As a mother, Tina is a slob and a failure.
For starters, she appears to be addicted to crack cocaine. Her home resembles a pigpen. Her boyfriend, who fathered her kids, is a burglar.
Tina, 23, first came the the attention of the authorities last July.
In a burst of anger at her daughter, 2, she threw the child to the ground and hit her in the face with a full baby bottle.
The Calumet City police charged her with criminal battery, and she later received probation.
The abuse also brought in an investigator from the Department of Children and Family Services.
The state investigator went to Tina’s home to and filed a report that said: “Both children” (there was also an infant son) appeared very dirty. Andrew had a rash (raw genital area). Children wore dirty clothing. Amber had what appeared to be mosquito bite marks all over her body. Amber had a full diaper and a very raw genital area. Investigator observed an environment which could become harmful if the children remained in the home. . . . Dirty dishes with crusted food, fly infestation, pans full of rotting food, clothing and newspapers scattered all over the apartment.”
There was more. The landlord said that Tina had numerous friends who would come over and booze it up. Tina’s mother said that the friends were also on crack cocaine.
Others said that Tina liked to sleep late. So when the two children awoke, she’d just get up, shove a couple of bottles of milk at them and go back to bed. Or sometimes the older child would eat the congealed leftovers on the stacks of dirty dishes.
And Tina would sometimes go out and leave the children alone. Or with one of her cocaine-user friends.
Once she even went out and left the kids with a workman who was installing a hot water heater. He couldn’t leave until she was tracked down and came home.
So what should be done in this sort of situation?
Should the case be referred to Juvenile Court, so that a judge might decide that the children should be placed in foster care, where they won’t be living in filth, slammed to the ground and hit in the face with bottles?
That might be what you would do. It would defintely be what I would do.
And if it were up to Patrick Murphy, the public guardian of Cook County, who has been following Tina’s exploits and is the best friend abused children have in this state, there is no question what he’d do.
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As Murphy says: “It is an Alice in Wonderland world. If you beat up the kid next door, you get 10 years. If you beat up your own kid, you get a housekeeper.”
Which is what happened. “Instead of bringing the children to the attention of Juvenile Court,” Murphy said, “DCFS decided to offer their mother drug rehab and counseling for `self-esteem,’ and to place a homemaker in her home to teach her to keep her house clean.”‘
That’s consistent with state policy: The first priority is to keep the family together. So, mom is a crack user, a baby thumper and thinks that home is where the garbage is. And dad isn’t around too often because he sometimes lists the Cook County Jail as his mailing address.
But the DCFS solution is to have someone with a degree is sociology build mom’s self-esteem and someone with a background in home economics show her what amazing things can happen when you put dishes in hot, sudsy water or change a baby’s diaper once in a while.
Shall we guess how this strategy worked out?
Your time is up.
From the DCFS documents:
“Tina gave Amber and Andrew a bottle and went to sleep. Tina awoke at 9 a.m. and gave both minors another bottle and went to sleep. According to Tina, the children went back to sleep also.
“Tina woke up again at 12:50 p.m. to find Andrew in the bathroom face down in the bathtub. His diaper was off, and the tub was full of water. The shower was also running. Tina administered CPR to Andrew. Water came out of his mouth. She ran with Andrew to her mother’s home. The mother administered CPR again and called 911. An ambulance came and took Andrew to . . . hospital. Andrew was pronounced dead. . . .”
This all happened several months ago. The police still don’t know how Andrew died. Tina says she thinks her 2-year-old daughter tried to give her 9-month-old son a bath. That would make the daughter a remarkably strong and agile 2-year-old.
And what is DCFS’ position now?
It wants Tina to take another shot at drug rehab, a program on how to be a good mom and therapy to deal with the grief brought on by the mysterious death of her son.
Their ultimate goal, according to the agency’s documents, is: “Reunite the family.”
Good luck. At last report, Amber, the daughter, is in foster care. Tina is again pregnant and is believed to be living with her burglar-boyfriend, whereabouts unknown.
If they can reunite that family, I might try out for the next Olympic ski team.