The Case of the Abandoned Two Year Old Child
The case of the two year old child abandoned by her nineteen year old mother Nicolette Ledford is a very complex case.
First of all there is the decision of the police officer who caused a child “at risk” to be taken back into an extremely abusive environment after caring neighbours had taken the child to the police station.
A very important question poses itself. Did the officer act on his own volition or did he contact the Child’s Advocate’s office and acted on their instructions?
On the basis that he acted on his own this officer blatantly breached the law. He had absolutely no right nor the authority to act on his own in such a serious child welfare matter.
Had he acted on the Child’s Advocate’s instructions, the Child’s Advocate should have taken the necessary steps to ensure that care and protection are provided to the child.The matter should have gone before the court where the appropriate recommendations would have been made on the merit of the case. If the Child’s Advocate instructed the officer without the necessary steps being followed there is again a very serious breach of the law regarding the welfare of the child.This aspect of the case needs to be investigated and the responsibilities set out where they belong.
The statements given by the neighbours leave absolutely no doubt about the degree of abuse suffered by the child. The neighbours expressed not only their concerns for the child but also their anger in the face of the officer’s decision.The officer’s decision in this case had very serious repercussions. The grand-mother who was deemed to be a responsible care giver by the officer simply took the child back to her mother. The abuse continued and culminated in the child being abandoned. The grand-mother to whom the child had been entrusted for care and protection has her share of responsibility in this case.The degree of responsiblity born by the officer in the issue is a very important aspect of this case.
Had the matter been reported to the relevant authorities the young mother would have undergone a psychologial assessment or a psychiatric assessment to determine the degree of responsiblity she bears in the case. She would have gotten counselling relevant to her needs and after all this had been done she would have faced the consequences of her actions.
It is obvious that this mother needs help and certainly not severe punishment at this stage. Did she receive any form of counselling when at the age of 16 she gave birth to a malformed baby. Did she suffer from “post partum ” depression and was unable to bond with her baby?It is obvious by the severity of the abuse that the mother did not bond at all with the child. Her actions were not only cruel but callous.In what frame of mind has this mother been since the birth of her child to have abused her to that extent.Only a psychologiacl assessment can elucidate these very complex questions.Putting her in jail at this stage and severely punishing her is certainly not the solution.She needs professional help now and needs it badly.I am sure that this young woman will have other children. It is therefore imperative that she receives the attention she needs to be a better parent in the future.She will then face the consequences of her actions after due care has been given to her mental health.
The final question concerns the father.Where has the father been since the birth of this child? Is the father another teen or an older man? Has the police found him and has he been brought in to face the law? He fathered this child and bears as much responsiblity in the caring of this child as the mother does.The time has come for the authorities to bring in the fathers to face the law and their responsibility as fathers.
To conclude ,I must say that I am profoundly disappointed by the simplistic statement made by the Child’s Advovate and Betty -Ann Blain. There is a need for the correction of this young mother for her actions, but to talk about applying severe punishment without first understanding the condition of this mother is to my mind a total lack of insight .I expected the Child’s Advocate to question right away the action of the police officer in the case but there again she did not voice an opinion. It is her mandate to see to it that the laws and regulations pertaining to children are respected in all areas.Let us hope that th0se responsible for the total bungling of this case will be held accountable. The time has come for the machinery that provides care and protection and above all sees to the proper implementation of the laws and regulations pertaining to children be fixed so that we can truly offer care and protection to our children “at risk”. The New Act is a powerful instrument. Let us use it effectively for the benefit of our children.
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