Posted on 01/19/2005 9:51:40 AM PST by Mo1

oops.....I had this probably with here long before = I had this PROBLEM with HER long before
Hmmmmmm... then it's some sorta conspiracy!
it's definitely sumpin....... : )
I got assigned a new foster care case today. Those are legal, logistic and bureaucratic nightmares. Anybody who thinks Child Protective Services is out trolling for people's kids, obviously hasn't a clue how much work actually goes into a foster care case and how very difficult it can be.
Yowza.
i wonder sometimes, though, does it depend on which agency you work at? and in what state? i surely think it must be hard to deal with those cases....on all, the children especially sometimes.
we got assigned a criminal case today...this guy hit a woman in the head with a hammer in front of her 3 year old...she was a store shop owner...he was needing money to pay his bills. sheesh...
Well, it may depend somewhat on the state, as well as on quantity of staff and resources. We have a painfully short supply of both. That makes it much worse. Every worker is doing the work of at least 2, and possibly 3 people, literally, and there is no shortage of people complaining that things aren't getting done. Then, there is the foster home shortage, and not only are we not getting any new foster parents trained, despite the fact that many apply, but we have the licensing people nitpicking on the few we do have. We have had at least 3, that I know of, shut down in the past few months, and at least one more, one of the best I might add, is going down this summer. But, the kids keep coming. Then, just when I think that it must just be our county, I will inherit a case from another county and discover that they are in more disarray than we are.
From my limited observations of the DSS matter at my law firm, it is my uneducated opinion that what you said is going on here. The nit-picking has come to my attention over the past couple of months....both cases the children, who have learned the system, manipulated the events to nit pick....one case later proved to be so...the other is on-going now. It's a real shame.
in the one case, which was proven false....our law guardian child was not the one who made up falsehoods but he was removed....he wants to go back; the foster mom wants him back, now that she's been cleared, but DSS wouldn't allow any of the kids back...she's very angry. Our Ward had been with her for a couple years and she loves him as a mother.
The other case is similar, so far.
The problem is that you have the professional bureaucrats, who never actually SEE the families, the children, the foster parents or the conditions we work under, making important decisions that effect all parties involved, and often these are life changing, and even life threatening, decisions. That's what happens when government thinks it can make better decisions about raising children than the people that actually work with the children.
It really is stressful and heartbreaking at times, I'm sure. I don't know how you do it, sl.
By the grace of God and the hope that once in awhile I can make a difference.
that's pretty close to what the second case is about....from the foster parent's perspectives.
The boy went ballistic one day, I guess. It appeared that he was going to go after the foster mother, so the foster dad bear-hugged him, restraining the boy. However, the child showed up at school and said they beat him and when he arrived, he had scratches on him (I don't know where).
The foster mom said those were self-inflicted. They did not even hit him, much less scratch him. As far as I am aware at this point, there have been no other complaints about this mom. Her foster daughter, our Ward, wants to go back. She was placed in a group home of some sort.
Of course, an investigation is warranted; but I tend to believe this mom, as the boy apparently is a greatly disturbed child.
That is not to say I would believe every foster parent's story over a child's.
Tilt your head to the left. : eyes 0 big nose ) smile
Think, W. C. Fields
Heh. After I got one (ONE) spanking by my dad, the mere threat of "the belt" resulted in an immediate improvement in my behavior.
Funny how that works, ain't it?
It is funny. Empty threats don't work, but a follow-through works miracles.
I thought you were "under the weather"???
I'm very sure you will, sl....it's a tough road; He put you on it for a reason, I'm sure. There is a reason for everything, though we don't and won't always know or understand why...at least, not always while we be here and not there. Then, we'll know exactly what little things we've done that made a difference.
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