WTH is wrong with PEOPLE?????

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Among the questions: How could Jacks's children disappear for so long without school officials, police or social workers noticing and stepping in to help?

This is REALLY easy to do in DC.

High school kids won't get looked for. Public high schools are wayyyyy too understaffed to worry about one missing girl, who most might assume is just truant or a drop out.

Elementary schools don't fare better. Sure, there is a process that is SUPPOSED to be followed....but hell, what can you do when the counselor is marking children as "present" behind the teacher who has already marked them absent?

It's happened to me first hand. People are lazy and don't want to follow up. People are overworked and can't possibly follow up. People have to work second jobs so its impossible for them to follow up.

I am sooooo home-schooling.

ETA: I would never be a social worker in DC -- they are more overworked than school personnel. Even my friend who is a case manager for the department of mental health has like 90 clients! She is only supposed to have up to 45 or so.

[1908Revelations]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

Elementary schools don't fare better. Sure, there is a process that is SUPPOSED to be followed....but hell, what can you do when the counselor is marking children as "present" behind the teacher who has already marked them absent?

Good point Senusret.

The state dept (at least where I am) determines how much money that school gets based off of the first 90 days attendance (maybe 60), so in those first few months almost no kids will get suspended (even if they did the crime) and a lot of times they do change the records. I can only speak for where I have worked, but I am sure it happens elsewhere.

[nikki1920]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

This is REALLY easy to do in DC.


ETA: I would never be a social worker in DC -- they are more overworked than school personnel. Even my friend who is a case manager for the department of mental health has like 90 clients! She is only supposed to have up to 45 or so.

My good friend worked for DC Child and Family Services in DC. She had a caseload of......






wait for it..........









900 cases.
The average is about 100.

She left.

[UGAalum94]

I didn't mean to seem like I was blaming people for not keeping up with the kids; more that I'm just saddened and stunned that it could happen.

How could they no so few people that among the four of them, no one even noticed or followed up?

It's so deeply sad.

Senusret, two things: there's nothing wrong with homeschooling and more power to you if you go that route, but not all public schools are as bad as what you dealt with; your experience sounds truly horrible. And I like the new signature, but what's up with that?