Elaine Thompson was no expert, and gave bad counsel

Caged kids' caretakers got bad advice
Fisher, Ann. Columbus Dispatch, Feb. 28, 2007, pg. E1.

We all should know by now that it's against the law to cage our children, even if we swear they deserve it and we find a social worker who happens to agree.

That last part -- the quest for a social worker -- might be the key to the downfall of Sharen and Michael Gravelle.

Each was sentenced to two years in prison for forcing some of their 11 adopted special-needs children to sleep in cages.

They are free on bond while appealing their convictions but have lost custody of their children.

The independent social worker hired by the Huron County couple to advise them pleaded guilty last week to not reporting a crime in the case. She failed the parents and their children.

The Gravelles found social worker Elaine Thompson on the Web page of Nancy Thomas Parenting, a site devoted to parents of children who have reactive attachment disorder. The disorder often is associated with fetal alcohol syndrome, which had been diagnosed in some of the Gravelle children.

But no way, no how, Thomas told me yesterday, has caging ever been a recommended management tool.

"It's bizarre, absolutely bizarre," she said from her office in Glenwood Springs, Colo. "To have 11 children together in two bedrooms is totally inappropriate."

Yet a therapist listed on her site approved the tactic, which only goes to show that relying on one such source is unwise.

There are alternatives, which can begin at the reference desk of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. When I called in the vaguest quest for finding a social worker, the reference librarian suggested Firstlink.

And that made so much sense. The motto at the clearinghouse for central Ohio social services is "Give help, get help, 2-1-1," which is the telephone number.

Firstlink typically refers callers to an agency that can help.

Another first step is the Web site for the Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, which links to the national site's social-worker search engine. Click on "Resources" and look for "Find a clinical social worker." Fill out the form, and you're on your way.

Unfortunately, most folks are in crisis by the time they seek a social worker, said C. Elaine Stepp, executive director of the Ohio chapter.

And there are so many from which to choose, in nearly 50 disciplines. Many folks don't even know they need a social worker, just that they need something.

In Ohio, 20,560 licensed social workers are on the job. That number doesn't include counselors and therapists.

Stepp recommends assuming that whatever the profession, dog catcher to brain surgeon, "20 percent will be excellent, another 20 percent will be rotten, and there will be the 60 percent in the middle."

Another reliable first step also is a mouthful: the Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board, the licensing agency in Ohio. The board won't refer or recommend, but it will put you in touch with agencies that will.

Surely, the Gravelles' circumstances were unusual. I've had all the knee-jerk reactions that most people have had, trying to understand what in the world they were thinking.

I credit them for seeking help in 2000. But they stopped short when they simply found someone to validate their methods.

Ann Fisher is a Dispatch Metro columnist. She can be reached at 614-461-8759 or by e-mail.