Editorial: Answers needed
Published 10:00 pm PDT Saturday, November 3, 2007
Story appeared in FORUM section, Page E6
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/469050.html
No one knows how Tamaihia Lynae Moore died, but the foster mother of the
Sacramento toddler has been arrested for her murder. That puts Child
Protective Services, the county agency charged with protecting abused
and neglected children and the agency that placed Tamaihia into foster
care, in the spotlight once again.
In September, Sacramento County's Child Death Review Team reported an
alarming spike in the number of Sacramento children dying from abuse and
neglect last year. There were 24 such deaths in 2006 up from 11 in 2004
and 17 in 2005. Of the 24 who died last year, 11 were known to CPS
because they'd been the subject of abuse reports. But unlike Tamaihia,
most of those children died in their own homes. Members of death review
teams speculated that a county policy that favored keeping family units
intact may have led to more deaths.
That certainly was not the case with this latest child death. Tamaihia
was removed from her mother and placed in foster care at birth because
she tested positive for exposure to cocaine. She was returned to her
father but was placed in foster care again a little over a month ago.
Now the agency's oversight after the child was removed from her father's
home is under scrutiny, and rightly so.
Tamaihia's aunt and grandmother say that twice in the two weeks before
she was found dead at her foster mother's home, they alerted CPS to
problems. After a visit with the child on October 7, relatives reported
that she was dehydrated and malnourished.
The aunt and grandmother say that after a second visit on Oct. 20, they
told authorities that the child's condition had deteriorated and begged
that she be taken to a hospital. Two days later the little girl was dead.
Her foster mother, Tamecka Walker, has been arrested for murder. Two
other foster children, both under the age of 3, were removed from
Walker's home.
Walker's parents insist their daughter is innocent. They also say their
daughter had asked CPS to place Tamaihia elsewhere just days before she
died.
No one disputes that protecting children from abuse and neglect is a
difficult job or that the social workers who perform that service are
dedicated, hard-working professionals. But when they remove a child from
a family, the county assumes full responsibility for the child's
welfare. And when something goes terribly wrong, as it did in this case,
there are questions to be answered and actions to accounted for.
Tamaihia is dead. Her family and the public deserve to know what
happened – and what is being done to keep a similar tragedy from
occurring in the future.
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....
CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.
every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com
Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS
*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*
Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5
Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.
CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...
BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...
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