CA - Joshua Tree parents arrested for keeping kids in a box for 4 years, Mar 2018 *Charges Dropped*

[CHICANA]

When people cannot handle their own affairs and provide for their children, the govt gets to step in.

Living in a garbage dump is horrifying when I see it in other countries, To say it is a lifestyle choice is absurd. It may be their lifestyle choice, but fortunately we have laws to intervene in lifestyle choice. For example, some people have the lifestyle choice of having scores of cats and dogs that they cannot take care of.

The public,becomes outraged about animals living in filth.This “home”for the children is not suitable for human habitation. It is not suitable for cat habitation.

I weep that the children have to grow up like this.

I really cannot believe that one person on here would live in that. Yet because they are poor, it is ok?

Then the Government steps in and pays strangers to take care of someone else's children instead of helping the real parents financially, which is what is best for the kids. Immigrants crossing the border get way more help than our poorest citizens and nobody wants them to be separated when they come here with nothing and can't provide for their children. A guy leaves his two year old on a river bank and people don't give him any blame when she falls in and drowns. With all the CPS failures, living in a dump with family that loved them might be preferable to being raped, abused or murdered by people that have no biological connection to you and were chosen by an inept and at times corrupt government bureaucracy. MOO

 

[CHICANA]

:facepalm: Seriously??!!

This is 2018 United States. Thankfully, there are standards for the environment children live in that are well above the “survival” and “no imminent danger” level of 100+ years ago and other countries currently. Gitana (attorney) posted the laws earlier on the thread.

Echoing flourish and adding on...LE has to make a judgement call about “imminent danger” and try to prevent something worse than the unsafe conditions that currently exist. How long is LE supposed to wait to see if the kids continue to “survive?” They don’t have the luxury of a wait-and-see attitude in this situation, especially when it is clear from his comment in court that the father doesn’t seem to understand what is wrong. The “grounds for removing them and charging the parents” are the protection of children!! Don’t we expect more from parents than “survival” of their kids? The 13 Turpin kids in Perris “survived” for years until rescued. How nice for them.
JMO

Maybe things have changed, but my understanding is the standard is "an imminent risk of serious physical harm or death" in order to remove a child. That said, they could have provided a safe place for the entire family to stay and given them services to prevent the trauma of family separation.

 

[CHICANA]

:facepalm: Seriously??!!

This is 2018 United States. Thankfully, there are standards for the environment children live in that are well above the “survival” and “no imminent danger” level of 100+ years ago and other countries currently. Gitana (attorney) posted the laws earlier on the thread.

Echoing flourish and adding on...LE has to make a judgement call about “imminent danger” and try to prevent something worse than the unsafe conditions that currently exist. How long is LE supposed to wait to see if the kids continue to “survive?” They don’t have the luxury of a wait-and-see attitude in this situation, especially when it is clear from his comment in court that the father doesn’t seem to understand what is wrong. The “grounds for removing them and charging the parents” are the protection of children!! Don’t we expect more from parents than “survival” of their kids? The 13 Turpin kids in Perris “survived” for years until rescued. How nice for them.
JMO

Maybe things have changed, but my understanding is the standard is "an imminent risk of serious physical harm or death" in order to remove a child. That said, they could have provided a safe place for the entire family to stay and given them services to prevent the trauma of family separation.

They still don't think there was anything wrong with the way they were living. I'm a little surprised they aren't back in the news a year later. Hopefully that's a good sign.

I didn't see that they didn't think anything was wrong with it, just that they didn't think they should have been separated from their children and charged with abuse because of it.

 

[MichelleBlue]

My problem with this story is that the media put misleading information in the headlines. The kids were not "kept in a box for 4 years" as the headlines would lead people to believe. Even the title of this thread is misleading. The parents were arrested for squalor living conditions. The family had been living in a self-made shack in the desert for 4 years surrounding by piles of garbage, including human and animal feces.

Hopefully the parents will get their act together & not see the charges being dropped as a way to accumulate squalor again. I imagine CPS will be involved for awhile to ensure the living conditions are to standard for the well being of the kids.

 

[MsFacetious]

I think they were quite fortunate actually, to have gotten the kids back so quickly and then have the case closed so fast. They were only separated for two months.

The children lived with family, not strangers. The case was closed within 9 months. They were gifted a home. I'd say they are pretty fortunate.

The comments from the parents simply don't give me the feeling that they understand that. That bothers me.