First I want to say that my prediction being right about this case (2nd in a row) is very sickening and infuriating to me.
I spent many years working with DCFS workers and Foster Care agencies in IL in ways that I won't disclose. I fully agree with you that the vast majority of caseworkers are compassionate people who want to do the best thing for the child. But the SYSTEM they operate in doesn't really work that way. First of all, it's a constant battle of Parental rights vs. Government - that's a tough one. Next, If you can get a child removed where do you put them? Good Foster homes are SERIOUSLY lacking as is the support and follow up systems to help Foster Children get over their past and grow up great. This is evidenced by the fact that 2/3 of all Prison inmates in the USA have been in Foster Care! So what is worse? Is it what their parents did before they went into Foster Care? Is it the Foster homes and Foster Parents? Is it that the children just don't get the treatment they need to recover? And there are SO MANY! Why does our society and our country produce so many horrific people? 2017, 40,000 gun deaths in the USA, 2/3 of them "Suicide" Why? What is going on??? Too many people are living in hell and cultivate a living hell for children. And those children should they survive, often grow up to perpetuate this hell! Just like genetic traits, Social Workers sometimes use maps that track drug addictions like heroin, Criminal activity, Prison incarcerations, etc... It's incredible how having it in a family is passed on like brown eyes or auburn hair. It's the most gut wrenching and complex kind of work that I can think of... Some of the people that do it get a bit thick skinned, like LE can get jaded by seeing the raw underbelly of human nature day in and day out. They know that children sometimes can play the system too to wield power (which is certainly the least of it). So for many years I thought about how to solve these issues. There really needs to be a much better system put into place. When people have done something illegal while having children in the home and especially if they have done anything to their children (including neglect) they should immediately lose any normal legal rights. At the same time, the kind of scrutiny they receive must be much more invasive for much longer periods of time. The parents must be required to be in programs that are extremely extensive in changing ALL of their behavior, not just a monthly visit where everyone pretends things are fine. We need a system that creates TRAINED and highly effective Foster Parents. AND those people need to be monitored very closely as well. All of that costs money. Who will pay? That's a good question. But consider who pays now? What is the societal cost for not doing this? 2 Million people in the USA is in jail or prison at any given time, and 6 Million people have been in Prison. And 2/3 of them where in homes so bad they were in Foster Care. That's a staggering number. Our Schools and communities should be the forefront of prevention. Large cities like Chicago just can't possibly keep up with the horrific things people are doing to their children. I have read case files that are beyond comprehension. I'm serious, someone might get PTSD just from reading what people do to their children on a regular basis. It's beyond the horror of any film out there or any Stephen King novel, and the worst thing is that its REAL. The cost to society is very high for not dramatically addressing the root causes of this. We literally create millions upon millions of extremely dangerous people, people who have very little to live for and who have no reason to play by the rules. By not taking these problems on head-on, we are setting these children up to become as bad or worse than their parents and are also setting them loose on ourselves, our children, our elderly. The DCFS Caseworkers DO need to push harder against the parents and the courts. But not just to remove children from the home, to actually FIX the problem. State Legislatures need to ACT to solve the problem, not just throw money at organizations that spend their time billing the state for caseworker visits (That can easily become a racket that accomplishes very little). Money must be allocated to Educate, Treat, Counsel, Heavily Monitor, Create a legion of extremely good Foster Parents (not parasites that are there to collect the payment for taking in Foster Children, or use the opportunity to themselves abuse the children!) At the same time, what is wrong with the laws and courts where people can be caught time and time again and they don't ever change? If you are an opiate addict, you lose your children, Period! If you are are an alcoholic, you lose your children! If you commit felonies, you lose your children! PREVENTION is the key and what we are doing ISNT WORKING! As for these parents, I have no compassion for them. To me, these are the lowest forms of humanity that exist. They are beyond any repair or value to humanity. They should never see the light of day. In my view, lethal injection would be fine for this pair. It doesn't fix the problem and it won't bring him back. But resources should be spent on preventing people like this from being created in the first place. We need to hit that HARD! Caseworkers do play a role, but every person in this country that doesn't push hard for prevention has the blood on their hands. Personally, I'm not religious and I can't say religion is the answer, but I wouldn't necessarily exclude secular or religious organizations from being part of the prevention. I think some religions are cults in disguise, but that's yet another subject. This problem is so huge it's going to take everyone to change things. NO FREEDOM for people who can't take care of their children properly or humanely. And the bar for that is really really low... dropping below that bar and you have no business being allowed around children at all.
