Solomon's Sword: Two Families and the Children the State Took Away

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Solomon's Sword is uniquely useful for CASA volunteers in training, but will also be fascinating reading for anyone who has ever been an active volunteer. Michael Shapiro is a journalist rather than an attorney, social worker, or psychologist. He had not had experience with the dependency court prior to his research for this project, so he comes to the project with a fresh but well informed point of view. He presents two specific cases, one from Connecticut and the other from Chicago, and includes very readable chapters that cover the history of child welfare practices and policies.

The first case that he describes involves a child that was given up for adoption and placed first in a temporary foster home and then in a committed adoptive home only to have the biological mother show up, AFTER parental rights had been terminated, and appeal the decision. While the press happened to hear about this case and treats it as a sensation, every SFCASA Infant-Toddler volunteer will recognize all of the issues involved.

The second case is an extreme but not atypical situation of neglect. The mothers (for it is about a household of sisters who share care of their many children) love their children, but have no concept of their developmental needs. The mothers themselves seem well-intentioned, but have so many unfulfilled needs of their own that they are not equipped to take care of others. Some of you will recognize the mothers of your own CASA kids in this anecdote about a supervised visit to the sisters and their children:

The social workers took Polaroid snapshots so that the children could have a souvenir book of the reunion. A woman came to read stories, and it appeared to the workers that the children reacted to the story as if no one had ever read them one before. When the storyteller was done, she started a project for the children. She gave them paper that they were to roll up and make into trees. The mothers wanted to make the trees, too. They asked the storyteller to help them with their trees. "Her kids could have been waving the tree in her face saying, 'Look mom, see what I made,' and she'd say, 'I'm making my own tree.'" (Pg. 111)

Shapiro's case descriptions and his reflections on the "right" and "wrong" of the court decisions will stimulate any CASA into meaningful reflection on their own CASA case and how best to serve "the best interests of the child."

—Libby Colman, Ph.D.