● The Associated Press reports that Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary, plans to address how the family policing system sought to "eradicate our culture and erase us as a people."
● What is worse than a family policing system failing to learn the right lessons from child abuse fatalities? How about a system that did learn the right lessons, and then forgot. Sadly, that happens a lot, most recently in Maine. Maine foster parent Mary Callahan and I discuss what this failure has meant to Maine children in this commentary for the Bangor Daily News.
● Last week I wrote about how the Massachusetts Mandated Reporter Commission became “the Seinfeld of commissions” when it opted to recommend – nothing. CommonWealth Magazine summarizes the reasons for the impasse. But that didn’t stop the Commission chair, Massachusetts “Child Advocate” Maria Mossaides, from misrepresenting the Commission’s work and the underlying issues in the Commission’s final report. I have a blog post about one of the worst examples.
● While Mossaides seeks to expand intrusion into families, people who understand the harm that does to children are seeking to amend or repeal some of the worst laws encouraging such intrusion, such as the so-called Adoption and Safe Families Act. But, there also are provisions in law that protect families – they just are routinely ignored. Prof. Vivek Sankaran explains in The Imprint how it’s actually possible to accomplish a lot simply by enforcing those existing protections.
● Another family victimized by a “child abuse pediatrician.” Lenore Skenazy writes in Reason about how even after the children finally were returned home, the trauma remains:
They have mounted cameras throughout their home so that if one of their boys hurts himself, there would be proof it wasn't child abuse. Understandably, the boys have terrible anxiety. If the kids aren't warned that pizza is coming, hearing the doorbell sends them running to hide.
● Could it possibly get any worse? Check out this story from The Appeal.
