I can't remember where, but I did read that they did do home visits. Looking at the past photos of him, that child was the picture of health and happiness until the horrible abuse began. I don't think she was "homeless" for long before the baby disappeared.
And even then he wasn't "homeless on the streets" he was at friend's houses, in hotels, etc. She was living "out of her car" not IN her car - which means all her belongings were stored in her car and she lived temporarily with different friends/hotels.
There was a guy on the radio today who works for a company with rental properties in lower middle class areas of this town - and he said he sees kids in complete squalor all day every day. Thousands of them. But one time he went to a home and they had two big dogs on leashes that were about a foot and a half long, staked in the yard, and after his call Animal Control was there to remove the dogs for abuse within an hour and a half. Boy, wouldn't that be nice if CPS had that power.
The thing is, there are a LOT of kids in imperfect situations where they are subject to a less than admirable home life. But seeing the child we all saw in those earlier pictures, an investigator would be hard pressed to find criminal abuse. He looked great, perfect weight, light in his eyes and bounce in his step.
What could have been done, that would have ended all this is if the cousin or grandparents had taken that child to his pediatrician with the horrific injuries they photographed. In my experience, pediatricians are QUICK to act and they can be invaluable advocates for the child. Pediatricians don't have to hem and haw and beg for help from CPS - they can sign orders that the child not be released to the parents, but to foster care, while the investigation is being done.
