Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Florida needs a bevy of Maxine Grays

Did you ever watch the TV show 'Judging Amy'? The mother of the title character is a social worker working for child protective services who will stop at nothing to, well, protect children.

It's a shame Maxine is a work of fiction.

Father of dead girl, poisoned boy held on $1 million bond: Twins allegedly abused; judge criticizes child welfare workers

When a tip said the twins were kept in a bathtub taped with duct tape, a case worker was sent out to investigate. The father and the twins were missing. The mother said she and her husband were separated and she didn't know where they were. Authorities believe she was covering for him. She got irritated when the case worker tried to interview the other two children in the home, and the case worker left. When asked why she didn't pursue the matter, she said it was 9 pm on a Friday.

A few days later the boy was found with some toxic substance on him that has burned part of his body and was so awful responders were overcome and had to be treated from the fumes. The father was nearby, doused in gasoline, but hadn't gone through his apparent intent to kill himself. Inside the truck was the body of the boy's twin sister.

To make it worse, these were not their biological children. They were adopted, which means these parents went through a vetting process. And then, when the children needed protection the most, they were let down by someone who decided it was too late at night before a weekend to pursue the matter further or at the very least, notify authorities.

Wasn't Florida the state that lost a child completely in its foster system a few years back?

I realise it's a difficult job, sometimes without a great deal of training and often low pay. I couldn't do it. But some in the field shouldn't be in social services either. Really, heads should roll over this one. The system truly failed these children.

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