Sociology > Education > Taking care of her 'girls': She is driven, she says, by nothingmore than a love of children and a desire to keep as many of them as possibleout of the foster care system....
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Sociology > Education |
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"fx" |
| Date: |
25 May 2007 08:25:40 PM |
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Taking care of her 'girls': She is driven, she says, by nothingmore than a love of children and a desire to keep as many of them as possibleout of the foster care system.... |
Taking care of her 'girls'
Inez Whitlow, founder of Chicks in Crisis, does whatever it takes to
help pregnant women in need
By Cynthia Hubert - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, May 25, 2007
Story appeared in SCENE section, Page J1
http://www.sacbee.com/107/story/191590.html
A ringing phone in the middle of the night jars Inez Whitlow awake.
"The contractions are hurting really bad," says a desperate voice on the
hotline.
Within minutes, Whitlow is dressed and behind the wheel of her blue Ford
Expedition, peeling out of her Elk Grove cul-de-sac and heading for the
hospital. Heading out to hold the hand of "one of my girls," as she
calls them.
The "girls" are almost universally scared, confused and unprepared for
motherhood, not unlike Whitlow herself when she was young and pregnant.
For the past 10 years, Whitlow and her nonprofit group Chicks in Crisis
have been shepherding these women through their unplanned and unwanted
pregnancies.
Some of her clients are suburban teenagers. Some are older women in jail
or prison. Some are homeless drug addicts. Whitlow's mission is to do
everything possible to make sure they deliver healthy babies, and help
them map out futures for their children.
On some days, that means hauling cans of food and other supplies to
pregnant women who live in shelters, ramshackle houses or along the
river. On others, it means taking them to medical appointments and court
dates. Whitlow's car is packed with Huggies and baby wipes and blankets,
just in case she encounters a mother in need. Her garage serves as a
food pantry and clothing closet for her "chicks." More times than she
can remember, she has given up her own bed to a pregnant woman and taken
in a newborn baby awaiting adoption.
"I just help my girls through difficult times, and I try not to judge
them," she says.
It's not always easy, especially when people take advantage of her
generosity, demand more than their share or betray her trust. Whitlow
has been lied to, ripped off, duped and threatened by some of the women
she has clothed and fed and nurtured.
But when she presides over the birth of a healthy baby who has the
promise of a bright future, she says, nothing else matters.
"I figured out my purpose real early in life," says Whitlow as she sits
in a hospital waiting room one afternoon with a very pregnant client.
"This is it."
Whitlow's purpose has nothing to do with politics or religion, nor is
she pushing an anti-abortion agenda, she insists.
She is driven, she says, by nothing more than a love of children and a
desire to keep as many of them as possible out of the foster care system.
"I absolutely hate foster care," she says, running a hand through her
blonde hair. "Children need permanent homes. Period."
In Sacramento County alone, more than 4,000 children are in foster care
at any given time, says Laurie Slothower of Child Protective Services.
Many of them never will be placed in permanent homes, a fact that puts
their futures at risk. Statistics show that children "emancipated" from
foster care at age 18 are far more likely than their peers in stable
homes to get into legal trouble, Slothower says.
CPS shares Whitlow's concerns about reducing the number of foster
children, says Slothower. "It's true that it takes a village to raise a
child, and we need all the help we can get. Government agencies can't do
it all."
But the children most in need of foster homes are older kids, not
babies, who are almost always adopted quickly, she says. If Whitlow
wants to make a bigger impact, "she might do well to focus on kids ages
8 and older," Slothower says.
Whitlow says she's happy to help anyone in need.
She started Chicks in Crisis because she knows what it's like to be
"pregnant and scared," she says.
Born and raised in Sacramento, she became pregnant while she was in high
school and "got married in my prom dress," she says. She knows firsthand
about poverty and welfare. One time, after her gas and electricity were
shut off for lack of payment, "I yelled, 'I'm so tired of being a chick
in crisis!'" That lament inspired the name of her organization.
Whitlow, who eventually got off welfare and went to school to become a
paralegal, launched Chicks in Crisis 10 years ago. A divorced,
43-year-old mother of four adult children, she is currently parenting a
7-year-old boy whose biological mother is in prison.
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY 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.
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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