Social Workers Meet Counter Protest at State House
Massachusetts News, 15 March 2002


Massachusetts News is apparently a strongly conservative publication, but the content of the article speaks for itself anyway about social workers in the USA regardless of one's political views – not different from Western Europe.

'The Committee to Save DSS, an organization formed largely by laid-off social workers in order to urge legislators to restore $3.5 million to DSS's annual $700 million budget, held a "Remembrance Vigil" on the steps of the state house earlier this week.'

' "If 79 out of the 100 that died last year were in state care and 21 died while at home, how can DSS claim children are 'better off' in their custody?" questioned Nev Moore, Executive Director of Justice for Families. "The numbers speak for themselves, she said." 

The scene became heated when former foster child Audrey Serrano questioned the Committee why they allowed foster children to be abused in state custody. "I was a foster child. Why don't you ask me what it was like? Why don't you ask any one of us what foster care was like?" '

'Organizers from the Committee asked the state police to remove the demonstrators stating they had a permit to be there and the other groups didn't. The state police responded by informing the Committee that Justice for Families and the Citizen's Commission on Human Rights had every right to be present and exercise their free speech.'
  
  

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