Ranch

[The Barefoot Contess]

I was wondering how you all feel about the decision by the Texas court to deny the state of Texas the right to take custody of the children in the polygamist ranch. For those who might not be aware of the case, here is a link with info:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/05/22/flds.ruling/index.html

I am not sure where I stand in this issue, so I would like to read what you think...

[FalconAngel]

By law, CPS is limited in the actions that they can take in cases like this. In order to justify taking all of those kids they have to demonstrate that all of them were in danger from the actions of the cult.
And while we do not agree with the idea that people like that should have anything to do with raising children, it is their right to do so as long as those children are kept safe from harm.

The "at risk" situations are the ones that they are allowed to take action on. CPS often abuses it's authority against completely fit parents.

The reason that they do this is because of the Title IV funds that they get based on the number of cases they are handling and the children they adopt out and/or place in foster care. Needless to say, their system is corrupt by design, so any actions that they take are suspect, even when they appear to be fully justified.

[NorthBiEast]

I think that unless they had thouroughly investigated every parent and child, they had no right to take them. Clearly, if they don't even know the NAMES of everyone involved, they can't know if they were at risk or not. I know that I would be very upset if CPS came and took my kids because my neighbors, co-workers, or cousins were abusing theirs.

Obviously, if there were children being abused and exploited, that is unacceptable and needs to be stopped. But from the little I've seen, it seems that there is very little evidence that that was happening in more than a few households. Those families are not representative of the entire community, any more than the abuser that lives down the street is representative of the entire town.

I also think that flooding the foster care system like that is going to cause way more harm, to the children as individuals, and also to the system itself. I would place money that some of those children get "lost" and not returned to their families, or abused worse than anything that went on at home.

General rule of thumb; investigate before you plan, plan before you act.
:2cents:

[Bluebiyou]

Separate them as soon as possible, preferably under some pretense like... sending them to school.... or to the showers for delousing. This will facilitate eaiser separating.
When we do this, or even approach it, we know who and what we are.

:)

The real tradgedy is... we're never very far.

The trouble with a society based on rules and laws is... eventually...

The trouble with a society based on love and compassion is... eventually...




"I was there when we crucified our Lord. I held the scabbard when the soldier drew his sword. I threw the dice as we pierced His side, but I've seen Love conquer the Great Divide."

[*pan*]

the only danger i see these kids being in, is the government might attack and kill them like they did the ones in waco, texas if their parents decide to stand up for their constitutional rights. i would be more worried about the government and the people rather than their parents