Guys - I think we are straying far from the original topic at hand. But before we hopefully redirect focus here, let me say a few words on this topic.
There are good people, there are bad. CPS is a very needed service to help counter the horrific wrongs on children that occur in our society and, at the same time there are occasions of abuse of power that need to be checked. Nothing is perfect and there could not be a functioning society without a CPS effort.
On one end, I have posted on this site one of the most horrific cases of power-drunk guardian ad litem abuse of power that has ever occurred. It makes one want to toss their Wheaties to see the long standing fraud that occurred on the court and everyone around them. But it's important to remember that this is an exception. It's very difficult and we need to constantly try to improve the system every day.
I have a very good friend who works in the school system as a guidance counselor. Every day she must make calls as to whether or not report a case of domestic violence against a child. This is a difficult line to draw. Not only do people not want government to pry into their business, but on the other side of the coin, a wrong decision of not intruding can result in serious injury or death to a child. My friend has to live with her failure to act and the consequences. For innocent parents it shouldn't be too difficult to cooperate to show that no abuse is occurring and in most instances it should work. My friend and the other coworkers are not irrational, heartless people.
One last statement I have to make - in many instances I have witnessed, I've found abusive parents more focused on their rights than on the welfare of the child. They are obsessed with government intervention and trumpet that claim and protest in order to shield focus on the truth that their own child is being neglected. So often I've heard "well, all I do is smoke pot which is really medicinal, etc." as if they are the perfect parents but for this item which they rationalize isn't bad either even though it is illegal and a jailable offense. But 99.9% of the time it's not just one thing.
So let's get back to the point of the thread. While Scooterdog has a point about the father appearing to be the abuser, that is only an inference and clearly a part of the story. Jacksgal and Duranie did point out that we don't know any of the facts of the case nor all the circumstances. They are far from revealed here and so we can't come to a conclusion about her but it's certainly possible that the mother has other problems which she hasn't posted. Frequently abused women will keep taking back their abuser(s) until they get serious help. Most of the time CPS doesn't just tear babies from the arms of a mother - besides the human element, where are you going to put the children too? The only thing that is clear here is that there is no question that abuse was occurring in this household. A decision was made to remove the child from an abusive situation and getting the child back involves proving that the abusive situation no longer exists. Working with CPS to establish this doesn't seem to be bad advice and the reality is that as the child is gone, the poster needs to do what she can to clearly indicate that she's a responsible person in order to at the very least put CPS in a position to defend its decision to keep the child elsewhere.
