THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 29, 1995 TAG: 9503290006
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 30 lines
Recently our community buried Angel Valentine, a newborn infant abandoned in the garbage to die.
The U.S. Congress is considering legislation that will end most federal programs for children. Not only will programming for children living with their parents be affected, but the services for abused and neglected children will be dismantled as well.
There is no plan in place to decide how to do this. The idea is to give less money to the states and let each state develop its own services. Don't we remember the reasons federal child-protection programs were developed? Some states are poorer than others, and there were quality and discrimination issues when there was no national oversight. Until our country develops a comprehensive program to save our children and families, the social problems of our country will continue to increase.
How many more Angel Valentines do there have to be before we as a society take responsibility for our innocent children?
DIANE HOFHEIMER
Virginia Beach, March 23, 1995 by CNB