It’s often difficult for those who don’t work as part of the child welfare system to truly understand it. Every day, Sunrise Children’s Services and other agencies address complex situations involving complex children and families.
An op-ed that appeared in the Lexington Herald-Leader shows a level of understanding by the writer, Charles L. Baker, that I wanted to share with you. Excerpts of his column, “Don’t let budget cuts hurt children,” follow.
“We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It is easy to say it is not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem. Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes. – the Rev. Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood
Kentucky’s current budget woes are frightening. If we’re not very careful, some budget-cutting measures may hurt those Kentucky kids who’ve already been hurt by abuse and neglect.
Here’s our dilemma – when parents are unable to care for their children, the job falls on the rest of us. At first glance, this may not seem fair, but not if you think about it like Mr. Rogers.
Parenting is our most important role in life, and it’s not easy. Some parents don’t, or can’t, do a very good job. Sometimes we’re too overwhelmed or frustrated to do it right …
It is in these situations where “we” as the citizens of Kentucky take on additional responsibility for children. After all, they are all children of God, and we can’t allow ourselves to ignore their suffering.
The laws of Kentucky require the Department of Community Based Services to investigate reports of abuse and neglect, and the courts are expected to remove children, for their protection, from their own homes.
All of this protection, of course, is expensive. The costs of investigation, foster care or residential treatment for the children mount up.
The federal government pays for a large share of these costs, but we have our own responsibilities. The governor and the legislature now have to choose among a long list of priorities. Should we cut the budget for prisons, for education, for the state police, for highways – or for abused children? …
This budget crisis might force Kentucky to be more creative – but whatever happens, we can’t afford to neglect our children.”
Our lawmakers need to hear this message until they too understand. Check out the previous post “Take Action Now” for details on writing to the decision-makers in Frankfort. We cannot let the children down.
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