November 2009

The Story of Charlini

The death of Charleeni Ferreira tells an incredible story. Parental abuse undetected for years. Siren calls of suspicion from school nurses who were then mistrusted. A child not comfortable enough or perhaps too traumatized to reveal her sad secret. Her story and one other reveal some answers.

Last month I had occasion to visit with a family whose child was subject to a protective action in Philadelphia’s Dependency Court. A four-year-old boy had been found wandering on his neighborhood street at night. While the family members disputed the time of the events, the mother explained that she had put her child to bed, and then left the house to visit friends on the block. She thought the boy was sound asleep in his bed, when he had actually awakened and walked out the front door.

Both the boy’s mother and the maternal grandfather said they knew the neighbor who had found the child and made the report to the children and youth agency … and they were OK that she had reported the case! “Too many children fall through the cracks. We have to look out for each other”, the grandfather observed. The judge and social workers agreed that the young parent needed supports, but that her children were safe and well.

OK with a child neglect report against you? In all my years in child advocacy, I had never heard such a refreshing response.

It seems ironic, but our kids need us adults to recognize that the child protection system is in place to help, not to harm. If we are to be a community that prevents child abuse and neglect, we must embrace both the responsibility of reporting and the opportunity to respond well.

Charleeni declined to tell investigators about her horrible experiences; her parents reportedly presented inconsistent stories and failed to return for medical follow-ups. While the physically or sexually abusive parent generally wants neither scrutiny nor intervention, the abused child often wants to tell but can’t find the way or the heart. We must continue to improve our investigative approach, sharing information more efficiently. We need state-of-the-art forensic interviewing of all child victims, in a safe place where children can disclose out of the presence of their caregivers.

More money isn’t necessarily the answer, so much as spending wisely. Pennsylvania spends more than most states on child welfare services. But our investment in prevention of abuse and neglect remains low and the programming spotty. The Pennsylvania Children’s Trust Fund, which supports proven abuse prevention practices for at-risk populations, had to suspend grant making this year for lack of funds. Advocates failed again to win legislative support in Harrisburg for increased investment in primary prevention in early childhood.

We are not likely to ever know the facts in Charleeni’s encounter with the child welfare system, as confidentiality restrictions make the window opaque to most of us. A statewide children’s ombudsman, recommended in 2002 by a task force of the General Assembly, would investigate citizen complaints and tell the community that the system’s problems will be studied openly and resolved with satisfaction. Yet the initiative meets opposition from those who want to keep that door closed.

In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt held the first White House summit on children. Though 100 Octobers have come since then, we still have far to go to ensure the health, safety and well-being of our nation’s kids. The rate of child abuse and neglect deaths in the U.S. is much higher than in other rich democracies– including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Child fatalities are the canary in the mine of the community’s approach to child safety and well-being. A new report just out from the Every Child Matters Education Fund shows that more than 10,000 children in the U.S. died from family abuse and neglect from 2001 to 2007. Forty-six Pennsylvania children died from abuse in 2007, the most in at least five years.

Where is the outrage about the senseless deaths of our young ones? Together we must change the story of Charleeni.