Venting

I know I'm scheduled to update my DBT distress tolerance skills but I had a meeting today with Child Protective Services and I feel the need to vent. I honestly don't get their purpose - or at least not in my particular situation.

It would take me forever to detail everything so I won't. A lot of things happened to get to this point but let's just say that my 15 year old daughter is living at her dad's house ever since she was released from a mental health unit in the hospital. Ever since she was released from hospital, she has gone downhill. My ex is an extremely bitter man and isn't happy unless he is miserable. He blames all his miserableness on me. Everything that has ever gone wrong in his life is my fault. And he has never been able to keep his mouth shut, even around the kids - especially around the kids. And now my daughter is with this cesspool of shit 24/7.  He even openly admits that mental illness is an excuse and doesn't really exist. He has no knowledge of her self-soothing skills and therefore can't help her with them.

So on to this meeting I had today. CPS keeps insisting that they are not considering removing the girl from her dad's house. So I delved into my DBT skills and used the radical acceptance one. I told the caseworker that even though I don't like the situation, I accept it as it is. I continue to ask my questions that I prepared. The answers weren't really what I wanted to hear but they were what I expected, more or less. What really has me confused or pissed or a combination of the 2, is that my ex can say anything that he wants to our daughter without repercussions but I'm not allowed to have any communication with her.  tells her out-right lies about me and there are ZERO consequences. When I clarify the "lies" to her, I get blamed for harassing her. And of course, he shares that with CPS. Caseworker suggests I write her a letter. I said that I had contemplated that but dismissed it for fear of getting shit on for it in one way or another. She says that the letter should be OK depending on what it says. So to get a letter to her, I have to bring it to the CPS office and get them to read it first to approve it. They said then that they will forward it to her.

I saw my daughter last week at another CPS meeting. She looked horrible - she was so pasty pale, almost gray. Her face was broke out the worst I've ever seen it. She has packed on about 50 pounds. She isn't singing anymore, she isn't playing guitar anymore, she didn't register for her music exam, she isn't performing, auditioning, acting, nothing. She isn't even going to school if she doesn't feel like it. And she never comes out of her room.

AND CPS thinks that she is doing just fine.

So enough venting for now. I feel better now. Thanks for listening.
Oh and if you have any suggestions on how to deal with this situation, please let me know. I'm thinking of writing regularly to my MLA and the minister of human services until something actually happens. I also have a lawyer working on this for me too. And I have a reporter waiting to receive my situation summary.

That's all for now...........