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BLAME FOR DEAD KIDS PUT AT LA COUNTY SUPERVISORS' FEET
Published On 08-02-2009 , 8:39 AM
NOT much different about this column. The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services - I've written unfavorably about them before. Inept social workers - they usually share the spotlight with their employer. Dysfunctional families - they seem to always be whom the department preys upon. A dead child - there is always one who is said to have slipped through the crack. And known for their staring role - The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors demanding an investigation.
"My nephew didn't deserve this," said the tearful aunt of our latest child death victim as she blinked into the network news cameras from a location somewhere in South Los Angeles.
But there is no 6-year-old, whether living in South L.A. or living in Pacific Palisades, who should, under the eyes of those employed and elected to protect them, be continually abused and in the final analysis be beaten to death.
We need a new twist to these disturbing child deaths. We need a new turn in the road. Where do we look for change? Who can we turn to?
If we expect our troubled families to rise to this occasion, we're knocking on the wrong door. Too many families are without the necessary tools to better their lives and the lives of the children they are supposed to be responsible for.
Problem families are, in fact, the reason the Department of Children and Family Services exists. They are supposed to be here to act in the best interest of the child and to deliver services to families that will help to insure the safety and well being of children.
The level of excellence that this department should be required to deliver is in the hands of our county Board of Supervisors. This being the case, every child who dies, that a social worker's report says was not living in a dangerous situation, is really a death at the hands of the officials we elected.
While I claim this column is like all the others I have written about children who were killed and who, in some way, were connected with DCFS, the story differs in a big way because little Dae'von Bailey, who was beaten to death allegedly by his mother's ex-boyfriend, complained to social workers and to authorities at his school about the abuse.
This little boy did what we tell our children to do and, yet, nobody saved him. The school did their job and reported the incidents but in late June, just weeks before his murder, social workers determined the charge was unfounded.
Why won't the Board of Supervisors stop killing children? Would they see the murders differently if all the dead kids came from homes in the Palisades?
We need a new turn in the road and it isn't families, social workers or DCFS that ought to be garnering our attention. Instead there first needs to be a stop to the over-used rhetoric the county supervisors always spout about investigations and new policies.
This time, we hear from county board's newest supervisor, Mark Ridley-Thomas, who wants to know, "Who stepped forward to save this child?"
And of course he goes on, as one of them always will, to call for an appointment of an independent investigator charged with reviewing all the details and uncovering the system breakdown.
After stopping this nonsense, as members of the public, we need to stop talking amongst ourselves about how shameful these deaths are, and instead we need to flood the supervisors' telephone lines and e-mail accounts with messages demanding change, excellence and accountability.
Think about it: It's our tax dollars that pay to keep this murderous system running.
This blog can be found in our column section where you can print a copy or e-mail to someone
http://talkaboutparenting.org/pages/articles.php
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Comment
| | 1. | Thank you! This is something that deeply troubles me and it needs to be kept in the forefront of serious problems in the county and probably in the country as a whole. I have written letters to the newspaper asking where is the outrage at these unspeakable abuses. I wrote Supervisor Antonovich following the last reported death. It's appalling and unacceptable. He had one of his staff call in response to my strongly worded e-mail. They have no solutions, not wanting to blame the ineptness of the DCFS, but lamenting that unfortunately there are evil people in the world and that the supervisor also thinks this situation is appalling. Well, yes, but this latest death could have been prevented if there was indeed a serious follow-up of the child's complaints of abuse, evil people or not.
I am against abortion, but I will not associate with those who call themselves pro-lifers for that is not what they are. They are pro-birthers because once a child is born, they don't seem to give a fig if that child is then abused or even dies at the hands of the people in whose care they are placed. Where is their outrage? Instead of protesting in front of planned parenthood clinics or criticizing others for their lack of family values, why aren't they vigorously trying to make sure there is better oversight and care regarding the welfare of unwanted and abused children? Their arguments ring hollow with me. Pro-lifers indeed.
- by Phyllis, 08-02-2009, 9:23 AM
| | 2. | I've done these cases of wrongful death against the DCFS. As you said, these scenarios recur over, and over, and over, and lawsuits are filed and eventually settled, and blue ribbon commissions and inspectors general are appointed, and DCS directors and social workers are fired and hired, and nothing ever changes. The key to understanding all of this is, you have to disabuse yourself of the notion that the purpose of the DCS is to protect children. The purpose of the DCFS is to extract revenue for the county, both budgetary and under-the-table, in the form of federal money from the Administration for Children and Families. The whole system, from top to bottom, is about money. You reporters should always Follow The Money. This is why it is all secret %28the secrecy laws are passed by stupid legislators who are told that more secrecy will Protect the Children. Here is how you clean it up: Repeal Welfare & Institutions Code Section 827 and make the entire system public. Open up all the records, and all the courtrooms. Then you will see the crooks run like so many insects when you kick over a rock.
- by Lawyer, 00-00-0000, 12:00 AM
| | 3. | A child is everyones responsibility. Children that are continuously being abused are neglected by everyone in its' life. Anyone that knows that it is going on and doesn't do something to remove a child from the situation is just as guilty as the person that is physically abusing the child. How can we expect a paid employee to do what people who know and love the child won't do?
- by medi %28Donna%29 Tate, 00-00-0000, 12:00 AM
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