Phoenix, AZ, Parents arrested after twins, 5, caged 'like animals'
Mark Fenster
Below, a sad case. Not surprisingly, the state child welfare agency
now has custody of the two boys.
Picture of the cage at:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0825kidscage25.html
Fenster
***************************************************************
Parents arrested after twins, 5, caged 'like animals'
Police have to cut boys out
Laura Dobbins
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 25, 2003 12:00 AM
For four months, two 5-year-old Phoenix brothers lived inside
roach-infested cages, their bodies covered with bedsores.
When police arrived at their home in the 1900 block of North 22nd
Street on Saturday night, the twin boys were wearing soiled pajamas
and officers needed wire cutters to open their man-made cells.
"They were happy to see us and opened their arms wide, reaching out to
be held and picked up," recounted Phoenix police Sgt. Jacqui
MacConnell.
Phoenix police officers said their story is among the most disturbing
child abuse cases they've ever seen.
The boys' parents, Louis and Etelvina Rodriguez, were arrested on
suspicion of two counts of child abuse and kidnapping. They are being
held at the Madison Street Jail with bond set at $243,000 each. The
children are in the custody of state Child Protective Services.
Police discovered the children after the boys' older brother,
20-year-old Bayron Grihalua, told officers at a local grocery store
about their living conditions, said Sgt. Randy Force, a Phoenix police
spokesman. Grihalua could not be reached for comment Sunday evening.
Etelvina Rodriguez, 42, told police her husband wanted the boys in
cages because he suffers from health problems and didn't want to keep
up with the active children. Police did not elaborate on Louis'
condition, but neighbors say the 69-year-old man suffers from heart
trouble.
The Rodriguezes are the second couple arrested by Phoenix police in
the past 10 weeks accused of locking their children in confined
spaces. In June, officers arrested Melanie and Ricardo Loubriel on
suspicion of child abuse after discovering their 7-year-old son locked
in a dark closet where he had apparently been kept for several months.
"There's no excuse for this," Force said. "Resources are available to
people who need help. You don't cage your children like animals."
MacConnell arrived at the home with Officers Javier Avalos and
Nicholas Gomez. Each said nothing could prepare them for what they
found inside.
Cramped quarters
They said the boys were kept in two baby cribs wired together and
sealed by plastic crates similar to what bread is stored on in grocery
stores. One enclosure was 4 feet wide by 4 feet high; the other 6 feet
wide by 2 feet high. Each had a T-shaped hole through which the
officers believe they were fed.
"They were trying to say words but didn't seem to know how," Avalos
said. "They murmured and made sounds but no words. We spoke to them in
Spanish thinking it could be a language barrier, but they still
couldn't form words."
Roaches crawled throughout the room and inside the cages, each of
which contained a blanket and small mattress stained with feces and
urine, Gomez said.
Neighbors interviewed Sunday said that on rare occasions they had seen
the boys outside and that they noted the twins were still bottle-fed
and hadn't learned to speak.
Force said investigators believe the boys were let out of the cages
for a few hours a day when their mother arrived home from work, but
they would be placed back in the cages at 7 p.m., not to be released
again until she came home the next day.
In spite of their living conditions, the children appeared to be in
decent health, Force said.
During an initial court appearance at the Madison Street Jail on
Sunday, Louis Rodriguez leaned on a desk and spoke through a Spanish
interpreter. Dressed in a standard jail uniform, he limped away after
the proceedings. His wife wore a striped jail shirt and said little
during her appearance. Each was ordered not to have contact with the
twins.
stargazer
"Mark Fenster" <Fenster_2...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:b5e42449.03082...@posting.google.com...
> Gnetlepeople,
>
> Below, a sad case. Not surprisingly, the state child welfare agency
> now has custody of the two boys.
>
> Picture of the cage at:
> http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0825kidscage25.html
>
> Fenster
Just when you think you've heard every inhumanity possible, a new one rears
it's ugly head. :(
star
Chocolic
"stargazer" <star...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:S1B2b.450$d12...@bignews5.bellsouth.net...
>
> "Mark Fenster" <Fenster_2...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:b5e42449.03082...@posting.google.com...
> > Gnetlepeople,
> >
> > Below, a sad case. Not surprisingly, the state child welfare agency
> > now has custody of the two boys.
> >
> > Picture of the cage at:
> >
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0825kidscage25.html
> >
> > Fenster
>
>
> Just when you think you've heard every inhumanity possible, a new one
rears
> it's ugly head. :(
>
> star
>
I notice they had five small dogs!?!?! I'll bet they weren't put in
cages.
Chocolic
famil...@cpswatchlive.com
> "Mark Fenster" <Fenster_2...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:b5e42449.03082...@posting.google.com...
> > Gnetlepeople,
> >
> > Below, a sad case. Not surprisingly, the state child welfare agency
> > now has custody of the two boys.
> >
> > Picture of the cage at:
> > http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0825kidscage25.h
> > tml
> >
> > Fenster
>
> Just when you think you've heard every inhumanity possible, a new one
> rears it's ugly head. :(
Maybe do a Google groups search on: Remsen Iowa. Many similarities,
except LE found Timmy Boss buried in a shallow grave in the basement two
years after the dog cages, cattle prods and two x fours. (They got paid
for it in those two years) Yeah, just when you think you've heard every
inhumanity possible.
I agree with you. It is...ugly.
--
free.
Cliff and Linda Griffith
rears
> it's ugly head. :(
>
> star
>
infant and a 4-yr-old five days a week, when *I* have the children's best
interests at heart...as well as my own. Every day, I read horrible stories:
parents leaving children in cars in 90º-110 º heat, day-care providers
doing the same thing, (to say nothing of parents who put their children in
cages), etc. It's awfully difficult to say, "I can't take care of the two
of them: put the tiny baby, the 4-yr-old, or both in daycare." If a
daycare provider left one of our children in a van all day, could I ever
forgive myself?
Linda
famil...@cpswatchlive.com
Maybe someday...then again...maybe not. It's a tough call, love/life ain't
easy. But I bet you'll all come out alright. Simply because you are and you
care. I hope so anyway. Good thoughts...to you and yours. ( :
>
> Linda
--
free
Mark Fenster
Below, additional information on the case. The two boys were "caged"
for four years. It was nice of the father to modify the two cages each
year to accommodate the children's growth.
Interestingly, the neglect was focused on the two five year olds.
There was an eight year brother that slept in the same room, in a
regular bed and was apparently well treated.
The remainder of the article deals with CPS [Child Protection Service]
problems in Arizona.
Fenster
***********************************************************************
CPS failed to probe family with caged kids
Sent abuse report to state program
Karina Bland
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 26, 2003 12:00 AM
The call to the agency's hotline in September 2001 was, like many
neglect reports, referred to Family Builders, a state
child-abuse-prevention program. The call was not investigated by a CPS
caseworker.
Family Builders is a voluntary program, and the family refused all
services, save a food box, CPS officials said. They closed the case.
Phoenix police went to the home in the 1900 block of North 22nd Street
on Saturday night and found the twins wired into two roach-infested
cages constructed from cribs and plastic crates.
Their parents, Louis and Etelvina Rodriguez, were arrested on
suspicion of child abuse and kidnapping and are in jail. The children
are in the care of CPS.
The discovery of the boys' homemade prison comes not a week after 2
1/2-year-old Charles Young died in Mesa, his body covered in bruises.
His family had a history with CPS and was under investigation at the
time of the toddler's death.
In June, police found Isaac Loubriel, 7, half-starved and locked in a
closet in his parent's Phoenix apartment. He, too, was known to CPS.
In the past five years, 29 children who had prior cases with CPS died
of abuse or neglect anyway.
'Just outrageous'
"This is just outrageous," Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley said
Monday.
He wants CPS made into its own agency, separate from the Department of
Economic Security and its social welfare programs, so it can better
follow one mission: protect children.
"How many more children have to suffer or die? Clearly, the governor's
message isn't getting through," Romley said. "We need dramatic change,
and we need it now, not later."
In January, just days after taking office, Gov. Janet Napolitano told
CPS caseworkers that their first priority was to protect children, not
keep families together. On Monday, her policy adviser for children's
services, Tracy Wareing, said Napolitano is troubled and outraged by
this most recent case.
Wareing wondered why more calls had not been made to CPS because other
people had been in and out of the house and must have known what was
happening to the twins. She worries that the public is losing faith in
the CPS system.
Liz Barker, CPS spokeswoman, said that had the Family Builders social
worker seen in 2001 what Phoenix police discovered Saturday, the
children would have been removed.
Worker visited twice
In the Rodriguez case, she said a Family Builders worker visited the
family twice within two weeks of the initial call. The worker reported
the children were outside playing and that they appeared clean,
healthy and in good spirits.
But now, Barker said Monday, "We are glad . . . that we were able to
remove the children and place them in a safe environment where they
will receive the services they need to recover from such a terrible
ordeal."
Phoenix police Sgt. Randy Force said the boys' mother, Etelvina, told
police she kept the children in cages while she was at work because
their father, 69, was not able to keep up with them.
Police discovered the children after the boys' older half-brother,
Bayron Grihalua, 20, told an officer at a grocery store about their
living conditions, Force said.
Etelvina said the twins had been locked up for about four months. She
would let them out for several hours when she got home from work
before locking them in again until she returned the next day.
Officers used wire cutters to release the boys from their cells.
Locked up for 4 years
But Grihalua and the boys' father, Louis, told police the boys had
been locked up for as long as four years. Louis said he modified the
two cages each year to accommodate the children's growth.
Photographs taken by police show the cages in a filthy blue-painted
room and spattered with urine, feces and food.
One enclosure was 4 1/2 feet wide, 4 feet, 7 inches high and 2 1/2
feet deep. The other was 2 feet, 3 inches long, 3 feet wide and 6
feet, 5 inches tall.
One cage had a dirty mattress in it. The other had only a piece of
plywood and a blanket.
The boys do not speak and are not toilet-trained, but no one knows for
sure if they were born with developmental problems or if they are the
result of their
mistreatment.
Got little exercise
Both are big kids. One child was described as obese. They would have
gotten little exercise. The cages gave them only enough room to stand
or lie down.
An 8-year-old brother slept in the same room but in a regular bed and
was apparently well treated. He told police that he had never been
locked up like his brothers.
As part of Family Builders, social workers from private agencies
respond to neglect reports, allowing CPS workers time for more severe
cases.
Because the programs such as Family Builders are voluntary, they are
no good if parents refuse to participate, said Beth Rosenberg of the
Children's Action Alliance, a non-profit group.
Still, she said, "Somebody should follow up with these families, a
month later, three months later. We walk away too quickly."
Reach the reporter at karina...@arizonarepublic.com or (602)
444-8614.
otter
>
> "Mark Fenster" <Fenster_2...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:b5e42449.03082...@posting.google.com...
>> Gnetlepeople,
>>
>> Below, a sad case. Not surprisingly, the state child welfare agency
>> now has custody of the two boys.
>>
>> Picture of the cage at:
>> http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0825kidscage25.html
>>
>> Fenster
>
>
> Just when you think you've heard every inhumanity possible, a new one rears
> it's ugly head. :(
>
> star
There are worse cases....like the 5 year old girl who was kept in a dog
crate her entire life. When her little brother was old enough (four), he
left the house and went to get help and she was finally found. This
happened about two years ago in Chicago.
:O( Gloria
famil...@cpswatchlive.com
Yes, many cases. I remember the Chicago case you mention, it is similar to
a Redlands, Ca. incident (1980's) So many other's since. Then there were
the Boss children (Michigan/Iowa) mentioned in an earlier post (this same
thread), the 'duct tape' cases and or children chained by their necks to
their beds, children killed in "re-birthing" techniques, and/or, more
recently: binding and the power of prayer. Children tossed in dumpsters,
rivers, lakes and landfills. On and on. Evidence in many (not all) of these
cases, appears to point to flaws in investigations and one hell of a lot of
unconscionable and intolerable pain and suffering. I've always thought
(jmo) a lot could be done to improve both.
--
free
Greg Hanson
From her photo the woman looks pretty old also.
What are they doing with kids that age?
And the reason for caging the boys was that they
were too old to keep up with them?
The only thing worse than these horror stories about
child abuse at the hands of parents is the way CPS
hopes to spin this to justify putting THOUSANDS of
kids into Foster Care. Large numbers in Foster Care
already do not belong there. CPS reasons for removal
are stupid, nonsensical and capricious. This is why
they can both fail to protect while at the same time
REMOVE TOO MANY KIDS WITHOUT GOOD REASON.
The system has become tatamount to racketeering in children.
And taking a kid out of a home for some of the lame
puny reasons they DO, and putting them into Foster Care
is something that affects THOUSANDS of kids.
Removal itself is child abuse, and they know it.
They need to weigh the abuse they dream up against
the abuse that definately takes place when they remove
a kid. But they don't.
They need to put in place the avenues of redress they were
directed to put in place over 10 years ago, but still have not.
Iowa DHS like all other states FAILED when Feds audited them.
To supposedly fix the system they invited public comment at
meetings all over the state. They got quite a turnout of
angry people, mostly angry about removals done with no good
reason, caseworkers telling terrible lies, complaints that
the state still has no Citizens Review Board over CPS removals
even though it was required of them ten years ago, and more.
Amazingly the report that was scheduled to come out detailing
these public comments has as far as I can tell not been
released and it's WAY overdue.
Child Protection does so many illegal things raping the
US Constitution that both houses of the US Congress
wrote SCATHING reports detailing terrible abuses of families
by the agencies. The bill now LAW require caseworkers to
get some training on the US Constitution and become sensitive
to Constitutional rights issues. My family has been griping
about that same point for over two years and often getting
ignored or getting stupid looks.
When it comes to Child Protection agencies, the supposed
cure is worse than the disease. The numbers of kids abused
in Foster Care are way beyond statistal norms for population.
The biggest reason is that Fosters are seen by CPS agencies
as their ally, their buddies. If Foster Caretaker abuses
kids, there has been a huge problem with the state covering
it up, minimizing it, allowing things that they would never
allow a parent to pass for, etc. (Croneyism)
Family Free mentioned the BOSS family from Remsen Iowa.
That story was reported over and over in the press and
only after the corpse was found did I see the mention that
the kids were ADOPTED and the family was getting MORE in
state payments per year than many people earn at a decent JOB.
Iowa, Florida and apparently Arizona have
large senior citizen populations and they
seem to have such an impact on those states
that I fear some places over-emphasize
grandparent rights, despite the big
Troxel vs. Granville Federal decision.
I have personally seen two cases where a grandmother
obsessed about a granddaughter, wanted to keep
the granddaughter for their own ill obsessive
reasons. In the first case the grandmother took
the older girl and left behind the younger boy,
claiming she was doing it to protect the child from
the mentally ill mother. (mother managed on meds)
Nobody in the system noticed how stupid the statement
was being she left behind the younger boy.
In my family's current situation they seem so eager
to suck up to the grandparents vs. mother/fiance' that
they continued placement with the grandmother despite
protests that grandmother has been taking Prozac unreliably
for over ten years but never once saw a psychologist or
a psychiatrist. Refuse to get her to do a psychiatric
or psychological evaluation despite knowing the 10 year
history and several other contributing medical problems.
I know that for many families under attack from CPS,
grandparents can be a crucial alternative to Foster Care,
but in some cases, the grandparents can be the MAIN problem.
The grandma had a stroke, was catatonic, the grandpa
spoon fed her dinner and waited 20 hours after her
stroke to get her to the hospital. (Elder medical neglect)
And they are trying to whitewash this neglect to sing
the praises of these people as competent caretakers.
Yes, this story is really crappy, but the state has an
amazing ability to make things worse, and for larger
numbers of kids and families.
I noticed the AZ Governor there wants them to get all
gung ho about removing kids at the drop of a hat.
That becomes an abuse spread over THOUSANDS of families.
It harms kids and they know it.
The Federal Courts know it.
The Congress knows it.
Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer in Illinois Federal Court knows it.
Gelles who wrote the ASFA law knows it.
When they abuse people's Constitutional rights and fail to
provide required avenues of redress they become no better
than these senile parents who caged the twin boys.
Hell, in Iowa some quack doctor at a state run care
facility decided that giving a kid enemas over and over
and not letting the retarded boy clean up was somehow
the right thing to do. Iowa DHS decided it was NOT
Child Abuse.
Why is that any better than this cage incident?
And IT was done BY the state!
Mark Fenster
> famil...@cpswatchlive.com wrote in message news:<20030826015458.536$7...@newsreader.com>...
> > "Cliff and Linda Griffith" <grif...@charter.net> wrote:
> > > "stargazer" <star...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> > > news:S1B2b.450$d12...@bignews5.bellsouth.net...
> > > > Just when you think you've heard every inhumanity possible, a new one
> rears
> > > > it's ugly head. :(
> > > >
> > > > star
> > > >
> > > Here I am, trying to tell my kids that I'm not able to take care of an
> > > infant and a 4-yr-old five days a week, when *I* have the children's best
> > > interests at heart...as well as my own. Every day, I read horrible
> > > stories: parents leaving children in cars in 90º-110 º heat, day-care
> > > providers doing the same thing, (to say nothing of parents who put their
> > > children in cages), etc. It's awfully difficult to say, "I can't take
> > > care of the two of them: put the tiny baby, the 4-yr-old, or both in
> > > daycare." If a daycare provider left one of our children in a van all
> > > day, could I ever forgive myself?
> >
> > Maybe someday...then again...maybe not. It's a tough call, love/life ain't
> > easy. But I bet you'll all come out alright. Simply because you are and you
> > care. I hope so anyway. Good thoughts...to you and yours. ( :
> >
> > >
> > > Linda
Inspired in part by this case, CPS in Arizona may face a grand jury...
Fenster
******************************************************************
CPS could face grand jury probe
Karina Bland
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 26, 2003 08:44 PM
Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley may call for a grand jury
investigation of Child Protective Services, saying too many children
are being hurt, even dying, on the state's watch.
He said Tuesday that he is sickened by the case of twin Phoenix boys
found in filthy cages Saturday and a 2-year-old beaten to death in
Mesa last week. All three children had prior contact with CPS.
"I only grow more discouraged as time goes on," Romley said. "For 10
years, I have been complaining that too many children are being hurt
or dying. Nothing gets done."
So he has asked his staff to look into the possibility of asking for a
grand jury investigation of the state agency.
Romley has done this once before, asking for and getting a grand jury
investigation of the Department of Juvenile Correction in 1996.
Gov. Janet Napolitano and CPS officials would comply with any valid
and lawful investigation, said Tracy Wareing, the governor's policy
adviser for children's services.
The governor will announce her reforms for CPS next month, including
ways to better respond to reports, increase cooperation between CPS
and police, and better support for caseworkers.
CPS has been under scrutiny since January when Napolitano told
caseworkers that their first priority should be children's safety, not
keeping families together.
She appointed a commission to study ways to reform CPS. Romley is on
that commission.
His staff talked about possibly charging CPS caseworkers when one of
their charges winds up dead. But Romley said he would not do that.
He said the ultimate responsibility lies with higher-ups at CPS, the
governor and lawmakers.
No criminal indictments resulted from the 1996 investigation into
juvenile corrections, but the grand jury issued a report that said the
agency was plagued by slipshod management that allowed young criminals
to be released early. The report also accused agency higher-ups and
the administration of former Gov. Fife Symington of covering up the
need for more beds for the most violent young offenders.
The then-director of juvenile corrections, Eugene Moore, quit, and
lawmakers allocated more money for juvenile corrections.
Romley can request grand jury investigations under state law if he
suspects there could be grounds for a criminal charge, say child
endangerment.
The grand jury then could issue indictments or a report on matters of
public policy. A judge would have to approve its release to the
public.
A grand jury investigation could take up valuable time and resources,
said Beth Rosenberg of Children's Action Alliance, a non-profit group.
She thinks the grand jury would be hard-pressed to find a problem that
hasn't already been mulled over.
Rosenberg suggested acting on problems already identified, including
heavy caseloads and low wages, training, too few resources and
prevention programs.
Dan Sullivan
"Greg Hanson" <Gre...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:35120b16.03082...@posting.google.com...
>
> Why is the father 69 years old?
Because he was born in 1934.
> From her photo the woman looks pretty old also.
42
> What are they doing with kids that age?
They're the parents.
> And the reason for caging the boys was that they
> were too old to keep up with them?
So the story says.
Now go off on a rant, Greg.
Like your claim that she wears Depends?
Mark Fenster
> "Greg Hanson" <Gre...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:35120b16.03082...@posting.google.com...
> >
> > Why is the father 69 years old?
>
> Because he was born in 1934.
>
> > From her photo the woman looks pretty old also.
>
> 42
>
> > What are they doing with kids that age?
>
> They're the parents.
>
> > And the reason for caging the boys was that they
> > were too old to keep up with them?
>
> So the story says.
>
> Now go off on a rant, Greg.
>
Some additional informaiton about the case...the cages were mentioned
in a 2001 report to CPS...but this issue was never investigated by
CPS...
Fenster
******************************************************************
2001 CPS report referred to more than twins' cages
Karina Bland
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 28, 2003 12:00 AM
Contrary to accounts given earlier this week, a report made two years
ago to Child Protective Services mentioned more than neglect regarding
twin boys found Saturday in filthy makeshift cages.
That 2001 report included allegations that the children, then 3, were
put in cages as punishment.
The case was given a low priority and referred to a state child-abuse
prevention program. It was never investigated by a CPS caseworker.
A social worker from the Family Builders program went to the house in
September 2001, but the boys' mother said their father did not allow
the social worker inside. The father, however, told police that the
social worker came in to look around.
If she did go into the house, then she likely saw nothing amiss.
The father told police the cribs looked ordinary enough back then. The
sides were extra high, but they didn't have covers or locks, as they
did on Saturday, because the boys were so much smaller.
Wired into cages
When Phoenix police went to the home in the 1900 block of North 22nd
Street on Saturday, they found the twins wired into two big
roach-infested cages constructed from cribs and plastic crates.
Their parents, Luis and Etelvina Rodriguez, were charged Wednesday
with two counts each of child abuse and are in jail. The children are
in the care of CPS.
CPS officials acknowledged Wednesday that the 2001 report included
information about the cages.
Director David Berns said such an allegation should have received a
thorough investigation, according to his spokeswoman, Liz Barker.
She said Berns has pledged to take steps to make sure it does not
happen again. She did not elaborate.
A report released Tuesday by Phoenix police painted a disturbing
picture of what life was like for the young twins.
They shared a room with an 8-year-old brother who went to school and
slept in a regular bed. There was a small television that they could
see through the slats of the closed-in cribs.
They wore diapers because they hadn't been taught to use a toilet.
They drank milk from baby bottles.
The boys' mother told police she kept the boys in cages while she was
at work because their father, 69, was not able to keep up with them.
Luis told police he let the boys out at 9 a.m., fed them and then
allowed them to play in the yard.
Big enough to stand in
He told police he modified the cages each year as the boys grew. It
was only this year that he made them big enough to stand in.
Luis said he locked the boys in the cages and left them alone when he
picked his wife up from work in the afternoon. He said it was to keep
them safe.
Police discovered the children after the boys' older half brother,
Bayron Grihalua, 20, told an officer at a local grocery store about
their treatment.
Luis' grandson, Matias Leon, 18, has lived with the family for a year.
He said he was too afraid of his grandfather to challenge him for
locking up the boys. He did once, he told police, and Luis locked him
out of the house.
He said the boys were not in cages on weekends because his grandmother
was not at work.
Etelvina told police that she argued with Luis about putting the
children in the cages.
"I told him it was wrong," she sobbed, her hands on her head. "I told
him. I told him."
The twins' case is one of the latest of several in which authorities
had prior knowledge about reported abuse.
Last weekend, 2-year-old Charles Young died in Mesa, his body covered
in bruises. In June, police found Isaac Loubriel, 7, in a closet in
his parents' apartment.
Both boys had had prior cases with CPS.
'Book of failures'
"This is but one more name in a book of failures," Maricopa County
Attorney Rick Romley said Wednesday.
CPS has been under scrutiny since January when Gov. Janet Napolitano
told caseworkers that their first priority should be children's
safety, not keeping families together.
She appointed a commission to study ways to reform CPS. One of its
recommendations could have helped the twins.
As part of Family Builders, social workers from private agencies
respond to neglect reports so CPS workers can deal with more severe
cases.
The 2001 referral to CPS "noted that, on more than one occasion, the
boys were disciplined by their father by putting them in cages,"
according to police records.
But the Rodriguezes refused all services, except a food box. And, by
law, parents do not have to let CPS caseworkers, or Family Builder
social workers, into their homes or answer any questions.
Under the commission recommendation, families who refuse services from
Family Builders would face an investigation by a CPS caseworker.
Greg Hanson
the cages. If CPS were parents they would be criminally charged
for failure to protect, reckless indifference, child endangerment..
But they have a high level of legal immunity.
I think they need to be made more accountable for the above.
Have you just had truth revealed to you or have you been aware
of how rotten Child Protection really is?
Senior Citizens who can't keep up with kids should not have them.
Being OLD should not give them this special right.
Disabled people don't get this break.
Able bodied adults don't get this break.
Why do caseworkers get the warm fuzzies for old people
taking care of kids?
It's a prejudice in caseworkers that's got to stop.