Once again I opened the newspaper only to find an article of a child's death due to our system failing them. At what point will our child services programs realize that making every attempt to place a child back with their "family" is not the best answer?
The Indianapolis Star reported that 3-year-old Tajanay Bailey lived most of her life with her foster mom (since 3 months old). The foster mom had her for about a year and she went back to her mom for about 4 months. She was returned to the foster mom in May 2006 with bruises around her neck, "and it looked like somebody took a belt to her behind". The foster mom urged child protective services not to return Tajanay to her mother as recently as last month.
Child Services returned the child to her mother last month, and Tuesday Tajanay was dead. Police have charged her mother and live-in-boyfriend with the murder.
"The death occurred on the day the Annie E. Casey Foundation recognized Gov. Mitch Daniels fo his leadership in efforts to reform Indiana's long-troubled child welfare system." The child died on the very day that Marion County juvenile court was scheduled to conduct a hearing that could have prompted her removal from home. One of the detectives found the certificate indicating that the live-in-boyfriend had recently completed a parenting class sponsored by the Indiana Department of Child Services.
Police were appalled at the condition of the apartment. It was strewn with food and dirty dishes. There were cockroaches and mice, and a rank odor that caused investigators to breathe deeply once they emerged into the fresh air.
During Indiana's 2006 fiscal year, there were 53 abuse and neglect fatalities. 30 of these were due to abuse, an increase from 24 in 2005 (which prompts me to refer back to the fact that the gov. Daniels was receiving an award for efforts to reform?)
As a mother I will never ever understand how another mother can harm, or stand by as another harms, her own child. There has to be something we can do to change our system's view that these so-called parents have a right to get their child back, especially in a case like this where it was tried once and the parent abused again, only to get the child back a THIRD time.
According to the article the cause of death has not been determined "but there were signs of physical trauma. What we do know is that child had to have suffered".
I cannot describe the anger I feel that we continually allow this to happen to these precious children.
Rest in peace Tajanay
Lori Anderson
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