CPS: A Broken System
Jack was a happy and healthy nine-month old baby boy. He had white-blond peach fuzz growing on his round little head and bright, blue, inquisitive eyes. He was the first grandchild in his family and was adored by his parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles alike. His father, Thomas, was an extremely busy young man. He was a college student who worked full-time and an Army Reservist. When Baby Jack’s mother, Misty, went on a trip, his daddy asked her brother and his wife to watch him for a few days. Misty’s brother and his wife Joni had two children of their own and one on the way. The Chris was a soldier, just likes Jack’s dad. Thomas felt it would be much better for family members to care for his infant son than …show more content…
The media is rife with news stories of children who have been murdered by parents and caregivers who had previously been involved with CPS. One example is that of a 10-year old boy in Buffalo, New York, named Abdifatah Mohamud. Lou Michel (2013), of The Buffalo News, reported that after Abdifatah, himself, called 911 to report that his stepfather had assaulted him and was going to kill him, the case was investigated and was mistakenly placed in a less invasive program called the Family Assessment Response (FAR) program. Under FAR policy, social workers do not arrive at homes without prior notification, in order to garner trust between the agency and families. The aim of FAR is to keep families together. This light-handed approach led to child abuse accusations not being thoroughly investigated. According to CPS regulation, the case should never have been assigned to FAR, yet it was and one year later, Abdifatah’s stepfather beat him to death with a rolling pin. Others may be of the opinion that if this little boy had been removed from the home and placed with relatives that this would have solved the abusive situation. However, this is not always the case if social workers, once again, do not go to the lengths necessary to monitor the child’s well-being. Another fatal example of CPS mishandling a case of child abuse is the case of Shaun and Delylah Tara. Matthias Gafni (2016), a reporter for the Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek, California, writes that the Tara children were placed into the care of their father’s cousin, Tami Hunstman, when their father was incarcerated for drugs. Their mother had killed herself previously. Gafni (2016) reports that, while in the care of Huntsman, allegations were made by teachers that the children wore the same dirty clothes for days, were infested with lice, displayed signs of severe hunger, and
Jack was a happy and healthy nine-month old baby boy. He had white-blond peach fuzz growing on his round little head and bright, blue, inquisitive eyes. He was the first grandchild in his family and was adored by his parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles alike. His father, Thomas, was an extremely busy young man. He was a college student who worked full-time and an Army Reservist. When Baby Jack’s mother, Misty, went on a trip, his daddy asked her brother and his wife to watch him for a few days. Misty’s brother and his wife Joni had two children of their own and one on the way. The Chris was a soldier, just likes Jack’s dad. Thomas felt it would be much better for family members to care for his infant son than …show more content…
The media is rife with news stories of children who have been murdered by parents and caregivers who had previously been involved with CPS. One example is that of a 10-year old boy in Buffalo, New York, named Abdifatah Mohamud. Lou Michel (2013), of The Buffalo News, reported that after Abdifatah, himself, called 911 to report that his stepfather had assaulted him and was going to kill him, the case was investigated and was mistakenly placed in a less invasive program called the Family Assessment Response (FAR) program. Under FAR policy, social workers do not arrive at homes without prior notification, in order to garner trust between the agency and families. The aim of FAR is to keep families together. This light-handed approach led to child abuse accusations not being thoroughly investigated. According to CPS regulation, the case should never have been assigned to FAR, yet it was and one year later, Abdifatah’s stepfather beat him to death with a rolling pin. Others may be of the opinion that if this little boy had been removed from the home and placed with relatives that this would have solved the abusive situation. However, this is not always the case if social workers, once again, do not go to the lengths necessary to monitor the child’s well-being. Another fatal example of CPS mishandling a case of child abuse is the case of Shaun and Delylah Tara. Matthias Gafni (2016), a reporter for the Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek, California, writes that the Tara children were placed into the care of their father’s cousin, Tami Hunstman, when their father was incarcerated for drugs. Their mother had killed herself previously. Gafni (2016) reports that, while in the care of Huntsman, allegations were made by teachers that the children wore the same dirty clothes for days, were infested with lice, displayed signs of severe hunger, and