Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement has been known to be more common in lower income families than the highest income families, but whether or not CPS specifically penalizes poverty has been a subject of much debate. While poverty alone is not penalized by CPS, there is an allegation CPS investigates that has a higher specificity for the lowest tax brackets. That allegation is inadequate food/clothing/shelter.
Inadequate food/clothing/shelter may be worded differently across states, but the allegation is just the same: if you don’t have the bare necessities, your child(ren) aren’t safe. The question here is: where does CPS draw the line? While CPS doesn’t outline all of the specific criteria for what suffices as adequate food, clothing and shelter, they do a better job here than with most terms. Let’s break it down.
First, let’s address inadequate food. In order to survive humans need food and water. Since children rely on their caregiver(s) (typically, their parents) to provide for them, the caregiver is assumed to be responsible for providing them with food. For most children, this includes three meals a day (breakfast/lunch/dinner) and snacks. If they have an allergy or a chronic illness that requires a special diet, it is assumed the caregiver(s) will accommodate that need. This means CPS is looking for food and drink in the home reflecting those needs. If your child is an infant and breast feeding, CPS takes that into account. If your baby is not breast feeding and requires formula or is a toddler who cannot eat certain foods, it is to be expected that the food and drink in the home will reflect the developmental stage.
Next, let’s address inadequate clothing. Clothing should be clean and should not be worn for multiple days in a row to reduce chances of infection. It should fit appropriately and not be ripped or torn (unless by design in areas deemed socially acceptable). There should also be enough clothing for laundry to only be absolutely necessary once per week to maintain clean clothing consistently. Socks are also important when wearing sneakers or shoes. If clothing has stains, rips deemed socially inappropriate or does not fit properly, this is considered inadequate clothing in the eyes of CPS.
Lastly, let’s address inadequate shelter. Inadequate shelter is anything that could in theory be a safety concern to your child(ren). This means you need a fire extinguisher, functional smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. Depending on the size of your residence, you may require multiple devices. There must be no lead pant and if you are in a high rise apartment building and your children are under the age of nine years old, you may need window guards on the windows. Your residence should not be cluttered to the point it is not easily navigable in an emergency. It should not have excess vermin or have any radiators or heating grates exposed that a child could cut or burn himself or herself on. There should be no mold in the bathrooms. Excess dishes should not pile up in the sink and remain there for extended periods of time. The home should also not be messy. Trash should be disposed of in designated receptacles and be taken out on a regular basis. The residence should not be overcrowded and all children should have appropriate furniture (including age-appropriate beds consistent with safe sleep practices and places to store their clothing. While this is not an exhaustive list, CPS can substantiate a case if any of these aspects of the home are not consistent with their definition of the minimum standard of care.
At CPSprotect Consulting Services, we recognize it can be more difficult for lower income families to meet CPS’ expectations, but with the right resources, it’s not impossible. If you are having difficulty affording food, there are government programs such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) and SNAP for WIC (Women/Infants/Children) that can help. In addition, local food pantries can also provide free assistance. Many local religious institutions fund food pantries with donations and volunteers to help those in need in their communities. As for clothing, places like Good Will have more affordable clothing at locations across the country and there are some non-profits that will give away clothing. Even CPS stocks clothing, furniture and smoke/carbon monoxide detectors. For shelter, if a safety concern is found that cannot be remedied immediately, relocation is required to preserve the family. This can include going to a family shelter, going to a hotel until CPS closes its case or residing with family or friends while the safety concern is addressed.
While there are many resources available to families to help ensure they can maintain adequate food, clothing and shelter, if CPS catches them at the wrong time, the consequences can be devastating. Thus, it’s important to think about these issues before it gets to a crisis point. The key is to exceed CPS’ minimum standard of care to the point that CPS would have a difficult time finding a reason they’d be concerned about their liability by unsubstantiating the allegations. If you need a free referral to a service provider in your area, contact us by phone or e-mail. Remember: the more you know, the better prepared you’ll be.