‘Very Sad' ? Is That The Best Description You Could Find..?

Over at the Social Work Blog, Simeon Brody sympathetically notes the case of the youngster with cerebral palsy who died a wretched death while in the ‘care’ of her parent and while supposedly monitored by social workers in Philadelphia:

There is a very sad case going on in Philadelphia, USA, where a 14-year-old died of starvation while in state care.

According to the New York Times, the girl's mother has been charged with murder and 8 other people have been charged with various offences, including involuntary manslaughter and perjury.

It seems seven social workers have been suspended on full pay, accused of negligence. They are managers accused of failing to supervise case workers, who in turn had responsibility for two indicted employees of a contracted private firm.

I wonder what Mr Brody regards as the ‘sad’ part of this case – the suspension of the social workers, or the horrific death of the disabled child?

And note the mention of the dread words ‘private firm’ there: ‘Yes, yes, look, it was the eeeevviiiilll captitalists that were really to blame!’

A better (and more human) reaction to this horrific case can be found at ‘Protein Wisdom’.