I have a friend who has two children with a man (her soon to be ex husband) who has beaten her to the point of hospitalization, raped her in front of one of her daughters, and is charged with drug trafficing (the trial is still pending but he is involved with cartels). She fled for her life. Not long after, CPS came and took her kids away because her mother (who is on illicit drugs) told CPS that she (my friend) was on drugs. Despite passing all the UAs they have kept her kids. The judge ordered her off all of her perscription meds (for despression, anxiety and ADHD) even though she was taking them all as perscribed by her doctor for legitimate diagnosesees. They ordered her into treatment and put her children in foster care. She went to treatment despite having no drug problems and having passed her UAs. While she was in treatment the judge and CPS gave her abusive husband (who has an OFP against him for both her and her children) the kids. At first it was just for a few hours, then days at a time. He now has them 24/7 (unsupervised) with the exception of a couple hours a week when she is able to have supervised visitations with them. One of her daughters now appears to have been molested and this was discussed in open court and still the judge and CPS have allowed the kids to live with him. Her lawyer has, in the past, refused to meet with her before court refused to let her speak in court and has not pressed for an investigation of any ongoing abuse by the father. The judge that signed the OFP is the same judge that has facilitated and advocated for the violation of the OFP by giving the kids to their father. Isn't this pure negligence on the part of both the judge and CPS? Perhaps criminal negligence? Everyone at CPS is a mandated reporter right? So how can they knowingly and willingly put these children in the hands of an abuser? After going to treatment and complying with everything the court has asked for (save for getting health insurance within the courts the alloted time, which she now has), she has been declared an unfit parent. After being declared unfit, my friend went against the advice of her lawyer and met with the social worker. She brought all the police and hospital reports and showed them to the social worker and said " look at these, look what he's done! This is who you have given my kids to!" Now the social worker is trying to get my friend to drop the OFP, in what looks like an attempt to save her own skin.

So can the judge and CPS do this? Can they knowingly and willingly give children to a man like that? Can they fail to investigate evidence of ongoing sexual abuse? Shouldn't her lawyer actually be on her side? These seem like absolutely ridiculous questions to me, but apparently they have to be asked because they are getting away with it! CPS and the court system are supposed to protect children! But they've done the exact opposite. They have advocated for them to be put in harms way!

The answer is yes to all of the above. Yes, the can. But that's not the question that you should be asking. The question you should be asking is what to do about it.

The answer to that is to get a better lawyer, get advocacy groups involved who may be able to help and go to the media to show the failues of the system.