Listen to the Children
I am advocating for three children taken as an infant, a toddler and a small boy, the eldest of whom is now six years of age and each of these children in the same family have been outside their parental home for exactly three years. Children have memories. Some memories are indelible. The two oldest children have recently had many memory buttons pushed as they have been permitted by a Judge's order, to have visitation with their parents in the parental home for six hours each Saturday. These children have been thrilled to see familiar items, furniture, toys. Despite the change of houses in the children's absence, there are sufficient reminders of a home life to which these children are responding with longing for permanency. The regional Ministry of Children department should be gratified by the high comfort level these children have with their birth parents. That will be the just response. Social Workers whose interest is acknowledged to be in the child's best interests should be pleased with this strong indication of compatibility between children and parents and the home environment. That will be the professional response.
We are well beyond this point already in this case, but the social workers and supervisors associated with the Bayne file should be trashing their previous risk assessment of Paul and Zabeth, and taking a fresh, transparent look at these parents and their children and their family and home. Among the thousands of cases MCFD handles each year in British Columbia, the Bayne family stands out as one with incredible promise for success and happiness. MCFD should be pleased to say to the Bayne family, “We wish you well.”
But “It's before the courts.” Yes, indeed it is. MCFD made sure of that, but only after almost three years had passed. It should not have come to this. The Baynes should not be on pins and needles now, waiting to learn whether or not these three children will have their hopes extinguished and their memories forever scarred. It should not have come to this, and the Baynes are not to blame, certainly not the children, and arguably not the parents. Paul and Zabeth will not harm their children. Paul and Zabeth did not harm their child in the past. That's what they said – three years ago in 2007, and in 2008 and 2009 and still in 2010. No evidence exists to contradict that testimony. We are in an awkward time here, a disgusting period of waiting for a judicial response to legal presentations wherein these parents have been compelled to defend their entitlement as the parents of these three. No effort and no amount of words were spared to convince a judge that Paul and Zabeth had forfeited their rights to parent these children. It was ugly. It is ugly.
Listen to the children. “Can we stay now?”
The Court of Appeal just let the world know that judges and the justice system in BC are capable of profound injustice. They have declared Ivan Henry not guilty, and in so doing, shown that there is hope for justice, even after so much injustice and 27 years in jail.
ReplyDelete"Last week, the B.C. Court of Appeal acquitted [Ivan Henry] on all counts nearly three decades after a deeply flawed trial that was riddled with errors by prosecutors and the judge.
Mr. Henry joins a growing list of Canada's wrongfully convicted, many of whom have received multimillion-dollar settlements after wasting away for years in prison. Several have seen the injustices done to them examined at a public inquiry...."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/lawyers-for-ivan-henry-look-to-obtain-compensation-for-their-client/article1780080/
The truth will out.
See:
ReplyDeleteInvest in families, not child apprehension
By Doug Cuthand, The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/life/Invest+families+child+apprehension/3709216/story.html#ixzz144ys9TbV
and
http://www.youtube.com/user/rev165
Nov5/10 child protection conference promotion (back East)
The first article mentions the 80% level of aboriginal children in care in Saskatoon, and that some bands are prohibiting social workers on their lands.
As an addendum on 'spreading the word' advocated by many other commenters, there should be some mention of how best to do this.
Posting in Facebook is probably the worst way. It is a closed system that only 'friends' can see posts. As such, Google cannot search it.
Posting comments on blogs are not searchable within the blog search engine. So, the 2,000+ comments might as well be invisible in some respects. Google searchs are possible by entering the GPS blog domain name, but scrolling through long pages are not user friendly.
6:46 am ANON
ReplyDeleteYou have thought about this and explored it. You mentioned what is not user friendly.
Have you suggestions of more effective communication opps?
Anon at November 2, 2010 6:46 AM:
ReplyDeleteThank you for the very heartening article / link:
Invest in families, not child apprehension
By Doug Cuthand, The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/life/Invest+families+child+apprehension/3709216/story.html#ixzz144ys9TbV
This helps confirm my belief that there is a massive grassroots movement ready to burst forth and demand an end to the outrage known as child protection.
Keep spreading the word!