What would you do? Child Abuse? Neglect?
By shewolf52002
@shewolf52002 (1214)
United States
March 23, 2008 4:16pm CST
This is a long post but it is an important issue so I want to get all the facts out.
A woman I knew when we were children recently moved from another state to live close to us. We helped set them up in fact my husbands boss rented them a real nice place. Well in a matter of a few days they totally trashed the place. They took out a window and even removed a sliding glass door and where it went no one knows. They now live in a house that had no ceilings in two rooms, a living room floor that sways all the way to the ground in the middle and another floor feels as if it will fall through at any moment. We recently found out that their electric was rigged up illegally and the power company found out and removed their meter loop. The oldest girl told my sister that they went without electricity all the time so they were used to it. Plus there was hardly any food in the house. We found all this out because my sister was babysitting while the parents were out of town.
Question is will foster care be better for them? Human services has been to their house before so I wonder if they will even do anything anyway. What would you do?
2 people like this
2 responses
@getunaddicted (210)
• United States
24 Mar 08
Stay on the case of the state's agency for the child welfare, until they do something about it. I learned the hard way that there is very little that you can personally do in this case. I know alot of people will say not to get involved, but sometimes it is worse for the kids if nothing is done ( I know this as a fact). I hope all works out well for them.
@shewolf52002 (1214)
• United States
24 Mar 08
Do you think foster care would be beneficial for them? I am afraid they would not be loved or would be bounced around a lot.
@getunaddicted (210)
• United States
24 Mar 08
No one likes the idea of the family being split up, and the kids being split up in particular. In these days the state actually tries to get the parents to seek the help they may need to take care of the kids first. Do I think that the kids would be better off in foster care, maybe they would, if they are in a situation that is endangering their well being, then maybe they should be placed in a safe place (maybe just temporarily).
My nieces and nephew were taken from my sister and her husband, they lived in places much like what you have described here. They were all adopted by a loving family, together.
@callarse1 (4783)
• United States
24 Mar 08
Hello shewolf, I'm sorry for my words. So let me say "I regret to tell you these facts". To be honest, they sound very bad. Why would they destroy someone's property? I don't think I would ever be their friends. They seem to not know what a family is, what it means to respect other people's property, and then they are trying to steal electric :(((( It sounds like a bad situation to be involved in....
Pablo
@shewolf52002 (1214)
• United States
24 Mar 08
It really is bad. We all grew up in poverty and she pretty much is following that pattern. My siblings and I and even our mother have come out of the poverty, though we never destroyed property or stole from anyone even before we got out. I really dont want to be involved in their life at all but then I feel like a snob. I guess I thought we could help them see that there is a better life to live, kind of like starting over? New state new start on life. It just blows me away that they seem to actually like the way they live.
