The Epidemic of Child Abuse

There seems to be an epidemic in this country, one which is NOT a physical disease like the flu or polio or smallpox. No, this disease is one of the mind and spirit, one which moms and dads abuse their children, beating them senseless and getting rid of them like garbage.

The most recent case involves a little boy from Fitchburg, Massachusetts named Jeremiah Oliver. He disappeared in September but was not reported missing until December. Why? The mom, Elsa Oliver and her boyfriend, Alberto Sierra were indicted in January regarding little Jeremiah's disappearance. As well, Ms. Oliver was deemed competent to stand trial. 

 Click on the link for the Huffington Post for the full story. 

The Department of Children and Families had come under fire for not protecting the Oliver children. The Agency acknowledged that the social worker assigned to the family was fired, along with two supervisors, for not visiting the home, as required.

 In some states, this agency type is known as Child Protective Services. But, sadly, they really aren’t. If they were protecting the child, we would not be leaving abused children with those who abuse them.

The family had been under the supervision of the DFC since 2011 for the abuse that seemed to be prevalent in the home.

Jose Oliver, Jeremiah's biological father has been out of the home for several years because of his own problems with drugs. He was not advised until last Monday that his son was missing.

This past Friday, Jeremiah's body was found in the brush about forty feet from I-190 near Sterling, wrapped in a blanket. The DA indicated that it appeared to be a homicide. Really?

Doesn't this sound eerily like Casey Anthony and her daughter Caylee?

English: Casey Anthony has been booked into the Orange County Jail and is being held without bail on charges of child neglect, filing false official information and obstructing an investigation. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 There are so many other cases which involve child abuse, death and the failure of Government agencies which are supposed to be dedicated to protecting our children. Instead, they are doing a very poor job. Why? Well, I believe it's because the people who are hired really don't understand the Mission Statement, which is “Thou Shalt Not Harm Children”, the innocent victims.   

 The state (pick one, they are all the same) is more concerned about hiring quotas than hiring competent people. It has nothing to do with race or ethnicity. It has to do with poor hiring practices. Today's children are at the mercy of inadequate state employees at all levels of social services. 

 There are so many families in this country that would give anything to have a child that are unable to have their own. Instead, because the state has decided that children should be with their natural parents, even after witnessing evidence of abuse, cases like Jeremiah Oliver and Caylee Anthony will continue to occur. 

 To allow the abuse to continue is a sin of the worst order. Perhaps it is time to revisit the way children services are supervised. Starting now.

 Otherwise, the epidemic will only get worse and that will be the fault of us all.