Opinion: Who Remembers the Ghosts of Abused Kids?

Occasionally, we will link to media opinions on aspects of adoption and child welfare that we feel needs more awareness. This opinion piece explains how often history repeats itself when it comes to foster care reforms, especially in Florida. He recounts the many tragic foster care deaths and disappearances that have befallen the at-risk children in Florida over the past decade.

In referring to the Nubia and Victor Barahona case : “Reports will be forgotten. Reforms will be inadequate. Budgets for the care of foster children will shrink. Caseworkers will be overwhelmed. Bureaucracies will flounder. And Florida will surely suffer outrage next year. Or the year after.”

Summing it up: “We’ve had report after report from grand juries and special commissions. That’s Florida’s reaction to a tragedy,” said Howard Talenfeld, longtime child advocate and president of Florida’s Children First. He said various agencies, in a fragmented effort, try to make incremental changes. “But there was no united legislative response.” Instead, budgets were cut. The guardian program was left underfunded. Contractors and states agencies, each assigned pieces of a child’s life, weren’t coordinated, didn’t communicate. And kids kept dying.

Now comes a recommendation out of the governor’s office for a 15 percent cut in the DCF’s budget.

The ghosts of Florida’s forgotten children know what that will bring. ”

Who Remembers the Ghosts of Abused Kids?

[The Miami Herald 2/26/11 by Fred Grimm]

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