Reply #55: Yes, it's political [View All]

[ultraist]

Democrats have traditionally supported social programs and of course Repukes haven't. It's all tied up in their world view of "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" and "personal responsibility." Both of which of course ignore macro factors and actual research. The Repukes refuse to accept the reality that an investment on the frontend, saves a lot on the backend. They prefer to let the prison population rate go up, rather than prevent it from being high.

I'm not surprised you encountered someone incompetent and unprofessional at DSS. It also varies in quality from county to count. I worked there for a short time, right out of college. It IS a horrible job. The caseloads are such that you are not able to give any family the time they need and deserve and the pay sucks, especially considering most counties require a Masters degree for CPS work. Additionally, it's very stressful and high burn out work. I saw the saddest and most horrible situations. Babies with broken bones and underfed, girls who had been raped for years by relatives, beaten children, etc. I'm not in the SW field anymore. But, there are some good Social Workers.

As far as preventative programs, there are a number of schools of thought but most include the educational component & a therapeutic component. Some people are referred to more intensive therapy and/or meds.

Sex or drug education programs for instance, are types of preventative programs.