Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

[Pebcake]

I may be wrong, but I did watch a segment on 20/20 where the parents were on the program because there had been a complaint that there was abuse happening in the household. The social worker came, couldn't decide if it might be true or not, so took the child just to be safe. Turns out the call had been made by a disgruntled nanny. In the meantime, the child was raped in the foster home. I don't remember which state the story focused on.

[Leslie Anne]

Originally Posted by Pebcake

I may be wrong, but I did watch a segment on 20/20 where the parents were on the program because there had been a complaint that there was abuse happening in the household. The social worker came, couldn't decide if it might be true or not, so took the child just to be safe. Turns out the call had been made by a disgruntled nanny. In the meantime, the child was raped in the foster home. I don't remember which state the story focused on.

Um, okay....and this little anecdote fits into the topic at hand how?

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by Pebcake

I may be wrong, but I did watch a segment on 20/20 where the parents were on the program because there had been a complaint that there was abuse happening in the household. The social worker came, couldn't decide if it might be true or not, so took the child just to be safe. Turns out the call had been made by a disgruntled nanny. In the meantime, the child was raped in the foster home. I don't remember which state the story focused on.

Terrible tragic things happen everywhere. Anecdotes are not statistics. What if the SW had left the child and the father raped her.

After a complaint is made, an investigation occurs, and a child is only taken if the case worker either determines the situation is unsafe or is unable to determine that the situation is safe.

The terrors of the foster care system is a problem that needs to be fixed, but not at the expense of children staying with abusive parents.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Pebcake

I may be wrong, but I did watch a segment on 20/20 where the parents were on the program because there had been a complaint that there was abuse happening in the household. The social worker came, couldn't decide if it might be true or not, so took the child just to be safe. Turns out the call had been made by a disgruntled nanny. In the meantime, the child was raped in the foster home. I don't remember which state the story focused on.

OMG DO YOU NOT GET IT????

This is not about ONE child in a private home. This is about years and years in a compound, with NUMEROUS complaints over the years.

Jeez, if you're so up on this lifestyle, go be someone's 6th wife or something.

[Pebcake]

33girl, I get it. I get that you are rude and arrogant. You are so sure you are right? I am not an expert on this lifestyle, but surely you must be. If you were not an expert, you could not be so convinced that you know everything. I don't like to be rude, but I guess you brought it out with you silly remarks about being a 6th wife.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by Pebcake

33girl, I get it. I get that you are rude and arrogant. You are so sure you are right? I am not an expert on this lifestyle, but surely you must be. If you were not an expert, you could not be so convinced that you know everything. I don't like to be rude, but I guess you brought it out with you silly remarks about being a 6th wife.

Pebcake, I get that you are rude and arrogant. You are so sure you are right? I am not an expert on Child Protective Services, but surely you must be. If you were not an expert you could not be so convinced that you know everything. I don't like to be rude, but I guess you brought it out with your remarks implying that children should stay in abusive homes.

[Pebcake]

Very original. I give up.

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by Pebcake

Very original. I give up.

Best news I've heard all day.

Just found out, my cousin went to high school with the judge. Aunt in San Angelo said many residents have taken attorneys into their homes because all of the hotels are full with the media

[jon1856]

After that little detour/side trip-Back to the News "facts of the day":
Texas begins DNA tests on polygamist sect children

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - State authorities on Monday began running DNA tests on over 400 children removed from a polygamist compound in west Texas to determine if some were born to underage mothers.
Such evidence could be key in an investigation of possible abuse at the secretive compound linked to a break-away Mormon sect run by followers of jailed polygamist Warren Jeffs.
"It is a cheek swab and it is very non-invasive," said Patrick Crimmins of the Texas Department of Children and Family Services of the tests.
A judge on Friday ordered the tests to determine parentage and relationships within the community. Meanwhile, the children must remain in the department's custody.
http://www.reuters.com/article/domes...e=domesticNews

SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) -- Lab workers began taking DNA samples Monday from the more than 400 children in state custody since a raid on a polygamist compound more than two weeks ago.
Officials hope the samples, to be taken by cheek swabs from the children and their parents, will help sort out the confusing family relationships in a convoluted custody case that has strained the resources of the child welfare system and the courts.
The testing is being conducted in the San Angelo Coliseum, where most of the children have been held since last week.
Judge Barbara Walther ordered the tests at the request of state officials, who have complained that members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have continually changed their names, possibly lied about their ages and sometimes had difficulty naming their relatives.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/21/....ap/index.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,351921,00.html

Polygamous sect unleashes PR campaign

Previously silent group mobilizes after state removes 416 children
SAN ANGELO, Texas - Before authorities raided their west Texas retreat, members of a secretive polygamous church spent decades holding as tightly to their intense privacy as the Scriptures guiding their way of life.
Contact with outsiders was limited. Media inquiries were rejected with either stone-faced silence or a polite "no comment."
But after Texas officials removed 416 children belonging to members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the sect fired up the public relations machine.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24234987/

Polygamists make their own fashion statement

The puff-sleeved, pastel dresses are a blast from the 19th century
For a society accustomed to the likes of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, the images of the women from the polygamist compound in Texas are almost shocking in their understatement: Ankle-length dresses, makeup-less faces, hauntingly uniform hair.
And while no one would accuse the women of making a fashion statement, the pioneer-style outfits are a rare of example of how in an age of overexposure, modesty, too, can give pause.
The puff-sleeved, pastel dresses worn by the women in the sect are a combination of original 19th-century wear and 1950s clothing that was adopted when the church took a conservative turn, according to Janet Bennion, an anthropologist who studies polygamist women
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24245576/

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Pebcake

I may be wrong,

We agree on something!

I promise, I'm joking.

but I did watch a segment on 20/20 where the parents were on the program because there had been a complaint that there was abuse happening in the household. The social worker came, couldn't decide if it might be true or not, so took the child just to be safe. Turns out the call had been made by a disgruntled nanny. In the meantime, the child was raped in the foster home. I don't remember which state the story focused on.

Most jurisdictions have laws allowing children to be removed if, after initial investigation, authorities have sufficient reason to believe that abuse is occuring. I don't know of any jurisdiction where it can be done "just to be safe" if the social worker can't tell what's going on.

Just to be clear, though, in this case, the complaint that sparked official action came from one of the children, and no children were removed into protective custody until some investigation had been undertaken.