We can read about child abuse cases almost every day in the newspaper. The cases that are publicized are just the tip of the iceberg. I will give two examples that I know about that will not get any publicity.
We are friends with a state social worker. She had the responsibility for two children placed in the same foster home. She kept noticing that the baby was very thin. The family would always have a lot of clothes on the child which made the worker more suspicious.
She took the child out of the home and had him examined by a pediatrician. The child was very malnourished, probably not being fed at all. Of course, that child was taken out of the foster home.
Our friend wanted to file paperwork to remove the other child from the home. Her supervisor and others in authority would not approve further action against the family. There were no homes available for the other child.
The baby was moved to a different foster home and after he was fed properly, he gained a monumental amount of weight in just a few days. The older child will be in the abusive home until something happens warranting her removal.
My second example involves a girl that I know fairly well. Her mother abandons her for long periods of time. She is thirteen, and she looks like she is nine or ten due to under nourishment. She is two or three years behind in school.
She wound up living with a family in our church. Her mother was “away” again and the nearest available relatives were not interested. She had been thriving with the church family. Her mother has now returned with a new baby and a boyfriend, who is a convicted sex offender.
The mother has taken her daughter back because she needs a babysitter. They are all living in a cheap motel room. They have no visible means of support, meaning that meals are irregular, and the girl is not in school. The phone hotlines have been called and there is no response, everyone is too busy to investigate. This case is not serious enough.
There is an epidemic of abuse and neglect of children in this country. I make no apologies for being on a soapbox on this issue. If societies are ever judged by how they treat their children, our society is in a lot of trouble.
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