Beyond legalities
We can hardly bear another law named for a child who has died.
This spring both the Washington House and Senate have approved Sirita’s Law, named for 4-year-old Sirita Sotelo, of Lake Stevens, and the Raphael Gomez Act, after a 2-year-old from Ephrata. These children, who could not have been any more vulnerable or any more deeply betrayed, were beaten to death after being returned to their families from foster care.
Gary Malkasian, Sirita’s foster father, created a Web site and worked on a legislative task force to better protect children like Sirita. On that site, he describes the bright-eyed little girl with the wide grin. She loved root beer floats and waving a flag on her foster dad’s shoulders as he hummed “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”
Tragically, she left foster care and returned to live with her birth father. Her stepmother beat Sirita for wetting her pants the day the little girl died. The woman was convicted of manslaughter.
Politicians sometimes argue whether to invest in helping struggling families or to pay for providing safe foster homes. The truth is, the state must do both. Children fare best when they’re raised by birth parents who care for them well. Helping distressed adults become better parents can be a wise investment.
Sirita’s law acknowledges that fact. It requires that parents at risk of losing their children receive priority for court-ordered services such as domestic violence treatment or parenting classes.
But the bill also recognizes the stark dangers that lie in some deeply troubled households. And it calls for the system to move more carefully and decisively to protect children.
Child development researchers have discovered what we all know intuitively to be true: Being removed from the home constitutes a deep trauma in the life of a child. Bouncing kids into foster care and then back home repeatedly only compounds the effect on brain development and mental health.
After a child has been removed from the home twice, Sirita’s law requires judges to consider permanent removal. They must base their decision on the best interests of the child. The law also insists on more careful background checks for all caregivers living in the home, better training for law enforcement and greater collaboration among agencies working on child welfare.
The Raphael Gomez Act takes steps to prevent other children from suffering his horrible fate. He was beaten to death by his birth mother.
This legislation requires caseworkers to give more in-depth documentation to the court. Certainly, the judge needs all the relevant facts to make the right decision.
The Legislature should be applauded for taking these steps to protect children in Washington’s care. Both the immediate physical health and the long-term emotional and intellectual well-being of other children like Sirita and Raphael depend on these wise actions.
We’ve had quite enough of laws named for dead children. Now it’s time to dedicate ourselves to helping them thrive.