General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: How a malnourished girl got help from the system, then vanished [View all]Wait Wut
(8,492 posts)This is the little girl we know about. How many are still locked in closets? The system is overwhelmed. And, let's be honest, some of these case workers are jaded. I can't imagine what they go through every day. How do they look at these children and know that they'll only get a fraction of the long-term help and care they need? They would have to shut down the very part of their soul that would fight to protect the child. Otherwise, they'd go insane.
Where does it start? With the mother? Probably before that. If we looked into the mother's upbringing we'd most likely find some type of abuse or neglect. There are some programs available for young moms, but the majority either don't know about them or think they don't need/want to take advantage of them. Step 1: Educate young mothers. Get them into parenting classes. Address any possible abuse they suffered as a child. Address any substance/alcohol abuse. Treat them like human beings. Step 2: Stop cutting funding to the programs that these moms and kids need. Step 3: Increase funding to social services and hire more social workers. Step 4: Follow up for YEARS, not months. Step 5: Zero tolerance for abuse...cut the pattern. Raise awareness in communities and schools. Address the problem before it becomes reality. Stop treating abuse/neglect like a dirty secret and start talking about it to high school students. We can teach them sex ed. and about contraception, STDs, etc...we need to explain to them the reality of having a child. Expose them to these stories of abuse and neglect. Stop it before the child is conceived don't wait until an anonymous tip comes in.