In Cleveland, Ohio, an 8-year-old boy was taken from his family and placed in foster care after county case workers decided his mother's inability to control the boy's weight was a form of medical neglect. Although the boy is obese, he has no medical conditions that pose an imminent danger to his health.
Tell Cuyahoga County social services that they overreached when they determined that a child's obesity is a form of neglect.
While the boy faces no immediate risk from his obesity, the impact of being removed from his family, school, and friends does pose an emotional risk. Social services usually only intervene to remove a child from a home for physical abuse or neglect. In this case, other than his obesity, the boy is just like any other third-grader, participating in school activities and earning a spot on the honor roll.
Since October, the boy has been living in a foster home, and his mother has only been allowed to see him for two hours each week. In December, a Juvenile Court will determine whether to permanently remove the child from his mother's care.
Sign this petition to let Cuyahoga County social services know that obesity isn't a good enough reason to take children from their families.
We the undersigned ask that the eight-year-old boy placed in foster care due to his obesity be returned to his family. The boy has no medical conditions that pose an imminent danger to his health, but the impact of being removed from his family, school, and friends does pose an emotional risk. Obesity alone is not a reason to remove a child from his family.
