You know what bothered me about that article on the four social workers facing criminal charges over the death of a child whose safety they were responsible for monitoring? That the two supervisors were written up as being big in their churches. It's been my very bad experience that the very religious, church-types turn a blind eye to behaviors that tell you something bad is happening because they believe that God made families, families need to be together, blah-blah-blah. It's the same kind of blind idiocy that lets them allow and even defend child molesters and killers in their own organizations, but insists that every pregnancy be carried to term while you punish the mother for getting pregnant.
The other thing that bothers me, is this social worker organization a contracted private organization or is it really a state organization, manned by state employees? The difference is, we have so many church or faith-based private organizations vying for government dollars -- promoted by former President G.W. Bush as being "more economical" than government-run agencies. So minimal standards are set and the money is paid with little government oversight. These private companies have their own agenda and it's not necessarily about protecting the children or families; it's about getting as many cases as they can so they can pull in the money and submit the paperwork that meets the minimum criteria.
We've had some truly hideous cases come through our court here. The eight-year-old who was removed from his insanely abusive mother and siblings, placed (per state-legislated criteria that you have to look for placement within a dysfunctional family rather than finding someone sane first) with another relative, who then promptly stuck the kid back with the mother he'd been removed from because the relative couldn't be bothered to find a babysitter while she worked. The 13-year-old abusive sibling strangled the eight-year-old over an old cupcake the kid ate because he was hungry. The 13-year-old killed his younger half-brother because the cupcake was his mom's "treat" to herself and she'd beat the 13-year-old if it was gone. Yep. Right here in Orlando. And the relative was NEVER charged. The 13-year-old was, but not the mom and not the relative who violated the protection order by putting the child back in harm's way.
And that's just one instance of the craziness. I'm still a strong proponent of the government handing out all available contraceptive means, providing free abortions and totally chopping out welfare payments after two years to non-working parents and repossessing any children for adoption by non-relatives if the parent can't get it together. When every child is planned, it will be a wanted and provided for child. We won't see children used as two-legged paychecks for freaks who breed and pass the kids around like a coupon for free government money. A box of condoms or a $300 to $500 abortion is a damned sight more economical to society and our government than 18 years of counseling, welfare, food stamps, subsidized housing, legal assistance, foster care, Medicaid or independent living expenses if the kids age out of foster care.
If our government leaders were serious about reducing crime, poverty, government spending, child abuse, they'd hand over the medical provisions and acknowledge that being a parent is either totally the individual's choice and therefore an individual's responsibility and will automatically result in criminal charges against parents who expose their offspring to abuse, or they'd say being a parent is not a choice and the government is picking up the tab for all the unwanted, unprovided for children the current paternalistic legislation promotes. Instead, we have these half-measures. On the one hand, access to contraceptives and abortion are being made inaccessible to the neediest people among us. But on the other hand, the government is handing out money hand-over-fist for children with little hope of ever being productive, contributing, taxpaying citizens.
I say, pick one. Either end the mindless production of children for a social work and prison industry, or admit and accept it's okay that the taxpayer foots the bill for religious-based irrational policies and pays for it with the blood of unplanned, unwelcome children.
Florida Cracker
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