Parents Of Troubled Kids Are Strictly On Their Own

Michael sits alone in a jail cell in the Youth Services Department in Billings, Mont.

Michael is the last of my “foster sons,” or so I swear.

I have no children of my own. I took Michael in when he was 12 and eventually set my hopes on him.

That has all changed, maybe forever, and I believe the fault lies in a system that has gone haywire. A system of laws and dictates, and heady speeches that amount to zilch when faced with a practical application.

Yes, I hurt for a beautiful young man who, in a few short months, went from a tow-headed child of 14, whose main interests were rap music, talking to girls on the phone, sweets and basketball cards to skipping school, to no school. Eventually, he was coming home only once in while and was into marijuana, methamphetamines and burglary.

Now, he faces federal charges because he went to Montana with a cousin, met up with another and burglarized a home, stealing guns and jewelry.

The judge opted to try him as an adult. But Michael is not an adult and until five months ago, he was not different from any other 14-year-old.

What anger seethed inside of him? What pain was there that changed him? Michael was basically abandoned. He was hurt, but I felt that with enough love, anything can change. I now know that I needed a lot of help, but the schools, police and social agencies gave very little support.

When Michael quit going to school, the truancy folks picked him up only twice. When Michael was arrested for breaking into my house and stealing from us and for carrying a loaded weapon, he was released on his own, after four hours, and sent to walk home.

His mother, who had left his life 10 years before under severe abuse from his father, has worked tirelessly with me to try to help. We have gone to court, spent time in Spokane School District 81’s offices and spent time with police and social agencies, to no avail. I was told they didn’t have room in juvenile for Michael, even though he was picked up carrying a stolen gun. He was never held accountable for anything, and our hands are tied.

When I went to bed at night, I would stop by his room, pull his covers up and give him a little hug. Then I would thank the Lord that he had given me this wonderful child to take care of. I’ve lost that. But worse, because of a failing of all of these “official” agencies, Michael may have lost his life.

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.