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DCFS doublespeak endangers Utah's children: Try to imagine the traumafor a young child. He's suddenly taken from everyone he knows and loves bythe state child protection agency.
DCFS doublespeak endangers Utah's children By Richard Wexler Article Last Updated: 09/22/2007 01:08:48 PM MDT http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_6971299 Try to imagine the trauma for a young child. He's suddenly taken from everyone he knows and loves by the state child protection agency. Perhaps that was necessary, perhaps not; either way, for a young child it can be an experience akin to a kidnapping. First the child is institutionalized, his “care” in the hands of rotating shift staff. Then the child is uprooted again to spend a couple of weeks with total strangers. All the while, waiting in the wings, is someone ready to comfort this child and cushion the blow of substitute ca grandma. But grandma is denied custody for weeks on end. When a willing grandparent comes forward in such cases, 49 states avoid needless delay. One state keeps the child waiting for weeks: Utah. And now, rather than simply admit they made a huge mistake, Utah officials have resorted to scare tactics. At issue is the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act. This federal law added a time-consuming extra layer of background checks for all prospective foster parents, including relatives. States already were required to do lots of background checking before making placements. So the federal government said that, rather than force children to languish for weeks in institutions, states could place children with relatives while these extra checks are completed. But Utah jumped the gun and changed state law to prohibit such Advertisement placements. We know of no other state which did that, and neither does the Utah Division of Child and Family Services. DCFS director Duane Betournay has admitted this was a mistake, and said he would ask the Legislature to undo the error. But when pressed to act immediately instead of waiting until next year, Betournay and his boss, Executive Director of Human Services Lisa-Michele Church, contradicted themselves and started claiming the extra checks are needed to keep children safe. That is not true. In fact, it is the delays that endanger children's well-being and even their safety. Every decision in child welfare involves balancing risks. Placing a child with grandma before new checks are completed creates a slim chance something might be overlooked. Sadly, that risk has been exaggerated in the minds of some by widespread prejudice against extended families. That bias may explain why Utah uses kinship care at one of the lowest rates in the nation. But research shows that kinship placements are not just more stable and better for children's well-being, they also are, on average, safer than what should properly be called “stranger care.” Indeed, several studies have found alarming levels of abuse of children in foster homes with strangers and in institutions, rates of abuse far higher than reflected in official figures that involve agencies investigating themselves. Furthermore, no matter how well-meaning the staff may be and how hard they try, institutionalization for weeks at a time can devastate young children emotionally. And it is emotional harm that often is the most crippling of all. So while DCFS keeps children in limbo for weeks because of the tiny chance a child might be harmed by grandma, hundreds of children are definitely harmed by their needless confinement to shelters. DCFS' response to its blunder is contradictory. Officials admit they delay placements only because they misunderstood the law. Then they turn around and claim they're doing it to keep children safe. George Orwell had a term for that: doublespeak. It's time to stop the doublespeak, put the children first and let Utah's grandparents take care of their grandchildren as soon as they step forward. --- * RICHARD WEXLER is executive director of the nonprofit National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation Richard Wexler DCFS: Wrong 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 Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per 100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a bunch of social workers. CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS 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... |
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