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January 25, 2003
Dead Babies
Dead Babies
Thomas Sowell has a good editorial on family reunification services and rehabilitiation of abusive parents. I agree, it would be interesting to see a legitimate study of the effectiveness of these programs. As Mr. Sowell correctly points out, there are certain child abusers that no program can rehabilitate to the point that a child would be safe with them.The problem is that, at least where I work, we are required by law to at least attempt reunification unless the abuse is "heinous and shocking," an ill-defined term. Whether or not abuse rises to this level is too often a judgment call. While I would agree that most any abuse of a child is heinous and shocking, that's not what the law says. However, the child to which he refers, that was admitted to a hospital when he was 12 days old with broken ribs and ankles, would certainly meet our criteria. While it may be satisfying to blame the social services system and its workers, Mr. Sowell might also remember that it was ultimately the juvenile judge who allowed the child to return home.
Posted by Rita at January 25, 2003 07:44 AM