Eleven kids found in cages in home

Couple denies abusing or neglecting children

from JoeUser Forums
Ironic timing, given my comments added to Gideon's thread here: A Woman's Right to Choose, Not MY Responsibility to Pay!

Sad story in the clipping included below. Apparently the couple (who, as the sub-head notes deny abusing or neglecting the children) were doing just that.

Some people in the U.S.A. are clearly not cut out to be parents. Sadly though, some of those individuals are, and the children that are in their care may bear the brunt of their parental unit's failures.

Such is the case in the story below.




Eleven kids found in cages in home

Couple denies abusing or neglecting children

WAKEMAN, Ohio - The 11 children removed from a house where authorities say some of them slept in homemade cages are polite, well-behaved, well-dressed and appear to have been well-fed, neighbors and authorities said Tuesday.
Their adoptive parents, Michael Gravelle, 56, and Sharen Gravelle, 57, denied in a custody hearing Monday that they abused or neglected the children, who are ages 1 to 14 and have conditions that included autism and fetal alcohol syndrome.
No charges had been filed as of Tuesday afternoon, and messages left with the couple’s lawyer were not immediately returned.


... more at linked article

Somehow these people will get away with these acts. And that is the biggest tragedy here (next to the abuse and neglect of these children).
1,459 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
I saw this. I have been having fits about it all day. Those poor kids were in foster care. Those people were being paid by the government to care for those kids. Those kids were already in some kind of abusive or neglectful situation to be placed in foster care and then they go to foster care and put in cages. There had better be some charges coming down soon. I don't see how their could ever be justification for this. This is what child neglect and endangerment is.

on a not really funny but kind of funny note - the headline on yahoo says - "kids in cages well behaved"? huh?
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
As noted in the original article above, the irony of this news, given my words in Gideon's thread earlier (copied here now) is just unbelievable.

I would encourage adoption as an option if possible, but again, the cost of the pregnancy alone can be very cost prohibitive, and despite what is said by some about the numbers of childless parents that might want children, not all children are wanted. Children of color, those with special needs, and other variables can keep some children from being adopted, or at least from being adopted for a longer period of time.

Some foster homes are run by individuals that should not be serving in the role.



I wasn't searching for a news article that would make my point for me, but it seems I stumbled across this one.

It really is a sad case. But sadly, this isn't the only time I've ever seen cases like this. As I had said, some individuals that are serving as foster (and adopted) parents are not fit for the role. Certainly not the individuals in this case.

And yes, charges should be coming very quickly, but I do remain concerned that somehow the lawyer for the couple will find a way to get the charges dismissed or bargained down to nothingness. They'll probably walk away basically free, never have to pay for their crimes against these children, and never have to repay the government for the poor care they provided.
Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
I want to know how this couple had so many children who are disabled all at once...and how they were not monitored for so long that something like this could happen.

I guess my big thing is that these children have disabilities. Isn't life going to suck enough for them...be difficult enough for them...stressful enough for them that they should have a pillow, a blanket, a mattress when they go to sleep instead of a pet carrier? Ugh.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
Oh, Marcie. The GOP doesn't believe in big government, you remember?

Gid the libertarian has been railing against child services for months in addition.

We don't need the government to oversee these things, right? Isn't that the case GOP? Libertarian Party?
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
We don't need the government to oversee these things, right? Isn't that the case GOP? Libertarian Party?


Myrr, I know your m.o. is to just toss the stink bomb and leave, but I'd love for you to tell me where the bleeding heart liberal social worker was that should have been monitoring the situation?

Surely there were government paid individuals responsible for what happened here. Hell, I'm sure a certain C.O.L. would blame this incident on Bush, who must have cut the funding and not raised the taxes enough.

But for the most part (generalizing here myself), social workers tend to be liberal individuals that are in those jobs BECAUSE THEY CARE.

Why some go from caring, to not paying attention is a different story/issue.

But that anyone would let these kids slip through the cracks and be treated in this manner is wrong, and it's not a case of liberal, conservative, democrat or republican (or libertarian). Wrong is wrong, and everyone can see it. And demanding that the government hand out more money to more un-fit foster parents isn't gonna fix the problem, nor is spending a ton of money to vet the potential foster parents.

Sadly (for you Myrr), this is a case where faith based groups can and many times do a much better job than does our tax-payer funded government social workers, or at least so says much of the anecdotal evidence.
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
Dear, dear Terp, the poor dear, he misses the point. The right has castrated our social workers. How do your faith based workers solve these problems? Or was I inncorrect to read that a state-based sherriff's office found them?
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
No worries on the double post, though thanks for editing out the second to keep things flowing.

And please tell me where the right has castrated our social workers? Cut funding? possibly. Cut funding compared to prior years? most likely. But castrated?

Social workers claim (again, anecdotal evidence) to be over-worked, over-loaded, and not provided with enough help to really over-see the number of people they are supposed to be caring for. Though they have been provided with more technological tools, designed to help them keep better records and be more efficient in their jobs. Who decided that they need the technological tools and don't need more real people to do the jobs? Managers along the way perhaps?

And for how long, and through how many different administrations, with various parties in control at all levels of the government have social workers had these problems? If you are thinking only since, as an example, Ronald Reagan came into office, then you are most definitely not correct. Look back at some old sit-coms that were "a very special edition" and included social issues. You can easily go back through Carter and prior. And again, during much of that time Democrats, some hardened liberals, have been in charge and in control of the State houses, the State legislatures, the local governments, and all the way up through the U.S. House and Senate as well as at least 2 Democrat presidents.

So who do you wish to blame and how can you back up the statement that this is because "the right has castrated our social workers"?
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top

Those poor kids were in foster care

No, not all are foster children- some they have adopted.  If you read about it, some are from other countries.

There had better be some charges coming down soon. I don't see how their could ever be justification for this. This is what child neglect and endangerment is.

I think that there is a lot with this that is not being fully reported.  First, the "cages" were where the children with autism and mental issues were sleeping.  The reports on them are varied.  How are we to know that they aren't actually enclosed bunks that they rigged to let them know if an autistic child got up night and could hurt themselves or one of the other children?  I have a friend who has a child with autism, and they have to have a tether on him that alerts them if he gets out of bed since he can get out the door and down the road before they can get up from hearing the door alarm on his bedroom door.  He had also gotten up in the night before they had the (expensive) tether and climbed up and got a razor off the top shelf of their medicine cabinet and cut the tips off all his fingers.  You can't under estimate what they can do when you are sleeping, and everyone needs to sleep at some point.

We don't know what is going on with this.  I'm not saying that what happened with this is "right", I'm saying that we don't know.  All we have is a bunch of regurgitation of the same AP article.  They haven't released any pictures of the "cages" nor have any charges been filed.  The article that was linked to from here also states: "We’re still trying to figure out what happened in that home. We don’t have any indication at this point that there was any abuse."

I, personally, want more info before I come to my conclusion.  There is just too little information available.  There must also be a reason why no charges have been filed.  I'd like to know the other side of the story.

Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
And please tell me where the right has castrated our social workers? Cut funding? possibly. Cut funding compared to prior years? most likely. But castrated


From the social workers that I have dealt with over the years (especially in Arkadelphia, Myrr.) I would hope that he means literally.