Bring back the orphanage; an answer for today's abused children.

• Author: Forer, Lois G.
• Position: Includes related article

Bring Back the Orphanage

An answer for today's abused children

April sat on the witness chair clutching a Cabbage Patch doll. Her blue eyes blazed with hostility. In clear, precise language, accurately relating dates, times, and places, this ten-year-old girl described the repeated acts of sexual abuse to which she was subjected by her stepfather for two years. The incidents occurred in the presence of her mother. She said that her maternal grandfather had tried to kill her stepfather but his shotgun misfired. When called to the witness stand, the grandfather, an old wino, mumbled incoherently. The mother, who has an IQ of 72, was unable to say more than "yes" or "nope" or "I dunno" in response to questions. April has an IQ of 146. No one knows the identity of her natural father.

This trial lasted four days. It was heartbreaking and distasteful. But the aftermath was frustrating and appalling. I convicted the stepfather of statutory rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor and sentenced him to 19 to 38 years, the maximum the law allowed. I could not convict him of rape because April had not resisted. As she explained, the guidance counselor at school and the family therapist to whom the stepfather had taken her told her to obey her father, that he knew what was best for her. Even with time off for good behavior and the eagerness of the parole board to make room for new convicts, the stepfather will probably remain in prison until April is 18 and, I hope, can protect herself.

But what will become of her in the important remaining years of her childhood and adolescence if she lives with her retarded mother and drunken grandfather? After sentencing, I began a long, fruitless quest to have April placed in a safe and suitable environment. I implored every public and private agency involved in child welfare to find her a suitable home. I was told it was impossible. There was a shortage of foster homes and insufficient funds. Moreover, it is the policy of both governmental and private agencies to keep families together. The child's caseworkers assured me that April's mother was receiving counseling. But no amount of counseling will increase the mother's intelligence or alter her promiscuous habits.

Tyrone was beaten so severely by his father, Robert W., that the neighbors called the police. Robert is a prize-fighter trainer. He repeatedly struck Tyrone with a doubled-over electric cord. A doctor at the hospital where Tyrone was treated testified in court. He described several deep, bloody wounds on the eight-year-old boy and presented X-rays of healed fractures and a diagram of the youngster's body showing the location of more than 70 scars of old and recent beatings. Robert testified that he was just "disciplining" a bad boy. Tyrone's evil conduct was wetting the bed.

"Robert is not a criminal," his lawyer argued. "He was just reprimanding his son." The prosecuting attorney recommended family counseling and probation rather than prison. Whether Robert was in prison or not, Tyrone would have to live with his mother, who had testified that Robert was a good and loving husband and father and Tyrone was incorrigible. Again, no agency would even attempt to find placement for Tyrone. The family should be kept together.

Tony has no scars. Neither of his parents was arrested. They came to court voluntarily in a custody battle. They were divorced when Tony was four years old. He is now nine. The father tells Tony his mother is a whore, an evil woman. The mother tells Tony his father will kill him, his stepfather, and his half-brother. Tony twitches and stammers. He has attempted suicide twice. He is failing in school although he is a brighter than average child. Neither parent will consent to his hospitalization and no psychiatrist would give a professional opinion that Tony's mental health was endangered by remaining with his mother and stepfather. Without such evidence, I could not order the institutionalization of Tony. The rights of the family cannot be violated.

I gave Tony a paper and pencil and asked him to write a story while he was waiting in the anteroom during my conference with his parents. Tony wrote: "Dear God, Please help me."

These are but a few of the thousands of abused, neglected, and homeless children I have seen during my 16 years on the trial bench in Philadelphia and when I was a practicing lawyer. These children are white, black, and Hispanic. Some are brilliant, others mildly retarded. They range in age from newborn to 16 and 17 years. What they have in common is that all desperately need a safe, permanent home.

My experiences are not peculiar to Philadelphia. Unfortunately, this is not a local problem but a national epidemic. Thirty states reported increases of more than 50...