By Susie Huhn

Executive Director

From time to time, an example of child abuse is so tragic … so shocking … it becomes Page One news in the local paper.  Sadly, this is another one of those times. On August 3, a 6-year-old Tucson boy named Michael Ibarra died of a fractured skull. Physicians were shocked by the cuts and bruises they found on the rest of him.  Michael’s stepfather was later charged with murder and felony child abuse.

 That this is a human tragedy goes without saying. 6-year-olds should be playing in the park, not racing to the hospital in the back of an ambulance. But the rush to judgment by affected agencies is troubling, as well.

 Police are openly wondering why Child Protective Services didn’t do more with a report it received from Michael’s school last December. CPS, for its part, is refusing comment because criminal charges are now being pursued. Lots of people are curious how Michael’s multiple injuries could have escaped the notice of so many people around him.

 I have no insight whatsoever into this case. But I would hope that at least some of the finger-pointing is directed toward Phoenix; toward the state legislators who, for the last two years, have been eliminating programs that once protected our most vulnerable citizens: our children, disabled persons and older adults.

 Legislators were warned that children would die when they gutted the budgets of CPS and other human services agencies. Obviously, they didn’t care. Do any of them care now? Did they apologize to Michael’s family or attend Michael’s funeral? When the Arizona legislature decided to slash budgets rather than find new funding mechanisms for critical state programs, hundreds of CPS case workers lost their jobs. Any one of them might have saved Michael Ibarra.

 Sadly, a number of other safety-net programs were also crippled by budget moves. Many low-income families lost medical coverage. Almost every school district in the state is in on the edge of insolvency.  For the last two years, our friends in the state capitol have been putting politics ahead of policy. For the last two years, they have been placing principle ahead of people.  And yes, children are dying.

 The Michael Ibarra Story is tragic. Just as tragic is the fact child abuse happens every day, in every corner of Arizona. And if our legislators would like to point fingers, they should start in their own mirrors.