At what point is reuniting a family out of the question?

Okay, recently, about 20 minutes north of where I live, an 11 year old girl (named Erin Maxwell was killed by her 27-year-old stepbrother. When police got to the scene, they found that Erin was locked in her room at 5 pm every night, stole food from her classmates because she was always hungry, that her parents pretty much ignored her to play World of Warcraft (or Dungeons and Dragons or something like that), and that the house was filled with cats and chickens, leaving animal feces all over the place (in some points 3 feet high).

Anyway, the worst part was, the family had been hotlined to CPS 3 times over the last couple of years, and CPS said that they couldn't do anything about it! They said it was extreme, but didn't constitute child abuse, and didn't warrent the separating of the family.

Here's the online articles:

http://www.wstm.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=192168

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/arrests_made_in_erin_maxwell_c.html

Everything that I've just said isn't in here, most of what I've gotten is from the newspapers.

Anyway, my question is, while it does seem like the best thing to do is reunite families, at what point is enough enough, and we need to GET KIDS AWAY FROM THEIR PARENTS?! When do we realize that the filth children like Erin Maxwell had to live in is NOT okay, and that the best thing at this point is to separate the girl from her biological parents? I mean, I know it definitely isn't desirable, but come on, an 11-year-old girl is DEAD now. At what point should CPS go in and remove the child and admit that reuniting the family is probably NOT a good idea, and that fostering the child or putting her up for adoption is probably better???
Additional Details
Here's another link:

http://www.dreamindemon.com/2008/09/28/erin-maxwell-was-not-playing-pirates/

Oh, and by the way, the school reported her a couple of times, and her father's extended family reported them too. But, the state said that Erin's Aunts and uncles wouldn't have gotten her, she would have gone straight into foster care.

And yes, I know that you can set good guidelines and still have some cases that slip through the cracks, but this case seems pretty preventable...

Possum

The system is screwed.
It separates those that sometimes don't need separating AND it sometimes doesn't separate those that obviously do.
The stuff that gets in the media are the extreme cases - the one's that have the grabbing headlines.
It would be nice if real statistics were out there, media gave a balanced view on the good, bad and ugly - and the population as a whole really REALLY started to think about what's the absolute BEST scenario for each and every child - NOT what is the best for the adult needs and desires.
It all comes down to money - and the care factor.
Sadly it's too often weighted towards the wrong end of the scale.

subliminal_chaos319

the parents not caring is pretty much the basic line. no they couldnt call it child abuse specifically but it was definatly neglect. both should constitute having a kid removed from home.

You can set up good guidelines, but no guidelines can guarantee that every case will be justly treated. Maybe a redefinition of child abuse is needed.

m_malbrough

If there is any harm that could come to the child then CPS should step in. And in poor Erin's case there are plenty of physical and mental health issues that should have been concerns.

This story upsets me and Erin and the hundreds of children like her will be in my prayers.

staceydv4

they should have takin her

mml_bel

I think if they had been called that many times that they should have done something. Especially with all the signs that she was mistreated. Now they get to live their life's and she had to pay the price of having parents that are barbaric.

monkeykitty83

You're really talking about two different issues here. 1.) Removal of the child, and 2.) Reuniting the family.

As I understand it, Erin was never removed-- that was the whole problem-- so her case did not get the point where reuniting was even an issue. Reunification would only come up when the parents of a child who had been removed make sufficient effort to follow their case plan that their social worker felt their child could return home. Even in cases where a child had to be removed and the removal was totally justified, reunification may still be possible if the parents make an effort.

Reuniting the family should be out of the question when it's dangerous or harmful for the child.

Unfortunately, whether it's dangerous or harmful can be hard to predict, since there's no unmistakable indication a child will be harmed. This case was clear cut-- Erin should have been removed, and should not have been returned until her parents made a major effort to clean up their act. But most cases aren't that simple, and the likely outcome isn't that obvious.

Parents who are abusive and neglectful should not get the benefit of the doubt. Children should not be left in or returned to those situations, but should be taken somewhere safe.

In cases that are greyer than that, it's a judgment call. I think what's needed is more careful monitoring of potentially bad situations, and active and prompt state intervention when concerns are raised. Children shouldn't necessarily be permanently removed at the first sign of trouble if the problems aren't severe... but those situations do need to be watched carefully.

I don't think there's any one standard that will apply to all families, aside from that children shouldn't be physically or mentally harmed. But I think that Child Protective Services in general needs to take a more active role, responding more promptly and following up more diligently.

dymondQueen83

After the 2nd incident they should've taken the child. They don't because that would be another child in the system and it's hard to take a child, a young one, from their family even are they are being abused. It becomes an acceptable way of life for these kids but the state should definetely really intervene by being there, not making appointments and waiting on calls and tips. Where are the samaritans?

Nancy Pelosi

NOW is the time

Independ"ant"

Im all for stronger child protection laws in general but each case should be evaluated individually.

There are hundreds or more cases of adoptive/foster parents neglecting/killing children as well so again...Adoption isn't a solution. Early education on parenting and more supervision to make sure they were complying would be better in general.

~~PG~~

OMG! this story breaks my heart and at the same time ticks me off. can treat another person, let alone a child, so inhumanly is beyond me. My son is the same age as Erin, and I could NEVER imagine anything like that happening to him. But, I know from experience, CPS and even Friend of The Court do NOT care much for the well-being of the children like they claim. I don't know what this world is coming to. Very, very sad story.

Jon M

Well, there's really nothing you can do about it other then to hope for the best. Her parents are probably just floating under the limit.

SiLKy

Probably would have been better off with her real family.

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