This commentary is by Bill Young, of Cabot. He is the former commissioner of Social and Rehabilitation Services (now called the Department for Children and Families). He served 18 years in that role, the longest serving head of a child protection agency in the country.
Vermont’s child protection system is in real trouble, as demonstrated in a recent study by the Vermont Parent Representation Center. The problems have only gotten worse in the last five years. A bizarre system in which the Department for Children and Families (DCF) uses one standard of evidence and the Courts another, where evidence is required in court, but DCF can substantiate based on “information” alone.
Substantiation by DCF precludes a person from working in most professions that have contact with children. In court there is a judge and attorneys, but in the DCF process there is only an investigator and their supervisor who make the decision.
One single mother, for example, lost her nursing job, her nursing certificate, lost her housing and her children, criminal charges were brought because of the substantiation, then all charges were dropped when it was shown that there was no evidence supporting the state’s actions, but only after she became destitute and homeless.
Overturned substantiations of abuse and neglect by DCF, as depicted in a new study, reveal such failures as lack of evidence, failure of the investigator to follow investigative protocol, failure to interview witnesses, withholding exculpatory evidence, findings that evidence cited by DCF was not true, failure to notify parent that they were substantiated for abuse and numerous other issues. See Broken Systems, Broken Promises at www.vtprc.org
Of course, there are good people in the system, protecting children and assisting parents. But these failures are clearly systemic, harming too many families. The individual stories are outrageous and Vermonters should be outraged by them. It’s time for our elected representatives to act. Surely we can do better than this by passing House Bill 169.
When we treat children as well as we treat animals I think we will see a difference. If animals are found abused they can be taken away without expectation of getting them back. We view parents as owners and holds to the belief that parenthood gives rights to own that little person because of DNA!
There is abuse and there is torture. All done by evil people who don’t deserve to continue raising children
The system has been badly broken for many years. Children are often used and abused even at the hands of the DCF. It’s long overdue for a rehaul that makes it safer for children and stops vilifying good foster parents.
My great granddaughter was molested as a very young child. The signs were there and she was telling people she trusted about it. DCF did nothing about it. She is on anti-anxiety medication and has had emotional meltdowns but DCF’s position is there’s nothing wrong.
An upstanding couple in my town have been foster parents for a pair of twins as infants. The parents are drug addicts; and the foster parents had to get the newborns through detox. One child had serious physical disabilities that were surgically corrected. and the foster parents had to rehabilitate. The foster parents have been the custodial parents for over 3 years as the birth parents are still drug addicts. And, the worst of it is that these birth parents have 9 children so that they can maximize the amount of welfare they receive. Why doesn’t the system let the foster parents adopt these children??!!
So where is the accountability of the DFC?
Is the state protecting it’s own?
No one lost their job over these injustices?
Are these the same creatures who promote the grooming of children in libraries by drag queens and/or child molesters?
This system is so broken its not funny. There’s foster parents who are abusive mentally physically and saxually. Being a former foster child I know all to well what it’s like. Taken from my mom when we were in domestic abuse shelters. who was a domestic abuse victim. Placed in group homes where we were abused. Placed with family who constantly abused us verbally and physically. Having my three siblings Placed with the abusive father/ stepfather. Then Placed in multiple foster homes where the abuse continued. Foster pThe darkness in the system is unimaginal. Kids given drugs not from a doctor unwilling to get kids to doctors appointments or to the er. There’s so much more that I experienced and seen that will make your skin crawl and be sick. And when the kids who have families are told by dcf every time they give birth or their partner gives birth that they are a risk to their children.
Good it’s about time. It’s to bad for some that have dealt with this. I hope this is done quickly
Where it says, my granddaughter did I’have to say I’m sorry my text to spell did not write that right. My granddaughter did come from such a home where it was horrifically destroyed and smelt horrible. It took me three showers to take care of her hair, right
I am aware that we live in a very broken system as far as Dcf is concerned, but there are legitimate investigations that when they get to court, they no longer become legitimate, and these kids are placed back in the home that we are neglect is every day where the oldest child takes care of the younger ones while the parents do very little for their children I have seen it firsthand as a grandparent. I have experienced it when I walked in their home in it it is absolutely unlivable between the smell of the animals and just trash everywhere including garbage, food, and yet the kids always end up back in the parents hands I am aware that there is people who are legitimately doing their job at Dcf, but I am also aware that there are people in the system unwilling to do Paperwork because they’re so overwhelmed or they feel for the parents too much the court releases children back into the hands of unsafe parents all the time and yet the system removes parents from safe homes at times there is a balance that needs to be found, it is not a one-way street when it comes to the protection of children When you get a child that came from a home that is filled with just discussed and neglect that child will smell horrifying and I know because my granddaughter dead I don’t really care anymore who reads this because I do trust in God, who truly understands the protection of our children The truth of the matter is it is not a one-way street and yes something desperately Hass to change for those parents that are working really hard and yet for those children whose parents are just putting on a good show
I had a very similar case happen to me. I was a teacher, co director of a summer camp, foster respite mother and foster mother. I was stripped of everything I had known and achieved through my life, based on absolutely no evidence, only accusations by angry teenagers who didn’t like rules. I was placed on this child protection registry before the cases were ever finished, the kids turned 18 and the cases got thrown out. However I still have this on my record and have to fight to get it off. I used to trust the system having been in foster care myself.