So David told his school counselor that his parents were abusing him.  His counselor contacted Child Protective Services and requested intervention.  Now David is living in a foster-care home with a single thirty-two-year-old man.  His parents are being counseled by a state-approved psychologist to deal with their "anger and intolerance".  If they pass the attitude test and allow David to have his way, David will be allowed to return home.  In the meantime, David's parents must continue psychotherapy on a regular basis.  At the time of this writing they are scheduled to appear again in Juvenile Justice Court to present their side of the story.

However, because they cannot afford a private attorney, they must be represented by a state-appointed attorney.  During the proceedings they will not be allowed to testify directly, but must rely upon their attorney to present their case.  Their state-appointed attorney has counseled them that they have no choice but to give in to David's demands.  If he is to come home he must be allowed to live his own life without their interference.  Child Protective Services, however, will offer their testimony, and may present any argument, including hear-say evidence from David's friends, to prove their case of abuse.  The abuse need not be physical to justify termination of parental rights; it may be classified as emotional or mental abuse, depending upon how the social worker and the court see it.

It Can't Happen Here

Too far-fetched.  Things like that don't happen in America [or in Britain/Europe].  David's parents must be guilty; the state wouldn't just interfere into the sanctity of the home.

But it is true.  It does happen in America [and in Britain/Europe], far more often than we know.  David's case is not hypothetical.  It's true in every detail, except that his name has been changed to protect his parents. ... The sanctity of the home is becoming a thing of the past.

Now Picture This

You've just returned from the hospital with your new-born baby.  The doorbell rings and you answer it to find an officious looking woman standing on your steps.  "Good morning", she says. "I'm Ms. Wilson with the Department of Social and Health Services, and I'm here to inform you of state-sponsored health care for the child in residence here."

"How nice!" you say. "Please come in."  Ms. Wilson is very pleasant as she explains that you have the right to every service the state provides to assure that the child is not 'at risk' of physical or mental disabilities.  Her role is to help you learn parenting skills that will make you the best care-giver the child could have.

She hands you a pamphlet illustrating how to 'child-proof' your home.  You quickly scan it to find helpful hints on covering electrical outlets, removing heavy and sharp objects from within reach of a young child, how to recognise signs that the child has swallowed something dangerous, and so on.

"Very helpful. Thank you so much."

"Think nothing of it, dear."  Her eyes glance about your living room.  She seems to be looking for something.  "Is there something..." you begin.  "Oh, no. It's just our job to make sure that your home is a suitable environment for the child."

"I beg your pardon", you manage.

"Please understand", Ms. Wilson says. "...We must make sure that every child is ready to learn by the time they begin school. His living environment is very important in that regard. Therefore, as a 'parent educator' assigned to this district, |I'll be visiting you on a regular basis to help you help the child reach his goal."

"Oh? How regular?" you ask, the hairs on your neck beginning to bristle ever so slightly.

"About every six or seven weeks", says Ms. Wilson.

"That often? Is it really necessary?"

"We do want to make sure that, as a 'primary caregiver', you have everything you need. As the child grows his needs will change. We want to be sure that he isn't inadvertently put 'at risk'. You understand."

"At risk for what?" you ask. "We'll do all we can to..."

"Please. I'm sure you will. But it isn't necessary for you to trouble yourself about it. The state knows what's best for the child. Parents are often too close to the picture. They can't always see the things that we can see."

"Like what?"

"Well..."

"Come on! Like what?"  Your anger is beginning to show. It's not a good sign.  "Do you have some suppressed anger?" you're asked. "I detect an edge in your voice that indicates you're not happy with our arrangement."

Managing a weak smile, your voice raising one octave in pitch, you say, "I just want to know what you mean by 'at risk', that's all."

"Well", Ms. Wilson says, "It is state policy that every child belongs to himself. He must be free to become the person he's meant to be. We wouldn't want to see him prevented from reaching his full potential, now, would we?"

"Go on."

"In addition to providing help to you for assuring your child's physical well-being, we want to offer our help to you in other areas."

"Go on."

"Your child's mental and emotional well-being are as important - no, even more important - than his physical well-being when it comes to his ability to learn. Therefore, we want to be sure that his natural creativeness isn't stifled - that his ability to express himself isn't interfered with. So there are certain guidelines you must be aware of. I had hoped to wait until our next meeting, but since you insist, I'll address them now."

"Go on."

"First, the state believes that mental abuse is a very serious thing. That may include a number of factors, you understand. Too many to mention here, but that's why it's necessary for us to be in touch with you on a regular basis. We don't expect you to be perfect, but we do want to help you avoid inadvertently abusing the child."

"Go on."

"Well, spanking, for instance. recent studies have shown that spanking, rather than helping a child, actually induces low self-esteem. This, in turn, may result in his becoming abusive to his own children later in life. Or he may turn out to have criminal tendencies. There are better ways to deal with children than through violence."

"You mean I can't discipline my child?"

"Of course you can discipline. My dear, we are all for discipline. It's just the form of discipline we want to contro.. uh... advise you on. But we can get into that later. The second thing I want to help you with is to understand that the child is a unique person in his own right. he must be allowed to make his own choices in life. He must be allowed to choose what he wants to believe to establish his own values. Therefore, it wouldn't look good if you forced him to believe the way you do."

"I would never 'force' him to believe him anything. But I have the right to bring him up in my own religion."

"Well, not exactly. We feel it's best if he has a number of choices rather than just one. After all, who says your religion is the only one? There are many religious expressions in the world to choose from. In fact, the government is very much in favor of religion. We find that religion helps stem anti-social behavior."

"What else?"

"Oh, you know. We hope you will always maintain an optimum environment for the child. I see from my records that you don't work, and that your husband has rather meager income."

"We get by."

"Yes, I'm sure you do. But what if you were to have another child? It doesn't indicate here that you'd be able to afford optimum care for both of them."

"What?"

"That's why we're here to help you. We offer counseling in birth control, family planning, and everything. Should you find yourself with an inconvenient pregnancy, we also offer state-funded termination of fetal development."

"Abortion."

"Yes! You see! You're beginning to understand already!"

"Goodbye, Miss Wilson."

"That's 'Ms.' Wilson."

"Whatever."

"Goodbye. See you in about six weeks. If you need anything before then, please don't hesitate to call. Here's my card."

That Can't Happen Either

Unlike the story of David, this latter scenario is hypothetical.  But the means to make it a reality are in the developmental stages through the America 2000 education restructuring program. ... such a scenario will likely become reality within the next few years...