...Life at the Welfare, Part II

Where was I…..(interrupted by Mickey and Disney!)

Yes, May. May is a bad time for me at work and I’m usually so focused on what I’m doing on the job, that it sometimes carries over into my personal life. Once a year, at least in Ohio, Child Protective Agencies are mandated to report to the Child Fatality Review Board. The Board reviews all child fatalities in the county for the past year. It is a consortium of several agencies including the Health Department, police departments, mental health organizations and of course, Child Protective. The purpose of the Board is to gather data and information so that social agencies can institute preventative measures for families at risk.
This May, I had eighteen names on the list. Eighteen children died under some circumstance or another which warranted a review. Not all children come under review. For example, some children with severe birth defects who die shortly after death are not necessarily reviewed, at least by my agency. My job is to check and see if we have any history on the family and then provide the Board with a comprehensive review of investigative procedures and services which we provided to the family.

Of the eighteen, I had case histories on fifteen children. Just because our agency is involved it does not necessitate blame toward the parents. Some deaths are clearly accidental…a car accident, a drowning, or SIDS. However, there is always that case or two that you just can’t get out of your mind. I go over every piece of evidence, every statement and every incident of abuse/neglect in the file. I then compile my findings in the most objective manner I can muster. Sometimes, after reading the case, it is very difficult to be objective.

This year, there were two child fatalities which really bothered me (not that they all don’t bother me in some way or another). As I read the history on one incident of abuse against a little boy (under two years of age), I remember getting physically nauseous. This little boy was beaten severely, choked, banged against a wall and wrapped in a heavy blanket, thrown (literally) into his crib and left to die. The perpetrator, the mother’s boyfriend, related to the police that the boy was "getting on his nerves". After wrapping him in the blanket and throwing him in his crib, he left the home and had a drink with friends. He not only left the baby in the home alone, he left the little boy’s sibling in the home, too…a four-year-old. He left the home twice during the night, while the child was still alive.

I couldn’t get out of my mind the shear agony this little child was in. Of course, the man beat him more because he was crying from the first beating. He never sought medical assistance for the child or notified the child’s mother. The little boy had broken ribs, broken arms, and severe bruising all over his body. The eventual cause of death was asphyxiation (possibly from the blanket being wrapped around him so tightly.) I keep thinking of this little child, this little boy who caused harm to no one, suffering so needlessly at the hands of the "boyfriend". What his little mind was thinking, I can only surmise. To compound this tragedy, the boyfriend is serving time, yes, but for an unrelated crime, not of the death of this little child. He was never charged.

Unfortunately, some histories are quite extensive and require much reading and note-taking and I didn’t complete all the reports until about mid-June. I’m in the distinct position of viewing bits and pieces of people’s lives. Regrettably, the bits and pieces that I get to see are inconceivable to most people. I am constantly left with…..what if? What if this agency or that agency had stepped in? What if this person just had a job? What if drugs and alcohol were not a factor? What if this Mom just had some support? What if they just graduated school? What if...what if...what if?

What if we just cared about one another?