Introduction
Wooden’s 1976 book Weeping in the Playtime of Others provides an overview of his three year investigation of incarcerated children. Many children are incarcerated without having committed a crime. This system includes institutions that are intended for criminals, not children without anyone to care for them. Surprisingly, the system that is to serve these vulnerable youths is not considered criminal; in fact, it continues to be a thriving business despite the evidence of abuse, torture and negligence provided by those paid by the state to care for them.
Summary
Private profit-making institutions have replaced orphanages, and here children without anyone to care for them, many who come from minority, poverty stricken families, are incarcerated. Many are in need of specialized care as they have missed social, emotional and intellectual milestones due to deprivation early in life, but such personalized remedial care is not provided by the state. Instead, such children are shipped off, often across state lines, to the lowest bidder to care for as one cares for livestock. These institutions are referred to as youth homes or ranches. They are permitted to use drugs to sedate the children under their care. Wooden described talking to many of the owners, who he described as smooth operators with no background in Social Work or the care of children. There were no financial, let alone actuarial audits against the needs of the children, and there was no accountability on the part of the contracted institution or party providing the care. Contracts even included the provision of capital to buy land, vehicles and make investments, yet according to Wooden it was not only that they were not providing appropriate care, they were actively engaged in the mass abuse of vulnerable children. In some towns this was the main industry, and advocates and politicians in these areas lobbied for increased penalties to get touch on juvenile crime.
Wooden described how the result was tantamount to the interstate commerce of children, as a thriving industry of both small and large service providers were paid to care for these children, often far from their state of origin. Further, the owners of the businesses providing these services were getting wealthy, often at the expense of care of the children. These for profit businesses, while they had few credentials in the care of vulnerable children, had extensive political connections with the states that had sent them the children, essentially jailing children for profit with the assistance of highly placed political allies. This was a conspiracy to profit from the poorest and most neglected children.
CHAMPUS refers to “Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services” later known as TriCare, which provides facilities for military and their dependents. The CHAMPUS scandal refers to a conspiracy of contracts to care for children. CHAMPUS did not provide much of a need for accountability from its contracted service providers, but it did pay very high fees. These high fees were going to persons with connections and relationships to the politicians making the decisions of such children. Horrible practices were common in the CHAMPUS facilities, including solitary confinement. Staff practices were further confounded by high turnover, poor pay and poor working conditions. The situation and outcomes for these children were much worse.
Reflection
The revelations in this book are beyond shocking, but it is more shocking still to realize how little has changed in the time since it was written. The end result is an institutionalized process which ensures that vulnerable children become adults with serious impediments to success, and an increased propensity towards crime and violence.
As professionals in the criminal justice system, this should have been a great cause for concern, and yet the literature of the past nearly four decades has not prioritized this topic. Why was there no scandal? Why is this not public knowledge? There is little information written about the corruption that is occurring under the rubric of supposed care for those most vulnerable children, and yet the CHAMPUS scandal or the Wells Fargo actions are not publicly available nor are they general knowledge. In the criminal justice system, professionals wield an immense amount of power over those who have had their freedom and power removed from them. When this is combined with a profit incentive and little accountability, there is considerable risk of abuse of the system, and neglecting children in one’s care for profit.
Strangely, attempts to find out more about Wooden’s allegations, support and outcomes came to a dead end on the internet, where typically there is much said about everything, particularly something controversial. There are almost no references to the CHAMPUS scandal or the interstate commerce of incarcerated children beyond Wooden’s book and the congressional hearings on the matter. Was there in fact a powerful conspiracy in operation which has been able to mitigate or delete any information which did not reflect well on the industry? There were several powerful players, including Wells Fargo and CHAMPUS (which became TriCare and then a unit of the Department of Defense). I cannot understand the idea that people in the fields of Social Work, Social Justice and related disciplines would have said nothing, would have contributed nothing, and yet, where was the further research and reports? Where was the discussion of Wooden’s finding? The amount found was disturbing because there was so little available reflecting on these serious and fundamental issues.
Conclusion
After reading Weeping in the Playtime of Others I had a great deal of difficulty processing how a system composed of professionals who wished to serve society could not be more concerned with the issues which Wooden raised.
