Early findings from our current research on Minnesota child murders show high risk cases being assigned to Family Assessment, the minimal-accountability version of child protection.
To date this study documents parents who got this virtual free pass despite refusing medical treatment for children injured in a car crash, enabling sexual abuse of an infant, and a criminal conviction for malicious punishment of a child.
Our previous research corroborates that these are common occurrences, not occasional lapses.
These practices are fostered by conservative activists who consider any government involvement with families as ‘interference’, and by progressives who misguidedly perceive keeping families intact as restorative justice, regardless of the consequences for children.
The political mainstream itself has backed off, tacitly allowing this devil’s bargain to drive public policy.
The result is justice for everyone except children, and a society that is wholly indifferent to their suffering.
=====
Listen to this blog as read by the author, as well as an interview with Maya Schulte in this week’s podcast, here or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast shows.
Watch this week’s webinar led by attorney Maya Schulte presenting interim results of our study in more detail here.