Can’t We All Get $25 Billion?

I’ve been grumpy, sad, and irritated lately and I wonder how much of it to put on this blog. Then, I remember that this is my place to vent and so it goes again:

My old job has come back to haunt me. Every few months, there’s a story so heinous that it keeps me up at night, just like my old job as a supervisor in a child welfare agency did most nights. Last night, I was up because of this one and sleep continued to evade me because of this.

I saw a lot during my three years working in foster care. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The Good is pretty minimal, but once in awhile there’s a great moment when all the stars align themselves properly. The Bad & the Ugly are much more prevalent and, let me tell you, when it’s bad, its bad. Not one social worker that I’ve ever met spent years in school to graduate in order to do crappy work, but the system is severely broken that at times it matters very little how hard you work.

No, it’s the system that is chronically flawed beyond repair and the two examples above are but two events that happen regularly. I wish that I knew what to do, but I don’t.

Perhaps my anger and sadness the past two days has been exacerbated by this. Why is our government so ready to throw 25 billion dollars at companies that for the most part make sub par products and are run by unions? I understand that the effects of bankruptcies are massive, with millions of jobs lost and therefore millions of tax revenue lost. People bitch about government programs that don’t work all the time, and you could add this one to the list as $25 billion is likely to be but one drop in a big old bucket.

However, I’d take a wager on the fact that $25 billion dollars pumped into our schools and the foster care system would go a very long way into making some of those programs work. In addition to taking care of our children in the way that should be expected of the richest nation on Earth, imagine the amazing consequences if we gave all those kids a fighting chance. The possibilities would be endless, and the tax benefits would be but one way to measure the successes that may result.

So, like those Big Three executives who flew into DC on their corporate jets, I’d like my chance to get before Congress and ask for a piece of the 700 billion dollar pie. I’d even drive my Toyota. Just a thought.

 

Can't We All Get $25 Billion?

I’ve been grumpy, sad, and irritated lately and I wonder how much of it to put on this blog. Then, I remember that this is my place to vent and so it goes again:

My old job has come back to haunt me. Every few months, there’s a story so heinous that it keeps me up at night, just like my old job as a supervisor in a child welfare agency did most nights. Last night, I was up because of this one and sleep continued to evade me because of this.

I saw a lot during my three years working in foster care. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The Good is pretty minimal, but once in awhile there’s a great moment when all the stars align themselves properly. The Bad & the Ugly are much more prevalent and, let me tell you, when it’s bad, its bad. Not one social worker that I’ve ever met spent years in school to graduate in order to do crappy work, but the system is severely broken that at times it matters very little how hard you work.

No, it’s the system that is chronically flawed beyond repair and the two examples above are but two events that happen regularly. I wish that I knew what to do, but I don’t.

Perhaps my anger and sadness the past two days has been exacerbated by this. Why is our government so ready to throw 25 billion dollars at companies that for the most part make sub par products and are run by unions? I understand that the effects of bankruptcies are massive, with millions of jobs lost and therefore millions of tax revenue lost. People bitch about government programs that don’t work all the time, and you could add this one to the list as $25 billion is likely to be but one drop in a big old bucket.

However, I’d take a wager on the fact that $25 billion dollars pumped into our schools and the foster care system would go a very long way into making some of those programs work. In addition to taking care of our children in the way that should be expected of the richest nation on Earth, imagine the amazing consequences if we gave all those kids a fighting chance. The possibilities would be endless, and the tax benefits would be but one way to measure the successes that may result.

So, like those Big Three executives who flew into DC on their corporate jets, I’d like my chance to get before Congress and ask for a piece of the 700 billion dollar pie. I’d even drive my Toyota. Just a thought.

 

When I Wanted to Save the World

I was an idealist and I probably still am.

I really thought that if you had really smart, hard working people in the social work field that we could all make the world a better place.  The truth is that, when I arrived to the profession after earning a master’s degree, I found lots of hard working, intelligent people trying pretty hard to make their corner of the world a little better. 

Its pretty hard to change the world, and since I stopped working and became a SAHM, I try not to forget the problems that I used to see everyday at work…and in my dreams at night.  I didn’t get a good night’s sleep for several years in the early 2000s.  Anyway, I don’t pay a lot of attention to the news because, truthfully, it’s all bad. 

But everyone once in a while, there is something so horrible that I can’t not pay attention to it.  Hurricane Katrina and the coverage of all the crying babies and hungry children and the stories of what was happening to kids in the Superdome.  The story of little Jessica Lunsford in Florida whose neighbor kidnapped her, did unspeakable things to her, and buried her alive.  And now, this little Baby Grace in Texas.  I guess when you think you’ve heard about all the horrible things that people do to their children, something new arises.  Maybe its because they said that she was wearing an outfit from Target, and I think of my own little girls who often have on Target clothes.

The interesting part of this story to me though is that the mom told the biological dad and grandmother that child protective services came and took the child from them.  Child Protective Services is such a hot button issue with so many people and, no matter what people’s backgrounds are, everyone has an opinion.  As a so called expert in this field, let me tell you this:  there are extensive federal and state laws that govern how cps works.  Those agencies are required by those same laws to search out family members who have the ability to take placement of that child.  Children do not simply get swallowed up by a black vacuum called CPS never to be seen again.  If it is unsafe or unfeasible due to an array of circumstances to return a child to their home, family members are naturally the second best alternative next to the parents.

I am so sad for this child and for her father and grandmother.  I wonder what family circumstances led to the dad not seeing his little girl for so long.  I think about how scared this little girl must have been and how she was described as “hyper.”  I wonder if some parents realize that constant uprooting of children from their familiar circumstances and familiar people encourage what can be termed as “hyperactivity.”  This little girl suffered brutal treatment at the hands of the people that were supposed to love her and protect her from a big, bad world.  What kind of mother does this to a child that she gave birth to?  I hate to speak on God’s behalf and certainly normally don’t presume to know what happens to specific people in the afterlife, but I hope there is a special area for people who hurt kids. 

If you or someone you know is involved with CPS, please be your own best advocate.  Child abuse is something preventable and the professionals involved truly want nothing less than to see kids back home where they belong.  I still want to save the world especially when I know that there is a world of kids who, through no fault of their own, need protecting, need food, need not to be scared.