Incompetancy, Bureaucracy, and Parenting Difficulty

A 16 month old girl was murdered by her 19 year old mom and/or the mom's 18 year old boyfriend this week in my city.

Nine days before she died, she was taken to the hospital with a broken arm and leg.

DFACS dropped the ball. Completely, utterly, and inexcusably. They sent this baby home with her mother.

Nine days later, she was dead. Head trauma.

I currently care for a child about that age. I have seen 6 other kids through that age, and I managed to not fatally injure any of them.

I know what you're thinking. Yes, I am older, more mature, more educated, and likely much better able to cope with the myriad of frustrations parenting a toddler dumps on you each and every day. Yay me.

But what about the teen parents, the older yet still uneducated parents, the well-meaning but ignorant parents? And, more importantly, what about the children? The safety net that currently exists loses kids every day. DFACS is obviously broken, not just in my city but nationwide. What can be done to fix the system?

I don't have the answers, at least not real answers that could be realitically put into play. I can list all sorts of "magic wand" ideas, but that means nothing, because I haven't got a magic wand.

I think it may be finally time to volunteer as a mentor for young moms. Because sitting on my butt crying about the death of a little girl does nothing to help fix the problem.

Off to stick my finger in the proverbial dike.