When will kids matter most?

This morning one of my very close Advocates directed me to a very sad Editorial from the state of Colorado.

When will kids matter the most? Link: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_16930571

Here is the Opening comment to this editorial:

"Despite years of study, it seems like no one wants to undertake (and pay for) a serious overhaul of child welfare in Colorado." And the unfortunate theme of the story>> "Come springtime, it will have been four years since 7-year-old Chandler Grafner was found starved to death in a Denver apartment." (And I am sure even four years ago this story made the Headlines.-GPC)

But then I ask, and to many may seem heartless of me. But please read my entire thoughts on why the issue of Reform is like a two way sword.

Why do newspapers only report death and destruction in our country???

Oh, I forgot, it indeed sells newspapers. Combine this thought with a possible boring newspaper, I had in mind, to look for the Good News that reports those Small Communities, working with families, and indeed do Strengthen Families to Care and Protect Their Children. Again I forgot, Good News doesn't sell papers, and there is no money in Strengthen Our Families. (After reading my thoughts, please read another blog>> http://familyreform.blogspot.com/2010/12/protecting-our-childrenover-hundreds-of.html and you will see the ratio of monies spent on Foster Care to Family Preservation is 10:1 In the 90's, may be different today). Not to mention all the time and money it took to do all the Special Studies.

Do you suppose the Child Protective Industry is taking advantage of the situation...ie they perpetuate their existence by letting the newspapers let everyone know there is still abuse in this country??? After all, one of the main purposes was to "Identify Abuse".

To me and many, many others, there is NO EXCUSE for a death of a child. How much of a Red Flag or even the development of New Policies does it take to identify a child who is starving??????

Please don't get me wrong, there are actually, but unfortunately, a few studies that are excellent and well documented. Here is just part of the study that refers to the unfortunate situation, as discussed above:

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"The number of children murdered by their parents yearly hovers around 1,000 (less than one percent of all substantiated cases of abuse and neglect).14 Yet, these cases understandably focus public attention, rousing cries of bureaucratic ineptitude and sometimes malfeasance. Front-page stories with screaming headlines recount the all-too-short history of a child who was never given the protection needed to survive to adulthood. In almost half the cases, these families are already known to the agency responsible for child protection, which only aggravates the public’s sense of outrage.15 Nia Scott, who was killed by her mother’s boyfriend on September 8, 1997, is a sad case in point.16"

(Download this Study:  Child Protection at the Crossroads:Child Abuse, Child Protection, and Recommendations for Reform (03/31/1998))

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My heart and prayers go out to all who have been separated from their children, with the death of a child being the most extreme.  

And please take a moment and read this poem from an:   Invisible Foster Child Thoughts from a Foster Child in Waiting

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