What can be done about child abuse fatalities in Florida?

Kimberly Day: What can be done about child abuse fatalities in Florida?

Published: Friday, March 4, 2011 at 4:41 p.m.

Florida residents have certainly been hit with their share of news about child tragedies in the last several eeks. From news of the first days of the Casey Anthony trial, to the gruesome story of the murder of Nubia Barahona and the serious injuries inflicted on her twin brother and now, two children have been found packed in luggage in a canal; the list goes on and the need for action is more apparent than ever. Often, the media and other commentators on the issue start by deciding where they should point the finger. Was law enforcement to blame? Or was it the state child welfare agency’s fault? Who should take the blame for the avoidable deaths of so many children?

Read more:
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20110304/NEWS/110309725/1109/sports?p=1&tc=pg&tc=ar

Ann, thanks for forwarding this article to me!

The person who abused and killed the children should obviously take the blame, but anybody who turned a blind eye to the abuse should also take the blame, whether it's family members, CPS, school faculty, neighbors, etc. Like the article said, this problem is nationwide and not just specific to Florida.

The fact that much of the entertainment industry in our country glorifies sex and violence may be one of the causes of so many children suffering horrific deaths. Unfortunately, the lack of parental supervision due to single parent households or both parents having full-time jobs allows many children and teens to be exposed to all this sex and violence, and allows teenagers to have sex and become pregnant. Violence, teen pregnancy and poverty are cited in the article as three of the factors that often lead to child abuse.

Unfortunately, there are too many incentives to have children for lazy, violent, drug addicted people who don't really want kids around and don't deserve the privilege of raising them. They are rewarded with welfare checks, medical coverage, and food stamps, which increase as they have more children. If they happen to get a minimum wage, part-time job, they are rewarded with numerous tax credits that not only wipe out all their tax liability, but also give them refunds in the thousands.

Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying all teen moms and poor people are lazy, abusive people who take advantage of the system. Welfare and child tax credits have helped out many hard-working, honest people who love their kids, but were in tough spots because of divorce, the economy, or numerous other factors. Unfortunately, the same programs that help out the people who really need it, also provide incentives for people who are nothing more than sperm and egg donors to keep having children.

I wish I had the answers on how to stop child abuse. Sadly, I don't know what can be done to prevent child abuse all together. Our best hope is probably to try to do all we can to prevent the abuse from escalating to murder. For starters, we need people to be more vigilant when they see or suspect abuse, we need CPS and similar agencies to take abuse reports more seriously, and we need to increase criminal penalties for people caught abusing their children.

J4A! You spelled out the truth of the matter plain as day. You need to write more often, you're damn good at it!

You are so right Piper. J4a shur ain't no dummy, nor an

Well said, J4A!

I agree!

Piper, thank you for posting the article!

J4A, I agree with you and understand what you are saying. You are a very good writer. You should start an editorial column for RC!

I agree Ann! What about it J4A?