Mother charged with criminal neglect for taking her kid on a trip and missing school

[Anonymous]

What rule was disrespected, much less broken? The criminal proceeding was eventually dismissed because the lawyers representing CFS would have had their asses handed to them by a judge had it moved forward to a hearing. There's clearly more to this story than this WP hackstress put into her column.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have any problem with automatic CFSA referrals when a kid misses a certain number of days. Attendance is important, and absences cause problems for kids and their schools. Truancy can indicate abuse or neglect and I'd rather have CFSA look into everything than let schools use their discretion--because if they have discretion, they're going to look more at poor and black families, when they're not the only ones who can be struggling (I'm thinking of a friend whose white, wealthy mom had a bout of psychosis and abandoned her for several weeks when she was in middle school).

In this case, though, the principal screwed up by reporting an excused absence, and it doesn't sound like the child had any neglect, educational or otherwise (he did all his assignments while abroad). No idea why criminal charges were brought.

But one other thing: the lady in the article now has 2 kids, one who was recently adopted from an institutional setting, and no job.

a) wish I had enough money for 2 international adoptions and raising 2 kids with no income.

b) she does not sound like she has any support network for what could be a challenging parenting experience. While jail is clearly not the solution, I hope she works on making connections to help her care for her kids in more mundane crises--like if she needs to go to the ER, car breaks down, that sort of thing.

You have no idea what sort of support system she has within the community and are a pretty much a shitty excise fro s human being to pass judgmet im this manner. I wouldn't be comfortable leaving my child with even my closest friend for a month while I traveled to Mongolia or, for that matter, Chicago. Having a neighbor or friend watch your child because you have to spend the night at the ER is a different story entirely. This was obviously a trip of a lifetime for a Second Grader.

The article says she's a single mom for whom going to jail would be disastrous and had nowhere to leave her kid when she traveled. It would be improper for CFSA not to consider her support network--doesn't mean she should be imprisoned or have kids removed, but they could offer services. If she were applying to be a foster parent or adopting from US foster care, they would definitely be asking about these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have any problem with automatic CFSA referrals when a kid misses a certain number of days. Attendance is important, and absences cause problems for kids and their schools. Truancy can indicate abuse or neglect and I'd rather have CFSA look into everything than let schools use their discretion--because if they have discretion, they're going to look more at poor and black families, when they're not the only ones who can be struggling (I'm thinking of a friend whose white, wealthy mom had a bout of psychosis and abandoned her for several weeks when she was in middle school).

In this case, though, the principal screwed up by reporting an excused absence, and it doesn't sound like the child had any neglect, educational or otherwise (he did all his assignments while abroad). No idea why criminal charges were brought.

But one other thing: the lady in the article now has 2 kids, one who was recently adopted from an institutional setting, and no job.

a) wish I had enough money for 2 international adoptions and raising 2 kids with no income.

b) she does not sound like she has any support network for what could be a challenging parenting experience. While jail is clearly not the solution, I hope she works on making connections to help her care for her kids in more mundane crises--like if she needs to go to the ER, car breaks down, that sort of thing.

I don't see this at all. She wanted to bring her child with her to his birth country not leave him for three weeks with a family friend. this was a decent choice. She sounds well-connected and supported. You sound jelous because she has more options than you (she was able to save up money to stay home for a year)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have any problem with automatic CFSA referrals when a kid misses a certain number of days. Attendance is important, and absences cause problems for kids and their schools. Truancy can indicate abuse or neglect and I'd rather have CFSA look into everything than let schools use their discretion--because if they have discretion, they're going to look more at poor and black families, when they're not the only ones who can be struggling (I'm thinking of a friend whose white, wealthy mom had a bout of psychosis and abandoned her for several weeks when she was in middle school).

In this case, though, the principal screwed up by reporting an excused absence, and it doesn't sound like the child had any neglect, educational or otherwise (he did all his assignments while abroad). No idea why criminal charges were brought.

But one other thing: the lady in the article now has 2 kids, one who was recently adopted from an institutional setting, and no job.

a) wish I had enough money for 2 international adoptions and raising 2 kids with no income.

b) she does not sound like she has any support network for what could be a challenging parenting experience. While jail is clearly not the solution, I hope she works on making connections to help her care for her kids in more mundane crises--like if she needs to go to the ER, car breaks down, that sort of thing.

You have no idea what sort of support system she has within the community and are a pretty much a shitty excise fro s human being to pass judgmet im this manner. I wouldn't be comfortable leaving my child with even my closest friend for a month while I traveled to Mongolia or, for that matter, Chicago. Having a neighbor or friend watch your child because you have to spend the night at the ER is a different story entirely. This was obviously a trip of a lifetime for a Second Grader.

Yea, the government is not going to let her leave her kids with a family friend while she is in jail - family only.

The article says she's a single mom for whom going to jail would be disastrous and had nowhere to leave her kid when she traveled. It would be improper for CFSA not to consider her support network--doesn't mean she should be imprisoned or have kids removed, but they could offer services. If she were applying to be a foster parent or adopting from US foster care, they would definitely be asking about these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have any problem with automatic CFSA referrals when a kid misses a certain number of days. Attendance is important, and absences cause problems for kids and their schools. Truancy can indicate abuse or neglect and I'd rather have CFSA look into everything than let schools use their discretion--because if they have discretion, they're going to look more at poor and black families, when they're not the only ones who can be struggling (I'm thinking of a friend whose white, wealthy mom had a bout of psychosis and abandoned her for several weeks when she was in middle school).

In this case, though, the principal screwed up by reporting an excused absence, and it doesn't sound like the child had any neglect, educational or otherwise (he did all his assignments while abroad). No idea why criminal charges were brought.

But one other thing: the lady in the article now has 2 kids, one who was recently adopted from an institutional setting, and no job.

a) wish I had enough money for 2 international adoptions and raising 2 kids with no income.

b) she does not sound like she has any support network for what could be a challenging parenting experience. While jail is clearly not the solution, I hope she works on making connections to help her care for her kids in more mundane crises--like if she needs to go to the ER, car breaks down, that sort of thing.

You have no idea what sort of support system she has within the community and are a pretty much a shitty excise fro s human being to pass judgmet im this manner. I wouldn't be comfortable leaving my child with even my closest friend for a month while I traveled to Mongolia or, for that matter, Chicago. Having a neighbor or friend watch your child because you have to spend the night at the ER is a different story entirely. This was obviously a trip of a lifetime for a Second Grader.

The article says she's a single mom for whom going to jail would be disastrous and had nowhere to leave her kid when she traveled. It would be improper for CFSA not to consider her support network--doesn't mean she should be imprisoned or have kids removed, but they could offer services. If she were applying to be a foster parent or adopting from US foster care, they would definitely be asking about these things.

Yea, the government is not going to let her leave her kids with a family friend while she is in jail - family only.

[Anonymous]

Interesting story. Facts seem to be missing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OSSE should go after the legions of parents in high at-risk population schools in wards 7 and 8 who bring their kids 2-3 hours late to school, if at all, and rack up 30-40 absences, or more, each year. A few miles but worlds away from Brent on the Hill. Those kids are struggling mightily just to read at basic levels and the govt turns a blind eye so when a white single mom collects the classwork and emails the principal in advance of her second international adoption, THIS is a tragedy worthy of our court system? and the guns go firing. So backwards, DC and OSSE. The net that failed Relisha Rudd isn't doing any better to protect kids when these sorts of stories come out - and the true stories of homeless, neglected, poor children missing large percentages of school years remain untold.

Special privileges for white people, I get it

Bull shit. There are vast differences between cases. I hate that Relisha Rudd even came up in this story. There is no comparison between the two stories other than the failure of DC govt agencies. What I hate about this is that it's over elementary school. Guess what. So little gets done in most elementary schools that pulling kids out for a week or two isn't an issue. We're all pretending it matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She shouldn't have taken him out of school for so long. This wasn't an extra day off to go skiing. This was 20 days, and she should have made other arrangements.

Disagree. He learned more about himself on this trip at a core level than any school in America can ever teach him. He bonded with his new brother in a way that being kept at home with someone (who the single mother didn't have access to) wouldn't have allowed.

He basically got homeschooled for a little under a month, while he explored his roots.

What he supposedly "learned" is beside the point - and obviously, DCPS doesn't agree that this trip counted as "education".

The rules are well known and exist for a reason. If she wants to give him "educational" overseas travel, she should schedule it during the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know if this strategy would have worked for the woman in the article, but I would like to remind everyone that in DC parents have the right to homeschool (and travelschool).

If you plan to pull your child out of school for an extended trip, and you attend your DCPS by right, just notify OSSE of you intent to homeschool at least 15 days prior to withdrawing your child using the following form:

http://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/District%20of%20Columbia%20%20Homeschool%20Notification%20Form_0.pdf

Do your best to keep your child caught up with whatever his classmates will be learning while you are away, and when you get back, re-enroll your child in DCPS.

thank you so much for sharing this strategy. I don't think I will ever need it, but I wish someone would have mentioned this to Ms. Smith as an option. It's stupid to need to go through such hoops, but it seems that if she had done this, the criminal neglect change would have been avoided. Especially since Brent is their IB school and the eldest child is grade 2-- Brent would have had to take him back after going on "homeschool".

For those of you going after the principal-- he isn't the one that caused her to get charged with criminal neglect. Maybe he was the proximate cause, but there are plenty of other fingerprints in between marking absences as inexcused and Ms. Smith getting a notice to appear in court. DCPS and the justice system need to find a way for this to never happen again: getting charged with criminal child neglect after no notice whatsoever that there was a problem based on incorrectly noted unexcused absences a year or so before.

And to Ms. Smith-- what a shame that "no good deed goes unpunished"! You are such a good person for adopting these kids and providing a loving home! I hope you continue to stay at your neighborhood DCPS-- surely nothing else can go wrong and it'll be smooth sailing from now on-- fingers-crossed!!

[Anonymous]

Brent is not the child's IB school so the pull out and homeschool thing wouldn't have worked.

She saved up at a really good job so that she could take some time off to welcome home the younger and have time for the older.

She has a great support network, as do most Moms who live on the Hill. Say what you will, but MoTH has your back. Plus she's got tons of friends. She wanted her older child to experience his homeland and be part of the process of bringing home his brother.

[Anonymous]

For those saying this doesn't apply in PS3 or PK4, I think you are wrong. My child is in PK4 and has a classmate whose parents are from another country. They had a long-planned trip to the home country this month for three weeks. They were required to dis-enroll the child from school and re-enroll when they return.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She shouldn't have taken him out of school for so long. This wasn't an extra day off to go skiing. This was 20 days, and she should have made other arrangements.

Disagree. He learned more about himself on this trip at a core level than any school in America can ever teach him. He bonded with his new brother in a way that being kept at home with someone (who the single mother didn't have access to) wouldn't have allowed.

He basically got homeschooled for a little under a month, while he explored his roots.

What he supposedly "learned" is beside the point - and obviously, DCPS doesn't agree that this trip counted as "education".

The rules are well known and exist for a reason. If she wants to give him "educational" overseas travel, she should schedule it during the summer.

That was almost certainly not an option for her -- I don't know the specifics of her adoption, but when we adopted internationally, we were given three weeks' notice that we HAD to be there on a certain date to take custody of our child. In really dire circumstances (=previously scheduled surgery, a parent on their deathbed), we maybe could've pushed it back a week, but there's no way we could've said, "Sorry, we can't travel in November, can we reschedule to June?" They would've found other parents for our daughter and written us off as too inflexible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She shouldn't have taken him out of school for so long. This wasn't an extra day off to go skiing. This was 20 days, and she should have made other arrangements.

Disagree. He learned more about himself on this trip at a core level than any school in America can ever teach him. He bonded with his new brother in a way that being kept at home with someone (who the single mother didn't have access to) wouldn't have allowed.

He basically got homeschooled for a little under a month, while he explored his roots.

What he supposedly "learned" is beside the point - and obviously, DCPS doesn't agree that this trip counted as "education".

The rules are well known and exist for a reason. If she wants to give him "educational" overseas travel, she should schedule it during the summer.

You're clearly either trolling or obtuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The children described in these articles are older children. Are the rules different for PK3 and PK4 kids who have not yet reached the age at which school is mandatory?

I've taken my PK kid out numerous times for vacation - no one cares at our DCPS.

My 3yo missed a week of school to travel to a family wedding, and even though we notified them in advance, we were contacted by the school social worker.

Really?? Was this recently? It contradicts what other PPs have said about the 10-day rule not going into effect until K. Worried, since my child in PK3 will miss a week of school later this month for vacation (vacation was planned almost a year ago, before we knew we were definitely switching from daycare to DCPS).

Yes, it was earlier this year. PP who keeps insisting that the rules don't apply prior to K is incorrect. PK3 and PK4 might not be compulsory, but that doesn't mean they will not follow up.

[Anonymous]

You need to accrue at least 25 unexcused absences before a case may be referred to CFSA.

http://www.dcappeals.gov/internet/public/aud_juvenile/jtruancy.jsf