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Plenty of Blame to Go Around in DSS, Dog Case
But Who is Thinking About the Children?

The Department of Social Services is a joke. And a bad one at that. They placed two foster children, Kayla (3) and Isaiah (8), with Wayne and Channon Emery of Lawrence who had a Rotweiler dog. Then, DSS told the Emerys to get rid of the dog (Princess) because, God forbid, she growled at two strangers who happen to be state workers visiting their home. The Emerys were told they had to choose between keeping the children or keeping the dog.

This action by DSS came after a boy was mauled by a Rottweiler dog in Springfield six moths ago. Apparently, DSS wants us to believe that the judgment of the Emerys was bad enough that they would put their foster children at risk by having a dangerous dog in their home. If they really believed this, they should have removed the children right away whether the dog stayed or not. After all, they are supposed to be concerned with the welfare of the children, right?

Still, DSS was willing to keep these children in the home of people they believed to have such bad judgment. It’s no wonder DSS has such a bad reputation. The best interest of the children were not really at issue here. They were just covering their own asses so that, in the small chance Princess bit one of the children they would incur no legal liability.

So, the Emerys went to the daily paper to complain about the actions of DSS. Shortly after their story was featured on the front page of the daily paper the Emerys were told by DSS that the children were being taken away. This, despite the fact that the Emerys gave the dog to "friends" in order to keep the children.

DSS says that when they asked Mrs. Emery to choose between the dog and the children she said she would have to "go with the dog." Later she said, she thought the question was only posed as a hypothetical. But even as a hypothetical question, I don’t think any responsible and truly fit mother would choose to keep a dog over two children. DSS said they feel the same way. Half an hour after Mrs. Emery made the comment to DSS they informed her that the children would be taken away because the foster parents had decided to trade the children for the dog.

This situation is a complete mess. Isaiah and Kayla are two young children who need a loving home and a family who will make them the most important things in their lives. They already have enough going against them by being in the care of a horrific state agency like DSS. And nobody is thinking about them?

Who has their best interest at heart?

Surely it is not DSS who was willing to leave them with a foster couple they thought had such bad judgment as to put the children at risk with a dangerous dog. Not the Emerys, if we are to believe the story in the daily paper. They seemed to care more about the dog then these unfortunate children. I ask again, who is thinking about these children?

My heart breaks every time I hear another DSS horror story involving foster children. Too many selfish people use children as pawns for a free state check (though there are many good foster families.) Too many state workers substitute their own personal agendas for the well being of kids who already two strikes against them in life. And where are the politicians? They write the laws and set up the guidelines for state agencies like DSS. How many horror stories do we have to read about before they step up the plate and reform a state agency which more often than not causes harm to children instead of helping them?

Everyone here has a responsibility to these kids. After all, we are the state. State workers act on our behalf, well they are supposed to. When all is said and done there is plenty of blame to go around here. But assigning blame alone doesn’t solve the bigger issue. The State of Massachusetts has an awesome responsibility to children. Band aide solutions only make the system more of a failure and put more children in harms way. These kids need responsible parents who will look out for them, teach them right from wrong and instill a moral code of good judgment if they have any hope of growing up to be happy and productive members of society.

The real sad issue here is that Kayla and Isaiah are still in the care (if you want to call it that) of DSS. They will be placed in another home by the same people who were willing to leave them with parents they believed were unfit. The children are still at the mercy of bearcats and polities who look the other way day after day. The Emerys may not have handled his situation properly but there is no evidence that the next foster home will be any better, in fact the evidence suggests otherwise.

And in the Emerys defense, they say DSS was angry that they told their story to the newspaper and took the children in retaliation for the bad press they received. I believe that to be the case by the evidence of this case. I don’t think DSS had any intention of taking Kayla and Isaiah simply because the dog growled at state workers. Simply because the dog was breed of dog considered to be violent is no reason to break up a foster family. They knew the Emerys were playing games by giving the dog to a friend, hoping that she could quietly return to the house once the heat died down. And if the Emerys hadn’t spoken to the press Isaiah and Kayla would be spending this holiday season with the Emerys.

I believe that the folks at DSS were flexing their muscles to make an example for the Emerys. Just think of what would happen if other foster families came forward with more stories about this state agency and the way they operate?

The only one who escapes culpability in this story is 6 year old Princess, the Rottweiler dog. She has no history of violence and has not harmed the children in any way. She happens to be a breed of dog some consider violent by nature. But there is no proof that the behavior of a dog is genetic, just as there is no evidence that a certain race of people are genetically prone to violence.

Life for these children cannot be easy. But it could be a lot easier if the grown ups involved used better judgment and put them first. So far, it seems as though nobody has done that. I only pray that Isaiah and Kayla do not suffer any more at the hands of selfish adults who should know better. There are many more kids out there like Isaiah and Kayla who are at the mercy (pr lack thereof) of DSS and foster families. The press must be able to report on these stories and the people involved must be free to talk to the media. If they are not, thousands of children suffer in silence with no voice at all.

For the sake of their future and ours, the light of day must be shed on the actions of DSS. No agency should be operating in secrecy. Much less an agency with the lives of children in their hands.