ENOUGH
That’s the word that sums up my intellectual response to the diatribe passing as comments on Post 111. Haven’t some of the rest of you begun to think that this string of comments has deteriorated?
I can’t help myself. I was not going to write for a few days. But the comments disturb me. There is no solution in them. They blend into an enormous RANT.
HOW DOES REFORM HAPPEN?
In every subsection of life in every country of the world throughout all of our generations there have been those who recognize that change to the status quo is required and who effect that change by reformation. Ecclesiastical, political, social, educational, medical, all of these disciplines have experienced improvement through reform.
If people inside and outside the Ministry of Children and Family Development of British Columbia and the broader network of child protection and child care agencies in this province jointly recognized areas in which reform would benefit children, birth parents, the foster care system, MCFD management and social workers, and the medical professionals, wouldn’t we, couldn’t we make it happen?
When our child protection process delivers us to the trial stage typified by the Bayne case presently, characterized by mutual offence and animosity it must be acknowledged that improvements could be made. If those advancements require a philosophical shift, a truth seeking transformation, would it not be worth all the energy we can give it?
There have been inquiries into aspects of MCFD operations before and recommendations upon which there has been recorded and reported action, so a modicum of reform has been attempted. Yet protecting children and developing families should be of such critical importance to our entire provincial community and should be done so effectively that there is no cause for criticism like the groundswell of concern that polarizes us right now.
There must be an art to making reform happen. I am pretty sure that reform doesn’t happen through mudslinging, which appears to be the natural response. You criticize me and I’ll ridicule you. Doesn’t the Bayne Trial point to a need to reform policies and practices so that families are actually helped rather than broken, parents are facilitated rather than alienated, children are protected preferably within their birth home? We should all be able to be proud of our Child Protection program.
Yes, our child protection system could greatly benefit from change. Being a Foster Parent and being directly involved with MCFD I see all kinds of areas that need help. I think their mandate "to replace children with their family" is a good one. Its just not always possible. In their defense it seems like if they remove children for what they think is a good reason they get criticized, and if they dont remove children in order to keep everyone together and something terrible happens, they get criticized. Sometimes it seems like a lose lose situation for MCFD. As Foster Parents we are often caught in the middle. Sometimes we may not agree to a situation where a child has been removed or sometimes we need to see more action when a child keeps being returned to neglectful parents over and over. And each time they are placed in care after a failed reunion with parents they are damaged more and more. To us as Foster Parents it is frustrating to watch. To the Ministry, they are following what rules/laws etc that are written. It is also frustrating to alot of Social workers involved. The Bayne case is very sad. The trial should have been over with a long time ago. Waiting for court dates hasnt done anyone any favors either. So theres room for change there as well. I hope that through the Bayne trial something good can happen such as some sort of reform, some kind of change that can ease the stress of the parents, the children and the caregivers involved. All this blame and bantering back and forth is not good. The focus really should be on making things better for everyone. Where do we start?
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