Deshaney Case Study

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Yes, there is a special relationship created when the state places a child in foster home. Since the child has been removed from the home and the parent or guardian is no longer able to take care of them. The state now has the responsibility of making sure they find someone who will be able to provide them the necessities that they need such as medical care, shelter and food. In this case Anthony Nicini voluntarily left the house and decide his own living arrangements. Being that Anthony was admitted to the hospital the police and DYFS became highly involved in his life. However, being that there was no evidence that Anthony was being mistreated at home. DYFS had no reason to step in and removed him from his permeant home. When the state places …show more content…

In the text, it talks about the DeShaney case and how the state did not have affirmative duty to protect because they had no evidence to believe that Joshua DeShaney as being abused by his father. However, I find it hard to come to terms with the outcome of the Deshaney situation. Being that Joshua father had an agreement to try improve his life style for the sake of not getting his son taken from him. Although DSS had a social worker on the case. There was no evidence that Joshua father was abusing him only speculations. The Court explained that “while the state may have been aware of the dangers Joshua faced it plays no part in their creation, nor did it do anything to render him any more vulnerable to them” ( Smithburn 471). Therefore, everything that happen to Joshua they could not be held accountable for. However, in the Nicini v. Morra the state had the right to intervene because Anthony was in the foster care system which is state regulated. I think that It was unfair for Joshua just because of an agreement between the family and the state. Since the social worker kept noticing more suspicious marks on Joshua, she had every right to go forward with the process to protect him from his father. However, she failed to do that which makes me question how far would she allow it to go before she would stand up and say something? I know that every situation is different but as a …show more content…

Therefore when Anthony was being sexually abused by Mr. Morra there was no claim against the state agency. The text also stated that “the Court recognized that in certain limited circumstance the Constitution impose upon the State affirmative duties (Smithburn 471). The State is only held liable when the victim takes the initiative to step in and blame the state and the agency for failing to protect them. The text talks about how there must be some form of a constitutional violation conduct must be demonstrated to hold the state liable for their wrong doings. From what the textbook sass there are two things to determine. The first is what level of conduct egregious enough to amount a constitutional violation and then whether there is a sufficient evidence that the case worker’s conduct rose to that level. Personally, I think that the court should be involved no matter what the circumstances may be. There is a lot to talk about child advocacy and doing right by children. There has been to many situations where kids are not getting the attention and treatment. The children of this country deserve the best and it our duty to

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