Which would be worse: being beaten by your partner, or having social services take away your children? That’s the choice facing many parents I’ve worked with as a social worker, and the answer is always the same. “I’d rather take the beating than catch a CPS case,” as one said to me.

Once a Child Protective Services (CPS) case is initiated, parents are subject to regular, unannounced, intrusive visits from caseworkers, searching their cabinets, refrigerator, and rooms; administering substance tests without cause; and strip-searching their children. Neighbors, teachers, and family members are questioned about the parent. Many domestic violence survivors are told they must leave their homes to keep their kids and find a family member or shelter to take them in. Anything deemed out of order (i.e., an empty fridge, a messy home, a positive substance test, too many school tardies, absences, or missed appointments) can culminate in parents’ losing custody of their children. “It feels like we’re going from one abusive situation to another, and both constantly threaten to take our kids,” as another parent once said to me.

Read the full piece in The Nation here.