Bureaucratic Red Tape or Ministry Protocol are the only reasons that the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s regional office in charge of Ayn Van Dyk’s case can present for not insuring that she was at her family home for Christmas this year rather than in the foster home where she has received care for almost all of the nineteen months she has been removed from her biological father’s custodial care. Neither of these reasons is justifiable from anything but a clinical position but certainly not from a compassionate and humanitarian position.
To counter that there wasn’t sufficient time to prepare Ayn for this transition following the agreement to ultimately return her may be clinically psychologically and logistically accurate but comes up somewhat lame because the settlement did not need to wait until the last hours before the December 2012 court date. There were eighteen previous months during which MCFD could have been engaged in serious benevolent negotiation if there was any equitable inclination to do so. The actual child and family, the siblings longing for one another, the real heart-felt interests of the child are lost within a system in which girls like Ayn as well as boys are case files and numbers. So the delay is effective for tail-covering because no one involved in case care ever be accused of rushing to conclusion. But when Ayn’s return begins to push the two-year point as it is, in light of the official acknowledgment by the MCFD that Ayn never did require protection for any reason, the heartlessness of the administration of this particular child’s future nurture emerges as inexcusable. Of course neither Derek Hoare nor Amie Van Dyk should speak to this because who knows what jeopardy lurks behind a careless remark, but the rest of us with our sensitivity gauges on high alert can talk out loud. It stinks that this little nine year old with autism has experienced two Christmases come and go away from her brothers with whom she has grown up. It’s boxing day, and I guess I just awoke with my arms and hands up ready to swing a punch.
The good news is, she's coming home. Derek made the right choice to bring her home ASAP, but it would have been interesting to watch them embarassed themselves during a trial and it may have set a good precedent that could later be used to help other families, like mine. http://familydestroyed.blogspot.ca. My children have also been separated, but luckily were able to have a Christmas Eve visit together.
ReplyDeleteThanks H.Cat for sending your blog link. It is important for people to read your story too.
ReplyDeleteOne of the difficult things for us observers is the scarcity and infrequency of information. On one hand, parents are scared that if they provide too much information to the public, social workers will see it and retaliate in some way, while not even admitting whether or not saw information online. Parents are frightened and self-policing in this respect. On the other hand, timely accurate information allows the outrage of parents to be amplified so that "someone" in a position to do something will act.
ReplyDeleteI am appalled that Ayn has missed two birthdays and Christmases with her family, important days out of hundreds that can never be restored. There are a number of ways to facilitate visitations, but based on the information presented here, a further month has been allowed to pass with no visible change. How long is this going to take before this family is reunited?
Appalled - you and me both Papa
ReplyDeleteAnd the continuing delay, now into the middle of January 2013 is absurd.
What? Do they want to make it the second anniversary, as the date of her release?