Where do we go from here?

An updated post....

As many of you are probably well-aware, the verdict and sentencing of Casey Anthony in the murder of her two-year-old daughter Caylee has come to a close. And it's not without a truly heavy heart that most of us from the outside, especially those of us with children, think of the precious life that was taken by a murderer who did not receive the punishment she deserves.

At least we can take comfort in knowing precious Caylee has gone home to be with Him where she will be genuinely loved for eternity.

And it would come as no surprise to those who follow the news or read stories online that Caylee's disappearance and harm at the hand of someone/people she loved is not an isolated event. In the past week or so I've come across numerous cases of child abuse, neglect and murder from across the country that absolutely sicken me. My heart aches for these poor children who don't have a voice, an escape, a person to simply listen and rescue them.

Some may argue that our country doesn't need yet another law on the books or that our government has more important things to worry about but I strongly disagree. The disintegration of our basic moral fiber is something each and every one of us should be very much concerned with. Because as children are failed by their parents, family, and whoever else, the ones who survive are lost, broken, and hurting with little self-worth.

So, yes, I do believe that the creation of Caylee's Law will help save children in the future as well as hold accountable the people who abuse, neglect or harm them. Look at what the Amber Alert system has done.

But a few very good points were brought up in some posts and user responses I was reading just yesterday. One person noted that in the current case of 13 year old Christian Choate of Indiana there were numerous journal entries by the boy explaining his on-going abuse and there were red flags raised at his pediatrician's office - verbal and non-verbal. It is sad to think abuse and neglect and even murder can go undetected or unreported when it seems that people outside of the family had a hunch (or knew) something wasn't right. So that lead one person to respond by saying the best thing we can do as a society is to be an advocate for at-risk kids in our community. This statement immediately lifted my feeling of hopelessness as it regards these children.

Despite all of the negativity and sadness of such cases, it is very true that we CAN indeed do something to help end child abuse and neglect - one child at a time. Each of us can get involved in any way we can - whether it is a financial commitment or a commitment of our time - as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer, a Big Brother/Sister volunteer, a YMCA volunteer, a teacher at Sunday School, volunteer with local foster care organizations or a local shelter. There are so many avenues for helping in each and every community nationwide.

The other thing each of us can do is to support and uplift local social workers because their job is extremely demanding with little compensation and positives. As we lift up those who are trying to do good, we can also pray for them and the children they are trying to help. We can also pray for the missing and endangered children themselves.
A small step towards helping is to please take a moment to sign a petition to create a federal law — called “Caylee’s Law” — that would make the failure of a parent to notify law enforcement of a child’s disappearance a felony.
http://www.change.org/petitions/create-caylees-law
The Change.org site has registered over 1.1 million signatures as of July 11th! Fantastic!

God bless all the innocent children and adults who are victims of senseless violence at the hands of evil.