this made me cry

[decrepit_doll]

the following link details a case of severe neglect and could be triggering for survivors of abuse

http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article750838.ece 
(for some reason the link will not embed, so you have to copy and paste)

I just read

Comments

Re: I cried too

[decrepit_doll]

yeah, i had known about how a lot of the programs try to help the parents in certain cases, and try to keep the family together. It would be interesting to try and find stats. it is such a controversial topic, and i can see both the good and the bad. One of my teachers who was a social worker and caseworker for protective services has given anecdotal evidence for the services working better than one would probably expect, but the problem is that there are not a lot of caseworkers and these types of services require follow up and consistency for both the family AND the caseworker, so sometimes there is simply not enough manpower to follow through, since the cases have to be prioritized on the basis of severity and urgency nd who is most of a danger and what not. so i could see a "mildly" abusive family getting kind of "left out alone" after a time (where they still had the options for counseling and stuff, but no one was following up on them as much as they should be to make sure they were going), because there were other cases that were more urgent. then theoretically, the first "mild" family could easily stop using the services, since no one is making them, and things could get worse for them. does that make sense?

there are too many variables.

And i understand now about the ward of the state thing. That makes sense. It feels like it was something i learned about in one of my classes on social work, but must have forgotten, especially when reading that article and being emotionally overwhelmed. I guess the lesson here is, since i am going to be a case worker fo child protective services in New York soon, that i need to learn how o balance my intellect and emotions better. i say that tongue in cheek, but it's so true, because i know i knew what you said about parental rights and all, but my reaction on reading that was immediately knee jerk of "SHE HAS NO RIGHTS", and what i learned flew out the door.