To the editor: This article is a heartbreaking reminder of the dangers children face in their own homes, and we must protect each other and our children as a community (“L.A. County will pay $20 million to family of 4-year-old boy who was tortured, killed,” Sept. 30).
However, the story is largely covered from the perspective that the government, not the family or the community, failed the young child. The parents of this little boy had a history of abuse, yet no one fought for him while he was alive. No one kept him from his parents, not even his great-grandmother.
While the lawsuit against the Department of Child and Family Services is justified because it was notified and has the authority to make these decisions, the government is not the only resource available. People are also a resource, family is a resource, and a community is a resource; we need to be the people who can be counted on when our children need us.
Miguel Delvalle, Long Beach
