N.J. Supreme Court rules that slapping a teen, taking her wages is not child neglect or abuse; state Family Services lacked sufficient evidence to remove a teenager from her father

AyeMatey · 2011-01-28T03:19:39+00:00

here's another telling excerpt from the article:

Lauren Kidd, a spokesperson for the Department of Children and Families, which oversees DYFS, declined comment, saying the department does not discuss litigation.

Keep in mind that the case is OVER. It's not a situation of pending litigation. The Supreme Court just reprimanded DYFS for its actions, and DYFS has no comment. This is a public agency, funded by taxpayers, and they have nothing to say.

The refusal to comment clearly demonstrates the hubris with which New Jersey DYFS performs its "duties."

2011-01-28T05:48:38+00:00

"The parental decisions made within this family unit may not have been exemplars of stellar parenting, but they did not rise to the level of Title Nine violations," wrote Justice Jaynee LaVecchia, referring to New Jersey’s child abuse laws.

Oh, really?

The father told a DYFS representative that his wife had slapped his daughter once two years earlier, and that part of his daughter’s earnings went to the cable bill. The couple said their central heating was broken, and they were using space heaters. The family members were not named the decision.

I guess today's society would prefer to let children run amok and do whatever the hell they please without parental intervention. In fact, that's exactly where we are today, especially with all the single moms who have exiled fathers from their children's lives. Even when fathers are allowed to be around, they have to power to discipline, and women are encouraged to undermine dad's authority.

And who's fault might that be?

kloo2yoo · 2011-01-28T02:56:59+00:00

sometimes kids need physical chastisement. Not a beating, but a correction.

It's legal in many, many states to confiscate a child's wages, in partial or in full.

AyeMatey · 2011-01-27T21:10:18+00:00

A breath of fresh air.

Slapping a kid is not admirable, but neither is it abuse that warrants the state taking custody of the child. Thank goodness for the wisdom in the New Jersey Supreme Court, and let's hope this story gets around.

An excerpt from the news article:

Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, said DYFS "made everything worse."

"There was nothing wrong in this family that some concrete help to pay the heating bill and perhaps a little counseling couldn’t solve," he said. "All of that time and that money was in effect stolen from some child we may never know who really is in danger and really does need to be taken from his home."

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