Thoughts on DCF's Future

As to the future of DCF, I have an opinion.

DCF operates on the referral system. Someone has to call DCF to say that a child is possibly being abused or neglected. Then DCF investigates.

But why wait for a call? What if DCF could investigate all children at will, and determine for itself if the child were abused or neglected?

That is what I call NOREIN – NO Referral Intervention. And I am convinced that it is the future of DCF.

Several highly-placed DCF managers have told me that there is no such program. Perhaps not by that name, but I am morally certain that DCF is planning something like it. NOREIN would ensure that DCF never goes out of business, and is in a position to demand ever-more money from the State Legislature.

This is hardly fantasy. This is the same DCF that once asked the State Attorney General if it had the authority to violate the Fourth Amendment, invading people’s homes without their consent, just by claiming that they were investigating child neglect.

DCF has bright lawyers, and they see what the Patriot Act allows law enforcement to get away with. No, it is hardly fantasy.

But how would you actually implement NOREIN? It’s a fair question.

The answer is simple: through the schools. The kids are a captive audience; and the teachers, reduced today to teaching to a test, will have no trouble making referrals and comments and filling out reports as they are told to do. The administration is even easier; it is already accustomed to being paper-pushers and taking direction from its downtown lawyers.

This explains why DCF absolutely hates home-schooling with a passion. Although it is perfectly legal, DCF has often stated that parents are neglectful, per se, because of home schooling their kids. DCF is maddeningly frustrated by home schooling; and the obvious reason is that it has little or no control over it.

The DCF pitch is simplicity itself: kids are victims, they cannot speak for themselves, so we cannot wait for a neighbor or a teacher to call. We have to investigate for ourselves. The need for more workers, more investigators, more procedure writers, more supervisors, more legislative liaisons, more think tanks, and more study groups, is clear; as is the need for more taxpayer money to implement Big Brother (or Big Uncle) for our children.

Far-fetched? In truth, many lawyers today would say so. I do not. After Vietnam and Iraq, and our energy policy, and our tax system, nothing done by the Government would surprise me. I ask that lawyers and lay persons remain vigilant: DCF will never give up its quest to be the premier all-encompassing State of Connecticut agency.

Home schooling is illegal in some countries, and not just in Communist countries. It is illegal in Germany, where even the private schools have to teach the public school curriculum. Parents who try to home-school their children can be jailed, and the children can be removed solely for that reason.

Why do you suppose that is so? It has nothing to do with the quality of the education. It has more to do with socializing children to think of the State as the ultimate arbiter of personal morality. And it has everything to do with ensuring the continuity of Big Government; no matter what political party is in power.

None of this implies that I have anything against public education. See FAQ #9. I have done rather well with public education. The point is that the schools are increasingly dedicated to advancing State values over Family values; and if NOREIN is ever implemented, in any form, it will be through the abolition of home-schooling.

NOTE ON THE LICENSING OF PARENTS

Foster and adoptive parents are extensively investigated, and have to be licensed. There is no requirement that natural parents be licensed.

Do not be surprised if you see a push for the licensing of parents in years to come.

DCF is an agency that is obsessed with telling parents how to care for their children. If NOREIN, or something similar, is ever adopted, then the licensing of parents will be next. Parents who don’t “come up to standard” will face the possibility of child removal, whether or not any actual abuse or neglect has been shown.

Due to the tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in December, 2012, we are hearing constant warnings of the need for mental health screening. How would this screening of all kids be accomplished, if not through the schools? What would be the result of a screening that indicated “potential problems” based upon a profile?

NOREIN, and the licensing of parents, are but additional devices in the effort to implement total State control over the family. I do not intend to live to see it, but I caution citizens that it is on the table for the future.