Just over a year ago I was plagued with semi-regular visits from Child Protective Services due to what might have been a "concerned" parent overstepping her bounds, a prank, or a malicious attack on my family. Prior to this the only exposure that I had with DHS or foster-child activity was when I briefly taught in the public school system--one of my students was completely out-of-control and destructive, which I had just casually dismissed simply as mental/social impairment, for which I adjusted my teaching strategy for the most part to just keep the kid calm--sadly, 3 out of 5 days resulted in office referrals, but I honestly did everything I could to prevent that.
However, after MY experience with these narcissistic, scum-of-the-earth "social workers," my entire perception in retrospect to this child completely changed. If I'd really known firsthand his situation at the time, I might have acted with a little more sensitivity. I consider myself and my family very fortunate in light of the fact of either some miraculous foreknowledge of what was to come or simple instinct, certain things like the neatness of our house or doctor visits/filling prescriptions coincided with visits from social workers. By nothing short of sheer miracle such occurrences actually happened in our favor EVERY TIME. Many families who have to deal with these people aren't so lucky, and too often what happens to children who get tossed in the DHS "system" is absolutely horrible.
Just the other day I heard this story: DHS took a woman's (I assume single-parent) children and subsequently informed her that she must meet with her case worker. She was also told when her court hearing would be (some don't even get that much, so she was lucky). The lady, unfortunately, was forced to miss her court hearing, conveniently enough. Reason? She was in jail for punching the case worker!! !
So sure, it's quite possible she's a nut and the children are better off. But then again, what inspired such emotion that this woman would act in such a violent way? Could it be that the caseworker approached her with such a blatant, insensitive, arrogant, holier-than-thou attitude that the woman in question was driven to a momentary lapse of reason? I'm only speculating here, but I don't know how else to make sense of it--assuming, of course, that she is an ordinarily decent, responsible citizen, also something I don't know.
And then THIS story comes out in a major Mississippi newspaper (ClarionLedger):
Quote:
Under a judge's order, the Mississippi Department of Human Services must pay $500,000 for failing to protect a child who said he was sexually abused while in DHS custody.
Here's a link to the article itself:
DHS must pay $500k in civil suit...
This is just too much. I have to wonder for all the half-a-million-dollar cases that make it through court how many more children and teenagers are having to endure this kind of Hell on Earth. I mean, sure, it's POSSIBLE that foster care is preferable to the conditions they are pulled from. But it seems this is less often the case.
From a legal/political perspective, as well as moral/philosophical viewpoint, what do you think about all this?
01 Jun 2010, 1:26 pm
