Another Child Slips Through the Cracks. . .And Dies

The New York Times ran a story yesterday of the tragic fate of 4 year old girl, Marchella Price, whose emaciated and bruised body was found dead on September 2nd. The article can be seen in its entirety here. At the time of her death, Marchella weighed a mere 18 pounds. She had been routinely tied to her bed by her mother in order to prevent her from getting out of bed to make something to eat, ostensibly to prevent her from making a mess. The mother is now facing criminal charges.

But the real story here is how did a family that was supposedly being monitored by the Administration for Children's Services (A.C.S.) slip through the cracks like this? It's a complicated story. And rather than joining the ranks of those who are screaming for blood at A.C.S., it might be helpful to understand that the caseworkers at A.C.S. have enormously challenging jobs. They handle hundreds of cases a year and are responsible for many, many families. Put simply, the caseworkers are grossly overworked. Also, keep in mind that it is the goal of both A.C.S. and the Family Court to reunite families whenever possible, not allow children to languish in foster care indefinitely. Enough studies have been done to demonstrate that extended stays in foster care have long term adverse and traumatic effects on children who remain in foster care. Click here if you're interested in seeing one study cataloguing what some of those effects are.

In this particular case the mother had tested positive for drugs when Marchella was born. The child had been returned home, presumably because the mother was compliant with her treatment plan at some point. A.C.S. (in this case through a contract agency) was supposed to continue to monitor the family after the return of the child to make sure they were doing okay. Clearly, they did not. But I cannot help but wonder why no report was called into the police or A.C.S. by neighbors, friends, other family members, strangers, day care providers (if they were any) or other people who may have encountered this family. After all, an 18 pound 4 year old is quite obviously, even to a lay person, suffering. So before we race to condemn A.C.S. we should ask ourselves, what can we do in similar circumstances when we suspect the abuse or maltreatment of a child.

The easiest thing is to call the police, 311 (in N.Y.C.) or A.C.S. directly. These calls can and often do remain (when the reporter requests anonymity) anonymous and the city agencies are nonetheless obligated to investigate this calls. Many, many children have been spared needless suffering as a result of the intervention of a concerned neighbor or friend.