Child Protection & Volunteer Guardians ad Litems

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection

It hurt me to see no mention of Minnesota’s hundreds of volunteer CASA guardians ad litem in Susan Miles’ Child Protection article in Friday’s Star Tribune.

I’m all for paying people for hard work and especially those working with troubled children and families.

Volunteer guardians come from the heart of the community, they do their work solely of concern for abused children & take fewer cases than paid guardians.

Fewer cases means they can be more involved with the child and family. Paid guardians need to handle 25 sometime 30 cases – most volunteer CASA guardians only take a few.

State Ward children have commented many times to me that I was different because I was the only person from the County not being paid to be with them. This meant something to them.

Tolerating Child Death in Minnesota (thank you Safe Passage for Children of MN)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - MN Specific

This short powerful article from Safe Passage for Children of MN identifies the how and why two girls could be beaten with bats, starved, raped and chained over 12-15 years in the same house and over 50 police calls to the home never resulted in an investigation. The neighbors knew, the police knew, the county knew – but nothing was done.

It’s how Eric Dean the 4 year old was tortured to death while 14 reports of abuse by mandated reporters were ignored. The single visit to the home by child protection workers did not interview the child. If they had, they would have seen the bite marks on his face and head, broken arm and other scars.

We need state wide guidelines to maltreatment reports, statewide coordination of child protection activities and standards for child protection with a focus on keeping children safe.