Chapter 14 - Child protective services
CPS did not remove Eli from me.
Some relatives spread that rumor after a caseworker interviewed us.
The agency reviewed:
Lena’s conduct.
My slap.
The grandparents’ comments.
Whether Eli had been regularly left unsupervised with Lena.
He had occasionally been at my parents’ house while Lena lived there.
That changed immediately.
The safety plan:
No unsupervised contact between Lena and Eli.
My parents could not supervise contact if Lena was present.
I agreed.
Peter called it:
“Government telling us how to run our family.”
I said:
“No. It’s me agreeing to a safety plan because you said my five-year-old deserved to be sprayed in the face.”
He hung up.
For two months, my parents did not see Eli.
Not because CPS permanently banned them.
Because I did not trust them yet.
Diane called it punishment.
I said:
“It’s a boundary.”
“It feels the same.”
“That doesn’t make it the same.”
May you like
She cried.
I still said no.
