Should Child Protective Services Become Involved with the Heene Family?
According to ABC News.com child protective services or CPS, have been asked to investigate the Falcon Heene, a.k.a. "balloon boy's," family. Local police have asked CPS to wait until law enforcement have finished questioning the family. Law enforcement are waiting until today to continue their investigation to give the family time to rest and recuperate, especially after seeing Falcon vomit a few times on Today and Good Morning America, yesterday morning.
I haven't posted yet about the Heene family because I've been spending time processing what has become a complete hot mess. "Hot mess" is my favorite term as it really sums up a variety of situations, people, circumstances, attitudes and more. This is a hot mess. It's also close to what my mother would call some of her dinner creations after tossing a bunch of things into a pot and ringing the dinner bell. There is a lot that has been thrown into this pot. Here is what we think we all know so far:
- Heene family appeared on Wife Swap twice where dad, Richard, seemed to show some scary outbursts.
- Falcon, age 6, said that he hid in the attic of the garage inside a cardboard box because he was scared after dad yelled at him after messing with the tethers of the balloon.
- The family are storm chasers and the whole clan go out chasing tornadoes while dad conducts research, putting the children in risky situations.
- Falcon was allegedly seen by one of his brothers boarding his dad's weather balloon while their parents were "taking a break."
- Falcon appears on the Today show, as well as Good Morning America even though he is puking sick. Parents seem to go on with the show even after Falcon spilled the beans that the balloon episode was, "for the show." Now the world wonders if the balloon release was a hoax.
As I watched the different interviews regarding the family yesterday morning, I couldn't help but wonder if social services should be involved in some way. There seems to be a lot going on here - anger issues, lack of supervision, out of control children, and potential risk and safety issues. But then I thought about how traumatic foster care or CPS involvement is for children - similar to storm chasing in the chaos and fear. No worries though as I also wondered how long it would take before some network offered the Henne their own reality show. Isn't there some open air since Kate Plus Eight was terminated?
I think I will become puking sick if this family is offered such a deal, but it would help them cover the high cost of the search and rescue.
What do you think? Is this a family that is need of services?
What other About.com Guides are saying:
No, I don’t think the state should be involved at this point. It seems a little weird, but I don’t see any abuse or neglect that would rate CPS getting involved, at least from the information that we have right now.
Maybe it is a good idea for CPS to get involved … better safe than sorry. Is there danger to these children going storm chasing. Does “Dad” have a temper problem? But, I don’t believe any of this warrants removal of any of the children. That would be devestating. I also do not believe that the runaway balloon incident was a hoax. Children get confused and most often misquote or “mis-remember” the facts. I know, I have a 6-year-old grandson, and he can’t even remember what he had for lunch. Taken out of context, what Falcon heard (or thought he heard) has caused mayhem. Too many people are quick to jump the gun and point fingers and try to discredit those around them. Give this family a break. Haven’t they been through enough?
I agree. I think CPS should be involved just to check things out – but I’m rarely for the removal of children.
Absolutely, CPS should be involved. I can’t believe that all the news accounts seem to be focusing on possible restitution by the family, and not on what is–to me, anyway–the far more serious issue: that these parents placed their children in potentially risky situations with their “storm chasing”; told them implicitly or explicitly to lie about this latest incident; exposed their children to a whirlwind of publicity about an event they knew to be a hoax, and allowed their youngest son to be photographed, vomiting, on national TV, while exhibiting scant concern for his well-being while he was sick.
Sorry, folks: in my view, that’s abuse.
If the children are not removed, that I think, at the very least, there should be mandated family counseling.
If CPS gets involved and removes these children from their parents, they will NEVER have a life free from fear. CPS takes children and puts them in foster homes and the risk of abuse goes up by 30% in foster care, more than if they were left with their parents. We wouldn’t take puppy mill dogs from puppy mills and put them in kennels where they had a 30% increase in their chances to be abused! But we do it for the “sake of the children”. What a distorted system of “protection.”
I think CPS should look in to the family for support but not removal. Maybe the family needs some counseling or parenting skills. REMOVAL would not be the answer. My thought is if this is who the portray their family as to the world- what is going on behind closed doors?
I have 2 children I adopted from the foster care system some of the abuse happened to them while in foster care. Removal should be a last resort only after a complete investigation and proof that there is abuse happening.
Don’t take the kids, but put the family under protective services, by monthly visits by a child welfare worker and mandated counseling. Maybe some weather program could help make a plan of which activities of weather chasing would be safe for the children and which is not. A structured care plan has to be made and obeyd by the parents. If they continually disobey, then removal should be considered. Given their unusual profession, A structured plan for the children needs to be implemented and obeyd, with a consulting weather person available to give an opinion to worker/and/or family at each excursion as to its safety and age appropriateness for each child. nancy v. kulppi
Warings
Absolutely! That child should be taken away ASAP! I wouldn’t mess with the other kids though.