Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 10, 1995 TAG: 9506120005
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WILLIAM D. BESTPITCH
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
From 1983 to 1990, I worked at the Virginia Department for Children in Richmond, and helped to staff several of these studies, so I'm somewhat familiar with the topic and the process.
As with a number of previous studies, this one resulted from complaints of a disgruntled parent who may have been falsely accused of molesting his child. Into the arena, once again, march Barbara Bryan (spokeswoman for the National Child Abuse Defense and Resource Center) and friends to demand that the CPS system be completely dissolved.
They can be expected to repeat their statistics about the number of persons whose lives are disrupted by a CPS investigation, even though those persons are never charged with abuse; about the many actually accused and whose guilt cannot be later substantiated; and about those whom CPS determines to have committed abuse, only to have the findings overturned on appeal.
For 12 years, I have been baffled by attempts to use these cases as a basis for dismantling CPS. Police officers throughout Virginia and the nation frequently investigate individuals who are never charged with a crime. Many charged and arrested for all kinds of offenses are never convicted in a court of law, and a significant number found guilty later have their convictions reversed.
But I'm not aware of any rational, well-intentioned citizens in our community who have called for the abolition of police forces. Rather, I've heard periodic calls for better training and higher pay to attract and retain the best-qualified officers available.
And guess what? Every single legislative study that I'm aware of has recommended the same solutions to the problems at CPS. How have we responded? We appear to expect the wisdom of Solomon, the logic and impartiality of Mr. Spock and the compassion of Mother Theresa, but we want to pay CPS workers like Scrooge paid Bob Cratchett before the Christmas ghosts showed up.
To make things worse, we don't even allow them to defend themselves. Confidentiality laws often prevent them from telling their side of the story, even in the face of completely outrageous claims made during public hearings like those scheduled for this summer.
Their ethics prevent them, for example, from telling you about the man from far Southwestern Virginia arrested several years ago on criminal child-abuse charges. So you won't hear about how he was heard to remark, while being led away in handcuffs: "It's a damned shame when things get to the point in this country where you can't even f--- your own children anymore."
The criminal-justice system can prosecute and punish such scum, but who will see that the victims - the vulnerable, innocent, precious children - get the help they need if we dissolve CPS? As was pointed out in the article by state Sen. Joseph Gartlan, long a giant among child advocates in Virginia, this isn't just a criminal matter.
I coordinate a residential-treatment program for severely emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children. Generally, they are fairly typical for their ages in terms of physical development and intellectual capacities. But they're frequently extremely oppositional and defiant toward adults. They become frustrated far too easily, and often explode into aggressive and destructive tantrums.
Why do they behave this way? Most have learned that adults aren't to be trusted. Adults have sexually molested them, physically abused them, or simply left them to try to raise themselves as best they could, usually before they were old enough to start kindergarten.
Because so few of their developmental needs have been met, their social and emotional levels are closer to those typically found in much younger children. Without intensive therapy and long-term support, few of these children will ever be able to grow into positive, contributing members of our communities. Instead, they'll remain among those most likely to require the resources of the corrections and social-welfare systems, i.e., our tax dollars.
CPS workers struggle with the awesome task of trying to help these children and their families move from the path of misery and despair toward a brighter future. The workers are not perfect, and they don't see and know all. They're just human beings, trying to do the work of angels.
Far too often, they burn out and move on to other, better-paying jobs as soon as they can. Higher-quality training would help reduce attrition. Salary increases would encourage more of them to see their positions as careers, not just stepping stones.
From my days in Richmond, I remember Del. Alan Mayer, the chair of the study committee, as one of the most decent and thoughtful representatives in the General Assembly. I hope that he and other panel members will dust off old copies of as many previous child abuse-related studies as they can find. They might just learn that we not only already have plenty of information about this problem, we also know a lot about the solutions. More than anything, what's needed now is the will to put the solutions into effect.
William D. Bestpitch, of Roanoke, coordinates a residential-treatment program for severely emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children for a local mental-health agency.
by CNB