Additional Links

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/fostercare/symposium/conference1.html
http://www.azgovernor.gov/CPS/
http://fight-cps.rallycongress.com/1448
http://www.examiner.com/article/foster-parents-arizona-cps-needs-fixed
http://nccpr.info/
http://txchildren.org/Partners-in-Child-Protection-Reform
http://www.childhelp.org/
http://futureofchildren.org/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=51&articleid=270&sectionid=1782
http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2011/12/30/20111230arizona-cps-changes-recommended-by-task-force.html?nclick_check=1
http://www.azcourts.gov/casa/Home.aspx
http://www.chron.com/news/article/House-Senate-agree-on-CPS-reform-measures-1942828.php
http://amarillo.com/stories/030305/tex_1396104.shtml
https://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/overview/
http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/2012/05/09/child-advocacy-group-culture-of-secrecy-hinders-efforts-to-reform-cps/
http://www.welfareacademy.org/pubs/childwelfare/cps-0392.shtml

Marcus Markee Davis Jr.

http://www.wbtv.com/story/15074085/mother-charged-with-child-abuse-after-baby-found-seriously-injured?clienttype=printable

Marcus Markee Davis Jr. was a 1 year old boy who was murdered by his mother, Shannon Merriman whom was 22. Child protection services was first called to her home in June 2010 when there was neglect, domestic violence and substance abuse suspected. Then in August 2010, they were called again to the home where there was domestic violence suspected. The cases was looked upon and in-home child protective services was required for the safety of the child. In September 2010 there was abuse suspected again when Marcus had injuries that were not accidental by his parents. His father Marcus Davis Sr. was arrested on child abuse charges and the family was still looked upon April 2011. His mother Shannon had completed training and services for domestic violence, therefore the case was closed. In May 2011 it was suspected that the child was being neglected but the case was once again closed in June 2011 when there were no concerns for his well-being. On July 10, Marcus was rushed to the hospital from his mothers home on High Meadow Lane where she claimed he hit his head on the cabinet. She was arrested on July 13 at Carolinas Medical Center and charged with felony child abuse with no bond.

Child protective agencies need to be reformed because some of them are not doing their jobs at saving and protecting children from abuse. There were plenty of times where abuse was suspected and Marcus could have been taken out of this situation. They could have saved his life by taking him away from his mother and putting him in a home where he would be safe. Since he was left there after they visited their home he ended up constantly being abused and died because of this child abuse. Social workers need to be better at knowing when a child is unsafe in a certain home. They also need to further check on children whom have been suspected of child abuse in the past. By doing this they will be able to save more children from the abuse they endure from parents and caregivers.

Khalil Wimes

Khalil Wimes was a six year old boy, who was starved and abused by his parents for a long period of time. He was taken from his parents along with five other children who were permanently taken out of their care when he was born in 2006. According to the report, they were living in a home in West Philadelphia that was not fit to live in and the parents were also using drugs. In 2009, the parents regained custody of Khalil from Domestic Relations Court because the history of the parents was not fully looked upon by the judge. The judge felt that since the parents had taken a parenting class that they had improved, which was not the case. At visitations from a DHS social worker, Courtnei Nance, she failed to report the suspicions she had. On March 19th, 2012 his parents rushed him to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia because they said he was sick. Khalil Wimes ended up dying that same day from malnutrition and blunt force trauma, only weighing about 25 pounds.

Child protection agencies need to be reformed because too many of our children are dying in the hands of these agencies. It is not just social workers fault but also the judges because he is the one who decided to give Khalil back to his parents. He did not fully look into the history of the parents and see that they are not good parents and that the child would have been better off with his foster parent, who was also his cousin. Since he decided to give the parents custody again, Khalil died. Social workers also did not help the situation because the suspicions she had were left unsaid. Therefore, I think that social workers need to supervise better and speak up if they suspect abuse is still occurring. I also think that reform needs to happen because judges are making decisions that are not helping the children but are putting them in danger of facing abuse again. Child protection agency reform needs to happen because too many child death's from abuse is happening in this world.

Ways of reform to stop child abuse and deaths

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/01/news/la-ol-dcfs-child-deaths-abuse-blowback-20130301

Following the many child abuse cases and child deaths while in the system, the Department of Children and Family Services wants to try to put a stop to these deaths and child abuse cases.  Social workers are also trying to find ways of reform to help prevent death and the child abuse children face everyday. To reform the system they want to lighten the load by lessening the amount of cases they have to 14. They also want to hire more social workers so that the amount of cases to a social worker will be less. They want to end the culture of fear, implement education-based discipline, get social workers more active in their clients, make managers and policymakers help with casework, and make emergency more accessible.

I feel that it is important for child protection agencies to often have reforms in order to better their agencies. By reforming they are constantly making change in order to help more children effectively. By lightening the load, this will give social workers the opportunity to really focus on their case. They will be able to slowly make the right decisions for children while they are not under a lot of stress and pressure from the other cases. By hiring more social workers, they will be able to implement the first option of reform which is to lessen the amount of cases. By getting 1,400 more social workers they will be able to help more children and have more people to help with the cases of child abuse and stop the many deaths that are happening. I also feel that it is very important to get more social workers involved because children all need to be protected. They should not only be handling the paperwork but also out helping as many children as they can. This will allow more children to be saved from abuse and death. When managers and policymakers get more active in the cases of children they will be able to help more children because they will be involved. They will also be able to understand all of the stress and pressure social workers are put under. I think that by reforming the agencies in these ways will help prevent child abuse from happening. It will also make child protection agencies better because they are making a change for the better and safety of children.

Checking the history of all parents needed

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2008/12/21/children_services.ART_ART_12-21-08_A1_LEC9PVC.html

    In some state reviews they say that caseworkers failed to protect children's safety. They did not check the background of the parents and they also closed cases that should have not been closed because children may have still being abused. Foster care agencies also failed to do background checks on foster parents and because of this children have died. For these mistakes, they are trying to improve the system in which children are supposed to be protected. The Office for Children and Families and the state are also trying to get better training for caseworkers in order to also better the agency as a whole. With the new alternative-response program they are trying to find ways to lesson the abuse children face and get them into safer homes. Another change that will happen is that caseworkers will be informed when the fingerprints of suspected abusive parents is connected to a crime so that they children will be taken out of their care and into the foster care system.

    The changes that are supposed to happen is a good start to trying to improve the system of CPS.  If caseworkers start to actually check backgrounds not only foster parents but also the biological parents, children will be safer. By having these background checks done regularly, social workers will be able to see whether the child is safe in their home. This will ensure the children that they are safely protected and are in a place where they will not be harmed. Better training for social workers is also a good idea because they will know how to handle certain situations that they were probably not put in before. They will have that prior experience and knowledge to know how it should be dealt with and will know how it will affect the child. Therefore, child protection agencies are stepping up and trying to reform the agency and make it better for the safety of children.

Social workers becoming more involved for the better of children

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/nov/25/opinion/la-oew-golan-child-abuse-20101125

Social workers are now getting involved in trying to reform the system to help more children and to change how they handle situations. They feel that the major issues that need to be changed are the need for training, consistency, the emergency response backlog and improve policies. They realized that in order for changes in law, policies and decisions they needed fewer caseloads and also more social workers to come help. They also see the need to involve law enforcement, healthcare, and child welfare community to help children because they are still being abused. Others suggested that social workers also need tougher discipline. Another change that they want is access to information just as police have on families in order to prevent child abuse from happening. They will also have more information such as criminal records on everyone who lives in the home.

    I think that it is good to see that social workers are trying to involve themselves in trying to reform the child welfare system. They are doing thier part to see that a change will occur for children's safety. Although there are major things that need to happen in the system, social workers are getting involved and taking action to help the lives of those children are who suspected of being abused. By speaking out as they are, people are seeing and hearing this and realizing that these changes need to quickly happen so that children will be out of these abusive homes. By getting others involved also such as police and the community, it will help prevent or stop the abuse children face at the hands of their parents. I feel that fewer children will die and will not fall through the cracks of the child protection agencies if more people get involved in trying to help save all children from neglect and abuse. By having better training social workers would also know how to deal with certain situations better and can make wiser decisions on the outcome of a case.

Nicholas Goodrich

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2008/12/21/children_services.ART_ART_12-21-08_A1_LEC9PVC.html

    Nicholas Goodrich was an eleven month old baby boy, who was abused by his mother’s violent boyfriend. With suspicions of abuse, many people called into social services to save this suffering baby. According to “The Columbus Dispatch” in four weeks, twelve calls had been made to Franklin and Delaware county official by neighbors to stop the abuse. A neighbor stated that he had a bite mark on his cheek, bruises all over his body, was malnourished and had severe diaper rashes. Another stated that he would die if nothing was done to help him. With all the calls of plead from neighbors, child protective services still did not see that the child was being abused. They did not go to the home for the safety of the eleven month old baby. He ended up dying when his mother’s boyfriend picked him up by the throat and threw him across the room after being angry because he kept crying. 

    This proves that when Child Protective Services do not go to the rescue of children being abused they die in misery. They go through the horrible abuse put on them by the people who are supposed to love them. They do not put in enough effort to protect children, which is their main responsibility in their job. According to "The Dispatch" 87 of the 234 children died from 2002 to 2007 under Ohio's child protection agency. This shows that they are not doing enough to save children because too many are dying while CPS is supposed to be protecting them from abuse. Ohio's child protection agencies also need reform because too many of our children are put through abuse and still face it even after they are in the system. They are too being failed by social workers, which is not supposed to happen in the place where they are supposedly safe. I am realizing that sometimes children are not even safe in the system. They continue to be let down and constantly abused when social workers make the decision to leave them in the care of their parents when there are obvious signs of abuse or neglect.

Tori Sandoval

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOmYDbA-LMM

    Vyctorya Sandoval was a two year girl who was taken from her mother along with other siblings. After eight months of being in the care of her foster parents, Kelli and Teri Sedgewick, she was given back to her biological parents. None of her other siblings were given back to their biological parents. A few months later, Vyctorya died in the care of her mother. She had bruises, a fractured rib and died of malnutrition in the hospital after doctors tried to save her. Her foster parents pleaded in a letter stating that if she went back she would end up on the daily times, which in return did happen. Vyctorya had no voice in order to tell them that she did not want to go back to her parents. She was forced back there by the system and because of this her life ended sadly.

    This shows that child protective services failed in their effort to keep her safe. They did not effectively supervise how her parents were treating her after she was given back. Her parents had not improved the way they treated their daughter and in result killed her. If child protective services and judges would have looked closely to the reoccurring abuse in the home and the plead from the foster parents, Vyctorya would still be alive. They failed to keep a healthy child alive by not keeping her in the care of foster parents who were willing to take good care of her. Even with their pleas the court continued to ignore it and did not look further into the case. Since they also did not supervise thoroughly they did not see that she was still being abused and was suffering with her parents. I feel that since none of her other siblings were with their biological parents then why should she have been given back. It makes no sense for one child to be given back when they see that the others have a voice to say they have been abused and will not return to the biological parents home. Child protective service put this little girl back into these horrible parents home and because of this they let another child die and they failed her. 

Hiring more social workers for reformation

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/11/local/me-dcfs11

In Los Angeles's agencies for child protection services, there are many cases where they have realized that they have made some mistakes. Therefore, they are trying to get more social workers to work on cases so that the few they have will not be overloaded on cases. By having so many cases and not a lot of social workers working on cases then they are bound to make a mistake. The Department of children and Family Services now see these mistakes and are trying to investigate to see how these mistakes happened and what they can do so that they will not happen again. They are also taking disciplinary action to the 2,300 children's case workers. As a result of the mistakes they are thinking of hiring 19 internal case workers. Also there were 10 cases of death where it could have been stopped if social workers had done their jobs effectively.

This article shows me that social work services especially in Los Angeles need reform because even while children are in their system, they are still dying. Children are being failed due to the fact that social workers are not doing their job and keeping their promise of keeping children safe. In 2008, those 10 deaths of children could have been prevented if social workers would have payed attention to the signs of abuse. They let children slip through and also let them down when they didn't come to their rescue to save them from their parents. By reforming and getting new social workers to help hopefully more children will be saved. They will be able to focus on the number of cases they have and will be able to put more attention on those cases. I also feel that the disciplinary action that is taking place will be good for them because they will realize that they let children down. They will see that their jobs need to be taken more seriously to help children. They will also realize that these little mistakes could have been prevented and those children would not have died if they would have took their time.

Change takes time in L.A County's CPS

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/24/local/la-me-browning-20130225

Los Angeles child protection agency is ashamed at the fact that children died under the watch of their system. When Philip Browning became the lead in L.A County's agency he did not plan on letting everyone down, but instead some children were failed by his system and in result they died. It has taken a long time for Browning to improve his agency in order to help the 19,000 foster children and 160,000 child abuse complaints they receive. While in the system two children were beaten and tortured by a woman who adopted them from foster care. These problems began while the agency was under the care of the director at the time, Trish Ploehn and William Fujioka. 

With the failure of Trish and William in the agency, Philip tried to approach the agency with a different plan to better the system. When he entered into the agency his need to want to make their system better was shown. He has issued a promise to reform his agency, which includes paying the employees more for those who work hard on child abuse investigations. He also will have better technology and management support. Thus, he is working diligently to improve the agency which was caused by the poor work of the former leaders of L.A County's child protection agency. Although, the agency was not very efficient in the beginning, change for the better is happening slowly to the agency to help more children.

Child abuse and why I feel the need for reform

    Child abuse is happening everywhere and everyday in this world. Many children are constantly beaten and left with bruises all over their body. Most bruises are hidden and in few cases you would never know a child is being abused. Parents and guardians are good at leaving bruises in places that are covered by clothing and children are  afraid to say anything. They are afraid that if they tell they will get in trouble and will be abused again. Few know that there is help out there, those that can help them and places where they will not be abused and will be shown real love from parents. A place where they will feel safe and secure and will not suffer abuse constantly. A place where they will finally truly be happy and can live a life as a child should.

    Although there are child protective agencies out there to help these children, I feel that some of them could be reformed to better help children everywhere.  For example, in the case of Peter Connelly his social worker, whom was named Maria Ward, was overloaded with 18 cases. She did not take action when there were suspicions of abuse. He constantly had bruises but listened to the mother on how it was an accident. One day while visiting, Peter was covered in chocolate but Ward only asked her to clean him up after he left. His mother used this as a way to cover up the many bruises on his body but Maria ignored this cover up. Four days later he was found dead in only a diaper. This shows that because she did not take precaution and actually look over the boy and follow up on her suspicions he ended up dying. She did not give enough effort to stop this abuse because she was also overwhelmed with so many other cases. She was not focused solely on Peter's well-being and because of these reasons he died while under her watch.

    I also feel that child protective agencies could be reformed because they also need more training. I think that this is a career that many social workers need to be trained more to know how to handle situations better. The situations that they are put in and the decisions they have to make are tough decisions to make regarding the children. They should have tough classes on how to handle certain situations and problem solving for the better of the children and families. Social workers should also be given more training because they need to have more experience with the career field before they are thrown into the job and have to go without prior experience. Therefore, I feel that social workers should be given better training so that they can make decisions that are best for children who are abused.  

History of CPS

http://www.child-abuse-effects.com/          http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/health/15abus.html?_r=0

    Child Abuse has always existed, it is nothing new to the past few years. It has been a big problem throughout the world, although they may not have considered it to be child abuse. People considered it to be the discipline of their children, a way to make them listen. In ancient Rome, parents had the right to own property and also their children. Fathers had permission to discipline their children anyway they felt they needed . In England, children were also considered the property of their father. They sent their children to factories, mines, and workhouse to work. When they were not working hard enough they were beaten so that they could work faster and harder. In England, children worked sixteen hour days in factories while chained.

    In that time, it was considered acceptable behavior for the parents to beat their child. It was not until 1873, that child abuse became noticed when a little girl, Mary Ellen was abused and neglected by her parents. She was locked in a dark room all day while her parents were gone. This child abuse was brought to attention by Mrs. Angell Wheele and Mr. Henry Bergh. At this time, there were no child protection laws, but there were laws against animal abuse. Thus, Ms.Wheele took the case to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals because she felt that since animals had protection, children should too. Henry Bergh then took it to the New York Supreme Court where Mary Ellen was taken out of her mother’s care. In December 1974, a child protective agency was founded called “New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children”. Life was hard for children from many different cultures and backgrounds because they were abused by mainly their parents. In the past, it was not considered child abuse but as a way of disciplining their children. Parents and adults in those centuries did not see it as a problem but as a way to teach their children.

     I feel that in the ancient times, it was still child abuse anyway you put it. They were beating on their children because they were not doing the right thing or because they didn't work hard enough. This also happened in England and I feel that parents should not have considered their children property. These children were beaten everyday by there parents for things that were not that serious, I think that those parents could have talked to them and that would have been enough for them to work harder. They did not have to take it as far as beating them to work faster. This is exactly how child abuse came around. To try to prevent this abuse a child protective agency was formed and I believe that this helped a little. It helped stop some child abuse but not all of it happening in this world. Children were and are still being abused even though there are child protective agencies out there that are supposed to stop this horrible abuse.

New laws in effort for reform in Arizona CPS

  http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/20130221arizona-cps-reform-moves-forward.html
   
    Lawmakers in the state of Arizona are trying to make it easier for social workers by creating a system where there are people who complete the child abuse cases and those who complete the neglect cases. By doing this it will allow social workers to not be so overwhelmed with the number of cases that are thrown upon them. A bill that was announced and approved by Congress said that teachers and doctors who suspect abuse can now report it online instead of having to wait for someone to talk to them. Jan Brewer the governor and the Department of Economic Security are also trying to help these overwhelmed social workers so that they can do their jobs better and help all children. The Department of Economic Security is also trying to give the less serious child abuse cases to community social service agencies so that it will reduce the number of cases by the House Bill 2144. Another law that was discussed was that police and CPS work on cases that involve criminal activity. Although this is good, there are too many cases to investigate in that state.

    I feel that these proposed laws are a good reform that strongly needs to happen to all child protective agencies. These additions to the CPS system is a good way to help reduce the caseloads social workers are given. If Arizona uses this system where child abuse cases are handled somewhere while the neglect cases are handled by others this will greatly affect the lives of children. Social workers are then able to put more effort into child abuse cases because they will not be so overworked by the system. They would also be able to put more time into  the cases and will be able to make the right decisions regarding the children in the situation. I also feel that with police and child welfare agencies involved together it will greatly help the result of the situations the children are in. By working together they can decide effectively how the cases should be handled and in the best way possible for all children. Even though there are a lot of cases, I believe that if they work together many of them could get done but maybe not all. At least by working together more children are being saved from this abuse.

Biggest challenges with senior project thus far

    In the beginning of senior project, I was not prepared for senior project and what was to come. When it was time to start picking a topic, I had no idea what I wanted to do my senior project on. At first I was going to pick a topic such as premature babies. It was based on the fact of how some doctors believe that some premature babies shouldn’t be saved because they were born so early. I have strong feelings about this topic because I was premature and I feel that each baby should have a chance at life. With this topic there would not have been enough evidence and information to support a 8-12 page paper. Therefore, I choose to change my topic to a different topic that has an influence or part in my life. After looking for information about premature babies I changed my topic to child abuse and how it affects children. Also the reasons on why child protective agencies need to be reformed. Therefore, choosing my topic was my biggest challenge.

    When I choose my topic, I knew that I wanted it to be about something that had an influence on me. The topic of child abuse came about because my aunt is foster care parent. I play some part in the children’s lives when I often visit her house. When I started researching more into the topic, I didn’t really know what I would include in my paper. This was also a challenge in my senior project because I had to find stories and information to support what I believe about child protective agencies. It was a little difficult to connect certain facts to certain stories but in the end I completed it.

    One of my other biggest challenges in senior project is finding a mentor. This is one of the hardest parts of this senior project because I do not know who to go to about my topic. I would like my mentor to have experience about the things children go through while being abused mentally, physically, or emotionally. I would like my mentor to have this type of exposure so that they can effectively help me with my project. This is also one of the biggest challenges because it is a little hard to find a mentor with this type of experience. Therefore, I will hopefully soon find a mentor who can really help with my senior project by also having that type of experience.

Why I choose my topic

    Entering into senior year, I knew that there would be a senior project that I would have to complete. Many ideas flowed through my mind as to what topic I would choose. I knew that I wanted to choose something that involved a particular part about me or a topic that has impacted me.  At first thought the topic of premature babies entered my mind.  I wanted to tell people more about what went on at hospitals with babies born early and the complicated decisions that have to made about whether or not the baby should live. After researching information, I knew that I figured out that it would not be a strong topic to talk about. There would not be enough information to do an 8-10 page paper. Therefore, I choose the topic of child abuse.

    I choose this topic for several reasons, one because I knew that more people needed to become more informed about the subject. About a year ago, my aunt became a foster parent and I have had the opportunity to be in their lives to help guide them. With the estimated 35 children she has had thus far, I have heard of the many stories of where they came from. A lot of them were being neglected and abused by their parents; some even found sleeping on bags full of trash. This topic has impacted my life because I see how some children are treated by their caregivers and I am thankful of how my life has tuned out.  Whereas their lives were not good and started off hard. My aunt has impacted me to maybe even become a social worker later in the future.

    Another reason why I choose this topic was because of the stories of young children dying from abuse.  With the story I heard on the news about a young boy named Khalil Wimes, I knew that there was still a lot of child abuse going on in homes. Through this I learned that sometimes social work agencies were the main problem with this issue. Some do not care enough and others are not fully paying attention to the children they are supposed to protect. I felt that child protective agencies needed to be changed in order to save more children, which is why I choose my topic. They also need someone who will actually be there to protect them from harm which is supposed to be their main priority. I feel that sometime social workers don’t put in enough effort. Children all around the world needs to know that social workers are here to help and keep them safe from child abuse.  Therefore, I believe that child protective agencies need to be reformed because too many children are being failed in this system and are dying because of this.

Budget cuts harm CPS

http://www.sacbee.com/2009/09/11/2174843/budget-cuts-could-hurt-progress.html

The latest budget cuts have really effected the child welfare systems in Sacramento. This budget cut amounted to $8.8 million in funds, which caused them to decide to cut this money from child welfare programs. In result they had to plan to lay off some social workers because of this big cut. Many people felt that they should cut money from other places because this would really affect the children. By not having a lot of social workers to do their job to help all the children suffering from abuse, this will lessen the chance to help every child. They anticipate that 199 social workers will be cut and will lose their job. Frank Mecca stated that "Child welfare agencies across the state are facing budget squeezes because of declining revenues, increased costs and state funding reductions". These are the reasons he feels that social work agencies are forced with this big cut.

I also put budget cuts at fault for the many deaths of children. Although this cut has helped a little because social workers put more effort in trying to monitor and help all children. It has had a positive effect but also a negative one because with less social workers to do their jobs, more children are at risk for continuing abuse. Social workers are then overwhelmed with the amount of cases they have to take on, therefore the risk of harm by children's guardians go up because social workers are not focused enough on one case. With few social workers because of the budget cut, the safety of children is not as fully accomplished as it were before social workers were fired. Thus, federal budget cuts to child welfare agencies is one of the most important factors to why I believe the system not only needs to be reformed but also the budget cuts that are happening.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2009/09/11/2174843/budget-cuts-could-hurt-progress.html#storylink=cpy

CPS system failure

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Rafael-Raffy-Gomez-DSHS-CPS-Washington--179720081.html

Rafael Gomez was a two-year old boy who was taken away from his parents because his mother and father were addicted to using drugs. He was one of the youngest out of five other siblings. Before he was born his parents Jose Arechiga and Maribel Gomez were in a car accident along with his older siblings. They were intoxicated and the children were taken into foster care but then given back once she agreed to take treatment classes. When he was born he was then put into foster care because he was born with cocaine in his system. Once again he was given back to his parents and he ended up dying. The reports from the hospital said that he had a fractured skull, scabs on his head, and bruises on his ear. He ended up dying when his mother said he fell out and when taken to the hospital was not breathing.

Now 10 years later, his sister Maria Gomez feels that the system has failed her family again. Her siblings are all spread apart in different foster homes and she is barely able to see them. They are constantly moved around from home to home. One of the reason she feels they have failed her is because the state is supposed to meet a requirement that 75% of children go with their siblings to live. It was supposed to be intact so that siblings can stay together and children will still have a positive effect on their lives even through their situations. Only 62% of children have been placed with their siblings.

This story shows how the system has once again failed to effectively help this family in two ways. One was when Rafael was constantly given back to his mother and secondly because Maria's siblings were not placed with her as their requirement stated. This is a big change that needs to happen within all child protective agencies because too many children are dying. They failed Rafael when he was given back to his mother and now they are failing Maria. I think that they need to stick to their requirement and make sure that these children have a positive outlook on their situations. They should be able to go with their siblings if they are able to provide a stable life for them. Therefore, the reform of better supervising of parents and meeting requirements set like the availability of living with other siblings should be enforced.

Child deaths- The reasoning behind them

http://www.nccpr.org/reports/8Realreasons.pdf

In this article by the National Coalition for child protective reform they talk about the reasons as to why children die everyday from abuse while in the system. Some of the main reasons were because of overwhelmed social workers, social workers with little training in which a bachelors degree is only required and also social workers have little experience with the job field. I believe these reasons are the most problematic to the child protective system. With social workers having little experience they are forced into these situations where they must make very important decisions based on their little to no prior experience. Also they say that social workers are overwhelmed because of the number of cases that are false. Officials are informed of this and they state that :"Child Protective Services staff are faced with violating policy by declining to investigate clearly low risk complaints or spending time and energy [on them] at the expense of having adequate time [for] more serious situations".

I feel that this article on child abuse reform is a very good way to bring attention to the things that need to be changed. These reasons as to why many children are being failed by CPS are exactly why I feel that child protective agencies need to be reformed. I strongly feel that the most important reason as to why children are being failed is being too many social workers are overwhelmed. When they are overwhelmed they tend to not put as much effort into all of their work because they are too busy with other cases. They put little time into each case, which causes them to make bad decisions. This is one of the most important laws that needs to be reformed because they should not have to be put under that much pressure with the severity of child abuse cases. Although I feel overwhelmed social workers is the most important I also feel that they should have more training. In order to become a social worker I feel that they need more experience before becoming a social worker with children's lives in their hands.

Reforming Child Protection Services

http://www.childhelp.org/blog/entry/cps-reforms-are-one-giant-step-forward-for-kids/

    In Arizona, Child Protective Agencies want to set up a place for children who have been abused rather than all of them being put into foster parent homes. They want to make child advocacy centers for children who are taken out of the care of their parents. They believe that this is a great way to help all those children who are being abused. Instead of children being ignored and neglected by CPS, they are trying to reform in order to be able to help all children. They want to be sure that children are now safe and that those who abuse them face consequences.

    Along with this advocacy center they want to hire people with law enforcement experience and also those who can recognize when a child is being abused. They would then give the case to police who will see if a crime of abuse has been committed. By doing this reform it would get more police involved and more children will be safer. Another part that they want to change is getting more training for social workers. By having more social workers with better training children will be safer. They will also be able to go into home to check on children's safety when abuse is suspected and parents won't let them in.

    I feel that this is a great way to change how children are protected. By having more training for social workers they are more knowledgeable about what should be done in certain situations. This change will be for the better of all children because they will be helped more effectively than they have before. Also by having child advocacy centers for abused children, this will allow more children to come into the system where they will be safer. This way all children will not be crammed into foster homes and they will not have to search to find homes for these abused children to go. Therefore, I believe that this is a great reform that is really going to help all children in a positive way.

CPS fails Elisa Izquierdo

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/1995/12/10/the-death-of-little-elisa.html

Elisa Izquierdo like many other children was unfortunately not protected by the people who are supposed to protect children. She was failed by Child Protective services, like DHS and was forced to suffer the abuse she faced daily from her mother Awilda Lopez, whom was 29 at the time. Her mother and father broke up due to the fact that her mother was addicted to crack. When Elisa was born her mother was using crack, therefore social services took her away. Her father Gus Izquierdo was then given custody and took care of her as they say like a "princess".

He always took care of her and did everything possible to make her life good. He enrolled her into a school called Brooklyn YWCA Montessori Day School. Her mother Awilda began to fight back, in attempt to get custody. She was granted visitation on the weekends in 1991 due to the fact that she seemed to be getting her life together by going to a drug-rehab clinic. When coming home after visitations with her mother she would have bruises, would throw-up and would be quiet. After seeing this and suspecting abuse, Gus and teachers called and told CPS that abuse was happening. The court still allowed Elisa to see her mother on weekends with the exceptions that she doesn't slap or hit Elisa. In 1994, Elisa's father died from cancer and she was given to her mother. In November 1995, Elisa died from the abuse by her mother. She had bruises all over her body including her genitals. Her mother was sent to prison for second degree murder and was sentenced 15 years to life in prison.

This story shows how officials in New York could have been stopped this abuse from the beginning. They did not take the case serious and because of this lack of 'social work' she died. I feel that it is fully their fault that they let this little 6-year old girl die because they didn't keep her out of the custody of her mother. This was the biggest case in New York City that should have shown Child Protective Services that they really need reform because they are failing many children. This should have been the time that they really take action and try to improve child welfare agencies to make them better so that children do not die in their hands. Of course child protection agencies have made some change since this 1995 case but, it is not enough because many children are still dying and are facing abuse when they are aware of it. This needs to stop and Child Protection Agencies and all the others need to come together to stop this trend of child abuse happening all over the world.

Ti-Ryn Emery

Ti-Ryn Emery was a four month old baby who was taken out of his mother, Rachel Emery's care in September of 2010. He was taken from her and given to her old boyfriend by the name of Michael Vanderveur, who claimed to have been the baby's father. It seems that he was living a good life with his mother but Vanderveur came and took the baby and also would not give the mother her son back. This type of behavior was permitted by Child Protective Services because the police stated that the parents were in a custody battle. He was then allowed to have Ti-Ryn in his custody and CPS never took the time to investigate this issue. On October 5, Ti-Ryn was taken to the hospital. Prior to this incident Rachel Emery called CPS and told them of the pictures she saw of bruises on his body. She also asked that he go into foster care until the custody battle was settled. They ignored her and on October 5th, he died and was reported brain dead.

This case about Ti-Ryn shows how CPS needs to be reformed because they did not listen to her plead for her child's safety. They ignored the constant concern from her and others but took no action to investigate. He was constantly abused by Michael Vanderveur and in the end it was too late to stop the abuse even though they were aware of this concern of abuse. Many children are still being abused while in the CPS system. Other than Ti-Ryn there are about 700 other cases where children were in the CPS system but were ignored  by social workers and in result died. Now they may face a penalty for not doing enough to save these children from abuse.