Calling CPS, because of an incident that has already happened and, more, that the client clearly feels guilty about?

First, personal opinion, there was zilch wrong with her leaving the kids alone for a bit. Every parent finds themselves in this kind of situation once in a while.

More to the point, legally, a therapist or nurse or doctor has a responsibility to report situations which represent "imminent danger". This was clearly not the case; the therapist and her supervisor were way out of line. They, and their organization, are legally liable for professional misconduct.

Meanwhile, CPS gets away with far too much, because everybody bows and scrapes out of fear. Fight them, take them to court, get these idiots fired.

Your headline is incorrect. Leaving an 8-year-old to babysit for 20 minutes is not imperfect parenting. In fact, it's GREAT parenting. Your headline should read "Perfectly good parenting is now illegal"

When I was 10, I was earning money babysitting in the evenings. I had the skills to do this because of short little stints of watching my kid brother beforehand.

I remember fondly the first time I babysat him. It was early in the morning and my parents had to take the au pair to the airport because she was off to visit her family. They were gone an hour or two. I was 7, my brother was 2.

a-random-guy, I agree that therapist was completely wrong. Further, I think that the therapist's name and the supervisor's name should be made public so other folks know to avoid them.

I'm a therapist and would never have called about this. I do understand that when you are a student therapist you are inexperienced and so worried about doing everything "right." I'm sure the therapist thought it was right to call but he/she missed the big picture, like the realities of life and parenting. It's not like Mom left the kid alone to go get high and dance the night away. There would have been other ways to deal with this through talking and maintaining confidentiality.

It's called "CYA" and everyone's doing it. There is no using rational thought in these situations anymore. It's horrific and shameful that parents aren't even allowed to parent anymore. As much as I would like to have grandchildren, I'm this >

HAH! The bracket didn't let me finish! I'm this close to talking my girls out of becoming parents, simply because it's not worth the hassle of having to deal with this kind of idiocy.

Yet another case providing evidence for the proposition that social work and variants of clinical psychology are collecting pools for very dubious characters. The policy question is why we provide an income for such people out of tax receipts and why we pretend that discretionary visits to such people are insurable events.

Leaving an 8-year-old to babysit for 20 minutes is not imperfect parenting. In fact, it's GREAT parenting.

When I was 9, I was watching my neighbor's baby and 3-year-old.

What gets me is that these kids were probably harmed more by CPS's intervention than by being left for 20 minutes.

Another question: How does CPS have the resources for this silliness? Is Schaumberg a rich community? I grew up not too far from there (in a not-so-rich community), and my friend's stepdad was abusing her. Some concerned parents (including mine) called CPS. Took them months to show up, and after they did, they were pretty much like, "Well, we stopped by and she was eating some french fries, so obviously he's not starving her, and we've got kids in our community actually being starved by their parents, so..."

One of the reasons I will never see a therapist.

Stalin's wet dream: Therapists will will rat out patients who have incorrect thoughts.

A friend's thread on Facebook about recent CPS nonsense got me thinking about my own childhood and had me poking around with Google Maps.

Seems that a house that I live in 45 years ago is still there, same tree in the front yard, same garage awkwardly placed in the back yard--my stepfather used it as his Ham radio station--only since then a driveway had been run back to it.) Turns out that the second half or so of first grade I walked about a mile, mile and a half, to school. (The school is no longer there, just a big parking lot. The park next to it that I used to play in is still there, however.) The school where I attended 2nd and the first half of third is still there, albeit with a different name.

The house I lived in during the first half of first grade is no longer there. That walk was only about a half mile to school. Much more upscale housing now stands in its place. The big field behind the house where I used to play is gone. Somebody ran a cul-de-sac up from the far side (from where I used to live) so they can put houses in there.

From that house I went trick-or-treating by myself before I even started first grade.

The so-called "social workers" at CPS need to realize that taking children away from parents they love, and who love them--even if they don't always do things the way the "social worker" thinks they should, is itself an abusive act. In many cases they are doing more harm than good.

Unfortunately, like many rolls in government, this tends to attract petty tyrants who like to exercise power over others, with predictable results.

How does CPS have the resources for this silliness? Is Schaumberg a rich community? I grew up not too far from there (in a not-so-rich community), and my friend's stepdad was abusing her. Some concerned parents (including mine) called CPS.

I'll place a bet that they set priorities according to the 'easier for us' principle. Another thought is that they target cultural minorities who do not have a claque of clamoring pols that the media will present as something other than objects of derision.

I had a landlord call CAS on me once because I was late with the rent.

Then I had a war with a neighbor who then called CAS on me.

End result; ten years later, CAS is STILL convinced I am horribly abusing my children, even though it's been through the courts more than once and judge after judge has seen nothing wrong with my parenting.

Of course, threatening to plaster a CAS workers face all over the neighborhood (among other not-so-niceties) might have had something to do with it, but at this point I've just had enough.

Back when I was a teacher, we were specifically told that this was the kind of thing that fell under "mandated reporting." Another of the many reasons I no longer teach.

I have friends who have gone through CPS (or whatever it is called here) hell because his MOTHER called them when she was pissed off because they wouldn't her tell them how to run their lives and raise their child.

I had a friend that was raped. County therapist focused on her supposed repressed sexuality instead.

"Are you not dating men because you're a lesbian and don't want to come out?"

She was too shocked to reply "no you fucking moron, I have PTSD"

When my own therapist told me she is basically blacklisted from the county for her views I knew she was the one for me.

After reading some of the comments about therapists I felt the need to comment once again. Yes, there are some terrible therapists out there just like there are terrible people in medicine and all professions. Also remember this therapist was a student and as a student he/she would have gone through their supervisor to do something like this (or at least should have). Many states have very specific laws about what MUST be reported. I'm lucky enough to live in a state that gives psychologists (not all therapists) some discretion. Many people find great help from seeing a therapist who can help them recover from depression, manage bipolar and other debilitating disorders and have a functional life that might not have been possible without it. Years of research have demonstrated the efficacy of psychotherapy.

Holly, what you write in your last two sentences is very true, which is why the process not fall into disrepute. If patients have a fear that what they say in therapy will be reported to authorities, then a lot fewer patients will seek therapy. The U.S. military has changed its guidelines for security clearances in the lsat few years, such that things said in therapy are nearly always non-reportable (direct threats being an exception), because they want soldiers suffering from PTSD to seek therapy without worrying that it will impact their careers.

I have friends who have gone through CPS (or whatever it is called here) hell because his MOTHER called them when she was pissed off because they wouldn't her tell them how to run their lives and raise their child.

Posted by: Dwatney at September 29, 2014 4:10 PM
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Er, explain, please?

The Original Kit is correct. The "mandatory reporting" aspect of the story is way overlooked. By holding licenses and certificates of professionals at risk, they have effectively turned huge swaths of healthcare, education and other helping services into informants.

Case in point: Houston Texas. Based on Child Protective Service claims, 12 police officers arrested a High School Principal, and 2 other administrators for failure to report.

Actually, they did report their suspicions but not to CPS. They reported their suspicions to the School Police department. Evidently, that was not enough. Add in a District Attorney looking for re-election, and you have a highly visible, headline grabbing case.

That was last fall. The cases have still not been resolved. So the school district moved them to the admin building. I'm thinking that they will be resolved shortly before or after the November elections.

Depending on what benefits CPS and/or the DA.