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This has got to be one of the saddest things I've heard of. Couldn't somebody do something for this woman and her 7 children? Yes the judges knew she was unemployed, on welfare, living with a relative and could never in a million years pay these fines. So now there are 7 kids in the foster system costing the county so much more than the money they lost for those truancy fines plus they have lost their mother. Who knows---she might have died during those 2 days anyway but it appears they failed to give her her blood pressure meds. What good does it do to put a person like this in jail? Are they going to start sending their kids to school just cause of the time in jail? I doubt it.
I havent read anything of this case you write of, but I'm getting that a woman was jailed for her children's truancy? And she died there possibly because she didn't recieve her medication? You stated that the cost of her kids in the foster system outweighs the fines she owed, and I think you were saying maybe they should have left it alone because of the cost on the system. But, what of the children?? If the mother was not doing her part in getting them to school (which makes me wonder what the rest of the upbringing was like) maybe it is better for the children to get help and be cared for by others anyway...
It is terrible when things like this happen. In Texas, they often go after parents who have children who are ill even when they are being cared for by a doctor and have doctor's notes.
This has got to be one of the saddest things I've heard of. Couldn't somebody do something for this woman and her 7 children? Yes the judges knew she was unemployed, on welfare, living with a relative and could never in a million years pay these fines. So now there are 7 kids in the foster system costing the county so much more than the money they lost for those truancy fines plus they have lost their mother. Who knows---she might have died during those 2 days anyway but it appears they failed to give her her blood pressure meds. What good does it do to put a person like this in jail? Are they going to start sending their kids to school just cause of the time in jail? I doubt it.
It is terrible when things like this happen. In Texas, they often go after parents who have children who are ill even when they are being cared for by a doctor and have doctor's notes.
Ouch. That's mean.
Can't the government just stop trying to find ways to cheat money off us citizens?
I havent read anything of this case you write of, but I'm getting that a woman was jailed for her children's truancy? And she died there possibly because she didn't recieve her medication? You stated that the cost of her kids in the foster system outweighs the fines she owed, and I think you were saying maybe they should have left it alone because of the cost on the system. But, what of the children?? If the mother was not doing her part in getting them to school (which makes me wonder what the rest of the upbringing was like) maybe it is better for the children to get help and be cared for by others anyway...
Or maybe a social worker could have worked with her getting her kids to school. I know...I know it is the responsibility of each parent to send their kids to school but it's obvious this woman was having serious problems. How was putting her in jail for not paying her fines going to help the kids? And ow they are orphans.
Seems like the system is always so hell bent on keeping families together even if the kids are suffering. Maybe they would have been better off taken away from her? I don't know. In any event there are now 7 kids without a mother anyway and they have this grief to deal with as well as being placed in foster care. Yes indeed the poverty tax is high.
these kids would never have have been placed together for adoption or even foster care.
I don't think this was just about unpaid fines. The 48 hour sentence was meant to teach her that there would be consequences if she didn't make sure her kids went to school. The fines had been building up since 1999, so obviously it was an ongoing problem. She had been cited 55 times. I'm sure the judge wanted to scare her into actually sending the kids to school, by making her see there was a consequence if she didn't send them. It sounds like it was a chronic problem, since it happened 55 times over 15 years, too long to be just one of her children. I'm also sure it takes multiple absences before you have to go to court for truancy. If her kids were going to be able to break the cycle of poverty and have some chance at a better life, they needed every chance to get an education.
I'm honestly not sure that a mother who makes no effort to provide for her children and doesn't make them go to school is better for the children than foster care.
I'd like to see a story with less emotions and more facts, like the ages of the children (4 still lived at home).
I don't think this was just about unpaid fines. The 48 hour sentence was meant to teach her that there would be consequences if she didn't make sure her kids went to school. The fines had been building up since 1999, so obviously it was an ongoing problem. She had been cited 55 times. I'm sure the judge wanted to scare her into actually sending the kids to school, by making her see there was a consequence if she didn't send them. It sounds like it was a chronic problem, since it happened 55 times over 15 years, too long to be just one of her children. I'm also sure it takes multiple absences before you have to go to court for truancy. If her kids were going to be able to break the cycle of poverty and have some chance at a better life, they needed every chance to get an education.
I'm honestly not sure that a mother who makes no effort to provide for her children and doesn't make them go to school is better for the children than foster care.
I'd like to see a story with less emotions and more facts, like the ages of the children (4 still lived at home).
I agree with you here. Although I still find it sad she passed away from all of this.
Here are 2 more quotes that shed light into the situation.
"Patton said DiNino was “a lost soul” who struggled to control her children and often missed scheduled court proceedings or showed up without the necessary documents"
and
"A judge in DeNino’s case states that he cleared all of her cases last year after realizing she was unable to pay the fines. However, District Judge Dean Patton sentenced DeNino to serve two days in jail after she did not provide the documentation necessary to prove she was unable to pay the more than $2,000 in fines and penalties that had accrued."
So it seems this is just not an isolated incident and judges tried to work with her.
This is a sad and unfortunate case. Not so surprising...some judges are idiots.
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