I was reading the news this morning. One of the headline articles was about a fourteen-year old disabled girl, dying from neglect. Danieal Kelly was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, she was in a wheelchair, she was dependent on the care of others. Her mother totally ignored her and left her to die. She was deprived of food and water, she had open, maggot infested bedsores, she was laying in her own waste. Apparently, she died in 2006. This is only making the news today, because charges have now been filed in her death (two years later). Her mother has been charged with murder, felony charges have also been filed against the DHS case workers that were supposed to be monitoring her welfare and two agency workers that had been hired to provide home visits and care. It appears that both agencies falsified records and reports, rather than provide any services at all.
I work with people with disabilities. I was sickened and upset as I read this article. I cannot imagine the torture that this girl went through. I cannot imagine her final hours of consciousness, as she slipped away, knowing that no one cared. I am not familiar with the services that are available in Pennsylvania, I am assuming that they fall under the auspices of family and human services. The mother is facing the murder charge, and yes she is to blame. But, the case workers are just as guilty of Danieal's murder as her mother. They were aware of the neglect that had been reported, they chose not to act. I am more outraged at their behavior than that of her parents.
Many parents are ill-equipped to care for children with disabilities. They may be incompetent, they may be actually abusive. Providing total care for someone, 24/7 is a daunting task. That is why monitoring and services are available. There have been many strides in securing rights for those with disabilities, attitudes have changed and awareness has increased. But, when this can still happen, not enough has been done. What kind of society are we if cannot protect the most vulnerable of our citizens? Why did it take two years for charges to be filed? Why was there not one person who cared and advocated for Danieal?
I am very aware that parents, and others, who strongly advocate for disabled individuals are labeled as difficult and demanding. Obviously, we need a whole lot more of difficult and demanding people.
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6 comments:
There can be some really bad people working in these jobs in Social Services....I know. My children were victims of such atrocities. I truly do know first hand about the disgusting behavior which they can get up to...but to be fair to the system because not all workers are like this...the facts of the matter can sometimes be that they have about ten times or more the case load as can be humanly handled. They are still expected to provide services and held accountable for it according to OSHA standards and yet they obviously cannot possibly do so.
These are the outcomes of the budget cuts. They are perfect examples of why its just not f*&^'in okay to cut those budgets...because with more staff there would be more supervision of situations like this and staffing.
To me, its the current administration which is just as guilty for this girl's death as is those workers and the mother.
Shannee,
I do agree. I work in the field, I see how the cut-backs have effected some of our clients. I have seen our caseloads grow and services not being delivered.
I still feel that this was at least partially the result of apathy and uncaring. If those workers had delivered even the bare minimum of services, this might have been avoided.
However, when I see the pork barrel and military spending that occurs everyday. And then I have to fight for a client to get medical services or a new wheelchair, I want to march into the oval office to give "W" a reality check. You are right, responsibility begins at the top. Whatever happened to "The buck stops here?"
This is truly a travesty! I don't understand how a human could treat another human with such cruelty. Unfortunately, it seems it's situations like this that only bring acknowledgement to the base problems...
Cruelty surrounds us. I have been in public safety for almost 3 decades, and I have seen the ass end of life from many angles. There is no cure for the cancer, and there is no simple explanation for the way people behave. I can only control my own actions, and hopefully influence the few souls I am lucky enough to love in a good way.
My precious daughter is considered “special needs”, and I will do everything possible to make her life rich, and filled with love. If people consider me “difficult, and demanding” because of it, then “FUCK EM” I have enough friends. Ultimately, I won’t be able to protect her forever, but I will try my best. I am sworn to protect life, however, may God have mercy on anyone that lets me find them being cruel, or causing harm to my loved ones in any way, cause I sure as hell won’t.
Billy,
I am sure that you do everything possible to make sure your daughter's needs are met. After working in the field for quite some time, I am grateful for the "difficult and demanding" parents that I encounter. I try hard to be a strong advocate for the clients that I serve. I know I am labeled as "difficult and demanding" at times too.
I know the world can be a cruel place, but I am still saddened and appalled by cruelty and neglect such as this. I am also disgusted with people that shirk their responsibility as a public servant (especially in this case). Though this happened two years ago, I found myself crying for a little girl I did not know.
Hard indeed is the heart not saddened by the suffering of the innocent and children.
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