117 days.

That was how long our family was in limbo. It might not sound like that much, but when your whole life is turned upside down, it's an eternity. My husband had to live with relatives because he was falsely accused of child abuse. My daughter and I were forced to live alone. Almost 4 months: June 6, 2009 to October 1,2009., and we were one of the lucky ones. I've found stories online of people whose battles lasted YEARS.
There are lots of stories online. There are lots of stories out there. The figures out there would shock you. In PA alone, in 2007, 24,021 reports of suspected child and student abuse were received , only
4,162 reports of suspected child and student abuse were substantiated.
Approximately 20,000 families went through this in 2007 and there was not enough SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE to render a "verdict" of guilty in their cases.

Lawyers and law enforcement officers know never to put themselves in a situation where they could be alone with any child in their homes. Did you? We didn't.

Children across the country have playdates everyday. As a parent, you need to know the danger that puts you in.
Don't think it can't happen to you.
It can.

a call for Your stories.

If you find this blog and you have been through a similar situation with child protection services, we would like to know. This kind of FAMILY ABUSE cannot be tolerated. We need to make people aware of the dangers you could be putting your family in simply by arranging a playdate for your child.
My daughter is a very sociable child. She loves to meet new people. She actually considers it to be "her job." To have to tell her that she can only have playdates or sleepovers with people we consider to be "family" is not going to be easy for her to understand. But anyone who is familiar with these types of situations cautions the same thing: DON"T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN;
DON"T EVEN TAKE THE CHANCE. You cannot afford it.
Now that the holiday season is over and the dead of a very cold winter is upon us, I hope to have more time to devote to this blog. If we can warn even a few people families to protect themselves, it will be worth it. I look forward to hearing from you.