The dark-side of state negligence and it's disturbing consequences

Highlights from http://www.nj.com/news/childabuse/ include:

After Collingswood police arrested foster parents Vanessa and Raymond Jackson last year for allegedly starving their four adopted sons, police learned that no one -- not even child welfare workers who visited the home frequently to monitor other foster children -- ever demanded that the boys be brought to a doctor to explain their condition.

Physicians, school officials, therapists and DYFS workers repeatedly took note of the Jackson boys' emaciated condition. Yet DYFS workers relied on explanations from the boys' parents and approved each child's adoption because workers either lacked access to medical records or misinterpreted the information they had, according to an analysis released in February by the Child Advocate's Office

One recommendation by the Child Advocate's Office -- requiring adoptive parents to submit their children to annual physicals as a condition for getting their monthly stipend -- won't be met because federal law does not allow it due to privacy concerns, Williams said.

Authorities said the Jacksons were able to avoid the scrutiny of teachers and principals by removing their children from public school and home-schooling them. In February, the state said foster children can no longer be home-schooled. A bill requiring more scrutiny of home-schooling has not been acted on in the Legislature.

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