"Protecting Our Children??"~Over Hundreds of Years

 Many may find it hard to believe, but where we are today in regards to attitudes of Protecting Our Children didn't happen over night. In order to understand, we need to go back in time and understand some of the thoughts that influenced the attitudes of "Protecting Our Children" and even the "Best Interests of the Child"

Many parents have stated "Today, I have No Rights, as a Parent", and are seeking Reform. But one must remember, like a slow moving "Pendulum", where we are today, didn't happen over night. I do know, until it is recognized that "Families are the Most Important Resource we have in Our Nation, if not the World", there will indeed be No Reform. How we reverse the "Pendulum" is very complex. But, hopefully, by recognizing the attitudes, feelings, etc. of ALL Sides, we may find the answers for Reform for our families and their precious children.

So for your further understanding "All the Story", here are two references, you may want to consider:>>>Child Protective History - from Romans to Now
>>>Child Protection at the Crossroads: Child Abuse, Child Protection, and Recommendations for Reform (03/31/1998)

Excerpts

• "No ancient civilization considered child protection to be a governmental function. In ancient Rome, for instance, fathers were vested with an almost unlimited natural right to determine the welfare of their children. The welfare of minors was a family matter, not a governmental interest or obligation. Most other governments of the ancient world provided no limits to a father's right to inflict corporal punishment, including infanticide." Read More: Child Protective History - from Romans to Now
• Data on Unbalance of Monies.. ie Foster Care vs Family Preservation  (Ratio about 10:1)
  ".......Although much public attention has focused on the cost of public assistance (the former AFDC program), child welfare is the more expensive governmental activity and the more complicated. In 1995, the federal government spent about $11,698 per child in foster care, whereas it spent only $1,012 for each person receiving welfare benefits. When factoring in state costs, the average cost increases even further to $21,092 per child in foster care versus $2,499 for each person receiving a welfare check........" Read More Child Protection at the Crossroads

Related Reading:  Family Preservation vs Foster Care Or Go Directly to Index to the 15 Issue Papers

• Example of Power or Monopoly of an Agency Against Our Families
  "The passage of CAPTA in 1973 formalized and cemented a trend already begun in the states of making child welfare primarily a governmental concern. But it began as a private effort. In the late 1800s, voluntary and private associations of citizens who wanted to help poor children such as Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (SPCC) and Children's Aid Societies, began springing up across the nation. By the 1920s, there were 250 societies spread across the East Coast and in the Midwest affiliated under the American Humane Association.52 As Patricia Schene, an expert in child protection at the University of Colorado at Denver, writes, "These private agencies, supported by public and private funds, investigated reports of child abuse and neglect, filed complaints against the perpetrators in court, and aided the courts in prosecution of those complaints. Some SPCCs were given police powers and could take custody of children pending the investigation."53 These private agencies were not hampered by regulations. The "child rescuers," as they were often called, were not hesitant about removing children from families they deemed unworthy. The first annual report of the SPCC records its mission as: ...." Read More Child Protection at the Crossroads

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May you find Strength in Your Higher Power,
Granpa Chuck
Keeper of the web files for http://nfpcar.org