Comments on: Werme Tricks – “Our mission is more important than your rights”

By: Sara

Sara — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:31:58 +0000

Hi Kelly, I do see every comment that is posted on my blog. I stopped working for DCYF a few years ago – not because I don’t believe in the importance in child protection, but because the management of the system is broken. However, I have since had a child of my own, and although my opinions haven’t changed, I do have a new perspective to add. I have a son who is now a year and a half old. He has bruises all the time – mostly on his shins, and sometimes on his spine. Every time we visit the doctor I worry that maybe these bruises will look strange or concerning, but they don’t. In fact, at our last visit, the doctor told me that they like to see bruises in these areas because it means that the child is active and healthy. This week my son has a bruise over his right eye – he tried to climb into his pack ‘n play the other day and fell, landing on a hard toy. Again, no one is concerned, no one has ever called DCYF. So although I know nothing about your particular case, I do know that it is possible to have a child with bruises, and not have DCYF involved in your life.

I agree that it is upsetting to families to be investigated, and you are right – about 2/3 to 3/4 of all cases are unfounded. The theory is that by casting a wider net, DCYF may spend more time investigating unfounded cases, but that way the won’t miss the one case that is founded. They would rather inconvenience some families and find that one abused or neglected child. And I agree with that philosophy. It is hard on your family, but you are all safe and together. I’d rather DCYF inconvenience you and find the smaller percentage of abused and neglected kids instead of leaving you alone, and not seeing some other child who is indeed being abused or neglected.

Yes, vindictive people can falsely accuse you. They can even do it anonymously. I can tell you that anonymous calls from neighbors do not carry the same weight that calls from professional third parties do. I would also wonder who it is that dislikes you so much to go through all of the effort to make a false accusation? Was this false accusation provoked by something you said or did? I think back to my child, and my friends and neighbors – none of whom would ever dream of calling DCYF. How is it that my situation is so different from yours? How did I manage to surround myself with people who are not vindictive or mean? Is there anything you can change in your situation to make the false accusations stop?

Please remember that no one who gets into the child protection business does it to get rich. They aren’t looking for glory or fame. They have an honest desire to help children. They are often good people who work very hard for very little money, and find themselves yelled at, cursed at, and threatened on a daily basis.

By: Kelley

Kelley — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:21:03 +0000

I don’tknow if anyone will se this , since it seems to be that the last posting was 2 years ago, but I had a question, did you know that every single ,mark ,bruise scratch and rash, that is visible on a child by any “do-gooder , nosey person”, will most likely be called in to DCYF .Especially if your child is white. I have had it happen to me over and over , I wanted to know where the line is , for this sort of BS. I have personally been through several investigations where MANY of the things the Werme’s warn about HAVE happend , the “tricks” for social workers to impose their OPINIONS ,, they use the word “concerns”( means the same thing though} have been used against me . I have to be so defensive ,tough and hateful, and fight off all sorts of bs “concerns” over and over , all of which by the way were unfounded. I am soo annoyed , by the power the state gives to social workers , I can not afford an attorney , not that in my many cases one was needed , but battling alone , is very stressful and hard. It seems to me that every parent is reguarded basically as guilty until they can prove they’re not. You know there are a majority of INNOCENT parents out there , what about them? does anyone at all care how it feels to be falsely accused , and what that does to the whole family , including the children, who SEE the parents all stressed out over a bs investigation. no harm done right ? the kids have no emotional trauma at all being questioned by strangers and seeing their parents all upset , and IT IS upsetting. It also occurs to me in todays brainwashed society of backstabbers that turn someone in , in total secret, in the shadows , without one spec of proof whatsoever , and God forbid if anyone these days ever stopped to think for one minute before they turn someone in , “what if I am wrong”. no matter it’s okay to turn some families life upside down .Oh and make sure we are all tollerant of people from other cultures and their beliefs ,do not concern yourselves with the MANY african cultures that still in NH to this day whoop their kids with sticks,, don’t turn them in. or the Bosnians ,, any Muslim families , or hispanic , especially puerto rican, or any other group that does NOT understand english or OUR ways here in this country. However the next time you see a poor little white kid with a half inch bruise under the eye , make sure to get right on the phone , as obligated.

By: Administrator

Administrator — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 13:56:06 +0000

Hi Corey, I’m happy to be used in projects, though I’m having trouble seeing how this blog fits into an internet and ecommerce project, as there really isn’t much commerce at all on this site… at any rate, good luck with the project.

Sara

By: graduate student loan debt consolidation

graduate student loan debt consolidation — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 03:16:51 +0000

Wow this is a nice site. :0) I like the comments even though I don’t 100% agree with all of them. I am a grad student at the University of Sacred Heart in Connecticut. If you don’t mind I will use your blog as a example for my semester project that I am doing on the internet and ecommerce. If you reject the thought send me a quick email

-Corey

By: business continuity and disaster recovery planning

business continuity and disaster recovery planning — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 18:35:53 +0000

Excellent point of view. I wish there were more comments like this. I must say this is one of the betters sites I have come across –Regard, Nick

By: Debi

Debi — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 01:55:12 +0000

Maybe you ought to take a trip to the State House to see just how many times DCYF practices come up for discussion. Why would anyone want to let DCYF into their home? So DCYF could talk to their children? We teach our children not to talk to strangers so why would we want to invite them in to our personal space? Sounds to me like a good enough reason to not let DCYF into your home. Whether you like it or not, DCYF will get to your children anyhow by going through the school system without you knowing it because our law permits them to do so. That is all the time DCYF needs to create an imminent danger for your child. Let me ask you this: Would you want to be a small child being interrogated by a total stranger? I would probably be petrified that if I said the wrong thing to DCYF, I would never see my parents again. What other option is there? Meet in the DCYF office where they know where their [guns and knives] are? Did I mention the room with the camera? Who do you get to have present if you cannot afford an attorney? Maybe you can invite a well established Senator or the press? NOT!!! That has already been attempted. DCYF is an adversarial system because just about every home they enter will eventually turn into a private combat zone. More people should listen to the Werme’s. They are the ones trying to expose all the secrets really being kept by DCYF. The proof is in the Werme’s. DCYF’s idea of keeping children safe is the Nashua Children’s Home or Rumford Home in Concord, and of course their best friend CASA. Where does a parent fit in all of that?

By: Jenny

Jenny — Thu, 15 Dec 2005 04:57:19 +0000

Hallo!!!!
just wanted to pop by and give you a wave *waves*

also, you are gunna be a fab mom, whenever the time comes and then our crocheting can advance into baby blankets!! (though they don’t have to have fringe like yours)

lordy I am funny hehe

By: Paula Werme

Paula Werme — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 18:10:59 +0000

Unfortunately, no attorney in this field has any more than his or her own experience by which to gauge DCYF’s compliance with the law. It’s not as though they permit outsiders to audit their compliance. I got close a couple of years ago – was asked to be on the Governer’s efficiency commission. Within 10 minutes of showing up at DCYF headquarters for a preliminary talk with the dept heads, someone had called the commissioner – who personally asked the governor to take me off the list of folks allowed to audit. I wonder why? Because I knew what I was looking for?

By: Mike D

Mike D — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 01:43:56 +0000

Opening my mouth in the middle of an exchange puts me at risk of sounding stupid. However, I’d like to add that many debates see the exception turned into the rule. As Administrator said, one person cannot vouch for another’s behavior. If some workers are remiss in their duties, this should not count against DCYF in general. If one cop takes a bribe, the police force need not be disbanded. Paula Werme should study a larger cross-section before reaching conclusions.

By: Administrator

Administrator — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 02:03:18 +0000

I’m not really certain what a college degree has to do with how DCYF determines abuse or neglect. Further, the workers that visit homes do not have any control over the homes that they visit – this is determined first by Central Intake, where calls for concern are received. Then a supervisor in the district office assigns assessments to workers. The workers visit homes, collect information and then collaberate with supervisors and co-workers to determine the best course of action. Decisions are never made lightly, and are not made by any one individual. It does not matter how much or how little experience any individual worker has, because the decision is not theirs alone. I do not belived that I ever advocated vacating any parent’s rights. I do recall saying that I cannot simply take anyone’s word for it that their child is safe – if I were hurting a child, I definitely wouldn’t admit it, especially to a DCYF worker. Which is why I listen to parents, try to work with them, and try to find information that either supports their statements, or conclusively find information that refutes it.