Wednesday, September 30, 2009
It Takes A Village
A raspberry to the Michigan Department of Human Services for their inappropriate misuse of the law in the case a Michigan Mom who has stepped in to help with neighborhood children. Lisa Snyder lives in Irving Township, Michigan, and has a bus stop in front of her home. Three neighbor girls, whose parents have to leave early for work, stop in and hang out at Lisa's home with her daughter, Grace, while waiting for the bus to arrive in the morning. Lisa doesn't charge the other families, and shouldn't be required to license as a child care provider in order to let them play at her house while they wait. After all, it takes a village. She recently received a letter from Michigan DHS warning her that if she continued to allow the girls to be at her home before school, she would be in violation of a state law aimed at operators of unlicensed day care centers. The State of Michigan Department of Human Services apparently has nothing better to do than patrol neighborhoods looking for errant Moms doing favors so that other Moms can go to work. Interesting. Perhaps the State officials would prefer these kids stayed at home alone, unsupervised, or alone on the street while they await the bus each morning. What about in Winter? Do they stand out in the snow freezing because their parents had to leave 20 minutes earlier than they do? Just being a good neighbor has put Lisa Snyder into a situation of considering the law versus common sense. In this case, common sense does not apply to the law. The state legislature is now aware of how ridiculous the law and its enforcement has become, so perhaps they will change it. Hopefully Governor Jennifer Granholm will insist on some changes so that neighbors can help neighbors without fear of "big brother" interfering. If so, maybe this will enable the state licensing officials to find some real violators.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Updates
I can hardly believe it's the end of September. I lost most of the month while ill with mono, which is no picnic. I came to understand that we take for granted the energy we wake up with every day! I am just now getting back to normal after six weeks of lethargy and exhaustion like I've never known. I'm just glad that I've begun to feel like I can put one foot in front of the other again! Thanks to all the Rotary and Elks friends who came to my rescue at the meeting in August. I also appreciate all of the cards, e-mails, and phone calls of good wishes.
Say a prayer for Zama and Sizakele today. (I'll post a picture of them). Baby Zama is having her surgery to release the scar contractures. She is a beautiful, spunky little girl who has gone through a lot. She'll be going back to Swaziland in October and we're all hoping that this surgery is the final one she'll need.
Holly had a few days off last week on vacation and she went to meet her birth father for the first time. They met up in Las Vegas and had a great time. Apparently, some of the similarities were evident, even in Holly's kids. It was an exciting time for her and she's now met both of her birth parents, who were teens when she was placed for adoption. More news on that meeting later once Holly can share her story.
Congratulations to Eric and Julie on their recent match. We're crossing our fingers that everything will go well. Super-parents Katie and Dale...baby #15 is on the way. After four boys, it will be fun to have a girl! Ten little monkeys jumping on the bed...
Say a prayer for Zama and Sizakele today. (I'll post a picture of them). Baby Zama is having her surgery to release the scar contractures. She is a beautiful, spunky little girl who has gone through a lot. She'll be going back to Swaziland in October and we're all hoping that this surgery is the final one she'll need.
Holly had a few days off last week on vacation and she went to meet her birth father for the first time. They met up in Las Vegas and had a great time. Apparently, some of the similarities were evident, even in Holly's kids. It was an exciting time for her and she's now met both of her birth parents, who were teens when she was placed for adoption. More news on that meeting later once Holly can share her story.
Congratulations to Eric and Julie on their recent match. We're crossing our fingers that everything will go well. Super-parents Katie and Dale...baby #15 is on the way. After four boys, it will be fun to have a girl! Ten little monkeys jumping on the bed...
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Snakebite Update - Zama
Speaking of snakes, I have an update on Zama (or Zamo), the baby who was bitten on her leg while she was sleeping in her hut in Swaziland. She and her mother, Sizakele, have now been in the U.S. for her surgery and treatment since May 27. She is scheduled for her third surgery to release the scar contractures that have developed due to scarring around the graft site. She is having trouble keeping the front of her foot down, so this will help her get more mobility at the ankle. She has had to stay longer than planned due to the scarring and physical therapy, so money is being raised to help with the expenses. A pancake breakfast in Loma Linda raised $1,050.00! Also, Dr. Bush hosted a multi-family garage sale at his home with the proceeds going to help and $1,550.00 was raised. Some children donated their piggy banks, which was touching. If anyone wants to contribute, the address is;
Medical/living costs: LLUMC Venom Fund #834
Sean Bush, M.D.
11234 Anderson St., Room A108
Loma Linda, CA 92354
Sizakele is 22 and has never had any formal education. She came here with an interpreter and is now fluent in English. She is learning her alphabet and is taking an aptitude test this week to see what reading level she has attained. She has made those around her pause to think about how fortunate we all are, even in these hard times. At the garage sale, she was amazed at how many clothes people donated and surprised that they still had more at home. In Swaziland, she had only three shirts and two skirts. Zama had only three outfits. They had to walk 30 minutes to the river to wash them and bring them home again.
Zama is thriving and can understand English and everything that is said to her She is now 22 months old and very mischevious. Dr. Bush's wife, A'me, will be returning to Swaziland with them next month. We are hoping to get some contacts and information about possibly doing adoptions and setting up an orphanage there. We are contemplating setting up a non-profit branch of our agency, A Gift of Hope Adoptions, called "Gifts of Hope" to fund water wells and orphanage projects in that region of the world. Due to the high incidence of HIV/AIDS, there are many orphans. We are hoping that we can get some of them into good homes and make the others much more comfortable. If you want to help or contribute in any way, there will be many opportunities to help. In the meantime, prayers are good!
They desperately need water wells. Can you imagine drinking dirty river water where people wash their clothes and take baths? Animals cross the river as well. Everyone deserves clean drinking water. I will think about that every time I sip from a bottle of purified water. If you or anyone you know (Make it a boy scout/girl scout project!) would like to help build a well in Swaziland, the fund contact information is;
Hug fund/Zama
All Nations African SDA Church
Verah Mthombeni
Box 1579
Loma Linda, CA 92354
Thank you!
Medical/living costs: LLUMC Venom Fund #834
Sean Bush, M.D.
11234 Anderson St., Room A108
Loma Linda, CA 92354
Sizakele is 22 and has never had any formal education. She came here with an interpreter and is now fluent in English. She is learning her alphabet and is taking an aptitude test this week to see what reading level she has attained. She has made those around her pause to think about how fortunate we all are, even in these hard times. At the garage sale, she was amazed at how many clothes people donated and surprised that they still had more at home. In Swaziland, she had only three shirts and two skirts. Zama had only three outfits. They had to walk 30 minutes to the river to wash them and bring them home again.
Zama is thriving and can understand English and everything that is said to her She is now 22 months old and very mischevious. Dr. Bush's wife, A'me, will be returning to Swaziland with them next month. We are hoping to get some contacts and information about possibly doing adoptions and setting up an orphanage there. We are contemplating setting up a non-profit branch of our agency, A Gift of Hope Adoptions, called "Gifts of Hope" to fund water wells and orphanage projects in that region of the world. Due to the high incidence of HIV/AIDS, there are many orphans. We are hoping that we can get some of them into good homes and make the others much more comfortable. If you want to help or contribute in any way, there will be many opportunities to help. In the meantime, prayers are good!
They desperately need water wells. Can you imagine drinking dirty river water where people wash their clothes and take baths? Animals cross the river as well. Everyone deserves clean drinking water. I will think about that every time I sip from a bottle of purified water. If you or anyone you know (Make it a boy scout/girl scout project!) would like to help build a well in Swaziland, the fund contact information is;
Hug fund/Zama
All Nations African SDA Church
Verah Mthombeni
Box 1579
Loma Linda, CA 92354
Thank you!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
What Were They Thinking?
Child safety is a priority for most parents. We are meticulous about putting our children in their car seats, making them wear helmets when they are biking or skateboarding, and we make sure they don't play unsupervised or in the street. Why then, would anyone who has a two-year-old child own a pet Burmese python? Recently, in Oxford, Florida, a python which was over 8 feet in length, broke out of it's terrarium. You can see the writing on the wall. Toddler Shaiunna Hare was already dead when paramedics arrived. The owner of the python, Shaiunna's mother's boyfriend, Charles Darnell, discovered the snake missing and went to search for it. It shouldn't be hard to find an 8+ foot python. It had made it's way to Shaiunna's room and Charles found it wrapped around Shaiunna, who had already been strangled. There were bite marks all over her head. It wouldn't have been long before the snake would have swallowed her. The snake was so tightly wrapped around the little girl that he had to stab it numerous times before he was able to pry it away from the child.
I'm sure Mr. Darnell was frantically trying to save Shaiunna, but what was he (and especially her mother) thinking? An 8 foot snake doesn't belong in any home, much less the home of a toddler. A child should be safe in her own home. Where are the restrictions for owning such pets? Why would anyone want to own a "pet" that has to be fed another pet (bunnies, mice, rats, etc.)?
People who have bought and kept Burmese pythons find that they get too big to keep at home. In Florida, an alarming number of them have been released into the everglades. There, they are thriving and breeding. Last week alone, 18 large pythons were removed from the everglades, where they are wreaking havoc with the native species. They eat all of the natural wildlife, including alligators. There are a number of endangered and protected species in the everglades who are losing the battle to the pythons. This year to date, 245 Burmese pythons have been caught in the everglades. You can watch a video made by National Geographic, which states that hunters are now being issued permits to hunt down and kill the pythons.
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/news/culture-places-news/florida-pythons-apvin.html
Hurricane Andrew contributed to the problem. People fleeing the hurricane left their pet pythons behind. In the aftermath of the hurricane, many of these snakes escaped their habitats when homes were destroyed or flooded.
In defense of the pythons, this is not their native habitat and it's not their fault. They were brought here and turned loose by people. They don't belong in cages in people's homes. It's not fair to them to be released into an unfamiliar habitat and then to be hunted and killed. They are simply following the course of nature. People have caused this problem. In the past five years, the United States has imported 144,563 Burmese pythons. People should have to have a license to own a dangerous pet, if these snakes should be owned by private parties at all. Pythons are breeding and can grow large enough to eat a child or domestic pet. Some are large enough to kill an adult. We have the capability to microchip them and hold their owners responsible for their whereabouts and damage done by them.
Pythons are capable of killing every type of bird and mammal in the everglades. Biologists have found the remains of squirrels, rats, bobcats, opossums, wrens and other birds in the stomachs of captured pythons. Endangered wood storks live in the Everglades National Park. Pythons, aside from killing the native animals, compete for prey and space. They are taking food from hawks, bobcats, and even native endangered indigo snakes. A giant snake can eat a large deer.
In 2002, an 8-year-old girl died in Pittsburgh after a python escaped from its cage and strangled her to death. In Colorado, that same year, it took seven firefighters to pry a 10-foot python of the neck and chest of a man who subsequently died. It seems to me that once these incidents happened, new laws should have been enacted. Apparently, no one payed much attention and now the problem is much larger and it will likely cost billions over the next few years to restore the balance of nature in the everglades. Meanwhile, the pythons have to die because they are a threat to people and native animal species.
I'm wondering why it takes something of this magnitude to get the attention of our lawmakers, who could easily ban the import of these animals except for zoos, schools, veterinarians, and reptile experts. Maybe we should ask them.
I'm sure Mr. Darnell was frantically trying to save Shaiunna, but what was he (and especially her mother) thinking? An 8 foot snake doesn't belong in any home, much less the home of a toddler. A child should be safe in her own home. Where are the restrictions for owning such pets? Why would anyone want to own a "pet" that has to be fed another pet (bunnies, mice, rats, etc.)?
People who have bought and kept Burmese pythons find that they get too big to keep at home. In Florida, an alarming number of them have been released into the everglades. There, they are thriving and breeding. Last week alone, 18 large pythons were removed from the everglades, where they are wreaking havoc with the native species. They eat all of the natural wildlife, including alligators. There are a number of endangered and protected species in the everglades who are losing the battle to the pythons. This year to date, 245 Burmese pythons have been caught in the everglades. You can watch a video made by National Geographic, which states that hunters are now being issued permits to hunt down and kill the pythons.
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/news/culture-places-news/florida-pythons-apvin.html
Hurricane Andrew contributed to the problem. People fleeing the hurricane left their pet pythons behind. In the aftermath of the hurricane, many of these snakes escaped their habitats when homes were destroyed or flooded.
In defense of the pythons, this is not their native habitat and it's not their fault. They were brought here and turned loose by people. They don't belong in cages in people's homes. It's not fair to them to be released into an unfamiliar habitat and then to be hunted and killed. They are simply following the course of nature. People have caused this problem. In the past five years, the United States has imported 144,563 Burmese pythons. People should have to have a license to own a dangerous pet, if these snakes should be owned by private parties at all. Pythons are breeding and can grow large enough to eat a child or domestic pet. Some are large enough to kill an adult. We have the capability to microchip them and hold their owners responsible for their whereabouts and damage done by them.
Pythons are capable of killing every type of bird and mammal in the everglades. Biologists have found the remains of squirrels, rats, bobcats, opossums, wrens and other birds in the stomachs of captured pythons. Endangered wood storks live in the Everglades National Park. Pythons, aside from killing the native animals, compete for prey and space. They are taking food from hawks, bobcats, and even native endangered indigo snakes. A giant snake can eat a large deer.
In 2002, an 8-year-old girl died in Pittsburgh after a python escaped from its cage and strangled her to death. In Colorado, that same year, it took seven firefighters to pry a 10-foot python of the neck and chest of a man who subsequently died. It seems to me that once these incidents happened, new laws should have been enacted. Apparently, no one payed much attention and now the problem is much larger and it will likely cost billions over the next few years to restore the balance of nature in the everglades. Meanwhile, the pythons have to die because they are a threat to people and native animal species.
I'm wondering why it takes something of this magnitude to get the attention of our lawmakers, who could easily ban the import of these animals except for zoos, schools, veterinarians, and reptile experts. Maybe we should ask them.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
It Goes Both Ways
Years ago, early on in my adoption career, I worked for another facilitator. That's actually where I learned the ropes and figured out how adoption can be a win-win-win situation for all involved in the triad. Over the years since then, I have participated in hundreds of adoptions and I am happy with how each and every one has turned out. There is one adoption that haunts me, and although the couple who adopted were not my clients, I became friends with the birth mother. She was a lovely girl and has developed into a beautiful wife, mother, and a lovely person.
I have always told my families "You may promise anything you like in terms of contact and relationship with your birth mother, but whatever you promise, you have a moral responsibility to stick to it". Of course there are exceptions to every rule, and if a birth parent became involved in drugs or an unhealthy lifestyle, then protecting a child is first and foremost. However, that's rare, if it ever happens.
Katie went into the adoption with a heavy heart and the request that it be an "open adoption". She requested letters and pictures and updates. She loved her son and still does. Since that time, she has married the birth father and had several children with him. At the time of the adoption, their relationship was still rocky and they were unmarried and, being the responsible person she is, Katie felt that her son would be better off in a two-parent family. She wanted him to know that both she and his birth father loved him enough to ensure his welfare, despite her own sorrow at having to part with him.
She chose a family that betrayed her and lied to her. It began insidiously when they hired an attorney for her who lived next door to them. While he was supposed to represent the birth parents, he had a vested interest in the adoptive parents. She was unaware of this until years later. Katie is resourceful. When the adoptive parents didn't uphold their end of the bargain and didn't send updates, letters, or pictures, and stopped taking her calls, she began to wonder what was going on. She did a little detective work. Merely months after the adoption of her child, the couple filed for divorce. Apparently, even during the home study process, the wife was having an affair and planned to divorce, as soon as she got the child.
Katie persisted in trying to get information about how her son was doing and, not wanting her to know about the divorce or the bad situation at home, they put her off. They didn't know she had the information already. The adoptive grandmother of her child sympathized and kept in touch with her, giving her disturbing information. Soon, each of the parents re-married and people she didn't know or choose were parenting her child. At this point, not only did they not send updates or pictures, they were actively trying to keep information from her and told her that they had "changed their minds" about the open adoption. The grandmother relayed her dismay that the adoptive parents were bitterly fighting in front of the child and there was a tug of war over him.
When she contacted the attorney, he gave her no hope for receiving the information she had been promised. Little did she know that everything she told him was repeated to the adoptive family. She had no legal representation at all. They became angry and mean-spirited and the situation became even more tense. In the meantime, Katie had a family life. She wasn't trying to contact the adoptive family every day, or week, or month. She just wanted news about her first born son. He now had full siblings. When the adoptive parents learned that the grandmother was in touch with Katie, they terminated their relationship with their own family member as well. Meanwhile, the adoptive mother became sick with a serious illness. She is now on her deathbed and expected to pass away in the next few weeks. Katie's son will be raised with a step-parent. This was not the life she had planned for her child.
There is irony here. Katie, in an effort to give her child a two-parent home, placed her child with a family which was broken before the adoption. She and her son's father married and have done well in the ten or so years since. They have healthy, well-adjusted, happy children. She is an excellent mother. I'm not saying that divorce doesn't happen, even among adoptive parents. I think it's probably more rare than among other families, but it happens. In this case, however, lies were told and Katie was purposefully deceived. That is just wrong.
This past year or so, for the first time ever, I have declined to represent a couple of families who I felt were not candidates for adoption due to family issues or substance abuse. Of course, when that happens, I'm the bad guy. But, I have to take the high ground because it really comes down to what is right for the child. If we recognize that there is trouble in a family, it's our responsibility to keep a child out of that situation. Better safe than sorry. I don't regret doing that. I only regret that Katie and her son have suffered at the hands of someone who never should have been allowed to adopt. I have wonderful adoptive families and I am grateful for that. Thankfully, to date, none of my adoptive families have failed to keep their promises. Adoptive families always worry about whether birth parents are telling them the truth. It goes both ways. Birth parents need the same assurances. After all, they have much more at stake. All Katie wanted in exchange for her child was peace of mind and a good home for him. She deserved that and so did he.
I have always told my families "You may promise anything you like in terms of contact and relationship with your birth mother, but whatever you promise, you have a moral responsibility to stick to it". Of course there are exceptions to every rule, and if a birth parent became involved in drugs or an unhealthy lifestyle, then protecting a child is first and foremost. However, that's rare, if it ever happens.
Katie went into the adoption with a heavy heart and the request that it be an "open adoption". She requested letters and pictures and updates. She loved her son and still does. Since that time, she has married the birth father and had several children with him. At the time of the adoption, their relationship was still rocky and they were unmarried and, being the responsible person she is, Katie felt that her son would be better off in a two-parent family. She wanted him to know that both she and his birth father loved him enough to ensure his welfare, despite her own sorrow at having to part with him.
She chose a family that betrayed her and lied to her. It began insidiously when they hired an attorney for her who lived next door to them. While he was supposed to represent the birth parents, he had a vested interest in the adoptive parents. She was unaware of this until years later. Katie is resourceful. When the adoptive parents didn't uphold their end of the bargain and didn't send updates, letters, or pictures, and stopped taking her calls, she began to wonder what was going on. She did a little detective work. Merely months after the adoption of her child, the couple filed for divorce. Apparently, even during the home study process, the wife was having an affair and planned to divorce, as soon as she got the child.
Katie persisted in trying to get information about how her son was doing and, not wanting her to know about the divorce or the bad situation at home, they put her off. They didn't know she had the information already. The adoptive grandmother of her child sympathized and kept in touch with her, giving her disturbing information. Soon, each of the parents re-married and people she didn't know or choose were parenting her child. At this point, not only did they not send updates or pictures, they were actively trying to keep information from her and told her that they had "changed their minds" about the open adoption. The grandmother relayed her dismay that the adoptive parents were bitterly fighting in front of the child and there was a tug of war over him.
When she contacted the attorney, he gave her no hope for receiving the information she had been promised. Little did she know that everything she told him was repeated to the adoptive family. She had no legal representation at all. They became angry and mean-spirited and the situation became even more tense. In the meantime, Katie had a family life. She wasn't trying to contact the adoptive family every day, or week, or month. She just wanted news about her first born son. He now had full siblings. When the adoptive parents learned that the grandmother was in touch with Katie, they terminated their relationship with their own family member as well. Meanwhile, the adoptive mother became sick with a serious illness. She is now on her deathbed and expected to pass away in the next few weeks. Katie's son will be raised with a step-parent. This was not the life she had planned for her child.
There is irony here. Katie, in an effort to give her child a two-parent home, placed her child with a family which was broken before the adoption. She and her son's father married and have done well in the ten or so years since. They have healthy, well-adjusted, happy children. She is an excellent mother. I'm not saying that divorce doesn't happen, even among adoptive parents. I think it's probably more rare than among other families, but it happens. In this case, however, lies were told and Katie was purposefully deceived. That is just wrong.
This past year or so, for the first time ever, I have declined to represent a couple of families who I felt were not candidates for adoption due to family issues or substance abuse. Of course, when that happens, I'm the bad guy. But, I have to take the high ground because it really comes down to what is right for the child. If we recognize that there is trouble in a family, it's our responsibility to keep a child out of that situation. Better safe than sorry. I don't regret doing that. I only regret that Katie and her son have suffered at the hands of someone who never should have been allowed to adopt. I have wonderful adoptive families and I am grateful for that. Thankfully, to date, none of my adoptive families have failed to keep their promises. Adoptive families always worry about whether birth parents are telling them the truth. It goes both ways. Birth parents need the same assurances. After all, they have much more at stake. All Katie wanted in exchange for her child was peace of mind and a good home for him. She deserved that and so did he.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Jaycee's Law
It's been a couple of weeks since I've blogged and I have to apologize for that. I have been sick with some form of flu or viral illness and all I can say is that the older you get, the harder you fall!
My down time had me watching a lot of news and I'm sure everyone has heard about the case of Jaycee Lee Dugard, the young girl who was kidnapped in California at age 11 and was recently found 18 years later hidden in the back yard of a sexual predator. I can't really fathom why Phillip Garrido, a man with so many past incidents and charges, and even an extended prison sentence (He got 50 years and served 10), was ever let out of prison in the first place. It's the fault of society and all of us when we allow sexual predators to remain free.
Out of curiosity, I went to the Megan's Law website for California. There it allowed me to search my area for sexual predators. I was pretty stunned to find that there are a dozen registered sex offenders within two blocks of my child's school. How is that possible? They are listed by law enforcement on the website, so authorities obviously know where they are. Meanwhile, after school, children walk past these homes every weekday, unaware of the dangers. Shouldn't the schools be required to warn parents and children?
Jaycee was kidnapped within sight of her home while she was walking to the school bus. She was forced into a car by an adult female, presumably the wife of Phillip Garrido, who met him while he was in prison. Some people are just plain sick. Apparently, this woman was his accomplice.
Perhaps it seems a bit harsh, but I am a proponent of castration, either physical or chemical, to control sexual predators. I am also a proponent of a one strike law. The recidivism rate among sex offenders is something like 86%, so it seems like a no-brainer to keep them where they can no longer offend or castrate them so they can no longer offend. If it saves one child, I'd be willing to pay higher taxes to keep them off the streets.
Perhaps it's the times, but it doesn't seem like it was as dangerous when we were children. We didn't have to worry so much about these things. Perhaps the internet has something to do with it. Children become an easy target and are easier to find. If you've watched the Dateline NBC show called "To Catch a Predator", you know that people who wish to prey on children are a dime a dozen.
I can't imagine the joy and sorrow of Jaycee's parents upon learning of her fate. It would be unbelievable to have your daughter back after all of those years of captivity, but how can you ever really get her back? She was with her captors longer than she was with her family. She suffered unspeakable horrors at such a young age. She gave birth at 14 without benefit of a hospital or a doctor. She learned to survive, but at what cost?
We can't trust the system. The system failed for Jaycee. Even after neighbors reported children living in tents in the back yard and wild parties, police dropped the ball. They didn't check to see who Phillip Garrido was. If they had, they would have found that he was a registered sex offender with an ankle bracelet. They didn't even check the back yard, which was the source of the complaint. Another three years went by before Jaycee and her two young daughters were rescued. I am a big proponent of law enforcement and I am solidly behind our police, but that officer should be fired. He not only didn't do his job, he risked three lives in the process.
I think it's important for parents to check the Megan's Law website for their area and inform their children, those old enough to understand, that there are people they need to stay away from. Our congressmen need to know that we want continued access to this website and that we want tougher laws on the books to protect our future, our children. Please take the time to make an effort to make a difference in that regard -- if that is to call your child's school and make them aware of the dangers nearby, calling your local senator or writing your congressman to let them know where you stand on these issues. Jaycee's Law is yet to be written, but I hope it is and that it requires castration for sexual offenders. There is a special place in hell for those who would hurt children, and in the meantime they need to stay in prison.
My down time had me watching a lot of news and I'm sure everyone has heard about the case of Jaycee Lee Dugard, the young girl who was kidnapped in California at age 11 and was recently found 18 years later hidden in the back yard of a sexual predator. I can't really fathom why Phillip Garrido, a man with so many past incidents and charges, and even an extended prison sentence (He got 50 years and served 10), was ever let out of prison in the first place. It's the fault of society and all of us when we allow sexual predators to remain free.
Out of curiosity, I went to the Megan's Law website for California. There it allowed me to search my area for sexual predators. I was pretty stunned to find that there are a dozen registered sex offenders within two blocks of my child's school. How is that possible? They are listed by law enforcement on the website, so authorities obviously know where they are. Meanwhile, after school, children walk past these homes every weekday, unaware of the dangers. Shouldn't the schools be required to warn parents and children?
Jaycee was kidnapped within sight of her home while she was walking to the school bus. She was forced into a car by an adult female, presumably the wife of Phillip Garrido, who met him while he was in prison. Some people are just plain sick. Apparently, this woman was his accomplice.
Perhaps it seems a bit harsh, but I am a proponent of castration, either physical or chemical, to control sexual predators. I am also a proponent of a one strike law. The recidivism rate among sex offenders is something like 86%, so it seems like a no-brainer to keep them where they can no longer offend or castrate them so they can no longer offend. If it saves one child, I'd be willing to pay higher taxes to keep them off the streets.
Perhaps it's the times, but it doesn't seem like it was as dangerous when we were children. We didn't have to worry so much about these things. Perhaps the internet has something to do with it. Children become an easy target and are easier to find. If you've watched the Dateline NBC show called "To Catch a Predator", you know that people who wish to prey on children are a dime a dozen.
I can't imagine the joy and sorrow of Jaycee's parents upon learning of her fate. It would be unbelievable to have your daughter back after all of those years of captivity, but how can you ever really get her back? She was with her captors longer than she was with her family. She suffered unspeakable horrors at such a young age. She gave birth at 14 without benefit of a hospital or a doctor. She learned to survive, but at what cost?
We can't trust the system. The system failed for Jaycee. Even after neighbors reported children living in tents in the back yard and wild parties, police dropped the ball. They didn't check to see who Phillip Garrido was. If they had, they would have found that he was a registered sex offender with an ankle bracelet. They didn't even check the back yard, which was the source of the complaint. Another three years went by before Jaycee and her two young daughters were rescued. I am a big proponent of law enforcement and I am solidly behind our police, but that officer should be fired. He not only didn't do his job, he risked three lives in the process.
I think it's important for parents to check the Megan's Law website for their area and inform their children, those old enough to understand, that there are people they need to stay away from. Our congressmen need to know that we want continued access to this website and that we want tougher laws on the books to protect our future, our children. Please take the time to make an effort to make a difference in that regard -- if that is to call your child's school and make them aware of the dangers nearby, calling your local senator or writing your congressman to let them know where you stand on these issues. Jaycee's Law is yet to be written, but I hope it is and that it requires castration for sexual offenders. There is a special place in hell for those who would hurt children, and in the meantime they need to stay in prison.
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