From: sbishop@desire.wright.edu
Newsgroups: misc.kids,alt.dads-rights,alt.child-support,soc.men,soc.women
Subject: Re: Neglected or Abused Children, CPS, Foster Care and Prison
Date: 19 Dec 92 06:35:47 EST
Organization:  Wright State University 

In article <1992Dec18.221841.20126@nsc.nsc.com>, jrr@nsc.nsc.com (Jerry Roe) writes:
> In article <1992Dec17.062641.6248@desire.wright.edu> sbishop@desire.wright.edu writes:
>>In article <1992Dec15.185957.11581@sequent.com>, petel@sequent.com (Pete Lancashire) writes:
> ...
>>> Or in cases where the family does not admit there is a problem.
>>
>>This is true.  And, for what it's worth, the majority of cases where parents 
>                                               ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>refuse to admit there's a problem, it's the father.  Maybe it's a macho
>>thing?
> 
> Whoa, let's slow down here.  This concerns me because it's *precisely*
> the kind of conventional wisdom that is currently perpetuated by the
> child "protection" industry.  I'll be the first to accept that there are
> abusive parents out there, that's a ground rule.  But the automatic
> response that when a family refuses to admit there's a problem, therefore
> there must be one (OK, that's not exactly what the writer above said,
> but it's what you usually hear) IS a problem.  The protection industry has
> bought hook, line and sinker the hypothesis that if you admit guilt,
> obviously you're guilty, and if you deny guilt, you're "in denial" and
> therefore also obviously guilty.  And the only way they let accused
> fathers get any hope of "re-integration with the family" is...you guessed
> it...to admit guilt.  Or go to jail.  Some choice, huh?
> 

Wait just a minute.  I work with troubled teens.  I see LOTS of kids who
are runaways.  I am not talking of cases where the mother has accused the
father of abusing the child, that's another issue all together.  I am
talking of cases where the parents are required to take counciling to 
get the child integrated back into the home because the child has run away
or has gotten into juvenile court for some reason and been placed in a
facility.  The majority of parents that *I* see refusing to come in for
the family counciling are fathers.

> This is not just my opinion, it's based on conversations with numerous
> people, some of them counselors, some attorneys, some victims of the
> system.  And the "training" the protection workers get very clearly
> encourages the beliefs that 1) children don't lie about abuse, 2) denial
> is evidence of guilt, 3) the mother must confirm the father's abuse or else
> she is perpetuating the abuse - and therefore can not be trusted with the
> children - and so on.  There is NO room for "innocence" in this system;
> if anyone needs proof of it, go read the San Diego County Grand Jury's
> report of their investigation into SD's children's protective agency.
> It'll curl your mustache and give you nightmares.
> 
> 
> Jerry Roe
> jrr@nsc.nsc.com		...!{sun,pyramid,decwrl)!nsc!jrr

I don't work with Children's Services, although I do see them occasionally.
I do volunteer work with the local Juvenile Court.  That is the area where
I see these type problems.  One thing I do see; a vast majority of the kids
who end up in juvenile care facilitiesre from divorced homes.  Usually
the girls run away because: (a) daddy's new girl friend ran them off
(I work with two sisters that this happened to) or (b) they HATE their
new step-dad.  Boys tend to get into more trouble than girls, they act
out more.  Nearly always they are from brokenomes also.  

Sue
Newsgroups: misc.kids