Something similar happened to someone in my area who was letting her kid play alone at the playground inside the apartment complex. She even had the door open so that she could hear her child playing, but CPS said that she should be able to see her child at all times. I guess it's illegal to have children, if you're blind.

As a policy person who worked on child welfare issues for two decades, I'd be interested in knowing more about the incidence of child abuse and neglect in the municipalities mentioned in the article. I'd also be interested in hearing about the policy and practice discussions had by elected and appointed officials, advocates, and parents. These practices and approaches come from somewhere.

Man, american culture on parenting seems insane coming from an European perspective. It's like everyone is legally required to be an obsessive helicopter parent. But I guess it makes sense given the people there walking around in public.

We should allow kids to roam more. But their specific example of a couple letting their 5 year old go to the pond a couple blocks away without supervision is borderline. My spidey senses go off much more when water or pools are involved.

CPS is such a disease. Bunch of power-tripping freaks.

Sounds like these cops went on a power trip. They weren't listening to anyone or acting with logic or reason - they just wanted to arrest and prosecute someone.

Wanna solve this problem and a dozen more? Make all inbound tips to government public record after a cooling off period.

If you really believe a restaurant needs the health inspector or some family needs CPS or your neighbor needs a visit from the permitting office you oughta be willing to put your reputation to that. When you call the government you are setting in motion a chain of events that can have serious financial consequences and that is both a matter of public interest and something that should not be taken lightly.

I'll entertain an exception for "serious criminal matters".

Edit: Also worth noting that courts bear a lot of responsibility for these sorts of situations where because for a hundred years they've been loathe to apply people's 4th-8th amendment rights to the targets of abuse by any agency short of literal gun toting door kicking law enforcement. Though ironically that's not what happened here CPS has been curtailed by law so the cops just twisted some other statute to get her.