Woman Pleads Guilty In Caged-Kids Case

Social Worker Never Reported Ohio Couple Was Forcing Their Children To Sleep In Cages

(AP)  A social worker who knew a husband and wife were forcing some of their 11 adopted, special-needs children to sleep in wire and wood cages pleaded guilty Tuesday to failing to report a crime.

Elaine Thompson, 64, could get up to three months in jail on each the three misdemeanor counts at sentencing April 10. Twenty-nine other charges, most of them felony counts of aiding child abuse, were dropped as part of a plea bargain.

Sharen and Michael Gravelle said they contacted Thompson, a private social worker, in 2000 while looking for help in controlling unruly children. Sharen Gravelle testified at a custody hearing that Thompson approved the enclosed beds.

And Thompson testified that the children's behavior improved with use of the cages.

Last week, the Gravelles were sentenced to two years in prison for mistreating the youngsters by forcing them to sleep in the cages. They said they did it for the youngsters' own safety.

The Gravelles have lost custody of the children.

[kailumego1]

Why are individuals such as these able to slip by the bureaucracy and become foster parents in the first place? Why did this couple take on the arduous task of fostering 11 special need kids, when they knew full well they weren't psychologically fit to take on such a challenge? The obvious, for the money, these leeches!!!!

[gbeabs]

There is an economy of foster care in the United States, and child abuse (systems that allow a perpetual mill to run by labeling abused children disabled and making them dependent upon a 'system' their whole lives). It is this economizing of children that allowed the Gravelles to cage children. I would not deny that they didn't know any better in what they were doing. The 'career' or the 'enterprise' was overseen and even fed by Thompson. Anyone reasonably smart must know this is not a lone case.

[ljburnell]

So, the Gravell's no longer have custody of these children.How long before we read, that they are being abused yet again?So sad that the "GOOD" foster homes are so few and far between.

[cathaleen]

As a parent of a disabled child, I feel no remorse for this woman just contempt. I wish someone would put her in a cage. These children
are defenseless - they are completely at our mercy. How could anyone be so cruel? And the irony of this, if she gets off with a light sentence, she'll do the same thing again because she has a cruel nature and the gov't is stupid and lazy. It seems where these children are concerned, it's out of sight, out of mind. I know first hand how they work. They're a major inconvenience.

[hollyt2-2009]

I do not agree with what the foster parents did. It is unexcusable. But I think social services needs an overhall. I personally know some social workers that are my friends. They are great people but they burned out very fast on thier jobs. They became cold to the situations they were put in. When it gets to that point they should find another job. It becomes a risk to the people they are triing to protect.

[abcdefgh2001]

I think all the foster parents wanted was money and after they got the kids it was harder than what they thought and they couldn`t handle it!

[Dboersma]

I have a child with the same conitions as these children and I would never consider putting him in a cage. What a heartless, cruel thing to do to children. These are special, wonderful children, who have a lot to give. There are people out there who can give these children the love and support they need. These children still have a chance.

[ecuadoriana]

When this story was first reported, I posted that it doesn't make any sense to me that foster parents get paid, whereas potential adoptive parents go through years of waiting, testing, background, criminal & financial stability checks, etc. No one pays the people who adopt unwanted kids. They're more than happy to give of themselves freely to a child who needs a home & family- and give it for life. Adoptive parents shoulder all of the financial & emotional responsibilities of raising a child into college & adulthood.

Foster parents claim the same thing, except they readily accept payment for their "services" of giving a home & stability to a child who is most often in a crisis situation, & those stints are usually for much shorter periods of time. Foster parents can actually "give the child back" if the child proves more than they can handle. Adoptive parents willingly risk the chance that the kid may be a screw up. Because that's what parents do. There is no one to send the child back to.

If money plays into caring for children- whether it is foster care, day care, or even babysitting- then it becomes a business. And as everyone is aware, sometimes the customer gets screwed. In this case, it was 11 innocent, handicapped children. How very sad. How very disgusting that humans treat their own kind in such a foul manner.

[yoopermom]

Actually, this family adopted these children. And in most states, if you adopt an older or "hard to place" child, you will receive an adoption subsidy until that child turns 18. These children supposedly had special needs, so the subsidy is larger. And there is a possibility that they were receiving Social Security for them. Although I don%u2019t think you can get both, but each state is probably different.

To these parents, and I use that term loosely, this was a business to them. They probably claimed that they couldn%u2019t work because they had to care for their children. So these poor kids were nothing more than a meal ticket to them.

I also find it hard to believe that they were allowed to adopt 11 children that had special needs. How did the State expect them to give them proper care?

[rf35]

This is why people should be required to get a license to have children, including foster children. I guess the one good thing is that the Gravelles didn't resort to physically beating the children.

[kidadvocate]

It is a travesty that Elaine Thompson is being let off so easily. As an "Attachment Therapist" she is one of a group of dangerous and abusive fringe psychotherapists who promote not only the barbaric Holding Therapy (aka Rage Reduction), but Attachment Therapy parenting (aka Nancy Thomas parenting) which the Gravelles admitted they were following: http://www.childrenintherapy.org/proponents/thomas.html
This parenting is based on isolation, humiliation, deprivation, alarms on bare bedrooms, hours of motionless sitting, exerting total control over the child, etc. Attachment Therapists also have their own bogus diagnosis, used only by them, that is called "Attachment Disorder" (AD). Attachment Therapists seem willing to label just about any foster or adopted child as AD -- an easy scam for getting "special needs" adoption subsidy funds. The children in this case have even asked not be be called "special needs" children.
That Thompson is getting off very lightly in this case is an insult to the children who endured this abuse. It's also telling other Attachment Therapists that if you get caught, you can probably avoid prison time. This is a serious problem since the State of Ohio funds a lot of Attachment Therapy.

[kidadvocate]

It is a travesty that Elaine Thompson is being let off so easily. As an "Attachment Therapist" she is one of a group of dangerous and abusive fringe psychotherapists who promote not only the barbaric Holding Therapy (aka Rage Reduction), but the Attachment Therapy parenting (aka Nancy Thomas parenting: http://www.childrenintherapy.org/proponents/thomas.html) which the Gravelles admitted they were using. This parenting is based on isolation, humiliation, deprivation, alarms on bare bedrooms, hours of motionless sitting, exerting total control over the child, etc. Attachment Therapists also have their own bogus diagnosis that is called "Attachment Disorder" (AD) which they purposefully confuse with an accepted diagnosis: Reactive Attachment Disorder. Attachment Therapists seem willing to slap the AD label on just about any foster or adopted child -- making this an easy scam for getting "special needs" adoption subsidy funds. This may be something the Gravelle children picked up on, since they have asked not to be referred to as "special needs" children. That Thompson is getting off very lightly in this case is an insult to these children who endured such abuse. And it's telling other Attachment Therapists that if their clients get caught doing what you teach and counsel, you probably won't be called to account much yourself. This is a serious problem since the State of Ohio, to its shame, allows (and even subsidizes) a lot of abusive Attachment Therapy.