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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 5 page research paper discusses the writer's impressions, using the first person, of Keith Richards' text Tender Mercies, which relates his experiences as a child maltreatment investigator for child protective services. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KL9_khchdabt.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
a sledgehammer. The first case study that he recounts is that of Jenny, a blue-eyed, golden-haired five year old with blisters on her fingers. Richards suspects that Jennys father intentionally
burned her fingers as a punishment, as her mothers explanation, which is that hot coffee slashed on them when Jenny accidently upset a cup, is unconvincing. As a reader, I
empathized with Richards frustration, as he has to leave without gaining clear evidence of abuse. The narrative of the text goes back and forth between the homes of the
authors clients and his work environment. On one hand, Richards deals with dysfunctional families and his account shows that, on the other hand, he deals with a dysfunctional bureaucracy that
struggles to contend with legal requirements, a huge caseload and its enormous responsibility to protect the children of New York State. For example, after his initial investigation of the
MacAvoy home and Jenny, Richards contacted a "doctor friend," Dr. Irving Bronson, as Richards is hoping that Dr. Bronson will be able to testify if the burns on Jennys fingers
are due to a splatter or immersion after seeing the injury (Richards, 1998, p. 12). He explains the situation, and this offers an excellent example of the frustrations that his
job frequently encompasses. Richards explains that this is a "Catch-22" situation, as he can "only force a physical exam by court order, but without the findings a medical exam"
might provide for him, he did not have sufficient evidence to "show imminent risk" to the child (Richards, 1998, p. 12) While this writer/tutor can see the logic behind
these legal restrictions, as a reader, I am in total sympathy with Richards frustration and his desire to gain more evidence. At his next encounter with Jennys mother, Richards offers
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