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.