Is it just me or does it seem like a lot of lower class people have their children taken away by DSS?

Maybe it's just because I have a close relative who works in a private social services office but I hear alot from her about the neglectful parents and these poor families (grant it very poor people usually use social services) that end up having the children taken away in some cases. They also have a private adoption agency there and from what I've heard it's usually well-to-do people who use it. And I know bad parents come in all shapes, sizes, nationalities, and classes (a.k.a. Spederline) but it seems like most of the kids taken away from their homes come from the poorest families, why?

Of course we currently worried about lead in foreign made toys, and alot of other things coming out of China but this kids-taken-away-from-parents-into-foster... is an ongoing problem.

Poverty breeds dispair, dispair breeds substance abuse, and other problems. Poverty is a disease that eats away at the hearts, souls and minds of people. It becomes a trap they cant get out of. Poverty also breeds anger, hopelessnss and helplessness. People give up, when the pain becomes too great they often become angry.

Angry at the system, angry at their spouses, children. Getting drunk or high gives them the chance to escape the pain they are in.

Abuse tends to be passed on from generation to generation, many people living in poverty dont have access to counseling, they dont have access to education, their parents abused them and they have no self esteem, no parenting skills.

It can be very hard to be a loving parent when you live in constant fear of homelessness, not being able to feed your children, not being able to educate them, not being able to keep them safe, or to keep them away from gangs and drugs and other ills of society because you live right in the middle of it.

These parents also dont have access to legal assistance, or anyone to fight for them. Many of these families that are torn apart by social services just need a home and some hope.

Anyone who says money doesnt buy happiness has never been flat out broke, homeless or hungry. Money DOES buy happiness, if you took a lot of these families out of the poverty they live in, gave them a safe place to live, a job, everything would change for them, including their family lives, the children lives.

I dont believe anyone WANTS to abuse or neglect their children. Some people are SO overwhelmed by poverty and hopelessness and dispair that they just lose their balance completely and become so stressed that they cant function "normally". They are so drained emotionally they have no love to give themselves or their children.

As a Youth and Family Counselor I saw a LOT of problems in more affluent families, believe me. Social Services and other agencies arent so quick to barge into the homes of local business owners, doctors, lawyers, ministers, police officers, etc. These people get away with it - until the kids end up in trouble with the police.

Shouldn't we worry more about boycotting China made products, then hating each other. Here are children are playing with toys that could mame, make really sick, or even kill them. Lead knows no color, and our children will suffer if we don't put our petty nonsense aside, and band together to keep all of our children safe. Lead affects White, Black, Hispanic, Indian, Asian, all the children of the world. I'm pretty sure adults are at risk as well. The time we spend hating each other could be time well spent saving our future.

Source(s):

Concerned Mother of 3 (8,7, & 6mos.)