Re-Think - You Think

October 22ND, 2008 Mr. Ross Wiseman sat in a press gallery to unveil yet another hair brain scheme to pass the accountability buck just a little further away from where it belongs, on the shoulders of government and in this case his own department.

Our province, is increasingly being run by boards and agencies funded by government, and basically are similar to a huge money laundry, whereby departmental budgets of government turn into operations grants for boards and agencies who on their own, and seemingly individual accord manage and spend these funds.

The interesting revelation here is, when services and programs are designed for health care, they are enacted under the Health Care Act, however, once the management of the same is passed over to the health care authorities, the translation on most act items are lost.

According to research the Act more or less becomes redundant under authority management and their own policy which does not necessarily fall under, or even have to fall under any piece of legislation of the province. Thus the boards become accountable or take blame for any short comings of a misunderstood association with it's government legislated act.

Wednesday's announcement was launching a multi-hundreds of thousand dollar ad campaign to remind people that child abuse is illegal, and must be reported if witnessed. Really!?

Mr. Wiseman, is taking potshots at an already bursting at the seams service of his department.
Child Youth and Family Services, and most certainly the parents of many such kids falling under this watch.

Let me suggest to you this Mr. Wiseman! If you soon don't take your finger out your ass, and your nose out of Danny Williams, you'll have a crisis on your hands bigger than the one you are in now!

When is the last time you sat with your front line case workers to discuss the reality of what they deal with on a daily basis with frustrated kids, and even more frustrated parents they serve?

Ask the RNC officer who spends countless hours out chasing down some kid that your
department of "Over Protection" gave the key of the city to, what it's really like? Tell them to charge Mom and Dad for slapping a kid upside the head for having gone missing for 48 hours, for costing thousands in police resources for a prank, "I was hanging out with my friends". It's wrong Ross, all wrong.

Imagine this then!?

I'd like to report Mr. Danny Williams, Mr. Ross Wiseman and Mr. Sean Skinner for neglecting thousands of children in Newfoundland and Labrador, by allowing them to survive on basic welfare rates of 550.00 for a family of four. Thus continuing to promote poverty, when all research indicate that poverty promote many negative child behaviors.

There is no greater abuse than allowing children to starve, keeping it unclothed, often cold and living in deplorable housing conditions. I believe these gentlemen are guilty of subjecting our provinces most vulnerable; our children to the stigma of always being the poor, non-accepted and most often segregated lot.

I'd like to report Ms. Joan Burke for committing the serious crime of allowing too many children to have gone and in many cases continue to go to dirty moldy schools; as well I’d like to report her for continuing to elude the more serious problem of child neglect and mental abuse with allowing labeling of many children by school and school board officials.

I’d like to report her for allowing children who have minor problems grasping some subject areas, to be placed in pathways, by in house assessments administered by less than qualified personal. This assessment often happens before children are given any opportunity to have some one on one with a teacher.

I find this lady guilty of subjecting our provinces most vulnerable children to the stigma of being the dumb kid, who most often end up being made believe along with their parents they have a psychological issue, and the only recourse is being prescribed Ritalin, which becomes their first introduction to and conceptualized belief that drugs of any kind fixes all problems. This is the tip of a melting iceberg, which is engulfing and drowning too many Newfoundland and Labrador children.

I'd like to report Mr. Jerome Kennedy for his willful part in allowing a lax youth corrections system to prevail over the common sense of even societies most recognized parent. The current system ultimately leads to child abuse of many descriptions.

Children are allowed to rule the family home today, and it is written that parents cannot legally chastise their children for even the most harsh wrong doing. Children often become criminals, with their first acts of crime starting at home.

Our system will call it abuse of children when parents must take defensive action, in keeping their homes, themselves and even family pets safe during lash outs from their kids.

RNC, CYFS, and many agencies dealing with children and youth behavioral issues especially, will tell parents, if your child is wrecking your home, making threats or kicking the heck out of the family dog then you have to let them, "simply have them charged". Who pays for damages, health cost, legal cost etc. The sensible thing would be to restrain, detain, obtain and maintain adult control of your home.

Not the case, you cannot pin your child in any attempt to chill tempers, you cannot confine your child, you cannot raise your voice or hand to your child, thus maintaining any order in your own home will result in likely charges of abuse. I find this gentlemen guilty of subjecting our provinces most vulnerable children to the stigma of being allowed to disrespect authority, police, social workers, teachers and parents, thus lending real weight to the child’s belief that they are above the law, that they do not need an education in order to get from life what they want and all they need to do is demand, bully and threaten their way into what they want.

Enough of this pretense: Last thought for Mr. Wiseman…. After we charge and incarcerate 500 parents a month, where will you foster the children lost in that shuffle, when a leading voice in your system stated that their is a severe shortage of foster care homes?

Time to rethink, you think?

Brudder