Chez Chesler

DSS chief says state must balance children's needs and risks - Boston.com

In a January 25 article, Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi opened the testimony before the House Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, which he forme dafter Haleigh Poutre allegedly was beaten into a coma by her adoptive parents in 2005 after the Department of Social Services decided against taking her away from the couple despite the girl's history of previous injuries by saying, "The number of children confirmed as abused and neglected in 2005-- 35,214 children -- would fill Fenway Park. Half were aged 7 and younger." He said said Massachusetts has the nation's third-highest rate of child abuse and neglect cases. DSS received court permission to remove Haleigh from life support, but when doctors said she showed signs of improvement she was moved to a rehabilitation hospital, where she remains. The state was criticized for moving too quickly to end life support. But then embattled DSS Commissioner Harry Spence acknowledged that cases such as Haleigh's grab public attention. But he said only about 100 of the 28,000 families DSS works with involve cases of grave danger to a child. He said Massachusetts has the second-lowest rate of death among child abuse victims, behind only New Hampshire, and the vast majority of cases his agency handles involve neglect such as failure to ensure a child is properly fed, bathed or supervised.

So it seems to me that DSS is inflating its numbers by calling more situations abuse and neglect than other states, and than commonly accepted meanings of the term. The overwhelming majority of the 28,000 families they work with do not involve grave danger at all.

Labels: DSS