Saturday, March 7, 2009

Unfit Guardian?

It's been more than seven months since the state Department of Children and Families launched an investigation into why Dane County granted guardianship of Deshaunsay Sykes-Crowder to her aunt, Lynda Sykes, in 2005. Sykes had a long record of criminal violence, including several stabbings and an assault for which she served time in prison.

Who would have guessed this person might not be a fit guardian? Not Dane County.

Last July, Sykes allegedly beat and suffocated the six-year-old girl to death after moving with her to Ohio, where she is now facing the death penalty.

Full Article and Source:
Death review nears end

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Seven months is ridiculous. Perhaps one of the reasons many children continue to be harmed is because investigations take too long. The sense of urgency is lost. And then, after a tragedy, everyone wonders "why?".

Anonymous said...

One of the problems is of course that almost anybody can be a guardian. I am not as concerned about "qualification" as I am about criminal history.

It's the same way in nursing homes.
Aides that abuse are often found out to have a lengthy criminal history.

It's a statement about society - we don't care much about the elderly or we'd make sure we weren't putting our national treasures in harm's way.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, they move real fast up there to protect the innocent and the vulnerable including the elderly - don't they?

They move real quick up there when a person is in possession of more FISH than their laws allow.

Go figure.

Anonymous said...

No one seems to care about credentials or background history unless something happens, then the spotlight comes out and society shakes its head in disgust.

We don't learn the lessons we are meant o.

Anonymous said...

The system is not working. There is more protection for abandoned animals.

I worked in the healthcare industry and I can tell you released prisoners have to go somewhere. When they age, remember the old saying, "Snow on the roof, does not mean the fires out in the oven".

However, they should be kept in a special unit under watch. One weekend, I remember seeing two old geezers go to jail for sexual assault only to eventually return by law. Sometimes the law set up to protect actually encourages abuse. (The law prevents eviction of a resident on such cause once they have a room.)

Facilities for children hire poorly paid and motivated employees. It is not working.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the post: there are more protections for animals and prisons than society's vulnerable citizens. Disgusting!