One of the saddest stories I hear at 12-step meetings is about Child Protective Services (CPS) taking an addict's children.
And usually the mother telling the story presents herself pretty much in the role of the victim. She usually is crying when telling the story and often does elicit some sympathy from others in the room.
When it comes to my opinion, I always share that I believe that when CPS takes children from parents it's because they believe it's in the best interests of the children. After all, how many children are abused - or even die - because of the lack of care by addict parents. And I don't believe the CPS has time or resources to care for more children than than they currently are responsible for.
My counsel is that a parent should look at the short term loss of her children as a blessing. If she can't take care of the children, who will? If she doesn't have family members or the father to care for them, then a CPS foster home is the only logical solution.
Sometimes losing children to CPS is the one thing that shocks a mother into getting into a treatment program, finding and job and renting an apartment or home for her children.
Life in the drug world comes with its perils and the loss of everything we treasure is is sometimes what it takes to make us change.
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