I am absolutely certain that DoCS do have the childs best interest in mind, and given how much slips through the cracks, this must have been a pretty severe case of suspected abuse for them to remove the children.

...and DoCS are going to stand by their decisions to protect the child...
I know it's a little different, but when I was a teenager (17 years old in fact), I left home (for various reasons) and my aunties and uncles immediately reported my mother to DoCS for child abuse (I still had a little brother at home) ... they said she was a witch and into black magic and that she spent all of her money on supplies for this practice and deprived her children of the basic necessities (such as food) Back in those days, the single parent pension wasn't a lot and she did have a mortgage and a car loan to repay, but she never deprived us of food, shelter or love!

BUT because my psycho relo's signed stat decs (and even had me sign stuff that I didn't even know what it was!) DoCS were able to drop into my mother's house unexpectedly to check up on her, they were able to visit my brother at school without my mother's knowledge and when my relo's KIDNAPPED my brother, DoCS even started assisting them with a custody battle against my mother!

SO DoCS DO NOT always have the child's best interest at heart because, in my case, they were willing to believe my relo's UNFOUNDED allegations and didn't even care to hear my mum's side of the case. She ended up having to sell her house and car and it very nearly ruined her psychologically and emotionally ... DoCS are always willing to believe the worst about a person, IMO.

I apologise if I sound one-sided, but having been through DoCS's rigmarole personally, I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them. And my reasons, although personal, for leaving home had absolutely NOTHING to do with abuse or neglect.

ETA: I choose not to vaccinate ... will they be after me next??