Banita Jacks, a high-school dropout with four children by at least three different men (not including a fourth man she incorrectly accused in a paternity suit), was found living with the corpses of those four children (whom she is accused of murdering) in Southeast Washington DC. The city has responded by announcing that it will fire several workers who, it is said with 20/20 hindsight, failed to adequately respond to warnings that the children were in danger. [WaPo]
And, several months from now, if there is an incident where parents are having their children unjustly taken from them at the drop of a hat, it is because city officials now know that their jobs are more at risk for possibly under-reacting than they ever would be if they over-react.
Update, January 16: A surprising number of commenters are taking the side of the scapegoaters, where one seizes a single particular warning, and says “You should have known”—a frequent tactic of the trial lawyer seeking deep-pocket blame. Richard Wexler has a good summary:
But when a police officer arrives, he finds four children “well and healthy.” Mom claims she’s home-schooling the children. The officer sees the books mom says she is using.
What do you do?
The police officer saw no evidence of abuse or neglect. Yes, mom wouldn’t let him in without a warrant, but in America, that is her right. The school social worker suspects mental illness — but she’s also the one who said the daughter was being held hostage, something apparently contradicted by the police.
If you happen to be psychic, know that the mother is Banita Jacks and know what will be discovered more than eight months later, presumably you drop everything and find a way to get into that home.
But if you are simply a typical D.C. caseworker — juggling many other cases — then you move on to all those situations that, on the surface, look far worse than a home-schooler with “well and healthy” children. …
Because there’s nothing like yelling “Off with their heads!” to fuel a foster-care panic.
Every CFSA worker is now terrified of having the next Banita Jacks on his or her caseload. So agency personnel will rush to tear large numbers of children from their parents. Those children will suffer the trauma of needless separation from everyone loving and familiar, and they’ll be placed at risk of abuse in foster care itself — several studies suggest that one in three children are abused while in foster care. Worst of all, a deeply troubled child-welfare system will be further overwhelmed, making it even more likely that some child in real danger will be overlooked.
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Banita Jacks,
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