Chapter 20.8 - Ownership (Len's Journal)

“The more people have studied different methods of bringing up children the more they have come to the conclusion that what good mothers and fathers instinctively feel like doing for their babies is the best after all”

Benjamin Spock

September 12

    When I got home today Arnold was immediately at my door.  He banged in frustration until I answered.  He was more frantic and upset than seemed possible.  I invited him in.  Arnold was crying and pacing in our living room unable to speak.  I tried to settle him down by giving him a glass of water and talking to him in a soothing voice.  I thought nothing would work.  Finally, he told me a story I couldn’t believe.  His wife called him at work around 3:30 saying that the kids weren’t home from school yet.  They have an 8 and a 5 year old.  He told her not to worry that they probably were helping their teachers with something and would be home soon.  At 4:05 she called him again in tears.  He said that she told him that the county human services division had called her and told her that they were holding her children until further notice.  They also told her that it was believed that she and her husband were under investigation for sexual and physical child abuse.

    I’ve known Arnold for 5 years, since the day they moved in next door to us.  In all that time he has been nothing other than kind and considerate.  His children are a joy to be around.  They too, are polite and considerate.  I couldn’t believe what he was telling me.  The story got worse.

    It seems that the state can pull your children out of school without telling you.  They can also run psychological examinations on your children to determine whether they are abused either physically, mentally, or sexually.  Incredible as it seems, they have the right to hold your children in a foster care system until the issue is resolved.  I didn’t know what to tell Arnold.  I asked him how it was that the county came to take the children out of school to be tested.  He told me that all that was necessary was for someone to call in a complaint and the the county felt it was their duty to verify any such calls.

    Arnold went away feeling no better than when he came.  I was left afraid of the system.  They could come and take my children away from me without warning.  Based on evaluation from publicly retained psychologists they can put my children in a foster care system out of my reach.  What kind of insanity is this?