Much abuse goes unobserved or unreported, yet we are spending millions of dollars on the cases where reports have been made. There are cases in which the Ministry incorrectly accuses or postulates that parents have failed a child. None of those millions curtail that offense. Poverty is frequently and unjustifably equated with neglect, yet as one commenter stated, poor families do not equate to a higher incidence of child protection. The stories of how families are treated once they have come within the sweep of MCFD's radar are never happy. Some of the innocent families that have been victimized have hit the public news channels and front pages but not enough, because there are so many others.
A shift occurred in the 1960's when child abuse and neglect which were once treated as crimes began to be viewed as a treatable illness for which therapists, doctors and social workers were prepared to provide advice and to order help and resources. In conjunction with this diagnostic shift, cases of abuse and neglect were no longer prosecuted but rather sent to family court which orders treatment. What I believe is forfeited is fairness and timeliness. So many of you readers have already told me that. Criminals are fully informed of their rights. They have an attorney to represent them even when they cannot afford one. The same is not true for accused parents. They do not get a jury of peers. They do not have the opportunity to face and to cross-examine their accusers. They do not even receive the right to insist that any evidence that is employed against them should meet the highest of standards. And we have underscored before the absence of presumption of innocence and the insistence of guilt being beyond all reasonable doubt? Or, what about not being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, because that is precisely what some clinical dispassionate MCFD operations look like. There is no protection for parents accused of maltreatment of a child.
I know that I rarely write about positive achievements of the child protection sector of the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Of course there are children that are secured from neglect and abuse. Sadly some parents are immature, reckless, substance addicted, or maladjusted and they are not properly caring for their children. MCFD steps in. Surely it is reasonable if I do not mention these cases. That is afte all what MCFD is mandated to do. When the work is well done it doesn't need applause here on this blog. MCFD congratulates itself. Look at its web pages. This blog has focused upon that which is not working effectively in MCFD because that is what requires attention. That's what needs to be fixed so that is where I concentrate. I make no claim to exhaustive journalistic research. I am a listener to real people. A crowd of similar stories informs me that MCFD is in trouble.
Much abuse goes unobserved or unreported, yet we are spending millions of dollars on the cases where reports have been made. There are cases in which the Ministry incorrectly accuses or postulates that parents have failed a child. None of those millions curtail that offense. Poverty is frequently and unjustifably equated with neglect, yet as one commenter stated, poor families do not equate to a higher incidence of child protection. The stories of how families are treated once they have come within the sweep of MCFD's radar are never happy. Some of the innocent families that have been victimized have hit the public news channels and front pages but not enough, because there are so many others.
A shift occurred in the 1960's when child abuse and neglect which were once treated as crimes began to be viewed as a treatable illness for which therapists, doctors and social workers were prepared to provide advice and to order help and resources. In conjunction with this diagnostic shift, cases of abuse and neglect were no longer prosecuted but rather sent to family court which orders treatment. What I believe is forfeited is fairness and timeliness. So many of you readers have already told me that. Criminals are fully informed of their rights. They have an attorney to represent them even when they cannot afford one. The same is not true for accused parents. They do not get a jury of peers. They do not have the opportunity to face and to cross-examine their accusers. They do not even receive the right to insist that any evidence that is employed against them should meet the highest of standards. And we have underscored before the absence of presumption of innocence and the insistence of guilt being beyond all reasonable doubt? Or, what about not being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, because that is precisely what some clinical dispassionate MCFD operations look like. There is no protection for parents accused of maltreatment of a child.
This GPS Blog advocated the return of four children to their biological parents, Paul and Zabeth Bayne, suspected of shaking their youngest to produce significant injury, but in August 2011 those children were returned following a court ruling. More recently, the GPS Blog has also been advocating the return of 12 year old Ayn Van Dyk, an autistic girl, who has been held for two years, following her afternoon wander from her family back yard. The investigation could have been expedited and the child returned within days or weeks.
WOULDN'T IT BE ENCOURAGING IF INTERESTED PEOPLE COULD UNITE TO FORM SOMETHING COMPARABLE TO THE UNITED STATES VERSION OF NCCPR ...
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