http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/12/18/prank_led_school_to_treat_two_with_shock
A mental hospital administered *77* shocks to one inmate (we can't call them patients with treatments like this!) after a prank phone call to the center by a former student. Another poor soul received 29 unnecessary shocks. At least, that's all this hospital will admit to at present. The center "helps" people with autism and mental retardation who have "nowhere else to go" for treatment.
Please, if I ever *somehow* catch mental retardation or autism from a drinking fountain or something (ok just make up some story for the case of argument, would you please?), just let me babble and be homeless. Let me just take my chances "out there" rather than let me deal with such loving treatment for my own good.
I think it's interesting that social workers and the like are pressing charges against parents who keep their kids in "cages" while they sleep, but not against these people "yet". I could at least rationalize the "cage" thing at night. You know? Mom and dad NEED to sleep sometime and the child wanders. Solves it for me unless there's a fire, but then you come down to the old risk vs. benefit argument. You'd have to think about how likely a fire is verus how likely it is the child will wander off and electrocute himself or be hit by a car, etc. But I haven't heard anything about these hospital patients getting transferred to a place that stinkin' well cares for their well-being. Maybe their insurance "vacuums" or something... Thankfully folks in my family don't have that sort of severe disability or maybe they'd be forced into a home like that.
Maybe *I* would be forced into a home like that. I'm just one car accident away from losing all my mental abilities, you know. Christ calls us to have compassion on the widow and the fatherless, and stories like the Good Samaritan would lead me to believe He would want us to have a generous spirit and a soft heart toward those who would need some compassion.
That's why I'm thinking the prankster and the idiot who took the call and administered "punishment" should be burned at the stake.
I'm only half kidding.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Look Out, Dad!!
My father is the purple dot above the blue weather station. He's juuust outside Milton's evacuation zone. Well! My brother and I jus...
It is the LAW that defines things, go after them not social workers who are hired to follow certain policies. I am a Christian social worker, please don't generalize social workers.
ReplyDelete???
ReplyDeleteAre you saying that social workers follow the law all the time??? That's a good one. I could point to about 20 cases on the HSLDA website alone that say the law never stopped social workers from overstepping their bounds. I know of, but will not comment on, other cases personally.
I'm going to take a wild guess and say that no one was really following up on these patients' best interests. There was an admission of guilt on the part of two parties. At least two patients were abused, and these are people who CANNOT LEAVE. Either the cops or the social workers (or case workers, or hospital ombudsman, or whatever term of the week we're using that applies at *this particular hospital*) have FAILED these patients.
Summary: Somebody did a crappy job.
"It is the LAW that defines things, go after them not social workers who are hired to follow certain policies."
ReplyDeleteWhat a bunch of crud. Don't go after the Nazis that performed the tortures. They were just doing what the law allowed them and what their commanding officers told them to do.
There are just too many cases that social workers get very enthusiastic and ruin the lives of the whole family. Then there are others that somehow forget to follow up on missing children (see the great state of Florida) and the tell the biological parents that the state just happens to lose these children placed in safe foster care, and they end of dead.
I am not saying all social workers are like this. I am saying that their are too many abuses to turn your head away and say ... Well let's just blame the system, but I am still willing to fuel it, and I take no personal responsibilty.
Bet you this lady lives in New York or something. She's probably a liberal Democrat, too.
ReplyDeleteIt is also a common practice in social work to lead children into talking about abuse that didn't happen by saying things like who is making you upset at your house, or tell me what happens when daddy gets angry.
You know though that kids in public schools or hospitals or prisons are never abused because social workers don't do a damn thing about stuff that goes on there.
--Jaysa
I'd agree with you for the *most* part, Jaysa, though I don't think there are too many kids in prison except the really bad, bad offenders. Unless you meant juvenile-type prison or foster care group homes and things like that.
ReplyDeleteI am original poster. I was not referring to the mental hospital, but this comment: " think it's interesting that social workers and the like are pressing charges against parents who keep their kids in "cages" while they sleep, but not against these people "yet"." Social workers don't "press" charges, that is attorneys and judges. Social workers do not go to school to study to be a lawyer.
ReplyDelete"It is also a common practice in social work to lead children into talking about abuse that didn't happen by saying things like who is making you upset at your house, or tell me what happens when daddy gets angry."
And when a child ends up dead that is when people get mad too. It's a catch 22 for social workers.
I am going to stop reading this blog, I liked the blog owners posts about her family, as she is a great mom, but I can't agree with others on here that are disrepecting my profession that I went to graduate school for.
I am sorry if I have gotten my legal terms mixed up. I am a layperson, not a lawyer, and am certainly bound to make mistakes.
ReplyDeleteBut if social workers don't determine when charges are pressed, you still can't tell me they don't have a LOT of power and say-so in the matter. I think most of us reading our newspapers or getting our news online are led to believe that people in this profession have QUITE a bit of power and influence over whether children are removed from a home and/ or criminal charges are filed.
I have heard from people unfortunately involved in the "system" that these workers DO go to court and testify against parents on occasion as well based on hearsay from children, and it's allowed in as evidence. That would be difficult for me to prove or disprove b/c of the nature of the court system in cases like these.
Once again, let me clarify: There ARE decent people who are social workers, doing the best they can in a crappy system.
I actually do know about four people who have worked in this field (depending on whether you're talking only about the visiting-at-home and investigating kind, or the kind that work in schools, or the kind that just do therapy).
Despite this, the idea that state social workers are given this power over families -- and without warrants issued by a judge for probable cause -- scares the CRAP outta me.
I don't care if you're the most Christian person in the world if you're at my door (and you might be a good Christian! Or maybe not! I don't know you and you haven't given any connection to YOUR blog). But why on earth, if we have the fourth amendment, can someone show up at my door based on an unsubstantiated claim by an anonymous tipster and DEMAND to see my home with zero notice??
But yet... in a hospital... where there ought to be transparency and accountability to the public of a much HIGHER degree, how can there be no charges pressed? I read nothing about social workers swarming over the hospital records and interviewing patients. Nothing. What gives?
How does "anonymous" know you're a great mom, Mrs. C? Do you know who this is for real?
ReplyDeleteThe whole post was about the hospital and how no one has done anything about this happening to patients and none of our comments talk about that. I don't care who is supposed to press charges really but i don't see it being done.
--Jaysa
Jaysa, honestly and truly I have no clue who this is. She (or he?) may be my next door neighbour or she may really be some liberal from New York as you are guessing. Though that was kinda mean of you to say; I sure wouldn't want to be called a New York liberal, you know?
ReplyDeleteI mean, I don't REALLY know you either and you could be some 80-year-old man watching football in his jammies LOL!