I am truly shocked by this...and heartbroken...?

Have any of you seen this story? A lady near St. Louis stole gift cards that were to be given to foster children for Christmas. She was a foster care case worker.

http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=8037588&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

When I first heard it, I was outraged. Then after I saw the video, I realized that I know this lady! She was a case worker where I fostered at and we both moved. We worked together several times while I supervised visits for my foster children. We spoke outside of Children's Division, also. She was the sweetest lady and helped so many parents get their children back.

I can't find it in my heart to even be mad. I am just sad. She is a single mom with a 2 1/2 year old. I can't imagine what could have happened to make her sell her whole life for $2700 (the amount she stole in gift cards). Her degree is done for...her daughter is never going to have the same life again. I just hate it.

Should I be angry in the honor of the foster children who those gift cards were for? How would you feel?
Additional Details
I agree, Tish. It is a very tough one...but man, you especially would have loved this lady! She told me once, "my favorite thing in the world is to reunite these kids to their parents"...and she worked so hard for parents to get their kids back. I am just sick about it.

Robin W

I would feel very sad for both the worker and the children who didn't get the gift cards. I would also be ashamed that we, as a society, don't help the little families of single parents more. We are so busy trying to impress our idea of what an "ideal" family might be on everyone, that we forget that a mother and her child constitute a family as well. Most of the time, we push surrender of her child on to the single mother as some kind of solution without addressing the real problems. She must have felt very deprived and desperate to do something like that. She was wrong, and will have to pay the price for what she did. But I can understand that kind of desperation.

tish_part deux

it is always difficult to see those you respect in a bad light.

but...

she broke the law. and more than that, she betrayed the very children she is paid to protect. i don't know, it a tough one.

ETA: it reminds me of a colleague who was recently incarcerated for vehicular assault. i met him when i interviewed at the college i'm currently teaching. he saw me walking around, lost; and escorted me to where i was to go. we formed a very respectful mentor/mentee relationship. but...he had uncontrolled diabetes---and hit a man because he blacked-out. he lost his job, and will most likey not have his J1 visa renewed (he's from liberia); nor hired by another university.

it was just one big mess...

songshappysinging

heartbroken like you
so sad for everyone
this lady must be suffering too
so sad

MamaKate

What an awful situation! Truly re-victimizing victims.

We had something similar happen here a few years ago. Absolutely disgusting. (Here's a link:http://www.fightcps.com/2004_07_04_archive.html)

Here's another case:

http://freerepublic.com/tag/wicked/index
http://blogs.laweekly.com/ladaily/politics/philanthropist-daphna-ziman-at/

It is sad that this happens at all. I'm sure there will always be a "rotten apple" or two in the field of social work, but in some cases, like your acquaintance, it makes me question if we are taking care of the right people in this country. Why do entertainers get millions and the people who are providing social services get $36,000 a year?

So many SWs are struggling just as much as the families of kids they are trying to help and many are single parents. Overloaded, overworked, over-a-barrel. Even the best ones get burnt out and used up by the mess we call a system.

Just awful.

As to your feelings; I think you can still like this woman as a person and condemn her act. You have every right to be angry and feel betrayed. I'm sure she is ashamed. You can still be her friend - I'm sure she needs one - and be upset about her misconduct.

Perhaps you could express your anger by helping with holiday donation drives for the children? :)

Arissa J

we have to learn to forgive but yes she did make a big mistake

friends R gifts we give ourself

stuff happens to people, i once heard we are all straddling a fence with one foot in bad and one foot in good, so there's good and bad in all of us, sometimes we hang over more on the bad side, other times we are more on the good side, but sometimes things out of our control happen and we fall in the bad or wrong side even for just the briefest of moments the difference is a good person gets back on the right/good side again, so maybe something really bad happened no one knows about and she felt she had no other choice, it is sad, but i think if we pray for situations like these, pray for all those involved that it will work out in the end, hopefully she doesn't have to lose her daughter too.
have a great day.

BROSIVE

Sorry =(

Independ"ant"

Doesn't surprise nor shock me.

There are too many people in the foster care and adoption business that are unethical f'in criminals.

What surprises me is the way an Aps or Paps turns their backs on it as if they're isolated incidents when it has become the norm.

Out of sight out of mind.

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