Last year, about a month after our youngest was born, if workers came in and judged our home based on a "snapshot," we might not have fared well.
We bought a huge home that was built in 1900, converted to apartments that became flophouse, and was in the process of being converted back to a house when the newest owners lost it to the bank. You will find that when four bathrooms were removed, the plumbing was capped and not removed, creating a slow and steady drip. (health violation. We're on it!) Of the four remaining bathrooms, only one had both enough water pressure to make a flush (see plumbing issue) and a sink to wash your hands. Prior to foreclosure, the last owners took two of the bathroom sinks.
The odd bug shows up upstairs where some really nasty apartments must have been. I'm not into pesticides but am slowly killing things off with diatomaceous earth. If workers came by they might have found a roach dining on cat or dog food.
Our dog happens to be a pit bull. We all know how worked up people get when they don't know anything about the true nature of a dog but make assumptions based on the size of the dog's head.
For a couple weeks after the baby was born, I could not vacuum. All the guests who came to stay with us to "help" were not into this chore. Two weeks without vacuuming a house with 7 carpeted rooms and two carpeted staircases right at the start of flea season.... Our son, who was two at the time, got a handful or flea bites before I got it all under control. Workers might have seen this.
Our two-year-old son had just learned to open the back door. The first time he did this, the baby decided to nurse at tha very moment. It was 20 minutes before I realized he was standing on the back porch. We use cloth diapers and when it is hot i don't put shirts on kids. Workers would have come by to see a two-year-old on the back porch wearing nothing but a (cute) diaper.
We co-sleep. Workers would have found only one toddler bed and a crib piled with stuff because we don't use it.
I was suffering from severe post-partum depression. I fought every day for months with urges to kill myself. Was I brushing my hair? Was I getting any help and support from mental health services? Nope. We aren't "low income," and unless I drove two hours to the nearest non-government mental health clinic there was no way for me to get help. I would have looked pretty grim if workers came by. I would have appreciated tan intervention and did not know where to go on my own.
My point is, that sometimes facts don't always reflect what goes on from day-to-day. These people were average, middle class folks who got in over their heads. If DFS is involved, it might be the best thing for them to get help that they need.