If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Why are the steps of the state capitol not filled with angry mothersand fathers demanding accountability by the Legislature, the governor andthe leaders of the state Department of Social and Health Services?
State needs to wake up on child abuse
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/193443.html Published August 18, 2007 Where is the public's outrage? Why are the steps of the state capitol not filled with angry mothers and fathers demanding accountability by the Legislature, the governor and the leaders of the state Department of Social and Health Services? Have we allowed ourselves to become numb to yet another report of a child in state custody who has been tortured or sexually assaulted? These are our children. These are the children of Gov. Chris Gregoire and DSHS Secretary Robin Arnold-Williams and of Cheryl Stephani, the director of Children's Administration. These precious children belong to all of us because they are in "protective care" of the state of Washington. And we owe them a life free of torture, neglect and abuse. Lack of accountability Recent headlines should have every Washington resident outraged at the lack of accountability in this state's child welfare system: • Pierce County prosecutors have charged a South Hill couple with abuse of their 12-year-old grandson. The boy's injuries and school absences led to reports to Child Protective Services, which resulted in little action. The boy has told police the bottom of his feet were beaten with bamboo sticks until he could not walk. His chin was split open when his head was slammed onto the kitchen floor. He was scratched with a fork, then vinegar was poured into the open wounds. He was scalded with hot water and was choked to the point where he nearly passed out. That's torture and the state sat quietly on the sidelines. • A 53-year-old Redmond man was sentenced to four years in prison last week for sexually abusing his foster daughter. The 20-year-old victim says she has flashbacks of sexual and physical abuse. Two other foster daughters say they were abused and humiliated by Enrique Fabregas too. A $45 million suit against DSHS has been filed. • Tacoma area resident Chornice Lewis, 33, is awaiting trial on charges of assault, including torture, of her 16-year-old foster daughter. According to state records the child was beaten, burned, locked in a storage closet and car trunk and partially blinded with hypodermic needles. It took the state 10 years to decide that Lewis was not a fit foster parent. These are just the worst of the recent problems. They come on top of seven deaths of children between 2003 and 2005 that Children's Administration possibly could have prevented. Where's the public outrage? Need more time What we hear from the governor and her managers at DSHS is that they need time to put new programs and systems in place. Sorry, kids are being tortured, sexually violated, and in the worst cases, killed. They don't have the luxury of time. In a column on this page Saturday, state Sen. Val Stevens, R-Arlington, called for Children's Administration to be pulled out of DSHS and formed into a separate agency directly accountable to the governor. As Stevens said, "The truth is, Gov. Gregoire's programs will never work, because .... the real problem is an entrenched good-old-buddy network inside the Children's Administration and DSHS. CPS workers told us that their training is second-rate — they need more help in recognizing and confronting child abuse. They described an atmosphere of chronic disrespect for their abilities, intimidation by power, and a workplace where morale is abysmal, creating a revolving-door employee turnover. This situation will not change by adding a new program." Train caseworkers Stevens is right. Children's Administration must be dismantled, new managers hired, CPS caseworkers trained and agency employees and managers held accountable for their errors in judgment. It is, as Sen. Stevens says, time to "end this nightmare for kids." Will South Sound lawmakers — Sens. Karen Fraser, Marilyn Rasmussen, Dan Swecker and Tim Sheldon and Reps. Brendan Williams, Sam Hunt, Tom Campbell, Jim McCune, Gary Alexander, Richard DeBolt, Kathy Haigh and Bill Eickmeyer — be part of that solution or perpetuate the status quo? After all, these are their kids too. CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA WIRETAPPING PROGRAM.... CPS Does not protect children... It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even killed at the hands of Child Protective Services. every parent should read this .pdf from connecticut dcf watch... http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US These numbers come from The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN) Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS *Perpetrators of Maltreatment* Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59 Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13 Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241 Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12 Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5 CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON... BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION... |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
With the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), it'salways more. More dead children. More excuses. More bureaucracy. | fx | Spanking | 1 | July 5th 07 10:46 AM |
With the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), it'salways more. More dead children. More excuses. More bureaucracy. | fx | Foster Parents | 1 | July 5th 07 10:46 AM |
Grandmother protests moving boy out of state: A half-dozen protesterssat outside Department of Health and Human Services... | fx | Spanking | 7 | June 30th 07 06:37 PM |
Grandmother protests moving boy out of state: A half-dozen protesterssat outside Department of Health and Human Services... | fx | Foster Parents | 7 | June 30th 07 06:37 PM |
Jury awards abused kids $6.2 million State (Department of Socialand Health Services) found negligent in case... | fx | Foster Parents | 1 | June 10th 07 09:02 PM |