A true story, a friend of mine has five kids, at the time 2-5. He is at the McDonald's in Duxbury, Mass giving the kids a Grease Fix. He goes through the drive through gets the Grease and the kids attack from the back seat, except for the two year old,, who was locked up in her car seat.
He swept his arm back, to push the kids back, the lady behind him in line dimed him to DYS. It cost him a few bucks to beat a child abuse charge, there was no Complainant on The Form when DYS, we asked why, confidential, it was tossed.
Hearsay is allowable for a search warrant, apparently. I looked up the statutes, and that’s what it seemed to say.
Not every CPS is the same, either. I had to deal with one in California. The lady they sent was wonderful, she said it was obvious my children were happy and safe, and I never heard from her again.