Given the horrific reports that repeatedly surface from every so-called “Child Protective” service, it is eminently clear that the State should play absolutely no role in how parents raise their children or have any ability to remove children from their parents and extended families:
A foster parent in Milam County is in jail charged with murder after the two-year-old girl she was taking care of died in her custody. According to Rockdale police, emergency crews responded to Sherill Small’s home in Rockdale when they received a 9-1-1 call on Monday evening stating that a child was not breathing and unresponsive. The child, Alexandria Hill, was flown to Scott and White McLane Children’s Hospital in Temple where she was placed on life support.
Doctors determined that Alexandria had brain hemorrhaging and retinal hemorrhaging in both eyes. Detectives said the explanation Small, 54, gave of the child’s injuries were not consistent with the nature of the injuries determined by the doctors. The child was removed from life support on Wednesday and Small was arrested for murder the following day. Small admitted to authorities that she threw Alexandria to the ground…..
According to court records, Alexandria’s mother had a medical condition that does not allow for the child to be left alone with her. The TDFPS also received allegations that Hill used marijuana on a regular basis and on one occasion Hill almost dropped Alexandria while going down the stairs of the home as he was trying to hand the child to his sister. During the month of November, Alexandria was being cared for by her paternal grandmother before the State intervened on Nov. 26.
It doesn’t matter how bad the parents are. If they commit a criminal act that merits prison, then guardianship of the children should be given to the nearest relatives, not to people whose only interest in the children is pecuniary. There are evil and abusive parents, but the percentage of them is much lower than the percentage of evil and abusive people in the foster care system.
Predators go where the prey is. The fact that they can also arrange to get paid while being provided access to their victims is an indication that the system is entirely insane. As for the idea that the system is regulated, well, so are banks and motor vehicles and we all know how efficient the State is with them.