aussiegran
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- Oct 20, 2005
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If you wanted a sympathetic ear for a hard-knock tale, the last place to turn might be the spectators in juvenile court -- estranged parents, criminal lawyers, social workers with enough troubles of their own to worry about. Let alone, somebody else's.
Still, when District Court Judge Susan Bray recited the boy's story Thursday in a small, stuffy Greensboro courtroom, as she prepared to enter an order in his favor, the restless chatter stopped, except for the occasional sigh or muttered "Damn."
Now, they had heard it all -- a story of uncommon cruelty, compounded by layer upon layer of bureaucratic incompetence. And finally, no remorse from the only parent the boy, at age 15, has left -- the Department of Social Services.
"This is very ugly," said Lewis Pitts, a Legal Aid attorney who represents the child in an impending foreclosure on his house. "All these people were supposed to look out for the welfare of this boy. Instead, they've been pocketing his money."
In a case that illustrates the daunting odds that face teens aging out of foster care, the story began when the boy was a baby and his father, soon after adopting him, died of cancer.
In his will, church custodian Tracy Studivent left young John a savings account, a monthly survivor benefit and a Habitat for Humanity house with a small monthly mortgage.
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051218/NEWSREC0101/512180313
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:dance: Well done to this judge. what a sad life this boy has had .
Still, when District Court Judge Susan Bray recited the boy's story Thursday in a small, stuffy Greensboro courtroom, as she prepared to enter an order in his favor, the restless chatter stopped, except for the occasional sigh or muttered "Damn."
Now, they had heard it all -- a story of uncommon cruelty, compounded by layer upon layer of bureaucratic incompetence. And finally, no remorse from the only parent the boy, at age 15, has left -- the Department of Social Services.
"This is very ugly," said Lewis Pitts, a Legal Aid attorney who represents the child in an impending foreclosure on his house. "All these people were supposed to look out for the welfare of this boy. Instead, they've been pocketing his money."
In a case that illustrates the daunting odds that face teens aging out of foster care, the story began when the boy was a baby and his father, soon after adopting him, died of cancer.
In his will, church custodian Tracy Studivent left young John a savings account, a monthly survivor benefit and a Habitat for Humanity house with a small monthly mortgage.
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051218/NEWSREC0101/512180313
>>>>>>>>>>
:dance: Well done to this judge. what a sad life this boy has had .