I couldn't even read this in one go. It's like someone pulls your heart out, and in this case, it is true. What an absolute horror story. And that woman (if that's the word), that one would go on my to do list...'As long as I don't tell my boss that I don't do anything because the house is clean?' WTF?? So what was she telling them? That she was working her butt off all day? There's a special place for people like that...I can't even begin to say I'm sorry that this happened, because it should have never happened. And you are right: those 'helpers' are not there to help. The one they assigned to me (she's not a housekeeper, but a family care worker) was compulsory too. I had no say in it. The woman is not a complete monster luckily, and keeps saying that she really doesn't know why she has to come here. Part of me wants to believe it (because I know it's true) and a larger part feels that this is their tactic to try and win you over so you trust them with things. She comes here (and I have to say she always calls me ahead of time, sometimes only half an hour, but at least she has the courtesy to do so, unlike the CPS worker...)has a chat with me for about 10 minutes...about nothing really (she does inform me of plans of the CPS worker to drop in) then asks the kids how things are going with their 'school work' and then ALWAYS goes to the toilet before she leaves. I know for a fact that it's her way of checking if my toilet is clean. The thing is, the house can be in chaos with toys and books flying around, but there are three rooms in the house that are always sparkly clean: my kitchen, bathroom and the toilet...So her attempt to catch me with a dirty toilet is always in vain. Today, I got a phone call from the CPS worker, I am seeing her tomorrow (the first time she tells me ahead of time) and she has a X-mas present for us...what it is, I can't even begin to put into words. But it's sickening and it really got me thinking...they are not letting lose, not one bit. They have nothing better to do than bother families who want nothing but the best for their children so in order to keep themselves in a job, they keep doing what they do best....