The local CASA group is organizing to build a foster care shelter in our area. The shelter will include other facilities for CPS and law enforcement officials to handle SUSPECTED cases of abuse and neglect (the press releases related to this venture do not point out these are SUSPECTED cases, but rather treat them as founded). While CASA is a group that, properly trained, could make a substantive difference, they are trained on the presupposition that CPS never makes a mistake; that every child in their care is a victim of abuse or neglect, when statistics show this is far from the case (over 2/3 of all CPS investigations are completely unfounded, and a whopping 97% do not meet standards for criminal prosecution for abuse or neglect). The press release notes that in 2005, CPS investigated over 5,800 allegations of abuse or neglect in the Texas Panhandle.

Excuse me? That's like basing crime statistics on the number of calls the police department receives. A call reporting "alleged" abuse or neglect is by no means a statement of fact, and, to the contrary, is often made anonymously (contrary to a WHOLE LOT of constitutionally established rights). The number of calls should not be used as a basis for funding, especially when CPS is literally BEGGING people to call them, even if they have no evidence whatsoever of abuse or neglect. It has become everything a "cold war kid" like myself was taught to fear about a socialist state--only it is happening right here in the country I love so much.

I plan to be at the opening for this facility, with or without other activists. I want CASA volunteers to know that not only do CPS workers make mistakes, they do so more often than not, and that the best thing they can do, as child advocates, is to recognize those mistakes and point them out to judges, who often give a LOT of weight to their testimony. If I can get THAT point across to even SOME of these volunteers, I will feel I've had SOME success.