I disagree that a reason cannot be accessible to non-pathological people. Just because we wouldn’t think or feel a certain way ourselves does not mean it’s impossible to imagine what could drive someone else to act in that way.
I actually wondered about not letting the children bathe or go to the bathroom myself. I’ve heard enough previous horror stories in the news to understand that some people get some sort of sick pleasure out of torturing other people. But when you live in a house that stinks of feces and children who haven’t bathed in months, then we’re no longer talking simply about torturing other people. Since the torturers had to live in the same home, they are subjecting themselves to the same smells, which is undoubtedly extremely vile. Why would you do that to yourself??
And I think what aceplace57 said about saving money makes a lot of sense.
Why do hoarders keep milk bottles full of their own urine? At the very least they’re mentally ill. But this goes beyond that. I think the journals will make for extremely interesting reading.
Your second paragraph explains why I think it’s crazy to suppose certain motives from the vantage point of a rational, non-pathological person. It is not a thing that can be puzzled out without deeper insight into their mind.
I mean, why indeed would anyone would want to live in a home filled with misery and filth? There is nothing about this mystery that I’m going to be able to crack by drawing from my understanding of how humans normally act, because it’s insane on its face. That’s all I mean.
They haven’t been accused of a capital crime, so the death penalty doesn’t apply. It seems likely that the sentences for all the crimes they committed will add up to so many years that it will amount to life, even if no one conviction carries a life sentence.
It’s being said that their home in Texas was filled with garbage…amongst which they have found large amounts of feces and dead animals (cats and dogs).
This story gets worse and worse and I imagine the worst hasn’t come out yet.
So what happens to the kids now? Presumably they were hospitalized for a few days or so, but after that do they immediately get split up and moved into foster homes? I can’t imagine their relatives would be in a position to suddenly care for a dozen people. And what about the kids that are over 18, it doesn’t seem like they would be in a position to care for themselves or their siblings. Are adults ever placed with foster families? And what’s the process for getting them acclimated into society?
Nope. People are summarily kicked out of the foster care system at 18. So far as I know, there isn’t a safety net for those over 18 in such a situation. Hell, if they don’t have a valid ID they’re actually a non-person these days. They’re screwed, basically. IF they have some sort of education they MIGHT be able to get a job of some sort, if they aren’t so screwed up by all this they can’t hold one down. If not - they’ll wind up in some underfunded group home if they get any sort of assistance at all. They could very well wind up homeless.
I believe with this level of abuse they’re still in the hospital. It’s going to take awhile for them to get to where they should be, if they ever get there.
I know there are GoFundMe pages floating about, but I don’t know which ones are legit, so I won’t link to them. I know that they received all the tangible items the authorities asked for…clothing, coloring books, toothbrushes, that sort of thing. I think we’re still in triage mode…what do do with them after they “recover” will come later.
The news story I saw last night said the ones over 17 will be placed in “assisted living” facilities for an undetermined period and the ones under 18 will be put into the foster children program. I don’t really know what they meant by assisted living, because the AL facilities I’m familiar with are for infirm elderly and severely handicapped people. I don’t know how these people become socialized and educated, but it’s going to take a lot of work and will probably only be moderately successful at best.
What I have heard is the adults will be evaluated to determine if they are capable of independent living and if not will be placed into some from of assisted care
Sounds like they’ll be sent to some sort of rehabilitation facility (which some nursing homes provide) to be evaluated and rehabbed… until the money runs out and they’re kicked out. You have to be VERY disabled to get a permanent, state-paid bed in one of those. Anyone less disabled than that winds up on the street.
“Assisted living” usually refers to facilities for the old and infirm and possibly the physically handicapped- but there are “supported housing” programs that serve various other populations who cannot live independently but do not need to be institutionalized. The ones I am familiar with serve the developmentally disabled, the mentally ill, those aging out of foster care, the formerly homeless, those with substance abuse problems - and I am sure I don’t know every population served by supported housing. I am guessing these adults will fit into one or another of these populations.
The kids are going to need an extensive, tailored course of physical and emotional rehabilitation, not to mention gradual introduction to the larger world that they didn’t even know the basics about (like what a police officer is).
It ain’t gonna come cheap, and what they need is likely to be WAY more than the state will pay for.
This is one of those situations where a conservative billionaire should step forward and use this as a demonstration case that private charity can handle things like this.
I’m looking at you, Koch brothers, Walton family, DeVos family, Sheldon Adelson, etc. You don’t want the government to tax you to help people who need it? Step up to the plate.