Dear Next President,

         Congratulations on your recent win. You are now the leader of our country. While I do believe that you have the citizens of America’s best interest at heart, here is a problem that I feel you should address. I am hoping you can work on the protection of children.

        Child Protection Services (CPS) should strictly evaluate and hire caseworkers that will be serious about their jobs for checking in on children who are suspected of being abused, children placed in foster care, and adopted children.

        According to The Mercury News, in 2010, an ex-foster child of John Hardy Jackson sued him on sexual assault charges, and was awarded with thirty million dollars. Jackson shouldn’t have been a foster parent to begin with. If Child Protection Services had done a thorough search, they would have found that his first wife had filed for divorce after she found him fondling their 1 year old son. They also would have found that he overdosed on drugs, and had domestic charges from kicking his pregnant wife in the stomach, causing her to miscarry. The victim that sued Jackson claims that the abuse had lasted from 1995 to 1999, starting when he was 11. he was forced to perform over 600 sexual based acts. Jackson was found guilty, but the jury also stated that they think Giaretto Institution, a private foster family agency, was liable for 75% of the abuse, and damage done to the victim.

       Twenty-eight percent of children placed in the system are abused. Roughly 9 out of 10 foster children are abused by their adopted parents. According to Fosterclub “25% then suffer from PTSD.” They suffer due to the abuse they sustained.

       A lot of social workers get this job just for the money, and think about themselves while children are being abused. They file false reports, and claim to have put in the work of checking in on children that are suspected of being abused, or are placed with foster families. My plan is to reevaluate social workers to make sure that they are serious about their job. I also want to reorganize the files, and charge people that file fake check-in reports that have resulted in a child’s death.

      The protection of children is an important thing. There have been too many recent cases of child abuse. Children are citizens too. They’re our future presidents, leaders, scientist, and more. They deserve to be treated with respect. nine out of ten foster children being abused is too many, and it has to stop.

      Thank you for taking the time out to read my letter. I know you’re a busy person. It really means a lot to me, and I hope you consider my ideas. Once again, congratulations, and good luck!

Sincerely,

Ta’Tiasha Boyd, Grade 10, Saint Paul, MN