Governor candidate wants to abolish CPS, start over

April 9, 2014

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly said Tuesday that he would abolish California’s Child Protective Services system because social workers often remove children from families without sufficient reason. He would then start over from the “ground up.” [SacramentoBee]

“If I were in charge of the entire state, I can tell you right now I would abolish CPS,” Donnelly said at a news conference,” because CPS has become the greatest threat to the very kids it was designed to protect.”

Donnelly has proposed legislation that would require social workers to conduct video or audio recordings of their interactions with children and parents. He said the recordings would protect both families and social workers in disputes.

The California Welfare Directors Association opposes Assembly Bill 1828 because “time is of the essence” in child abuse investigations and that “it is imperative that our CPS social workers be able to conduct interviews with children and their parents with unfettered access,” according to a letter included in a legislative analysis.

Nevertheless, a state auditor report released Tuesday says that social workers frequently include inaccurate information in their assessments and fail to do proper follow ups on cases.

Donnelly said CPS workers get involved too often in cases where their intervention isn’t warranted, while not becoming involved in incidents of serious child abuse and neglect.

“They are literally becoming the dust bunny and dirty dish police,” Donnelly said.