes such anger in me. This book allows people to hesitate to make CPS reports believing that the agency won't do its job. This woman has no idea the importance of our job.

Rating:
Summary: a nightmare
Review: This book is exactly what happens in the Child Protective Services! These People have ruined so many families but yet there job is not to ruin families but to recieve services from
DCFS to help them to deal with their issues and work through them but unfortunately the DCFS forgets that this is supposed to be about what is in the best interest of the children rather than
that they are heros saving another child! They should know more about the families,the situations and quit going on hearsay of uninformed state paid employees who have no idea what is in the best interest of any child in this world. get real! and I know from experience because they have made my life a living nightmare in one day! All on hearsay of a jealous ex wife. Do your jobs properly and this would nothave happened! This book is fact!!
So be as angry as you want but quit living in denial DCFS!!

Rating:
Summary: a nightmare
Review: This book is exactly what happens in the Child Protective Services! These People have ruined so many families but yet there job is not to ruin families but to recieve services from
DCFS to help them to deal with their issues and work through them but unfortunately the DCFS forgets that this is supposed to be about what is in the best interest of the children rather than
that they are heros saving another child! They should know more about the families,the situations and quit going on hearsay of uninformed state paid employees who have no idea what is in the best interest of any child in this world. get real! and I know from experience because they have made my life a living nightmare in one day! All on hearsay of a jealous ex wife. Do your jobs properly and this would nothave happened! This book is fact!!
So be as angry as you want but quit living in denial DCFS!!

Rating:
Summary: The Turth is being told
Review: We need more people to come forward who work within child protective services. I am a nurse who also has true story of Merced county Calif county public officials who did cover up illegal activities of this C.P.S. Agency. We are now advocating to take C.P.S. out of county control and to make this agency accountable to the public.

Rating:
Summary: Who is overseeing our child protective agencies?
Review: We spend millions of dollars each year to combat child abuse, yet children continue to die. We have thousands of organizations that were formed for abused children. But the abuse continues. We all agree that child abuse should come to an end. So why? Why does it continue? And why are many of the children who die, known to have been investigated previously by child protective services. What is gone wrong with our means of protecting our children? Why does our system of justice seem to always fall short when it comes to the safety of our kids?

In Dark Secrets within Child Protective Services, we look at the problems that encompasses this controversial agency. Abuse of power and priviledges is only a part of the problem. We see how kids fall through the cracks and what happens when they do.

This is a book that will surely reach out and touch you with the stories of abuse that the children suffer. They will touch your heart.

But on the other side, it will sicken you at the misuse of power. It will arose your anger at people who are done wrong, not just with child protective services but with a legal system that does not appear to be working for the children either.

If you have any dealings with child abuse, child protection, our legal system or domestic violance . . . this is the ONE book that you will want to read. Knowledge is power and this book was written to give professionals in the area of child abuse, knowledge of what is wrong with our means of protecting our children.

Once we understand what is going wrong, then maybe, we can start doing something to correct these problems.