Child abuse cases still need better followup

Child abuse cases still need better followup

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/op...-9162190c.html

Published Friday, August 24th, 2007

No government office is perfect, but cracks at the state Department of
Social and Health Services should be cemented shut before any more
children fall through.

Yet again there has been a case of a battered child being returned to
the people accused of abusing him, and again it turned out to be a
horrible mistake.

This time, it is a 12-year-old Puyallup boy who, despite numerous
complaints the boy was being abused, was returned to live in an outdoor
travel trailer at the home where the beatings allegedly occurred. The
boy's grandfather and his grandfather's wife since have been charged
with child assault.

Pierce County sheriff's detectives have criticized the way the state
Department of Social and Health Services handled the case. DSHS
officials have said the employees involved will be disciplined.

That's not much comfort.

Children are too precious and too vulnerable for DSHS workers to make
such errors in judgment.

Remember little Rafael Gomez of Ephrata? He was the toddler who
repeatedly was returned to his biological family. Time and again he
would end up in the emergency room, and time and again the same foster
family would nurse him back to health.

His foster mother begged state officials not to return him to his
biological parents. There was documentation of his numerous injuries,
yet her pleas were ignored.

Rafael died in September 2003, after another trip to the emergency room.
His biological mother, Maribel Gomez, was subsequently sentenced to 27
years in prison for the death of the toddler, who had suffered broken
bones, skull fractures, burns and bruises while in her care.

The social worker assigned to the case was allowed to continue at DSHS,
though no longer assigned child welfare cases, according to The
Associated Press.

This past May, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the Rafael Gomez Act, which
calls for detailed court documentation, including past injuries, when
the state recommends a child be returned home.

But laws named after abused and neglected children don't mean anything
if DSHS workers don't follow their own policies.

Admittedly, state child protective workers don't have an easy job. There
were an estimated 36,000 reports of abuse or neglect involving more than
54,000 children statewide in 2005, the most recent year for which data
is available.

That's a lot of cases, and no one doubts the heavy load child welfare
workers must carry. Many of the kids in the state system receive the
help they need because of dedicated professionals.

But it's not good enough to be mostly right, not when being wrong means
returning a child to his torturers.

The horror stories of burns, beatings, stabbings and starvation do more
than tear our hearts; they're proof that DSHS still has problems.

Fixes are needed immediately, before any more children are harmed by the
system that's supposed to protect them.


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 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...