I am watching this documentary and I am so angry I can't breath properly.
This one woman who happens to have the very popular Karen haircut continues to blame everyone but the social workers who went to the home and did nothing. The social workers who falsified documentation.
Of course, she worked for DCFS.
She truly and deeply tried to blame the teacher for not kidnapping the child and not allowing him to go home. The teacher who called at least 4 times in the weeks before Gabriel was killed. The last time she called was 2 weeks before his death because he had horrific injuries and had been absent for 13 days from school before coming back with the horrific injuries. She could have absolutely taken that child to the police....but then what? Would she be charged with kidnapping? Maybe. She did exactly what she was supposed to do and she kept doing it and DCFS DID NOTHING. They continued to take the mother's word for it that Gabriel was a liar.
Those workers blame overload on cases and this is definitrey an issue. Its not an excuse for failure to act. You can see his injuries. Even his 8 yr old classmates were scared of what was happening to him. OTHER KIDS NOTICED WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO GABRIEL. IF DCFS HAD INVESTIGATED THEY WOULD HAVE FOUND KIDS WHO HE TOLD HE WAS BEING ABUSED.
BUT....they falsified documents and took mom's word.
Also...they never once ordered with a warrant for Gabriel to be seen by a doctor ...which is the very first thing that should have happened when he had visible injuries. Not once...but the policy is that he should have been seen by the doctors.
They complain about having to investigate like cops. THATS THEIR WHOLE FUCKING JOB AND WHAT THEY ARE EDUCATED TO RECOGNIZE AND DO.
Thanks for coming to my rant. There is no point other than to release the anger I feel at these adults who failed this child. The only ones who should not feel guilty...are living with immense guilt. And the ones who should be suffering guilt are too busy placing blame.
The other family members also called dcfs many times. Over and over. They documented injuries and attempted to get custody of Gabriel. They also claim that there is nowhere to place kids in emergencies...that it is over loaded with too mamy kids. He had family he could have been placed with.
absent for 13 days from school before coming back with the horrific injuries.
I'd like to ask a question about what we do expect, and should expect, people to do in such circumstances. Bear in mind that I haven't seen the documentary so I might be misinterpreting things.
Where I live the degree of harm that you say the child visibly suffered would be regarded as a police matter. That is I would expect any teacher, or even passer by, to call the emergency number to get both medical and police assistance (112 for police, 113 for medical emergency in Norway, 999 for all emergencies in the UK).
But perhaps I am the odd one out.
A thought experiment might bring my meaning into focus: what if the person concerned had been an adult? Then there is no specific department to call so surely the police and medical services would have to be called. The medic to ensure that the injuries were treated and the police because there is at least a strong suspicion that a crime has been committed (assault, battery, grievous bodily harm).
@JaggedLittlePill Oh my goodness. So the failures are not just in the department of children and families but also in the police. And the failures are not merely accidental but systematic. Those in higher positions in both organizations need to be held to account for employing such people.
I hate to say this but if those higher up in such organizations are regarded as blameless in such situations then this will occur again and again.
We have had some similar incidents in Norway and they became national scandals resulting in the end in some changes at the top. I'm not sure how effective they have been though. The Barnevern (literally Child Protection) has a mixed reputation and has been accused similarly of failing to act when they should have and also of taking children away from parents unnecessarily.
@bijouxbroussard And at the end they spoke of another little one only weeks later in the same area who was killed by mother and boyfriend who had been under dcfs care as well.
@JaggedLittlePill The one thing my youngest sister did right (besides divorcing my brother in law and keeping him away from my niece) was commit not to date while said niece was growing up. That and living with our parents gave my niece a considerably better start in life than she might’ve had otherwise.
