When agents from Child Protective Services show up at a parent's door, many parents are prone to let them in, believing they are the "cops", or at least, a law enforcement agency. They are most assuredly NOT. CPS' legally defined roles will vary from state to state, but in at least one state (Texas) they are defined as follows:

The Child Protective Services Division investigates reports of abuse and neglect of children. It also:

• Provides services to children and families in their own homes;
• Contracts with other agencies to provide clients with specialized services;
• Places children in foster care;
• Provides services to help youth in foster care make the transition to adulthood; and
• Places children in adoptive homes

Note that their own information clearly shows them not to have the authority of a law enforcement agency. In fact, CPS is the ENEMY of legitimate law enforcement.

You see, law enforcement (and CPS as well) are bound to following legal procedures when conducting an investigation. When CPS conducts an investigation; however, it routinely disregards those legal procedures. CPS agents will begin their investigation independent of law enforcement and without following proper procedures. Their searches are often conducted without a warrant, often on spurious information relayed by a malisious ex spouse or neighbor who dislikes the parents in a particular case.

Because statements are obtained without advising the accused of their rights, they are inadmissable in a court of law.

Because evidence gathered by the CPS investigator is not gathered according to well established protocols meant to preserve the integrity of the evidence in question, the evidence gathered is inadmissable in a court of law.

Because the anonymous reporter's identity is not available to the defense, their statement is inadmissable in a court of law.

I detest child abusers as much as anyone. But I want to see them put behind bars, not simply subjected to a "civil" trial and having their children taken away. Because child abusers are quite often serial abusers, they WILL abuse again, and again, unless they are stopped.

By tainting evidence that could be valuable in a criminal investigation, CPS investigators actually OBSTRUCT, rather then deliver, justice. Law enforcement officers following CPS into a home where abuse or neglect has been alleged would be hard pressed to find any piece of evidence against the accused that hasn't been tainted by the hand of the agency that initiated the investigation.

Current laws in many states allow CPS workers to be hired from anyone with a college degree, regardless of the major. No psychological evaluations to screen out those whose motives might be less than honorable. No  training in evidence collecting, little training in objective reporting. Simply a set number of hours training, then they are sent out into the field to do their dirty work.

Legitimate law enforcement personnel are (for the most part) highly trained, and (usually) highly professional. Even when they are not professional, the checks and balances against corrupt officers works more often than not to eliminate those officers when it is used correctly. They often enter a potential crime scene with great care, knowing how their wrong actions could taint an investigation. Chain of command is utilized, making it extremely hard for evidence tampering to occur without there being some evidence of it having happened.

Law enforcement needs to be left to those who are trained as such, not to those whose motives taint their investigations. CPS should be eliminated completely, and investigations into allegations of abuse and neglect handled by the local police trained specifically to handle such investigations. Too many guilty are walking around scot free and too many innocent parents go to sleep at night in a house devoid of the children they've loved and cared for because of the irresponsible actions of these individuals.