Meyers v. Contra Costa County Department of Social Services, 812 F.2d 1154 (9th Cir.1987) held that a California social worker was absolutely immune from section 1983 liability for his actions in initiating dependency proceedings against a parent suspected of abusing his child. The court reasoned: Although child services workers do not initiate criminal proceedings, their responsibility for bringing dependency proceedings, and their responsibility to exercise independent judgment in determining when to bring such proceedings, is not very different from the responsibility of a criminal prosecutor. The social worker must make a quick decision based on perhaps incomplete information as to whether to commence investigations and initiate proceedings against parents who may have abused their children. The social worker's independence, like that of a prosecutor, would be compromised were the social worker constantly in fear that a mistake could result in a time-consuming and financially devastating civil suit. Id. at 1157.