These are the words of Federal Judge Janis Graham Jack speaking to Texas child welfare officials recently, exclaiming that “children are dying on your watch” and calling them “callous,” saying “they do more to protect their bureaucracy than the children in their care.” Safe Passage for MN’s Children’s recent investigative reporting on Minnesota children dying dying at the hands of their caregivers while in Child Protective Services might prompt a similar judicial response in the months to come.
Ten years ago, Governor Mark Dayton remarked on the “catastrophic failure” of CPS in the slow, tortured death of four‑year‑old Eric Dean after 14 largely ignored reports of abuse in Starbuck, MN. The child was never seen by social workers. Broken bones and severe facial and head biting had been reported repeatedly over years before he died. Ironically, Pope County faced no legal penalty for its role in the child’s death and it was not one of the four counties that screened out 90% of child abuse calls when Eric Dean died in 2013. We must wonder what life was like for children in those four Minnesota counties at that time.
Every community needs more CASA volunteer Guardian ad Litem child advocates to reduce child suffering and maltreatment deaths in Child Protective Services.
Check out the CASA program where you live (HERE).
Regular visits with a trusted community volunteer Guardian ad Litem have value to the child and to the institution of child protection. Most importantly, these visits go a long way toward keeping children safe.
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This article submitted by former CASA guardian ad Litem Mike Tikkanen.
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