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Section: Editorial Current stories in Editorial: |
Jan. 22, 2005, 7:28PM LETTERSFixing child abuse takes all
The staff, board of directors and volunteers at Child Advocates Inc. have firsthand knowledge of the burden that the Child Protective Services caseworkers are facing.
Many of our program staff members served as CPS caseworkers prior to joining our organization, and our volunteers work with CPS caseworkers daily. We all know that the majority of these individuals care about the well-being of the children and work tirelessly to ensure that the right decisions are made in every case. We also recognize the barriers and limitations they face — including the financial cuts that have been made to parts of Texas' child welfare system that have exacerbated an already struggling system. While we agree that the Legislature has the responsibility of fixing the struggling agency, we also believe it is the entire community's responsibility to take care of the more than 4,200 abused and neglected children who are in foster care right now in the Houston area. Behind every one of the statistics is an innocent child in need of help. Child Advocates mobilizes community volunteers to provide a voice for the voiceless — those abused and neglected children who are in protective custody. We recruit, train and supervise court appointed special advocates (also known as guardians ad litem), to help guide children through the system. Our volunteers provide a safety net below the CPS system to make sure that all of the children's needs are met and that a safe, permanent outcome is reached. Since our volunteers carry only one or two cases at a time, they have the time necessary to fill in the gaps in the system. Our volunteers remain on a child's case from the time that it is opened in the family court until the child's final placement is resolved. The volunteer provides continuity on the child's case by pulling together the case history from each caseworker that has ever been involved, interviewing all parties involved in the child's life, and attending all court hearings so that an informed recommendation to the court can be made regarding the best permanent placement for the child. Since we have a legal responsibility to the court to make unbiased recommendations, we may not always agree with CPS. However, we are confident that we are all working with the child's best interest in mind. Despite all of our best intentions, children do slip through the bureaucratic cracks and, as we have seen, the results are tragic when they do. As a community we have witnessed too many of these tragedies over the past 2 1/2 years, and we each need to do our part to help these children. Their needs are great, but every Houstonian can do something to help. At a time when the system seems hopelessly flawed and tragic stories of abuse surface in the news every few days, Child Advocates challenges more individuals to get involved. Look into the possibility of donating time or money to Child Advocates or to one of the many other groups in Houston who work to help abused children. Please do not watch from the sidelines or wait for others to get involved. Our children need all of us to take our part. SONYA GALVAN
F for fit, not fatRegarding the Chronicle's Jan. 20 article, "F on report cards may soon stand for 'fat' ": The physical well-being of our students is not something to be ignored.The idea of requiring schools to report students' body mass index, along with their grades, is a great idea. At first, I thought the movement crossed parental boundaries, but after much thought, I have come to conclude that a person's health and education are equally important. This can easily be seen in the curriculum already in effect in the state's public schools. Beginning in elementary school, students are required to take physical education classes. This implies an important relationship between education and the body. PE's fun and games should also educate students about healthy living habits. According to state Sen. John Whitmire, gathering BMIs is "too much government," but in actuality, it is just another part of PE. Childhood obesity is a problem in the United States, and education and awareness can have a lasting impact. Reporting a student's BMI is a good idea and can have an effect on students' health as long as it is combined with a sound education in exercise and healthy eating. Let's strive to see an F for fit (not fat) on report cards. ANDREA SUTTON
No inaugural choiceRudy Heyse was right [Jan. 21 letter "He'd have marched in parade"]. Baseball players, TV anchors and many more are paid extremely high salaries.However, they are not paid with my tax dollars. I chose if I want to spend money on a baseball game. I had no choice on how my contributions to the tax coffers was spent on George W. Bush's ostentatious inauguration. J. RODRIGUEZ
Stadium names OKIt is interesting to me that the Houston Independent School District wants to sell the naming rights to their football stadiums even though those facilities have already been named to honor those who served in various roles in the district. Many of these facilities have been named after retired coaches, school board members and others who dedicated years of service with little financial benefit.If I were a potential corporate sponsor, I would look carefully at the deals the soda manufacturers got with public schools several years ago when Coca Cola and Pepsi waged a price war for who could be the official sponsor of the district's campus buildings. The corporate sponsors were rewarded only a few years later with a ban on soda machines in the schools because little Johnny had gotten too fat, even though the average number of days he actually spends in a classroom is 180 (maximum), and it is the parents who are ultimately responsible for Johnny's nutrition. HISD and others have long forgotten what service to community, recognition and respect mean when stadiums are dedicated. Soon we will have Dr. Pepper Junior High and Tidy Bowl Elementary. LEE USRY
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