CPS Failed

Thanks a lot... I have been trying to avoid this story because it's on the news every day here where I live. These monsters unbelievable... there is no socially acceptable way to discuss it really. But the worst thing is that CPS had been called out so many times and still nothing was done. How did they get to adopt anyway?!!!

Oceanica, They were the kids foster family for 5 years apparently... The better question is why no case worker EVER noticed any signs in all the years they were foster parents? I know there are great foster parent and absolutely horrific foster parents. The difference has to be obvious... Kind regards,Dickons

[url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/02/18/gelles.florida.child.abuse/index.html?hpt=C2]Why did Fla. children slip through cracks? - CNN.com[/url] I think he missed the point that these kids lost their family (for whatever reason) and were fostered and then adopted...and his whole point is about how family preservation is the problem in Florida... Did I miss his point? D

I think his point is more that the system cannot be both a family perseverance unit AND a safety/removal unit at the same time. Regardless if it's an adoptive family or bio, the main goal of the state is to preserve that family as is, with little intervention. Yet, because it's also there to keep children safe and in a good environment, the 2 "philosophies" contradict each other. The author's point is that the cracks in the system occur due to this contradiction.

[url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/02/18/gelles.florida.child.abuse/index.html?hpt=C2]Why did Fla. children slip through cracks? - CNN.com[/url] from your link Dickons"Those who prefer minimal intervention were virulent in their criticisms when the Department of Children and Families responded to the last public tragedies -- the beating death of 6-year-old Kayla McKean and the disappearance of 4-year-old Rilya Wilson -- by increasing investigations and increasing the number of children placed into foster care.Neither Florida nor any other child protective system can have it both ways -- preserving families and assuring the safety of children. "

[url=http://familythenandnow.com/wall/kayla.html]Kayla's Story[/url]a link on Kayla[url=http://www.wesh.com/r/4292896/detail.html]Former Caregiver Charged With Murdering Rilya Wilson - Orlando News Story - WESH Orlando[/url]a link on Riyla

Legal - apparently I am being blind today as I didn't see anything about Kayla and Rilya... Crick - I do get the split contradictions but do not see how it would be right to do otherwise. Seems like they should be able to direct cases into two different tracks cases based on information past and present. I don't know but it seemed strange to highlight this case for his argument... D Thanks legal - posted at the same time apparently...

This is just absolutely horrifying, and the little boy is still in very serious condition. It's just appalling what the children went through. I read this morning that it was the testimony of the 7 year old that it was only the twins that suffered the abuse. Because of my training, I can understand child abuse (the reasons behind it...not saying I condone it!!!!), so when stories like this appear, and only one child or a few are targeted, it drives my curiosity crazy. Why these two little kids? Were they special needs? Were the parents (undoubtedly, from the result) not prepared for SNs? I always need to know "why", and I have a feeling we will never know that answer. There was a video this week on CNN, about a couple wrongly accused of child abuse. I very nearly threw my computer across the room. Yes, I agree it would suck to be wrongly accused, but the system is in place for a reason. The reporter just rubbed me the wrong way, and all I could think of was "woman, why don't you try talking to some kids who have been abused, who have no one but the system to speak up for them". :mad: [url]http://cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2011/02/17/exp.ac.kaye.shaken.baby.cnn[/url]

JCM, I see where you're coming from. But then, I think back to when DD was 8 months old (the age of the twins in the story you posted). She would have been very seriously affected to have been pulled from my home for weeks out of the blue. She has always been one of those kids with more than normal anxiety...once a trip to the eye doctor where she had to have her tear duct opened up sent her into a panic for literally over a year any time a stranger or someone she didn't see often tried to hold her (the eye doctor had taken her from me into the exam room to perform the simple two minute procedure). It was really hard to watch that, knowing the reason she was acting like that was because she had been taken away from me. And that was only for a few minutes. Obviously it is horrible any time a child is abused and the system misses it. But it's just as bad, IMO, when innocent parents have their children removed, because that is very traumatizing for their children. I can't imagine what I would go through if DD was removed from my home one day and taken to a stranger's home...or what she would go through for that matter. It's very justifiable to report on cases of children being pulled out of innocent homes. That's part of the system that needs to be fixed as well. It's easy to say that it's better to be safe than sorry when it's not your kid living with a stranger for weeks. (Not insinuating that's how you feel about the situation, just giving some thoughts).

I never indicated that reporting on false allegations was not okay. What irked me was the absolute incredulity of the reporter and the parents. The child suffered an injury that emergency workers see in abuse cases all the time. No doubt, it is traumatic for a child to be taken from their parents. I watched in agony as my own DD screamed her little head off at her one year well visit today, reaching for me over and over. :( What that reporter didn't do was make an attempt to show WHAT went wrong. All she did was prove that the system did work, because the emergency workers were quick to note that the injury the child sustained was something that fell under their understanding of abuse. I didn't mean to say I was knocking the parents for being traumatized. What I saw was sensationalism (the system is coming for good people's children!!), and crappy reporting.

I think it's hard for the reporter in this case to report what went wrong when she specifically asked the official in charge and his response was that he thought nothing should have been done differently. I do think the reporter had an agenda, but the city didn't do itself any favors by not being willing to look at themselves and look for ways things like this can be avoided. After all, think of all the resources that were wasted on this couple's case that could have been used to work on legitimate abuse cases. Besides avoiding unnecessary trauma for the kids that shouldn't have been pulled out of their homes, it's logistically in the city's favor to drop cases when it becomes obvious there was a mistake. Within two weeks after these girls were removed, a judge agreed with five doctors that there was no probable cause for abuse, yet it took three months and several court dates to get the girls back in their home. As a parent I'd have a tough time believing there were no steps in the process that could be improved, as the lead man on the case felt. My view on this particular subject is a little tainted, as I had a friend that was wrongly accused of a drug charge that led to his son being removed from his home. Fortunately CPS allowed the mother of the child (father, mother, and child all lived together) to keep the child if she agreed to move out of the house. Within a week the police dropped the drug charge based on evidence (another man had snuck into my friend's detached garage and started making meth), but it took months before my friend was allowed to live with his son again. In the meantime he was allowed weekly one hour visits. Meanwhile you know there are cases all over the city where children are left with families where abuse has been substantiated. It's just so hard on both ends...cases like the one in FL make us all look down on the workers involved (not that they don't need to be scrutinized) but on the other hands cases like the one you brought up have to be so difficult for caseworkers because what if they send a child home and it actually is abuse? I don't envy these workers, not one bit.

My sister used to be a SW, she lasted five years doing investigations, removals, etc. I could tell it took a toll on her mental health, because some of the stories she told were just....unbelievable, but true. :( How she lasted five years is beyond me.

I don't think I could last a month. I don't think I could ever feel like I could take a few days off, even on weekends. I think the horrible cases would haunt me every minute of every day.

Me either. I'd probably be in jail for assault within the first week. I cannot imagine how I would deal with the frustration and helplessness that comes with that job.

[url=http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/03/28/34162/]State To Seek Death Penalty In Barahona Case CBS Miami[/url] I cannot imagine how anyone could be this way. Kind regards,Dickons