Clarissa Quigley

English 2010

Dr. Haslam

5 April 2022

Persuasion Effect, Position Argument

Child Protective Services are supposed to be there to protect children and help families.

They look for every little detail to make sure the child is safe, but in some cases, they get

power-hungry and take precautions too seriously, or not seriously enough. This is what I will be

writing about. On the other side of this argument, a lot of people believe that Child Protective

Services is a safe and effective way to save children that need it the most, and they are doing all

of their work for the good of the children. While this may be true in some cases, it should be true

in all cases, and that is the fault in Child Protective Services. It’s important to do what is best for

the child, and sometimes taking the child away, or leaving them in the custody of their guardians,

is not going to be the answer.

First, what is Child Protective Services? “Child Protective Services (CPS) is a branch of

your state’s social services department that is responsible for the assessment, investigation and

intervention regarding cases of child abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse,” (stopitnow,

2021). So like I stated previously, they are supposed to protect children and their families.

Utah is a state that allows Child Protective Services, or Division of Child and Family

Services, to take children away. “Utah law allows the Division of Child and Family Services to

take a child away from his or her parents or guardians in a variety of situations, including upon

an allegation of neglect or abuse,” (Libertas Institute, 2015). While this may be true, they don’t

accept all cases that they receive. In the year 2021, only 50% of the cases reported were
investigated. This isn’t because they just don’t want to, the description of what is being alleged

needs to fit into the definition of abuse or neglect. The definition of abuse and neglect differs

depending on the state. For Utah, the definition is, “any recent act or failure to act on the part. of

a parent or caregiver that results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or

exploitation, or an act or failure to act that,” (childwelfare.gov). Now I want to talk about

specific cases that ended poorly because of Child Protective Services. Gabriel Fernandez, Elisa

Izquierdo, and Noah Cuatro. All three of these children were let down by Child Protective

Services. Gabriel Fernandez was eight years old when he was rushed to the hospital with a

dented skull, bruises and cuts, and multiple broken ribs. He died two days later on May 24, 2013.

Elisa Izquierdo was six years old when she was found laying on her bed with brain fluid coming

out of her nose and mouth by her mother and pronounced dead at the scene on November 15,

1995. Noah Cuatro was four years old when he was rushed to the hospital and died the next day

of blunt force trauma on July 6, 2019 and showed signs of sexual abuse as well as healing

damage to the ribs. All of these cases could have been prevented multiple times by Child

Protective Services and Department of Child and Family Services, but they sat by and did

nothing while these three innocent children, as well as many others, suffered and eventually died.

If that doesn’t convince you that Child Protective Services has faults, I don’t know what will.

On the other hand, a lot of people believe that Child Protective Services is a safe and

effective way to save children that need it the most, and they are doing all of their work for the

good of the children. Child Protective Services does promote a level security when it comes to

reporting child abuse and neglect. If we didn’t have Child Protective Services, there would be a

lot of children that go unheard or end up dead because no one was there to save them when they

needed it. According to dcfs.utah.gov, “At Child and Family Services (DCFS) our focus is child
safety, and working to strengthen parents and caregivers who are otherwise unable to meet their

own child’s needs. Our work is focused on effective interventions regarding safety issues related

to child abuse and neglect,” (dcfs.utah.gov). Their main focus is to help children and help

families become safe where children can grow up healthy and strong. Which is an amazing idea,

but if they say this is their main focus, why wasn’t something done for Gabriel, Elisa, Noah, and

many other children whose voices go unheard?

In conclusion, Child Protective Services is an organization that states their job is to help

children and families and protect them from harm. But that is not always the case. Some children

are neglected by their parents or guardians, yes, but they are also neglected by Child Protective

Services not being there for them. As citizens, we have a right to demand change in government

organizations when we realize the faults in them. While Child Protective Services seem like they

are doing this for the benefit of children and families, that’s just scratching the surface of what

really happens in these government organizations.

We don't talk about Bruno, no, no, no! We don't talk about Bruno... but It was my wedding day

It was our wedding day. We were getting ready, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. No clouds

allowed in the sky Bruno walks in with a mischievous grin- Thunder!! Are you telling this story, or am

I? I'm sorry, mi vida, go on

 Works Cited

“Child Protective Services | DCFS.” Utah Division of Child and Family Services,

https://dcfs.utah.gov/services/child-protective-services/. Accessed 8 April 2022.

“HB356: Protecting Innocent Parents from DCFS Taking their Children.” Libertas Institute,

https://libertas.org/bill/hb356-protecting-innocent-parents-from-dcfs-taking-their-children

/. Accessed 8 April 2022.

“QUARTERLY REPORT.” Utah Division of Child and Family Services,

https://dcfs.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Quarterly-Report-FY22-QT2.pdf.

Accessed 8 April 2022.

“What is Child Protective Services? | Stop It Now.” StopItNow.org,

https://www.stopitnow.org/ohc-content/what-is-child-protective-services. Accessed 8

April 2022.