This diary is a bit of a rant. I'm steamed about it.
Back in the day, I smoked a little pot. My friends and I would sit in the den, watch bad horror movies, eat tons of potato chips, and pass a joint around. This was just Tennessee dirt weed and it wasn't very potent. It was cheaper than getting drunk, and it never left me with a hangover. I never missed work, never received a DUI, never bought weed with our mortgage money, and I never neglected my child. I'm certain that the same is true for an army of folks who are just about my age. Mostly, we sat around and laughed at everything until our sides ached.
Fast forward into our present day. I personally know of four women, in the astounding State of Tennessee, who have had their children removed, because they tested positive for pot.
Their stories all begin the same. Their ex-partner's new love interest, sometimes a woman with no children, calls Social Services to complain because Jimmy was sent for his two week summer visitation without any clothes that fit. Or, that Jane needed a tooth filled. Granted, Jimmy's Dad pays 25$ a week for child support, and he is a year behind. Jane's Daddy was required by the court to pay half of all her medical and dental expenses, yet has never paid a penny toward that debt..
The next step is always a home visit by a judgemental, pursed mouth, bureaucrat who takes copious notes while digging through your underwear drawer. The mother is always caught by surprise, and if she declines the search, she is threatened with the immediate removal of all her children.
The next morning, bright and early, the same bureaucrat shows up, with a nurse, to collect a sample of the mother's blood, for drug testing. The home and children can be immaculate, and Social Services will always demand a blood sample. The woman is again threatened with the removal of her children if she refuses to cooperate. In my opinion, this is the same thing as breaking her door down to do an illegal search, and afterwards, having a nurse hold her down, while illegally collecting blood.
In the America I grew up in, such abuse would not have been tolerated. I don't understand how any agency has been granted, or usurped, such outrageous power over famlies.
I personally know of four cases where the children have been removed from their mother's home because she tested positive for pot. In all four of these cases, the ONLY issue was the positive drug screen.
■ In case one - the children were given to their father. He was supposed to be paying 25$ a week child support for his three children. He had not paid a penny in over a year.
■ In case two - the children were given to the mother's parents. The mother left home when she was 15 because her father was sexually molesting her, but it was fine for him to have cusyody of her two daughters.
■ In case three - the three preschool children were given to their father's parents who were near 80
years old.
■ In case four - the children were given to the mother's alcoholic sister.
None of those cases make sense to me. Single mothers already have so many problems, why do we punish them so severely for smoking a bit of pot? Yes, I know its illegal. (Which is crazy too!)
This next section will seem to wander off topic for a bit. I will explain why the two issues are actually the two sides of a larger issue if you will join me below the fold.
We have had a very lean month this past month. I had to scrape up my change so I could pay our fifth Friday rent this past week. Most of that money was cut directly from our food budget.
Once upon a time, I promised myself that we would NEVER resort to dumpster diving in order to eat. I finally had to nix that promise this month, when my belly threatened to eat my backbone!
Our local Aldi purges old fruit and vegetables on Saturday night. Some of what they throw away is still fine to eat. Last Saturday night, I slipped away from my son, and walked down to our local Aldi. (It is only about a block away) Another homeless family beat me to the goodies. There was a dad, a mom, two school age boys, and a baby. The baby was only about a month old. The two boys were so excited about finding a few brown bananas and a bag of soft apples! It broke my heart.
I stood and spoke with the mom just long enough to hear their story. They lost their home in 2009 during the housing crash. The dad owned a small home improvement business, which went bankrupt. Since then, he has worked every construction job he could find. Last year their car broke down and they could not afford to fix it.
Mom was working at Walmart, until her birth control failed, and she had a baby. She tried to terminate the pregnancy, but thanks to the efforts of Republicans in Chattanooga, she couldn't manage to have it terminated. The most horrible aspect is that she was brutally raped and beaten one night after work, while she was walking to their campsite. She did not report the rape, but she was hospitalized for a week because she was beaten so badly. The baby might not be her husband's. They can't afford the genetic testing.
Oh, and Walmart fired her for missing so many days of work.
Right now, this family camps just below what we call the Greenway. It is a walking trac that runs along the top of an earthen levy which protects much of this section of the city from flooding. We have had many days of cold hard rain this month. Their campsite was flooded early in the month, and they haven't been really dry or warm since then.
There is no shelter in Chattanooga where this family can stay together. The mom and her children could stay at the woman's shelter, while the dad could stay at the men's shelter downtown. The boys, though school age, do not go to school. They have no address, so no school will take them. They have no clothing to wear to school, and no means to clean themselves or their clothing. Quite frankly, the entire family smells like wood smoke, mildew, and BO.
I have done what tiny bit I could for them.
Now, back to my subject. Child Protective Services has lost their collective minds. This mom still has her children. They have no home, no kitchen, no steady meals, no clean clothes, no beds, no school, no anything that protective services states is necessary for custody.
Of course, no child should be removed from a home simply because their mom is poor. Many extraordinary people grew up dirt poor.
But, this family is unable to supply even the barest of necessities. I don't like the thought of kicking them yet again, but those kids need help now! The baby isn't doing too well. The two boys already think it is fine to use the bathroom wherever, whenever. Please don't ask me if I have called about them. I have done what I should.
Now on to my rant!
CPS is out there taking kids out of perfectly fine homes, for stupid reasons. I think they are paid a stipend per day, per child? I have asked for literature explaining what constitutes a passable situation, but have not been able to get a reasonable reply. They love the catch phrase, "on a case by case basis." These kids end up in a system that has no real care for them. Like everything else, it is all about the bottom line.
Somebody is getting paid, so the system grinds on. No matter, that what is being ground is the bones of our American Family.