Today we meet Gwen Landis, the mother.<\/p>\n
Gwen Landis was in her backyard pushing a giggling Casey on the swing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHigher, Mom. Push me higher,\u201d Casey laughed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This, then, is Gwen Landis: Good Mother.<\/p>\n
The doorbell rings, and Gwen leaves Casey in the backyard, telling her to practice pumping her leg. At the door Gwen finds \u201can unknown, professionally dressed woman\u201d\u2014Donna. Donna\u00a0introduces herself as \u201cDonna Corliss from Child Protective Services\u201d and asks if she can come in and speak with Gwen about Casey.<\/p>\n
Farris tells us that \u201cthe lines were practiced and smoothly delivered with the\u00a0voice of a friendly second grade teacher.\u201d We are told that in this way Donna\u00a0was able to gain \u201cconsensual entry\u201d to \u201cover 90%\u201d of homes.\u201d What\u2019s going on here exactly? Well, social workers cannot legally force entry into\u00a0a person\u2019s home without either a warrant (issued by a judge) or exigent circumstances (immanent danger to the child). When social workers have neither of these, they will generally\u00a0make a visit in hopes that the parents will grant\u00a0them access to the child (or the child\u2019s living situation) so that they can determine whether the allegations are \u201csubstantiated\u201d (i.e. there is enough evidence of abuse or neglect present to proceed with a case) or \u201cunsubstantiated\u201d (i.e. there is no evidence to back up the allegations of abuse or neglect).<\/p>\n
But Gwen\u00a0does not\u00a0open the door to Donna. Instead, she asks Donna\u00a0what she wants to talk with her about. Donna\u00a0responds that it would be less embarrassing to Gwen if they could talk about it inside in privacy rather than \u201cout here in front of the\u00a0neighbors.\u201d Farris describes this as her \u201cnext-best line.\u201d\u00a0\u201cGetting in the door with consent was the key to successful, quick investigations,\u201d we hear Donna\u00a0muse as she thinks back to leading the\u00a0in-service\u00a0training session earlier in the week. Donna\u2019s goal, remember, is to convince Gwen to let her see Casey so that she can determine\u00a0whether the allegations called into the child abuse hotline the previous week are \u201csubstantiated\u201d or \u201cunsubstantiated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet Farris tells us\u00a0that \u201csomething in Gwen\u2019s spirit\u201d warned her not to just let Donna\u00a0in. Rather than opening the door, Gwen asks Donna\u00a0if she was being accused of abuse. Donna\u00a0is evasive, saying that she cannot get into the details without compromising the investigation. This is another one of Farris\u2019s big issues\u2014he argues that parents have a right to know what they are accused of when a social worker comes to their home to investigate a report. Social workers argue that this can compromise an investigation by giving parents time to cover up evidence.<\/p>\n
The interaction between Donna and Gwen really boils down to this exchange:<\/p>\n
Donna<\/strong>: \u201cI must come into your home and I must talk with Casey alone, this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gwen<\/strong>: \u201cNo way. I am not going to\u00a0let some total stranger come into my house to grill my child.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Donna\u00a0explains\u00a0that \u201cit is our policy to investigate all abuse complaints in person.\u201d In my reading, we are meant to believe that this is actually the case\u2014in other words, we aren\u2019t meant to see this as Donna saying whatever she has to say\u2014but if Farris knew more about how social services operates, he would know this is false. Social services does not investigate all<\/em> abuse complaints. Instead, they screen out reports that do not meet certain standards. I am honestly not sure whether the allegations Gwen\u2019s ex made would make the cut. Gordon called the child abuse hotline and reported that\u00a0Gwen hit\u00a0Casey with a ruler, but spanking a child with implements is legal in Washington state, and Gordon refused to answer the intake individual\u2019s\u00a0followup questions.<\/p>\n
At one point in the conversation Gwen referred\u00a0to Donna\u00a0as \u201cMrs.\u201d and Donna corrects her, telling her it is \u201cMs.\u201d I feel like this is rather pointed\u2014we\u2019re reminded that Donna\u00a0is not married, and are likely\u00a0meant to see Donna\u00a0as an uppity feminist. As for Gwen\u2019s own divorce\u2014surprising in a heroine in a book of this sort\u2014well, we\u2019ll get more on that later! Don\u2019t worry, there are reasons, and Gwen\u2019s divorce actually becomes one of the the elements driving the plot.<\/p>\n
At any rate, Donna\u00a0mentions receiving\u00a0the complaint to the child abuse hotline \u201clast Thursday,\u201d which will become important, and tells Gwen that she has \u201ca duty under state law to come into Casey\u2019s home, examine her living environment\u201d and speak with Casey personally. \u201cI do hope you will be cooperative,\u201d Donna adds. \u201cIt\u2019s really in your best interest in the long run.\u201d Here Donna is definitely being pushy. She doesn\u2019t have a warrant and likely doesn\u2019t have sufficient evidence to get<\/em> a warrant. Talking her way in is the only way she can check on Casey\u2019s wellbeing, and it\u2019s clearly not working.<\/p>\n
As I noted in the comments,\u00a0I wonder if a solution to this problem (not just in this situation, but in general) would be to bring the child to the doorway so the social worker can see and talk to him or her\u00a0without entering the home. To me this just looks like a no-win solution, because Gwen is in her rights not to let Donna in if that is her choice\u00a0and Donna should respect that and not try to\u00a0bully her way in, but for her part Donna needs\u00a0to check on Casey\u2019s wellbeing and doesn\u2019t really have a good avenue for doing so except talking\u00a0her way in however she can, which in this case means getting pushy. I would love it if some social workers could weigh in here!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Suddenly,\u00a0Gwen hears\u00a0Casey running through the house to join her.<\/p>\n
The last thing she wanted right now was to have this aggressive bureaucrat putting her four-year-old sweetheart through the third degree about who knows what.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
With this thought, Gwen ends the conversation, telling Donna\u00a0that she will not let her into her home if Donna\u00a0won\u2019t tell her what this is about. We are told that Gwen closed the door just before Casey \u201cbounded up and hugged her leg.\u201d Casey asks who was at the door, and Gwen puts off her questions.<\/p>\n
We are not told where Gwen\u2019s fear of social workers originated, simply that she\u00a0stalls at the door and then ultimately refuses\u00a0to let Donna in. We are told that Gwen does not want \u201csome total stranger\u201d to come in and \u201cgrill\u201d her child, and that\u2019s about it. Ultimately Gwen tells Donna she won\u2019t let her in without knowing what the allegations are, but that does not appear to be the root of the issue here. After all, had\u00a0Donna told her the allegations, would Gwen actually\u00a0have been more willing to let her in? I sincerely doubt it.<\/p>\n
The section ends with this:<\/p>\n
Instinctively Gwen bent down, took Casey in her arms and patted and rubbed her back as she did whenever Casey had a bad dream at night. It was a comforting, gentle touch. Gwen didn\u2019t realize it was she who was seeking comfort from her own fears that had arrived in broad daylight.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I have a mom friend whose little girl slipped out of the house and was lost for long enough that they called the police in panic. The little girl was located after about fifteen minutes of searching, but police procedure is to pass the information on to social services when they are called in for a missing child. So my mom friend got a call from social services, and she had her husband were asked to come in to the central office and speak with a social worker.<\/p>\n
My mom friend was scared. What if she was deemed an unfit mother, she worried? I and her other mom\u00a0friends told her it was okay, to just go in and let them know what had happened and answer their questions honestly. She did, and things went\u00a0fine\u2014the case was closed, no harm no foul.<\/p>\n
Why do I share this anecdote? Because, I suppose, it\u2019s only normal to feel nervous or apprehensive in a situation like this. But social workers don\u2019t generally fabricate evidence or remove\u00a0children for no reason. If they find a loving home and a happy and healthy child, they close the case as unfounded. That\u2019s their goal, after all\u2014loving homes and happy and healthy children. But of course, Farris doesn\u2019t believe that that is their goal, and that is why we have this book.<\/p>\n
In the next section, which is fairly short, Gwen calls her father\u00a0and he comes over.<\/p>\n
Dad, I am so scared. She acted like she might take Casey from me. She threatened that if I didn\u2019t cooperate there might be trouble.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Gwen mentions being worried that Gordon would try to get custody of Casey during their divorce proceedings, which occurred sometime in the past. Her father reminds her that Gordon didn\u2019t<\/em> try to get custody, and that she never even needed a lawyer. Gwen wonders if she needs a lawyer now, and wonders where to find one. Her father says he doesn\u2019t\u00a0think she needs a lawyer, but that he met a lawyer while playing golf recently and can ask him.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t believe we\u2019re having this conversation. Thirty minutes ago I was pushing Casey on the swing in peace and sunshine. Now this.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Her dad asks more questions about what happened, and Gwen says Donna\u00a0\u201cgave me the creeps.\u201d Her father says she\u2019s probably making more of it than she needs to, and that he\u2019s sure things will be fine. But of course, next we we will learn that this is not true. Next week, Donna\u00a0will be back.<\/p>\n
This entire setup just seems so unfortunate to me.<\/p>\n