Killing kids with "kindness"

Yet another innocent victim fell to the war on some drugs this week. Three year old Sierra Odom died from injuries she received while in foster care. The child was taken from her mother on account of alleged drug use.

Ms. Jamieson said a judge ordered her children removed because of "hearsay" about drug use in her home. She said she didn't use drugs and blamed that misinformation on a friend, who was "leading a double life."

Ms. Gonzales of Child Protective Services said there was credible evidence against Ms. Jamieson and good reason to remove her children.

"Drugs and drug paraphernalia were found in the home," she said. "There were concerns about drug use by the parents, and a judge agreed."

And now a 3-year-old is dead as a direct result of that "concern." I've said this before but it bears repeating. Responsible drug use alone should not be a criteria for removing a child from a loving family. There is no evidence the mother, even if she was using drugs, did so in the presence of the children, nor to my knowledge was there evidence of abuse or neglect.

To rip a toddler from the arms of her mother and throw her in with a houseful of strangers to fend for herself, seems to me to be more abusive than any drug related activity the birth mother may or may not have been participating in. The bitter irony is, truly abused and neglected children who live with parents who don't use drugs, but are otherwise irresponsible, are almost impossible to remove from the home.

[hat tip to Sharon Secor]