A Sad Tale
Quite often I hear good parents express fear that someone will call Child Protective Services on them for administering corporal punishment to their children. I would like to assure every parent out there that clothed, open-handed spankings are not considered child abuse by the state. In fact, in order for a child to be removed from the home, the situation has to be critical and immediate danger must be documented. The laws are so protective of parental rights, that it is sometimes a very tedious process to help the children who really are in danger. Of course, there is no shortness of bad parenting out there. All you need do to reassure yourself is to visit a local Wal-Mart on a Saturday morning. If you love them, feed them, shelter them and educate them then relax. You may be overwhelmed, but you are doing fine.
As a trained CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocate), I have been in homes that would shock most people. One of the first things you learn about site visits is to only sit in wooden or hard chairs that you can clearly see. This is because many IV drug users will hide their needles in a couch or cushion when they see you coming for a home visit. I have also been in homes where running water has not been present for months and buckets were used as toilet facilities. I have held shaking babies born addicted to crack and I have witnessed the unintentional murder of a child by it's mentally challenged mother. These are, of course, the extremes. However, they are more frequent than you might think and our foster care system is overloaded with children in need of safe homes.
Recently, two of my good friends were approved as foster parents. They have been together for 18 years. They are both college educated, have a big, clean house and have a substantial combined income. They are willing to take older children who are next to impossible to place. However, they are undergoing some ridicule from a local church group because they are homosexual and one of them is HIV positive. In spite of the many homosexual couples doing a fantastic job in the system, the number of HIV positive drugs users who are allowed to keep their children, this pair is being hounded and pressured not to foster.
For legal reasons, I cannot publish any names. However, this attitude is doing nothing but aggravating two very nice men and punishing a couple of children that could have the opportunity to leave a group home. Legal measures are being taken to prevent the religious group from contacting the men.
As a trained CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocate), I have been in homes that would shock most people. One of the first things you learn about site visits is to only sit in wooden or hard chairs that you can clearly see. This is because many IV drug users will hide their needles in a couch or cushion when they see you coming for a home visit. I have also been in homes where running water has not been present for months and buckets were used as toilet facilities. I have held shaking babies born addicted to crack and I have witnessed the unintentional murder of a child by it's mentally challenged mother. These are, of course, the extremes. However, they are more frequent than you might think and our foster care system is overloaded with children in need of safe homes.
Recently, two of my good friends were approved as foster parents. They have been together for 18 years. They are both college educated, have a big, clean house and have a substantial combined income. They are willing to take older children who are next to impossible to place. However, they are undergoing some ridicule from a local church group because they are homosexual and one of them is HIV positive. In spite of the many homosexual couples doing a fantastic job in the system, the number of HIV positive drugs users who are allowed to keep their children, this pair is being hounded and pressured not to foster.
For legal reasons, I cannot publish any names. However, this attitude is doing nothing but aggravating two very nice men and punishing a couple of children that could have the opportunity to leave a group home. Legal measures are being taken to prevent the religious group from contacting the men.