They assume if you question what a child says you approve of family violence. I would much rather deal with the criminal system. Police officers are more up-front and honest about their job than social workers. They know that people sometimes lie, including children. Many legislators say they receive regular complaints from constituents about abuse at the hands of the agency's representatives.
Plowman calls the agency itself vindictive.
I want services. Because if you start out on the wrong foot, people get under the gun. DHS wants to hear people say they're sorry, and that they'll follow all these conditions. Vocal critics of DHS are not alone in observing that the system is in need of change. Lucky Hollander, a former child protective worker, is president of the Maine Association of Child Abuse Councils and executive director of the Cumberland County Child Abuse Council.