15-year-old Monrius Rendon died while trying to swin during an outing organized by the Cape Cod Adolescent Treatment Center where he was forced to live after the state decided that he could not not stay with his mother as they believed she was not doing a good job. It is clear that the state did not do a good job either because he is dead!
Maybe the policies are wrong. Maybe more should be done to support and enabled children to remain at home while the entire family is wrapped by support of counselors and advisors. Because do you put a lot of teenagers together with just the cheapest man-power to guard them, the teenagers jump to ideas popping up in the moment like going for a swin without considering the dangers of doing so. That is not a criticism targeted against the minors who happened to be there or the understaffed employeed who were assigned to the teenagers at the moment. It is a criticism to the system represented by the Arkansas Department of Human Services which in my mind now has blood on their hands.
Monrius Rendon was never given the chance to show his potential in life and his family misses him.
May he find peace where he is now
Sources:
- Norwood Mother Who Lost Multiple Kids To DCF In Arkansas And Massachusetts Blames DCF For 15 Year Old Son’s Death, Alleges Foul Play (TB Daily News)
- Criminal charges filed in connection with drowning death of teen in DCF custody (Boston 25 News)
- Teenager who drowned while in state custody shouldn’t have been allowed in water, records show (Boston 25 News)
