Joaniescomments022001

I recently read an article in the Des Moines Sunday Register about the overburdened child protective services division of the Iowa Department of Human Services. It was clearly written in response to accusations regarding the Shelby Duis case.

With disgust, I read about children who were sent to school smelling like cat urine. Infants less than a year old who show up in a judges chamber covered in bruises. Children who had been abused in every way imaginable. Children who were left home alone, abandoned while their parents were out doing God knows what.

The focus of the article? Overworked social services case workers. Most of them only last a year, and why would they stick around? They can get a lighter case load and make more money working in the private sector. What was the purpose for this article? To gain our sympathy for a young overworked case worker??? What about the kids???

Right after Shelby's story came out, I read an article about Shelby's father.   He was filing a wrongful death suit against the State of Iowa for their mishandling of Shelby's case. WAY TO GO, DAD!!!!!!! This guy should be doing jail time right along with her mother. Where was he in the months before her death? Her daycare workers, her neighbors, and DHS workers who didn't know anything except her name knew about the abuse. If I picked up my paper that morning before he did, I probably knew more about what was going on with his daughter than he did!!!! Where was he????????   Where are the fathers and mothers of the kids overloading the court dockets, and overworking the case workers????

I'm not ready to render DHS pure as the driven snow.   Every day that I come to work, there is usually more to do than any one person can get done in 8 hours. You have to prioritize. Shelby Duis should have been a priority.   No excuses.   Our tax dollars go to an agency who is supposed to be there for kids who's parents aren't there. How is it that we are supposedly operating on a budget surplus, and they don't have the money for the staff and services needed to help these kids???? What was that about priorities?

Hillary Clinton's book "It takes a village to raise a child" eludes to the idea that we all have an obligation to these kids.   As an average citizen, what do you do when you suspect a case of abuse or neglect? You are supposed to call DHS and report it, right? What else can you do? Well, Shelby had a DHS file that was longer than Al Capone's rap sheet!!   When we "do the right thing", we're told they're too broke and too busy to do their jobs.

So, here we are with a whole lot of kids who are being abused, neglected and killed. Teachers, neighbors, and daycare workers say "We called dozens of times to report it" DHS says "Our case workers were busy" The judge says "I had no time for her on my docket"    And I'm still waiting to hear an excuse from a doctor who sent her home covered with bruises and untreated injuries just 24 hours before her death.   Where the hell is the village, Hillary?
                                                                                                                               Joanie
                                                                                                                              (02/20/01)