Posted on 04/18/2002 12:26:28 PM PDT by mykdsmom
RALEIGH - North Carolina should examine its home-school laws to see if they provide cover for parents who abuse their children, according to a task force that reviewed the murder-suicide of three Johnston County teens.
The Child Fatality Review Team, which released a report this week, found that home-school laws "allow persons who maltreat children to maintain social isolation in order for the abuse and neglect to remain undetected." It called for a task force to look into the issue to make recommendations to the state legislature.
The team that reviewed the circumstances of the murder-suicide last July said Johnston County social workers tried to protect the children but lacked some tools that could help prevent future deaths from child abuse or neglect.
Brandon Warren, 14, and Bradley Kyle Warren, 13, were found shot to death in their home outside Princeton along with half-sister Marnie Warren, 19.
The review did not cover Marnie Warren's death because she was not a juvenile. The three teen-agers were home-schooled.
Law enforcement officials concluded Brandon Warren used his mother's .22-caliber rifle to kill his brother and sister before shooting himself.
The review team conducts such studies when abuse or neglect is suspected in a child's death or protective services workers were involved with the child.
Jeff Townsend, president of North Carolinians for Home Education, said he didn't see a connection between home education and the teens' deaths.
"We think it's a reach to connect an incident like this to home-schooling in general," he said Wednesday.
"Basically what they're saying is, the potential exists for every home-schooler out there to fall into this trap because there's no government overseer."
The team did not find fault with Johnston County Social Services, which had been trying to work with Nissa Mae and Boyd Kent Warren Jr. before their children died.
The team recommended that county social services departments have better access to state and national criminal background information, something the state Division of Social Services is already working on. Federal law now severely restricts access between states.
Johnston social services workers had pushed the Warren parents to clean up their dilapidated mobile home, which was filled with animals and trash, and tried to visit the mobile home to check on the condition of the children. The Warrens refused to let social workers into their home more than once in the weeks before the teen-agers' deaths.
The Warrens were found guilty in December of failing to properly secure the rifle used in the children's deaths and were sentenced to 45 days in jail. The Warrens also had been convicted in Arizona in 1991 of misdemeanor child abuse.
The state review team commended many aspects of the efforts on behalf of the Warren children. The team noted that social services employees "worked many hours to protect these children."
Earl Marett, director of Social Services for Johnston County, said the review pointed to statewide issues.
"Certainly, they're sort of like lessons learned," Marett said.
Frankly, a simple "[grin]" at the end would be better than nothing. Your "humor" is otherwise much too subtle for some of us.
I didn't think so.
MKM
Have bannana, will teach....
You beat me to the point--this article is a major crock!!
Never heard that one before. Where did you get this idea?
As far as I know, the genesis of the homeschool movement was purely religious -- it was an attempt to shield children from the leftist antireligious brainwashing that takes place in government schools. Later, as academic standards plummeted, plenty of non-religious parents began home education in order to be sure their kids could read. I've never heard of ANYONE pursuing homeschooling with a racist motive.
Before I call you an a-hole, I will give you the chance to admit this was sarcasm.
Stalin homeschooled? He was a student at a Christian seminary in Georgia. I've seen a photograph of him in his school uniform.
Homeschooling started on the left.
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