CPS is LE. They enforce our law by removing children they consider in danger. Are they arrogant at times...of course. Are they needed? It’s an ugly job but someone has to do it. I sure don’t want to.
CPS is not considered law enforcement in any state that I am aware of. They are usually part of social services and work under a totally different system, rules, and procedures from LEO. If they were LEO then they could not legally do some of what they do. That distinction is the cause of some of the confusion about why they can do things regarding children that LEOs cannot do because of constitutional rights, rules of evidence, due process, etc. CPS works with LEO when they need to and directly with the court. They have certain powers- of course they can take your children but they also have investigative duties; but they are not considered LEO, and cannot make arrests and things of that type. Anything they encounter of a criminal nature- that part of the case has to be turned over to LEOs to investigate, etc.
The real reason CPS has so much power is because judges will nearly always back them up in whatever they want to do. The reason judges usually do this is the very real fear that if a judge doesn't back up CPS and then something bad happens to the child- guess who gets the blame? The judge. No judge wants to be in that position so in reality judges will do whatever CPS wants in almost every case. This is good in that CPS has real teeth and can remove children from a bad situation ASAP. It can also be bad because it really opens the door for abuse when you give anyone that much power.
Even if a judge thinks CPS might be wrong- the judge will usually not want their a$$ on the line so will back CPS and wait for lawyers to later bring up problems and then rule on each issue. I consider them a neccessary evil. We need them to have the power they do in order to be able to protect the children that need it. That said, because they have so much power and do not have to follow what we think of as rights, etc- then I think we should keep an eye on them, and I think we should question what they do, and how they do it.
It is a thankless job, and they are in many darned if you do/darned if you don't situations- but I do think we need to hold them accountable if and when we think they have overstepped. I don't know if they overstepped in this case- don't have enough facts and don't trust the media to be honest. I do know, as many lawyers as this case has attracted- CPS actions will be examined under a microscope over this before it is through- and likely in several cases in several courts. I am not going to worry so much about whether or not they were out of line because of the scrutiny they will get. I would worry much more about CPS being held accountable if this was- say my neighbor, since individual cases of neglect/abuse almost never get this kind of attention-so won't have the level of oversight this case will have.