This case is the story of child welfare all over America, not just Connecticut
 |
| NCCPR's new report explains how this can happen |
This week, NCCPR released an in-depth analysis of a child welfare case in Connecticut that serves as a microcosm for the failings of child welfare all over America. In fact, child welfare systems in most states are worse. You can read the full analysis here.
These are the key points:
● Profoundly embarrassed after they took away the children
of Kirsten Fauquet only to have one child nearly die in foster care, the
Connecticut child welfare agency is conducting what amounts to a vendetta
against Fauquet and her partner John Stratzman.
● The extent of the vendetta can be seen in the fact
that DCF is seeking termination of
parental rights against the recommendation of its own expert.
● As is so often the case when child welfare agencies take
swings at parents, the blows are landing on the children. DCF’s vendetta has compounded the trauma for
the children. They have been separated
from siblings as well as their parents and moved from foster home to foster
home.
● At the root of this case is the biggest problem in
American child welfare: the
confusion of poverty with neglect.
Yes, the parents made mistakes – but when you are poor, there is no
margin for error.
● This is the kind of case that is far more typical than the
stories of parents who beat and torture their children. The only thing that makes this case unusual
is the brutality inflicted on one of the children while in foster care. (Abuse in some form is not unusual,
however. Multiple
studies have found abuse in one-quarter to one-third of foster homes, and
the record of group homes and institutions is even worse.)
What has been done to
this family is done to tens of thousands of families every year. But it goes
largely unnoticed.
● That’s partly because child welfare systems can hide
almost everything they do behind confidentiality laws that protect agencies,
not children. This case illustrates the value of open court hearings in child welfare
cases.
● But there’s another reason child welfare systems get away
with hurting children this way: Too many
reporters are too willing to accept a child welfare agency’s version of events
without asking tough questions. This case illustrates how often, when all
sides are heard, the full story looks very different from the version presented
by the child welfare agency.
