Where Will They Go?

Here is a headline and a story we all have seen in Sarasota county recently:

Sarasota man Kenneth Stoddard arrested for hog-tying 11-year-old daughter Melissa, who later died

11-year-old Melissa Stoddard

SARASOTA, Florida -- A Sarasota man was arrested today for aggravated child abuse after police say he hog-tied his 11-year-old daughter, who later died.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office says Melissa Stoddard stopped breathing on December 12. The girl was taken to Doctor's Hospital, then transferred to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, where doctors discovered she had severe brain damage. Deputies say she also had ligature marks on her upper arms, wrists, ankles and thigh area.

Melissa was classified as brain dead. She died on December 17.

The Department of Children and Families has taken custody of five other children who also lived in the home, some of whom described how the parents allegedly "restrained" Melissa. Investigators learned the girl was regularly "hog tied" to a board on her bed with duct tape covering her mouth, or tied up and put in a filthy family pool.

Five other children living in this home were taken into protective custody and placed in foster care. Where will they go? Who will take them in? Who will be prepared to minister to the special needs these children will certainly have?

Often in society when we have situations where people have to be placed, such as criminals in jails or the mentally ill in institutions or the elderly in nursing homes, we can let others handle it. But, when it comes to the abused and neglected children of our community, these children need to be in loving, caring and safe homes. We call this foster care.

The word foster means “to encourage or promote the development of something or someone.” When a child experiences abuse or neglect, or simply an unsafe environment and need to be removed from a home, even temporarily, their growth and develop is not suspended. They continue to need guidance, protection, security, instruction, encouragement, as well as the meeting of physical needs. Where will they go to get this? We have heard the reports of orphaned infants who grow up in a cold, sterile institution where basic physical needs are provided, but love and attention are in short supply. These children fail to thrive. They need more than a diaper change and a bottle. They need love.

There is a critical shortage in the state of Florida in general and in the 12^th circuit in particular for quality foster families to care for the little ones among us. Keeping sibling groups together requires special homes with the capacity to care for more than one at a time. Other children have special medical and mental health needs. Others need to be kept near familiar surroundings within their community.

Here is how you can help. If you want more information about how to become a foster parent call the Safe Children Coalition at 941-371-4799. If you represent a group or organization and would like to have someone come to speak about how foster call BAANK (Rod Myers) at 941-374-1818.

-Rod