I want to rage quit the world (TW: child abuse and domestic violence)

[mollywobbles867]

Child severely injured while in foster care

CHATTANOOGA, TN (WRCB) -
Jennifer Palmer spent Monday at Erlanger Children's Hospital after a surprise knock at her door early in the morning.

"Police and DFCS lady came to my door, my case worker. She told me she had something bad to tell me about my daughter," Palmer explains. That's how she learned

Comments

[hashishinahooka]

My nephews were abused in their foster home as well. I really hate the foster care system in this country.

[ebay313]

This is horrible, but I'm actually glad this is getting attention and press. Typically we don't hear much about the horrible things that can happen in foster care- and only hear in the news when kids are returned to a parent and then further abuse. Both are terrible but only giving attention to one creates a false impression that removing kids is always the safest solution, and creates pressures, that effect child protection agencies, to severe parental rights.

[tabaqui]

So...because her boyfriend was a fuckhead who tried to *kill her*...she loses her kids.

To, apparently, someone who beats on two year olds until they're nearly dead. Fucking revolting.

[mahsox_mahsox]

Well to be fair, it probably was sensible for them to take the kids when their father was locked up and their mother had 14 stab wounds.

Presumably she lost most of everything she had... housing, possessions, savings, job, while in hospital recovering and it can be real hard to start from absolute nothing (less than nothing really, with medical debts and injuries still healing) and set up a household that satisfies welfare professionals. Unless you're getting material help from someone it could be almost impossible, even people without kids sometimes end up homeless for long stretches of time after a long hospital stay if they haven't got anyone to help them.

[tabaqui]

Sure, i understand that. But if she *did* lose everything, then most likely she got Medicaid and SNAP and such, and it really seems that it would 100 times better to support her *with her kids* then sending them off. Yeesh.

[mahsox_mahsox]

While the kids are in the care of child welfare authorities she does not have a child in her care and can't get those payments, so they aren't particularly useful for helping her set up a household so she can be given her kids back.

One thing they maybe could have done is put her in a women's shelter with her kids like any other woman fleeing a domestic violence situation and needing to get set up from scratch because of it, but maybe there were reasons they didn't do that either. Possibly they thought the kids were settled OK with their foster parents and could wait and avoid the shelter experience.