The Hub of Politics

In case you're wondering, I don't mean that Adam Vinatieri has been traded by the Patriots to the Indianapolis Colts - though that also seems on the surface to be a disaster of epic proportions.

No Governor. I'm talking about the fact that the panel hand-picked by you to investigate the role played by Department of Social Services in the tragic story of little Haleigh Poutre has, for all intents and purposes, punted.

Twelve-year-old Haleigh Poutre was nearly killed by chronic child abuse and then almost died from a premature decision to remove life support, because flawed or insufficient information was given to the state agencies, medical centers, and court systems that were supposed to protect her, a governor's investigative panel said yesterday.

Well, that would seem to be DSS's story. And apparently your panel, Governor, is sticking with that.

"Child protection service does not exist in a vacuum," said Christine Ferguson, the state's former public health commissioner, who led the three-member panel. "Haleigh's case represents a frightening confluence of a healthcare system ignorant of abuse and a child-protection system ignorant of medicine."

I'm terribly sorry, Ms. Ferguson - but to suggest that this case is somehow borne of ignorance simply does not pass the smell test.

No, Ms. Ferguson. This sad case represents nothing more than a complete and total failure at every, single, solitary level of state government - and you, in the end, suggest that no one be held to account for that.

You are, in a word, a wimp.

Governor Mitt Romney, who appointed the panel, and DSS Commissioner Harry Spence said they would work together on the recommendations.

Let's make this simple, Governor: you cannot allow this to stand. Mr Spence may be a swell guy - but if his head doesn't roll then justice will never be served here.

Yes. It is that simple.

...Romney and Ferguson blamed ''systemic failure" and said complicated cases such as Haleigh's -- in which there were more than a dozen reports of suspected child abuse and multiple therapists and doctors reviewing her case -- should be automatically flagged for high-level comprehensive review.

You think? Gee, I would have thought "more than a dozen reports of suspected child abuse" would have already raised red-flags in someone's field of fire. But if "more than a dozen reports of suspected child abuse" are not enough, could someone tell me what would have been enough? 20? 30? 50? Death? Oh, forgot - we almost reached that threshold with little Haleigh.

Spence issued a statement yesterday, saying he was grateful for the panel's work and agreeing that closer collaboration among agencies is needed. He has consistently defended his staff's work on this difficult case. He also said the agency is continuing its care of Haleigh, who has emerged from her vegetative state but is still severely disabled. She has been in a Brighton rehabilitation hospital since late January.

You, sir, have no shame. That you continue to insist you can run this nightmare that is the state Department of Social Services would be a joke but for the fact that actual lives are at stake.

A man of honor would resign in shame.

But apparently you know neither honor nor shame.

For the sake of those of us not familiar with the story, let's recap the low-lights:

Haleigh's nearly lifeless body was brought to a Westfield hospital in September by her adoptive mother and stepfather, setting in motion a series of horrifying realizations by the state.

Within hours, DSS realized that its social workers had mistakenly accepted the adoptive mother's explanation that Haleigh had given herself the many bruises and burns over the years because she had a mental disorder. Some therapists had backed her adoptive mother's view.

Sure, because child abusers never lie, right?

In a bizarre twist, the adoptive mother, Holli Strickland, died in what police believe was a murder-suicide with her grandmother, two days after being charged with child abuse.

So, the story has some "ups" after all...

Six days after taking custody of Haleigh, DSS started down the path toward what it now acknowledges was another profound error, seeking to remove her life support at the initial suggestion of the child's lawyer, according to the panel.

For this alone, heads should roll.

But they won't.

On Oct. 5, Juvenile Court Judge James G. Collins in Holyoke issued an order allowing all life support to be removed. But that order was stayed when the girl's stepfather, who would face murder charges if the girl died, appealed the decision.

Please note - we left the decision of the life or death of an 11-year old girl to a Juvenile Court Judge in Holyoke. Ponder that one for a moment.

Collins's ruling was affirmed by the state's highest court Jan. 17.

Ah, Margaret Marshal and her merry band of SJC Einsteins strike again! I wouldn't trust these morons with the disposition of a parking ticket, much less a little girl's life - but then again, I'm a knuckle-dragging right-winger, so what do I know.

The next day, however, DSS disclosed that Haleigh was breathing on her own and showing significant improvement. The next week, Haleigh was transferred to Franciscan Hospital for Children in Brighton.

In other words, she wanted to live. The state wanted her dead, but she wanted to live, and she won.

And that's where we are today.

Romney said yesterday that he believes most of the recommendations can be implemented without additional funds, though he was open to adding money if needed.

Gosh Mitt, that's awful swell of you.

One shortcoming of the report, said one child advocate, was its failure to specify what errors were made in Haleigh's case and how the panel's recommendations would have made a difference. "You need to have a more specific chronology of what happened," said Marylou Sudders, president of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Well, they can't do that, Ms. Sudders - because if they did then they may actually have to fire someone - and that is clearly not where this panel was willing to go.

Ferguson and the governor reiterated the need for looking ahead, not analyzing the details of the past.

"It's about systems changing," she said "It's about moving to the next level."

Pap. Nothing more.

There are volumes of questions that could be asked at a time like this, but I'll offer only this one: how many more Haleigh Poutres will it take before someone is held to account?

I would have thought one would be enough.

Evidently, I'm wrong.

And only you, Governor Romeny, are in a position to fix that.