Over the past ten years I have focused on problems with Child Protective Services in certain places in the world. I wouldn’t even begin to try and guess how many children have been taken from parents who did little to warrant it. Many of these children have been sent to foster homes where the caretakers don’t care for them nearly as much as their biological parents do. Some of these parents just needed a bit of assistance and they could have gotten along fine in the long run. The only assistance many needed was a bit of counseling, if anything. Instead, entire family lives have been fractured to the point of irreversible repair.
There is another side of the coin. There are times when parents or caretakers do abuse children. When it comes to cruelty, many of these cases are evil. Records for child deaths at the Wayne County Medical Examiner in Michigan show at least 52 children died due to abuse or neglect in the last 3 and 1/2 years.
Here are a few hopeful sentences from a recent article:
“The governor’s FY2026 budget recommendation further includes $27 million to provide ‘economic and concrete supports’ with the goal of reducing or avoiding involvement with Child Protective Services.”
“The leaders of RxKids imply on their website and other materials that their cash transfers can produce a large decline in child maltreatment and reduce the need for CPS intervention.”
It seems to many that if certain parents get the appropriate help that CPS interventions and child maltreatment might decrease.
In Michigan, a study was done to “determine if unconditional cash transfers decreased contact with child welfare and substantiated reports of maltreatment early in life.” (Link to Study)
The Results of this study were interesting:
“Estimates indicate no differences in overall referrals to child protection and no differences in substantiated reports of maltreatment. Results are consistent across abuse and neglect allegations.”
“Conclusions: There is no evidence that unconditional cash transfers totaling $1,500 at mid pregnancy and $500 per month affect contact with child protection or substantiated allegations of maltreatment within the first six months of life.”
Simply, the study found the money had no positive impact.
The article that peaked my interest in this subject can be found here.
The article says about the study findings that: “Such findings should come as little surprise when we take seriously the threats that children face. Neither drug addiction nor extreme violence seems likely to be ameliorated with short-term monthly checks.”
When it comes to protecting children, things have gotten very complex. On one hand you have CPS groups that take children for unwarranted reasons resulting in ruined family life. On the other hand, there is real abuse going on that needs intervention and it seems unclear, except for offenders getting the proper prison sentences, what is “best for the child.”
Ideally, there are loving family members who will take abused children in. A perfect example of this are relatives I know (a husband and wife) who took in a 2, a 4, and a 7-year-old after family problems arose. They raised the children, along with three of their own, until they were adults. All three became law abiding citizens. I know there are foster parents out there who really care for those they are aiding. I may be wrong but it seems that people like this are harder to find in our times or it could just be that caretaker demand is so much greater.
When I read articles like this I can’t help but think of this verse from Matthew 19:
14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
After working with different ages of children over the years, I can see why Jesus loves the little children. Let’s pray for children in difficult situations. May they wind up in the hands of someone who really cares.
Chris Reimers
Wings of the Wind
Child Maltreatment Deaths Raise Questions
January 26, 2026Over the past ten years I have focused on problems with Child Protective Services in certain places in the world. I wouldn’t even begin to try and guess how many children have been taken from parents who did little to warrant it. Many of these children have been sent to foster homes where the caretakers don’t care for them nearly as much as their biological parents do. Some of these parents just needed a bit of assistance and they could have gotten along fine in the long run. The only assistance many needed was a bit of counseling, if anything. Instead, entire family lives have been fractured to the point of irreversible repair.
There is another side of the coin. There are times when parents or caretakers do abuse children. When it comes to cruelty, many of these cases are evil. Records for child deaths at the Wayne County Medical Examiner in Michigan show at least 52 children died due to abuse or neglect in the last 3 and 1/2 years.
Here are a few hopeful sentences from a recent article:
“The governor’s FY2026 budget recommendation further includes $27 million to provide ‘economic and concrete supports’ with the goal of reducing or avoiding involvement with Child Protective Services.”
“The leaders of RxKids imply on their website and other materials that their cash transfers can produce a large decline in child maltreatment and reduce the need for CPS intervention.”
It seems to many that if certain parents get the appropriate help that CPS interventions and child maltreatment might decrease.
In Michigan, a study was done to “determine if unconditional cash transfers decreased contact with child welfare and substantiated reports of maltreatment early in life.” (Link to Study)
The Results of this study were interesting:
“Estimates indicate no differences in overall referrals to child protection and no differences in substantiated reports of maltreatment. Results are consistent across abuse and neglect allegations.”
“Conclusions: There is no evidence that unconditional cash transfers totaling $1,500 at mid pregnancy and $500 per month affect contact with child protection or substantiated allegations of maltreatment within the first six months of life.”
Simply, the study found the money had no positive impact.
The article that peaked my interest in this subject can be found here.
The article says about the study findings that: “Such findings should come as little surprise when we take seriously the threats that children face. Neither drug addiction nor extreme violence seems likely to be ameliorated with short-term monthly checks.”
When it comes to protecting children, things have gotten very complex. On one hand you have CPS groups that take children for unwarranted reasons resulting in ruined family life. On the other hand, there is real abuse going on that needs intervention and it seems unclear, except for offenders getting the proper prison sentences, what is “best for the child.”
Ideally, there are loving family members who will take abused children in. A perfect example of this are relatives I know (a husband and wife) who took in a 2, a 4, and a 7-year-old after family problems arose. They raised the children, along with three of their own, until they were adults. All three became law abiding citizens. I know there are foster parents out there who really care for those they are aiding. I may be wrong but it seems that people like this are harder to find in our times or it could just be that caretaker demand is so much greater.
When I read articles like this I can’t help but think of this verse from Matthew 19:
14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
After working with different ages of children over the years, I can see why Jesus loves the little children. Let’s pray for children in difficult situations. May they wind up in the hands of someone who really cares.
Chris Reimers
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