How a malnourished girl got help from the system, then vanished

[proud2BlibKansan]

This is an in-depth story of the little girl who was found locked in a closet a few weeks ago. Lots of blame to spread around. And I fear that cuts in social services to families will just lead to more of these kinds of cases.

Six years ago, Jacole Prince admitted that she intentionally withheld food from her 4-year-old daughter to keep her from going to the bathroom too often.

The girl weighed just 26 pounds, the size many babies reach at 18 months. Already malnourished, and continuing to lose weight, she had to be hospitalized.

The state of Missouri said then, in early 2006, that Prince had neglected to properly care for her daughter. The girl and her younger sister were removed from the mother’s home, according to Jackson County Family Court records obtained by The Star. Before Prince could get her daughters back, she’d have to complete a list of requirements set by the state.

In just over a year, she apparently did. By March 2007, when the older girl was in kindergarten, the state deemed Prince a better mom and returned both girls to her.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/06/30/3685098/how-a-malnourished-little-girl.html#storylink=omni_popular#storylink=cpy

[Moral Compass]

1. Horror due to a lack of funding

Buried in the text of this excellent feature is the key to why this happened. Ponder the following quote:

"The district has gone through such massive upheaval since then that there is no one left in administration to explain the practical application of its truancy guidelines in 2007, said district spokeswoman Eileen Houston-Stewart."

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/06/30/3685098/how-a-malnourished-little-girl.html#storylink=omni_popular#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy

What caused the upheaval? Most likely a lack of money, but it might have even been due to Missouri right wing politicians trying to defund Missouri's CPS operation. This was a group that was short on resources and because of that, short on manpower. There have to be employees to perform the monitoring.

We have to all ask ourselves--what do we want our government to do?

If we want to not read these kinds of stories we have to provide sufficient tax dollars to employ the people to do the job. Most importantly, we have to first elect the right kind of leaders that won't starve the organization responsible (Department of Social Services in Missouri. Here in Texas it is Child Protective Services).

As long as we keep electing Randian acolytes we'll continue to have these kinds of horror stories.

[coalition_unwilling]

10. I think the 'district' referred to in the quote is the public school district (when

the quote is placed in its fuller immediate context) and not CPS.

Still I don't disagree with your larger point.

[Wait Wut]

3. No easy solution.

This is the little girl we know about. How many are still locked in closets? The system is overwhelmed. And, let's be honest, some of these case workers are jaded. I can't imagine what they go through every day. How do they look at these children and know that they'll only get a fraction of the long-term help and care they need? They would have to shut down the very part of their soul that would fight to protect the child. Otherwise, they'd go insane.

Where does it start? With the mother? Probably before that. If we looked into the mother's upbringing we'd most likely find some type of abuse or neglect. There are some programs available for young moms, but the majority either don't know about them or think they don't need/want to take advantage of them. Step 1: Educate young mothers. Get them into parenting classes. Address any possible abuse they suffered as a child. Address any substance/alcohol abuse. Treat them like human beings. Step 2: Stop cutting funding to the programs that these moms and kids need. Step 3: Increase funding to social services and hire more social workers. Step 4: Follow up for YEARS, not months. Step 5: Zero tolerance for abuse...cut the pattern. Raise awareness in communities and schools. Address the problem before it becomes reality. Stop treating abuse/neglect like a dirty secret and start talking about it to high school students. We can teach them sex ed. and about contraception, STDs, etc...we need to explain to them the reality of having a child. Expose them to these stories of abuse and neglect. Stop it before the child is conceived don't wait until an anonymous tip comes in.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Great suggestions.

Let's hope there are many lessons taken seriously from this tragic case.

[JDPriestly]

7. We need to have more information made available in an entertaining form about

the proper ways to discipline children. Parenting education works. We need to make it so available that no one can ignore it.

Where is Hollywood on this one?

There are lots of films about bad parenting, but no one every comes out and says what the alternative, the alternative that would have made for a happy child would be.

I think there is a child psychologist who has maybe a book and a video on something like the happiest baby on the block, something like that. As a grandmother, I have heard my children talk about that and I have seen parts of it.

Videos and books on how to treat your children and babies well, and what to expect from them, what is normal behavior for a certain age and what is a signal of a problem should be available, even unavoidable everywhere.

Maybe an Alliance of Parents that involves toy stores, toy and children's food manufacturers plus television, radio and film producers should sponsor campaigns about parenting education. Schools cannot do this. Schools do not reach young adults or their grandparents at the right times and places. The children themselves cannot instruct their parents.

Government and the medical profession should be involved, but the big push has to come from the people who have the most frequent contact with parents -- the manufacturers of baby bottles and baby toys and clothes and the entertainment industry.

[Wait Wut]

17. What an excellent idea!

How about a movie about a teenage mother that actually shows the difficulties she faces and her ability to love and raise her child despite societal opinion and obstacles? Those stories ARE out there and we should make those women heroines. It can't be some Lifetime movie, though. It has to be a fullscale teen movie with all the appeal of any teen blockbuster. How to do that? No clue. I'm not a writer or movie producer, but I'm willing to bet that someone out there has the ability.

Your idea of an Alliance of Parents is something I wanted to start right after my son was born. I had just turned 18 and was appalled at how little moral support was available. All I wanted was some friendly faces, maybe other teen moms that had the same positive attitude I had, etc. I have heard of some small groups that have made the attempt, but they receive so little funding and even less promotion. Doctors, teachers, social workers, etc. should be pointing these young women (and the young dads!) to these support groups.

The idea of getting manufacturers involved is one I hadn't thought of! I know that several make donations of their products to some of the groups I had mentioned, but why not ask them to become more involved? Ask them to fund parenting classes, field trips, education?

[JDPriestly]

23. The subject that could best help the parents like to abuse their children

(and that includes a larger segment of parents than we want to admit) is how to discipline a child without harming him or her.

Parents tend to become very frustrated and then discipline the child in the way that they were disciplined by their parents or caregivers. And usually, that's not the best thing they could do.

There is lots of information available to professionals on how to motivate and discipline a child without anger or physical punishment, etc., but it needs to be made available to parents -- for free -- in a format that they will enjoy and that will make them feel good about using those methods.

[1monster]

5. I sincerely hope that neither one of thos monsters are allowed to get the children back again

under any circumstances. Also, that any future children they may have are immediately removed from them.

Some people should NEVER be allowed to have the care of children.

[Rose Siding]

8. 10 to 30 years for each of 3 felony assault charges, plus 15 years if

the abuse/endangerment charges are considered class B felonies mean a conviction would be 25 years on the low end.

Her child torture days are over.

Our society may suck at keeping up on child welfare but we are grrreat at incarceration. So that's something I guess.

[1monster]

13. That's a start.

[Rose Siding]

6. o god. six years. do you know how long a day is to a child

i can't stop crying. o jesus

and who is this Moron!!!!!!!!!:

“I don’t think they dropped the ball in any way,” said Lowndes, of the Housing Authority. “But you can always improve.”

How much could it have cost Missouri to check on that child every few months for a couple of years after family "reunification"?

What a nightmare. Just learning about it torn me up - how can we even begin to imagine the edges, even a single day of what it did to this tiny little girl?

[xmas74]

11. We just don't have the funding in Missouri.

There are no where near enough case workers to do a huge job. Offices have been outsourced, with call lines that transfer you to who-knows-where. (Just try calling Child Support Enforcement-you'll be on hold for an hour and then talk to someone who has no idea what state you're calling from. And now Family Services is beginning to run "phone interviews" to assess for services in a similar manner.)

Oh, and try walking into an office here. My local office is open to the public for about 2 hours a day if you want to speak with an actual caseworker. And each day is a different kind of application. After that time frame is done the rest of the day is only open for dropping off paperwork-not to speak with anyone.

If that's how the offices are, can you imagine how overbooked the field workers are?

[Rose Siding]

14. I looked up Jackson County's 2010 budget. 93 million for a sports complex

Raised with a sales tax -pgs F-5 and 6 of linked document.

I don't know who pays for the child welfare agency but the amount provide for family court in the same budget was about 20 million. pg D-2.

http://www.jacksongov.org/filestorage/3277/3316/2010_Adopted_Budget_By_Fund.pdf

I don't mean to pick on that county because values like that are screwed up all over. Do pols just not try hard enough to get funding for stuff like this? Who would vote for someone who opposed protecting children?

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Don't get me started

The county went overboard getting that sales tax for the stadiums passed. Meanwhile, the voters haven't approved a levy for the school district since 1969.

[xmas74]

16. DFS isn't funded by the county, it's by the state.

And the state budget is being slashed constantly by the GOP reps at Jeff City.

I don't live in Jackson Co, the sports complex doesn't affect me personally, but I have felt the effects of the budget cuts. It's statewide, not just one county. Cases like this have a better chance of happening in Jackson County because it's the home of Kansas City and the population is too much for the budget allotted by Jeff City.

With a severe deficit more cases will be hidden. Most won't be as horrific as this but still...

[mercuryblues]

20. Privatized care at its finest. n/t

[xmas74]

21. Yep.

It's all call centers located in heavens knows where.

[Pisces]

9. Why did the mother work so hard for reunification. She did not want this child. Others out there are

paying thousands of dollars in hopes of a child. If severe abuse is noted within the first 5 years of life, I think they should take the child away for good and put it up for adoption. Many families would be willing to adopt young children. The parents rarely get it together, especially if drugs are involved. Take them away and give them to good homes.

Council, young drug addicts to give up their children for adoption. Leopards don't change their spots. We need to do what is best for the child, not the parent.

[Wait Wut]

18. Sadly...

...a five year old black child with a history of abuse has little chance of adoption. More than likely, she'd go through several foster homes (some of which have their own horror stories) until she's 18. Then, cut her loose on a wing and a prayer and hope she doesn't repeat the pattern. The odds aren't in her favor.

And, why did this woman fight so hard? Even the worst mother has a maternal instinct. They say that her other two children seemed healthy. At some point, we need to realize that some of that maternal instinct is nothing more than selfishness. To not fight for her child would mean she would have to accept her failure as a parent. That's a tough thing to do for anyone. For someone that could be dealing with failure on a regular basis...it's probably damn near unacceptable. I'm sure she knew that her child would be better off somewhere else.

Some leopards do change their spots, by the way. When I got pregnant at 17 I drank regularly, did any kind of drug that was offered, lived to party. The day I found out I was pregnant, I quit it all including smoking. I also dumped my friends, moved away and decided I was going to take being a mother seriously. I had left home at 16, so I had some idea of responsibility and how to survive. My son saved my life. That's sort of a selfish statement, but he's almost 30 now and turned out to be an incredible man. I don't disagree with you completely, though. A well trained psychologist could probably tell within a few meetings whether a teen girl is ready and willing to sacrifice her freedom to raise a child.

[Pisces]

22. Thank you for your candid reply. What I meant by "the spots comment" was that she had a history of

abusing this child. That does not change. In your case you changed when you had the child. I do think it takes a lot to recognize
your failings and put your child first.

As for a 5 yr. old black child, unfortunately you are probably correct. An infant African American would have no problem being adopted and I wish more women had the insight to know their limitations and want the best for their child. There are never any
easy answers, there are only sad facts that many children are being raised in hideous conditions.

[Auntie Bush]

12. This is one of the most disgusting and sickening cases I've ever heard. The Mother

should have been arrested the first time this happened and never gotten the child back.
No second chances after what they did to this poor little girl. This is SHAMEFUL and many people should lose there jobs and hire more compassionate, responsible, educated, well trained people. Something like this should never happen again in America...the land of the free...rubbish!

[Wait Wut]

19. "Should"

But, won't. The money just isn't there. We can have all sorts of runs, marches, concerts, etc. for breast cancer but children's voices aren't heard.

I have to add a disclaimer because I was attacked for saying this about a year ago. I have two close friends that have both had breast cancer. One almost didn't survive (she's doing friggin' amazing today!). I've made plenty of donations, designed flyers, helped them find sponsors for marathons, etc. I also have a friend that does several benefits a year for the prevention of child abuse and neglect. I do a lot more for him only because he gets so little attention. The problem is, we can have the survivors of breast cancer give tearful speeches, we can hear from the victims families about what their lives are like without their wife/mother/daughter. We can't ask a 7 year old boy to get up in front of a crowd and camera and talk about how his mother burned him with cigarettes, how his father would force him to play Russian roulette, how the neighbor raped him in his own bedroom. It's psychological. Hearing directly from a victim has a greater impact. The only voices these kids get are from people like us. Adult survivors of child abuse are "all grown up" so there's a disconnect with the audience. "Well, you're okay now, so what's the problem?" There's one more big (corporate) problem. Breast cancer makes money. Abuse doesn't. Sick thing to say, but I'm betting that medical supply companies, pharmaceutical companies, etc. make a pretty profit off of breast cancer, so the attention to it puts a little cash in their accounts. Slapping a pink ribbon on a carton makes the buyer feel like they're doing something good. Hell, even I do. There's only money to be spent on child abuse/neglect, not made.

So, my disclaimer is: I'm not blaming breast cancer survivors for the lack of funding for children of abuse/neglect. I'm just jealous.