So what's the alternative, leave kids with mentally ill parents and let this sort of thing continue but put the parents in prison after the fact?
No system is going to be perfect, but I can't believe anyone would argue that this woman, based on what we know, should have been allowed to keep her kids.
You would rather trust a government bureaucracy ? Not me. We've become so conditioned to letting the government handle all life's problems that we've become incapable of acting for ourselves.
The Jackson case in New Jersey is just one illustration. Those kids, as I recall, were seen by social workers over 34 times in a year, yet not one social worker noticed any problems in the house or with the kids or the parents.
IMO government workers under the chief executive level simply follow rules and do not have the ability or the mandate to think for themselves; therefore they are ineffective in most situations requiring thought and analysis and action.
I wouldn't trust my dog with any state's child protective services, nor do I trust most psychiatrists/psychologists.