So, they’re saying all this stuff is CORRECT?

Eh... I kinda feel like this article should have mentioned that her visits were not always successful. “She let the baby choke on Goldfish crackers; she didn’t hold on to her as she went down the playground slide; she didn’t grab her as she ran toward the street — even though the toddler was less than an arm’s length…

This is something I worry about for my own youngest daughter. She’s functional, but not very. She’s still young, but I worry about when she gets older for this very reason. As she is now, I don’t think she would be able to raise a child. I’ve thought about birth control options for when she gets older. I’ve also…

And then when your case makes the news, you’re not allowed to give take your side public. Had one women all up and down the local paper and online because I removed her children because she “left them alone for five minutes” while she went to the store. No, I took them because you left them alone for over 2 hours and…

You’d think there would already be a system like that. At my university, there was a program where developmentally disabled students (probably around Sara’s level, who were attending school for job training) lived with non-disabled students. The non-disabled students provided some basic help in navigating the dining…

I understand (now) what you mean. But iconically “because social worker caseloads...” is a phrase used regarding my profession to sanitize bias, incompetence, and structural issues. People seem to feel sorry for us because our jobs are hard. It’s embarrassing. And as you pointed out, it’s hard to be a mom whose…

From the linked article:

I suspect it had a lot to do with the grandparent’s own DCF history. It’s very true that one report can haunt you for a long time but it appears that they had a recurrent history with DCF reporting that didn’t result in the birth mother being removed from the household as a child (and maybe she was but there’s no…

It’s not meant as an excuse as much as an explanation. I spent enough time working abuse & neglect cases to know that court orders are informed by the pragmatic reality of what child welfare agencies can realistically provide. I’ve seen DCFS blow off providing court ordered services that weren’t covered by their…

Here’s a bit more on why she received the certificate instead of a diploma. Quite a few people in Massachusetts actually leave high school with a certificate of attendance instead of a diploma because you have to pass the MCAS here in order to receive a high school diploma. I knew a couple of people who did really…

My sister’s IQ is about 65. She’s very high functioning in some areas, very low in others. She does well enough to live on her own, but just barely. She forgets to take medication, struggles with simple cooking directions, etc. She actually conceived several times but miscarried. I do not believe that her body was…

It was more than that she missed a feeding and had trouble with the diaper:

Sara’s father may have sexually abused her when she was 4. Given Sara’s IQ, Dana is a product of rape/iffy consent. Yeah, let’s let another little girl live in that home.

As someone who is physically disabled by a genetic condition that makes it IMO unethical for me to knowingly risk passing it on to a child (I had a daughter before I was diagnosed/had any clue), I find this to be just another extension of what I have faced in terms of wanting to adopt. My health precludes me,…

I think you bring up a compelling case in regard to the ways that parents get discriminated against in the system. I have to admit as someone who worked in the Massachusetts court system including in regard to child protective cases, the practice of naming the DCF worker who did the initial investigation kind of…

Sometimes the clothes the model wears are adjusted when mass produced. I have the height of a fahion model, but they tend to wear pants that are long enough on them, but are too short for me in the store.

While my skeleton doesn’t look like this, I am big-boned.

I don’t know if this girl is “average” or not, and I can only take her word for how healthy she lives/eats (which is true of skinny people too, hello — skinny isn’t necessarily healthy). But I do wonder what it matters. She looks a certain way in the clothes she models. There will be women out there who see her in…

It doesn’t matter, since it doesn’t work. This is how this particular girl is built, is all.

Is there a reverse version for those who can’t let go and need to peruse while drinking bottles of chocolate wine? Asking for a friend.