I recently linked to the sad story of an 11-year-old girl here in Massachusetts, Haleigh Poutre, who had been severely beaten and on life support. The Department of Social Services had petitioned the court to remove her ventilator, but when it was turned off she began to breathe on her own.
In today’s Boston Herald, they give an extensive background on Haleigh’s family and on what they’ve pieced together of her sad life. It boils down to this: Everyone failed her. Her mother, her father, her adopted mother and father, her grandmother, her great-grandmother, her babysitter, and finally the state government.
No one noticed a thing
Technorati Tags: child abuse, Massachusetts
Words fail when I read reports like this hell on earth. One need not be a formal worshipper of Satan to do the devil’s work.
As for the incompetence of our government bureaucracies and representatives, whether DSS social workers, supervisors or pyschiatrists, they are all part of the frequent incompetence of government agencies uusually wherever they are found—exceptions being more the rule.
I worked in this field in the mid-1970s here in Chicago, actually for Catholic Charities’ Department of Family and Aged Services, and can speak to the often crass stupidity of workers at the Illinois DCFS, public school personnel, the VA and other government agencies. And yes, I saw and reported awful stories back to my Catholic Charities’ supervisors—DCFS getting pushed to become involved. And getting pushed to stay involved—though we sometimes had to follow them informally to ensure that the matter was addressed in a safe and sane manner
It should be the business of the DSS or DCFS to prevent the worst of these cases from occurring. But they are often focused on minor incidents so that their caseloads become overwhelming. And many workers for the government could not get a job with a private agency—because as so often is the case, merit is a secondary requirement.
Haleigh is a little living martyr and a miracle story. She has been in my prayers since I first read of her surprise awakening just before the court ordered her death. May God hold this poor child in His loving hands.
The Department of Social Services had petitioned the court to remove her ventilator, but when it was turned off she began to breathe on her own.
Just to be clear:
The DSS petitioned for the removal of all life support—including food—and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in its wisdom granted it.
In other words, the DSS asked for permission to kill the girl, and got it.
They’d better keep an eye on her. She’s likely to have dissociative identity disorder or borderline personality. Poor girl. A person doesn’t usually live through that sort of thing without damage.
The poorest of the poor. Deprived of every basic: love, food, even air.
As I said in another post, give her to me. I’ll take her.