On Child Protective Services, Part 1: Putting Children Before the Family

On Child Protective Services, Part 1: Putting Children Before the Family:

Many of you in the South may be familiar with DFCS (pronounced dee-fax), the Division of Family and Child Services. In California, this same agency is called DCFS, the Department of Children and Family Services. I think these labels say a lot about what the agencies are designed to do. While the service DFCS renders is the “division” of family and child, at DCFS, they put children before the family—to the detriment of the family unit, the authority of the parents, and even the well-being of the children. Paradoxically, putting the individual interests of the children before and above the interests and integrity of the family unit is actually bad for children.