Tsa`ah
05-08-2005, 03:12 PM
No this isn't about animal rights or activism. This is about one of the most ignored aspects of modern society, children. Specifically wards of State; aka foster children.
Apparently our illustrious state and federal governments allowed "testing" of HIV medicines on infected foster children through the 80s and 90s. Medicines that were known to have adverse effects on adults but unknown effects on children.
Article here (http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050504140909990015).
I don't think most people realize how messed up the child services, across the board, really are. More and more these children are becoming a commodity. They represent a cross section of our society that no one really cares about. The state of Florida is an excellent example. For the past two decades this state has become synonymous with the abuse of foster children. Not a year goes by that story doesn't pop up about a child, or group of children, that were placed in an abusive home for a lengthy amount of time without sight or sound of a case worker.
The current movement in Florida, and I wouldn't be surprised if other states follow the lead, is to privatize ... yes the Governor of the great state of Florida wants to privatize, foster care.
Step back and think about that for a minute. Children, who at no fault of their own, are removed from an abusive (be it physical, sexual, mental, or neglect) home and placed in another home; which statistically may prove to be just as abusive. Instead of overhauling the system; adding staff, providing stricter licensing procedures ... just making the damn system work the way it is supposed to be ... the movement is to place these children into a privatized system.
Now, if these children lacked advocacy before, how is a privatized system going to fix that problem? Who is going to check on these children to see if their needs are met? Chances are that no one will bother. How soon until these children, the new commodity, are found in group homes that are nothing more than sweat shops? How long until the posted article becomes common place? Say 10 years from now? 5?
This is what truly disturbs me about this society. We care more about how much some incompetent fuck spends on his inaugural ball, or what teen starlet slut is now pregnant than we do children whom the State is supposed to protect.
Apparently our illustrious state and federal governments allowed "testing" of HIV medicines on infected foster children through the 80s and 90s. Medicines that were known to have adverse effects on adults but unknown effects on children.
Article here (http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050504140909990015).
I don't think most people realize how messed up the child services, across the board, really are. More and more these children are becoming a commodity. They represent a cross section of our society that no one really cares about. The state of Florida is an excellent example. For the past two decades this state has become synonymous with the abuse of foster children. Not a year goes by that story doesn't pop up about a child, or group of children, that were placed in an abusive home for a lengthy amount of time without sight or sound of a case worker.
The current movement in Florida, and I wouldn't be surprised if other states follow the lead, is to privatize ... yes the Governor of the great state of Florida wants to privatize, foster care.
Step back and think about that for a minute. Children, who at no fault of their own, are removed from an abusive (be it physical, sexual, mental, or neglect) home and placed in another home; which statistically may prove to be just as abusive. Instead of overhauling the system; adding staff, providing stricter licensing procedures ... just making the damn system work the way it is supposed to be ... the movement is to place these children into a privatized system.
Now, if these children lacked advocacy before, how is a privatized system going to fix that problem? Who is going to check on these children to see if their needs are met? Chances are that no one will bother. How soon until these children, the new commodity, are found in group homes that are nothing more than sweat shops? How long until the posted article becomes common place? Say 10 years from now? 5?
This is what truly disturbs me about this society. We care more about how much some incompetent fuck spends on his inaugural ball, or what teen starlet slut is now pregnant than we do children whom the State is supposed to protect.