yes, lots of parents do fear cps.....cause cps does have the power to take the children away.....but they cannot do it for no reason...parents who say that are ones that minimize their issues because they dont want to take responsibilities for their actions....while cps can immediately take your child away, they have to go to court and demonstrate to a judge their reasons for doing so within a day or two. if the judge doesnt feel their reasons are valid, they have to return the children. the things you have listed do sound neglectful, whether it is enough to have the children taken away, i doubt it. in my area i think it would qualify as a differential response call. that is a lower level call where they send a worker out to assist mom in providing resources to address the stressors going on in life to address the different issues that necessitated the call. so counseling would be recommended, resources for insurance, all the things that you have been trying to assist her with. parenting classes would be recommended. i can imagine her frustration in buying her son glasses that he just breaks. there is a site online, zennioptical.com. they have glasses starting at 6.95. she wouldnt be investing too much to lose buying them there. she can buy as many as she wanted for one low shipping cost of 4.95. so for the cost of replacing one pair she could get him six or seven. i am not praising cps though. i have seen them do some pretty jacked up stuff once they get kids. it is hard to get them back. she does not need to know it is you that called. you did what is right. the welfare of the children is always the first priority. even if you are unsure if it is abuse or neglect, cps will sort that out. you made a good decision. dont fret about it. take care.