My husband and I have seen this sort of things first hand. We were foster parents for 5 years and were blessed with a beutiful healthy baby girl, straight from the hospital after her birth. The biomom never got to even hold her. WHY? Because she had served 5 years of a 10 year sentence (got out early for good behavior) for hurting not one but 2 of her sons. Both were only about 4 weeks when the abuse happened. One is now brain damaged, autistic, and blind. The other had both his arms and legs twisted so severely and never taken to doctor that he will never walk. Luckily, one of the biomom's family members called DCS when this woman was giving birth so that DCS stepped in and took the child. SHe had moved from IN where abuse happened to TN where she was paroled and no one in law enforcement knew if not for that call. Then our twins that we adopted also had a biomom who would tie pacifiers around the babies heads, and necks to keep the pacifiers in the babies mouths. SHe would leave them all alone in her apt while she would go out all night and party at a local club. She would put them down at 7pm and NEVER feed them again until 8 am in the morning. SHe would take them out and leave them in a hot car while she went in to party with friends. God was with them and they survived. This type of abuse happens more than we would like to acknowldge. The worst part about the twins, was the local family help center that was providing services for the biomom, with parenting classes trying to help this biomom get her twins back from foster care, had 10 pages full of complaints about what was observed and was potentially dangerous for the twins BEFORE the state would do anything for them. We are lucky they recieved no long term injuries.
Damn! I know it happens but I cannot understand. Each state should adopt a law: Serious abuse of a child merits immediate and non-revocable termination of parental rights.
Problem is, we have a history in this country of viewing the rights of the parents to retain the custody of their children and parent their kids as they wish, as constitutional. That historical outlook persists in shaping policy today. And, while the idea behind that policy makes sense, it also opens the door to continued abuse and death as the Courts, LE and DCFS departments struggle to find a way to keep families together. I am all for helping families stay together and helping certain parents who are frazzled, overwhelmed, uninformed, etc. But, it takes a special kind of evil to inflict the abuse you are speaking about.
Historically, children are viewed as the chattel of their parents, and that has shaped laws that are still on the books. Things need to change. We need to view little children as having at least as many rights as their parents to be healthy, happy and secure. Laws need to be stronger. For starters, the sentence a stranger would get for harming a child is the same sentence a parent should get for the same offense.
Also, I advocate mandatory parenting classes in high school and, among those who receive social services, for anyone whose children are deemed high risk by social services. That would include families in which there have been child abuse or neglect reports made, those in which one of the parents or siblings suffer mental illness or drug and/or alchohol addiction, families where there is a history of domestic violence, and for teen parents, etc.
Hawaii has a great program IIRC, where high-risk families who receive social services are monitored and provided additional services, such as parenting coaching where a worker goes to the house for six weeks and helps them learn to parent, psych. treatment, job assistance, and many other services. It has reduced the number of kids in foster care immensely. But, this kind of thing only targets the poor and we all know there is dysfunction among middle and upper class families as well.
Plus, I don't think anyone who would so seriously harm a baby as the cases we have discussed here could be helped by much. I may be wrong, but I view such people as evil predatory monsters who should be disposed of. I guess that's a hateful thing to say, but I just can't comprehend the evil it takes to harm a vulnerable, innocent, little baby.
:furious: :behindbar :woohoo: :bang:
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