Gothamist: Child's Death Forces Changes at ACS

Brightliner

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 16:06:44 -0500

"The social service workers' union rep criticized the actions, saying that more training is needed, not suspensions." Answer me this: When was the last time any union ever spoke up for the public rather than for their members? Goddamn shifty parasites.

ruidh

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 13:45:14 -0500

ACS is in a lose-lose situation. No matter how many kids you help out of an abusive situation, it only takes one bad case to make all the media. The quiet good cases never come up. Plus, the agency has goals which fundamentally conflict. On one hand, they have a mandate to protect children. On the other hand, they do not want to take action on the basis of speculation, malicious false reports or authentic accidents because it is traumatic to the children to be puled out of their family. The result is deaths happen where the ACS has not yet had time to either verify a complaint or make an independant assesment. While these cases are tragic, they are also unavoidable as long as fallible humans are trying to do a difficult job while understraffed and underfunded. The grandstanding and monday morning quarterbacking which surrounds these cases is disgusting. It's easy to kick an agency with a difficult or undoable job.

Samantha T

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 10:22:19 -0500

MT - well-put and not minimizing in the least. You're acknowledging that we all have the capacity to look the other way. I love the public outcry about ACS, especially from Republicans who love to cut social programs and who, seriously, would last about a day as a caseworker.

SB

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 09:46:22 -0500

Any reason why Marines were involved?

S.D.

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 09:39:28 -0500

IMO, It's a shame that it takes something like this to shake things up. I've no idea what the ACS case load was, but 47 days missing should have been one hell of a red flag...

Jen

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 08:42:33 -0500

While I do think that more people should have done more, they'll have to live with the guilt of what's happened - especially the family. The grandmother lived in the Puerto Rico, probably believed what her daughter told her (that she was happy and with a good man?)... I don't know. Even if the city improved its child welfare, I don't know how much more it could do - the problems run so deep, especially under the shield of a family.

MT

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 08:25:11 -0500

Not to diminish the tragedy of the situation, but everyone's self-righteousness in situations like this seriously makes me sick. Everyone claims they would have been the one to step in and save this little girl. Let's be realistic. If you see something on the street you will do whatever it takes not to get involved. And the grandmother stepping up to the plate? Forgive me if I'm cynical. She was that little girl's grandmother for seven years and didn't do anything. She's raging against the city for not doing anything. Meanwhile, she saw this going on all this time in her immediate family. If anyone is at fault, it is people like her.