Silence No More

I don’t want to take anything away from what the podcasters are doing, which is highly commendable and obviously coming from a good place. I just listened to the August 2019 episode with the CPS worker. I do realize that CPS, the agency, the entity, is different in each state, and is made up of individuals, some of whom are good people, some of whom are bad, and some ‘meh’. The individual interviewed sounds like a sincerely well meaning person and if the agency where they are in Wisconsin actually functions the way she describes, then what a relief for folks in that area. Would that it were that way everywhere. Because it’s not. And I wouldn’t want someone listening to this in a different area of the country to hear this and operate under the illusion that CPS will help them and their family, that they have a narrow scope of power, or that if their children talk freely to them without a trusted adult present that it will be a ‘safe place’. In a lot of places, when it comes to domestic violence, as well as other issues like drug addiction or mental health issues, it is NOT true that they don’t ‘want to’ remove children and that it’s the ‘last thing they do’. Most tentacles of this agency are very much ‘take kids and fill in the blanks later’ in their approach. If you fully admit to needing help with an issue like these, they do not believe in keeping families together while parents work in issues like addiction and mental health, and domestic violence victims, even when they are willing and able to leave their abusers, have their children taken, citing their failure to protect evidenced by the fact that they exposed (past tense) their kids to said violence. Do not call CPS unless you are fairly sure that the trauma of what is happening in the home can’t be helped in any other way, AND that the trauma and harm is worse than the harm and trauma that comes from being forcibly separated from your parents and your home and possibly your siblings, possibly forced to change schools, live with strangers, etc etc. Do NOT call them lightly! Their are usually better ways to handle things. Any INFORMED parent would rather be confronted directly with someone’s concerns rather than have CPS called and come into their lives. And parent s out there who do not yet have experience with CPS, keep this in mind if someone in your life expresses concern about a difficult topic: don’t be insulted or defensive. That person likely cares about you not only enough to notice you might be struggling, but to do the hard work of confronting you with their concerns directly instead of calling CPS. React angrily and defensively and next time they might not feel like they can talk to you or someone else I. Their lives that they are concerned about. And community members working together from a place of equality is the way to aid social problems like domestic violence and addiction, not a power grab and legal kidnapping nightmare foisted upon already vulnerable and suffering people by a rusty or old giant machine of an agency with no clear accountability, either as an agency or when it comes to the individuals. That make it up. Beware CPS!! In most places in the US they will not help you, they will only create a worse nightmare than you could ever imagine.

This podcast is so amazing!! Thank you for everything you are doing!!!

This is awesome and so amazing what you ladies are doing thank you

Bravo to Olivia and Ashly for creating and informative podcast. Thank you for bringing awareness to this issue in rural America.