Child Protective Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Child Protective Services - Essay Example Arguments from both parties will then help the reader reach a conclusion; of their own. Going through a brief history of the CPS, in 1655 the first criminal case was brought up against child abuse in the courts of what is now the United States of America. In 1825, states made laws to protect the rights of children and granting the authority to several agencies to remove children from the custody of parents and guardians who were proved unfit to perform the parental duties (Thomas, 295). By 1974, 49 U.S States had passed the law; hence â€Å"Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act† (CAPTA) was passed by the federal government (Pecora et al, 232). This act established CPS which started functioning by 1974. Thesis CPS is an important part of the present society; it should be made a affirm agency with law enforcement agencies on its call so it is a powerful force against those who embark upon the future of our future generation. A lot of hue and cry has been raised against the CP S and its services but every establishment has its own defects, so does the CPS. As the amount f cases per year registered increases every year, more work has to be put in to secure our future. Basic argument is about the downsizing of the program due to its inefficiency to tackle the modern problems. However, the ball is in the government’s court, to effectively finance the program so no child goes unattended as the worker to case ratio is going out of hand. Support Many people in the social service setups have been calling out for betterment in the current system. Abuse and neglect in children is still prevalent; the system has loopholes through which parents and foster care givers are benefitting, covering their deeds by the noble act of performing their responsibility, key word being ‘act’. Every coin has two faces; both are different, almost opposites. American sentiment toward residential placement for troubled youths is increasingly troubled, passive and e ven aggressive. Even then, many families are too weak to keep their youth unharmed. Foster families are not available for as many as 840,000 children who will require placement by 1995. The most empirically supported criticism of residential placement is its limited positive influence on post placement problems such as delinquency (Pecora et al., 1992). Children are living on roadsides as their parents are to poor or drunk to even know their own self, let alone take care of their offspring. Also, child abuse is an issue which will have disastrous effects on the upcoming generations. CPS comes as the only ray of hope. They take these distressed children under their care and place them with caring, willing families; who have taken the pledge to help the society. In this criminal world, child molesters and drug addicted parents are a big threat to the safety of children. CPS is the right organization to counter these threats. Some extreme steps have to be taken in order to make CPS a r eckoning force like the IRS. Opposition Child Protective Services also has some basic errors. There is huge cry from many quarters of the society that this service should be suspended. If the next generation has to be protected in their homes, this system has to transform radically. The main issue is the anti-family mindset of the CPS. Foster placement should be the last option for the CPS, not the first one. With improper check and balance in the system, the system that was