My response to an article in texas monthly regarding CPS being called for a 6 year old child playing in the front yard apparently unsupervised

Stephana Johnson Because I had CPS called on me and went through personal experience of CPS. I'm going to share this. A very ticked and off neighbor (she poisoned our cat - rat poison - led to it's death, smoked in front of our kitchen door repeatedly because I asked her to please go further from our home to smoke and finally threatened me - I called the police) The next day CPS was at my door telling me "we have reason to believe the children in this home are ...." I don't remember the rest only dropped the handful of laundry I was on my way to put up and turned around to my husband and two boys as they were playing. I was physically sick about it and immediately called my sister in law who is CPS with AZ. I brought my children to the door with my husband and said look at my children, see them but you may not talk to them alone or interrogate them in any way with or without me. I also did not invite her into my home - they have to have a warrant. The CPS officer spent about a week doing walk by's talking to my neighbors and I reported the previous incident with my nasty neighbor who had been the one who called CPS and told them lies. They said my boys were not in school and were at least 6 (at the time I had a 2 and 4 year old). Once the CPS officer got all the facts CPS dismissed the case. So, there are many things at play here. Many factors. It's never a generality and we cannot be general here. While I would absolutely not want to have my life and rights interfered with there are absolutely people who are not capable of taking care of another human being, let alone an infant or child. And thus we have CPS, churches, other organizations who do what they feel is what they can do to help. On both sides, there are many children in this world who are abused and neglected - not just physically either. I know this is a very touchy subject but what comes to mind is we see what we "believe" and believe what we see - even when it's false. In my personal experience most CPS are doing the best they can to help where they are needed. By law, I believe this is still law, they have to respond to EVERY allegation. How many times have we not stepped in or spoken up when we witnessed a child being smacked, man handled or degraded though? OK, well clearly I still have "baggage" from that experience. While I hated going through it -I was anxiety ridden and felt inadequate and like a bad mother for so long after - it opened my eyes even wider to our need to be constantly alert and constantly willing to stand up, speak up and fight (as Gandhi would) for our rights, what we value and what we believe in for ourselves, our families, our children, our community. Peace and Blessings.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/daily-post/cps-visited-austin-woman-whose-kids-were-playing-outside-unsupervised