It's a government program first, last and always.
National Conference of State Legislatures: Child Welfare Project New Directions for Child Protective Services/Executive Summary - New Directions for Child Protective Services***State child protective services (CPS) agencies are charged with protecting children from abuse and neglect. CPS is widely viewed as a system in crisis. In many cases, CPS is not protecting children from abuse and is not supporting families that need help. Nationwide, most resources devoted to child protection are being used in an attempt to screen, investigate and substantiate the millions of abuse reports received by states each year, leaving few resources for services to troubled families. As a result, the CPS system is not addressing the conditions associated with child maltreatment, including poverty, single parenthood, substance abuse and social isolation. Most states respond to reports of child maltreatment with a standardized investigation, regardless of the severity of the alleged abuse. Accordingly, CPS is criticized for not being sufficiently proactive in some cases, and for being overzealous and intrusive in others. ***