DEE: Another victim of H&W

I have been following the story of Dee, the young foster child taken from the only home she has ever really known. How unbelievably traumatizing — perpetrated by an agency that the public believes is supposed to act in her best interest. So tragic for all involved.

I have worked in social services for many years, and what most people don’t know or understand is that the Department of Health and Welfare has done this to many children in Idaho. The goal is to reunify the child with family — whether or not it is in the child’s best interest. Then, the department is able to hide behind the cloak of “sealed cases” so the public is unaware of what is really happening to these children.

They are underfunded, but I am not sure money would fix the deep dysfunction within the department. Yes, there are case workers who try to do their best, and are directed to do things they don’t agree with, but it seems many case workers end up so overburdened that they become apathetic; the children they are supposed to help end up being hurt even more. CASA, an agency that actually does advocate for the best interest of the child, is often minimized or completely ignored by the department when the child’s assigned Guardian ad Litem makes a recommendation.

The Department of Health and Welfare should be held accountable. The children of Idaho deserve better.

THERESA STAPLES

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