>So, that's how you can end up in jail as a kid. The social service
>system in the US is essentially an extention of the courts,
>corrections, and other state police functions. If not on the books,
>then as a practical matter on the street.
>
Yes, Chuck is right. My sister has worked for child protective services
for the last ten years and she tells me the same kind of stories.
Some foster parents are great; many of them are just on this side of
abusive. Basically, they will feed and clothe the kid, but they will not
do anything else except pocket the money for their "care." No vacations;
no playdates; no support for school tutoring or other extracurricular
activities (that the county pays for); no driving to the therapist (that
the county pays for); nothing but sub-minimal care and sometimes
outright abuse for children who have lost their parents and who already
suffer from a history of neglect and abuse.
Joanna