According to Washington, D.C. mayor, Adrian Fenty, city social service workers had a “check off the box” mentality when it came to looking after four children who were murdered by their mother.
In a CNN report today, Fenty said that six employees will lose their jobs, following one of the most horrific cases of “social worker abuse” in the city.
The six employees who are being fired work for the District of Columbia’s Child and Family Services Agency. More workers could lose their jobs as an investigation continues, Fenty said.
The prevalence of neglect, abuse, and the murder of children supposedly being protected by city and state social workers should anger all of us. I can think of no other name for this crime than “social worker abuse.” By failing to perform their jobs, they are directly responsible for the mistreatment of innocent kids.
See our previous stories:
In Washington the “system” murders four more children.
Philadelphia DHS and 52 dead children.
All physical discipline of children is a form of abuse.
5 responses so far ↓
Suncana // January 15, 2008 at 1:49 am
Children Who Didn’t Have to Die
In recent years, there have been numerous stories in newspapers around the country about the failures of the departments of Family Services and Social Services to do their respective jobs of monitoring and assisting children in dangerous situations. These stories are a step in the right direction, but one wonders if perhaps they came too late. All the outrage in the world can’t resurrect a dead child.
Too many children have died as a result of wrong decisions by CPS. With power comes responsibility and accountability, which most officials ignore. A child welfare system so overwhelmed with children who don’t need to be in foster care,the less time they have to find children in real danger.
Let’s NOT allow these precious children’s death to be in vain – in the news one day, forgotten the next. Please be a voice for good, a voice for the voiceless, a voice for change.
Children Who Didn’t Have to Die – Website http://suncanaa.com/
Rebecca Burt // November 20, 2008 at 2:36 pm
I have been a Social Worker for many years. I have never been involved in a case where a child has been nin foster care who did not need to be in care. What I have seen and personally experienced is worker who are trying to provide oversight and services to 45-48 children when the recommended child to work ratio falls somewhere between 7-15 depending on the needs of the child and how high a risk the family situation is. I have seen poorly trained workers trying to deliver services without the necessary background or supervision. I have repeatedly seen people who knew or at least suspected a child was in danger or at risk and not report the situation. Social Workers are chronically over-worked, under-paid and unappreciated. It will take a better mind than mine to address and correct this state of affairs – but until that happens – we will have children that suffer, are harmed and even loose their lives. This a a problem with no easy answers.
Rake Morgan // November 20, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I think there is an “easy answer” — taxpayers need to fully fund services for children to ensure that social workers are fully trained, capably managed, and fully staffed for the number of children they are caring for.
That’s what needs to be done. The fact that we cut corners for such vital services is a disgraceful legacy for citizens and the community agencies that cannot make the case for better funding.
Amy Evans // December 12, 2008 at 1:38 am
I have been taking care of two kids that are being abused and mistreated and have been sexually molested in the past, i reacently calles the Division Of Family Servises on the family that had a convicted felon livin in the home and also had to call the cops to control the situtation. The Andrew County Sherriffs department said that the kids needed to be removed immediataly and made a hotline call so when the lady arriaved she talk to both kids they told them all the horrible things that were going on and the social worker told them that they were “braty teenagers” and that she would be back in 5 to 7 days. These poor kids are not being fed, they have no clothes, he won’t lwt them leave, he is a horrible man and we wonder why children end up dead. Social Workers should take more time and listen more to the kids. Thank you
lawdoll // February 16, 2009 at 10:19 pm
What needs to happen is the laws that govern CPS need to change, they should be held accountable for their wrong doings. They should not enjoy immunity when children die on their watch, they should be charged with murder when they so completely fail to do their job. Open the records up so that they can no longer hid behind confidentuality laws…because the only people those laws truly protect are the corrupt and out of control CPS workers.
Stop paying bonuses for children that they can “adopt out,” because that just gives them incentive to remove children from perfectly good homes and leave the ones that are being abused in their homes to die! No one wants to adopt the children that have been screwed up by being abused, they want the children that haven’t been and I believe that is why they take the children who do not need to be removed and leave the ones that do….What other reason could there be….
Stop paying people to adopt or foster children, because when there is money attached you never know if they are doing it for the right reason and not just the pay check. Children are dying in foster homes and adopted homes at an alarming rate. You cannot just give these people children, walk away and never check on them again. Make stricter laws for people who want to foster or adopt children. There is so much that they can be doing to stop this, but they don’t.
I almost feel like people view these children who die as an expected and acceptable number in the giant scheme of things. It is not acceptable for one child to die on CPS’s watch…let alone the hundreds that are!
Change the laws, open these cases up, have independent committees who handle complaints against these departments. CPS cases should not be civil cases, they should be handled as criminal cases with all of the oversite, rules of evidence, discovery, juries…the works. These are children and peoples lives we are talking about, to hand them to inexperienced, “overworked”, bias, social workers is a huge mistake and a complete defeat of what this country was built on. These case step on the very foundation of the rights that citizens of this county are supposed to be born with!
In our case, the social worker falsified records and forged my husbands signature, they came after us, all in an effort to shut us up because they failed to follow statutory law and investigate a report of abuse that we had made!
The social worker has now been arrested, and charged with Felony Obstruction of Justice, but no one will even admit what they did or hold the department accountable for their wrong doings, because it was not just the social worker who broke the law, the people over her are just as responsible for these failures, the same as in the above case. You can see evidence and read our story on my blogs, http://stopcorruptdss.wordpress.com or http://standupspeakup-leesa.blogspot.com
CPS is abusing their power, breaking the law, behaving unethically and much more, across this country. There are no checks and balances for these departments and when you give them absolute power without even the requirement of following the constitution, well then…what you get is a total break down of the system put into place to protect the people!