Thank you for listening to Invisible Choir. This episode contains sensitive material, including graphic depictions of violence or abuse against children, which some listeners may find especially distressing or traumatic.

Listener discretion is advised.

What would you do to protect the children, the most innocent and vulnerable of a soul?

This time, an Invisible Choir.

How do we fail our children? It seems all too often that the systems we have in place to protect the vulnerable never come through when they're sick.

It seems all too often that the systems we have in place to protect the vulnerable never

come through when they are most needed.

We the people have asked for the child protective services system to be there for those who might

someday need it.

After all, everything we do, every action we take in front of our children is something

they learn from and eventually incorporate into their own lives.

They are our most vulnerable.

Mostly, they are innocent.

The job of CPS social workers is difficult enough, but with rising caseloads and fewer

and fewer resources, it seems more and more that children are falling through the cracks.

And abusive parents are finding new and creative ways to manipulate the systems designed

to protect the children, regardless of whether or not they do.

They become masters of a new game, a sleight of hand that has protective services looking

one way while they take their children down another much darker path.

It's this deception that creates scenarios where we miss all of the critical signs, that

something was wrong, that the children were in danger.

And sometimes, sadly, by the time we recognize the subtle signs, it's already too late.

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