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Child Protective Services: Problems, Reforms and More Problems

Continued from page 5

Published on November 06, 2007 at 12:56pm

Those programs deal with poverty, the biggest problem in child welfare, according to Wexler. And, he says, the main fallacy among child protection agencies is confusing poverty with neglect.

Counseling and parenting classes do nothing to fix that problem, Wexler says, and more money should be spent on programs, such as rent subsidies, that allow parents to focus on being parents.

In Alabama, which Wexler cites as another improving state, caseworkers have money to use on things not usually associated with child abuse. If a mother can't get to work because her car won't start, the caseworker can pay for repairs. Or a caseworker can pay for daycare while a father attends a drug treatment.

But in Texas, only $1 from every $100 the agency spends goes toward programs designed to keep families out of CPS.

"They need to reverse course," Wexler says. "They're going in precisely the wrong direction."
_____________________

Maria and Rafael have faced hard times before. After returning to Houston from Seguin, the couple slept in Rafael's car when they couldn't find a friend or relative to stay with. When Maria got pregnant, Rafael knew he had to get his life straight, and he did.

But since CPS got involved, life has unraveled. Maria and Rafael are working on their parenting plan but are becoming disillusioned with the system.

"I don't ask the government for anything. I pay my bills, I pay my taxes," Rafael says. "It's weird the way they handle these CPS cases. It's like you lose your kids if you don't have any money."

Now Rafael can rarely sleep, and his doctor has prescribed Lexapro, an antianxiety and antidepression pill. Rafael doesn't like the way the pills make him feel, but they help him relax.

At HydroChem, Rafael's bosses have cut back on his hours, and the bills keep stacking up. All Rafael can think about are his sons in some strange home. Once, he tried to stop taking his pills.

"I started to lose my mind," Rafael says. "I'm pretty much bonded to the pills now."

On the night of October 9, Rafael couldn't sleep. He lay in bed, thinking about his kids and everything else. It had been a week since he last saw his children, and that was for only an hour. Maria had switched on the lights in the couple's bedroom. Rafael asked her to turn them off. She said no.

Rafael sprang out of bed, and he and Maria yelled at each other across the room. The fight moved from the bedroom to the living room. He swung open the front door and pushed Maria in the back. She tumbled down the three wooden steps leading out of their trailer. Rafael slammed the door shut.

Maria had injured her arm, but she didn't know how badly. She staggered over to her neighbor's trailer and they called the police. Rafael spent the night in jail.

"He's not an abusive man," Maria says. "I think he's just pissed off at everyone in the world, because of the kids. Things have just gotten out of hand."

A week later, Maria and Rafael attend visitation with their children at the Human Services building on Scott Street, the one behind the HEB grocery store. It's the type of office where people are tired of waiting, tired of standing in line. Women in black uniforms with pistols on their hip guard the lobby in case anyone gets out of hand.

After about an hour, Maria, Rafael, their caseworker and the two children emerge from behind a door marked Hall 1. The children are handed back to Rafael's mother and stepfather. Rafael appears on the verge of tears. Maria stares at another place.

"I miss them a lot," Maria says. "Just missing my baby grow, I'm missing a lot, and that hurts."

Their CPS caseworker disappears down Hall 1, and Rafael's mother and stepfather leave the office with the kids. Rafael and Maria sit down in two black metal chairs, not yet ready to leave.

They're not sure what will happen with CPS. Their caseworker knows about Rafael's arrest, but the couple is uncertain how it will affect their case. Maria thinks the charges can be dropped. They have another custody hearing in January, but Rafael says he doubts anything good can happen by then.

All they can do is wait. They say they'll hold on. But Maria and Rafael have little faith in the agency that has taken over the lives of their children and their own.

paul.knight@houstonpress.com

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