Possible spoilers ahead, but only if you've never even heard of the case!......
This story is the perfect example of what is wrong with our child welfare system. IT is NOT always in the best interests of children to be with their "real" parents, and such was the case here. Gregory's parents had abused and neglected him and his two brothers. They selfishly put their own wants ahead of the needs of their children. In short, they only wanted to be parents when they felt like it,and even then, they were lousy at it. When Gregory is placed in the home of a lawyer and his wife and their large family, he comes to know what being in a family SHOULD be like. Desperate to stay in the first loving, stable and safe environment he has ever known, he tries to "divorce" his parents. Naturally, Gregory is accused by his mother's attorney of wanting to be "rich"; that he only wants to live with the Russ' because they have money. What she fails to see, and indeed our system doesn't recognize, is that children are not property and that people don't deserve unlimited opportunities to get their act together when those chances come at the expense of the physical, mental and emotional well being of their children.
This story is the perfect example of what is wrong with our child welfare system. IT is NOT always in the best interests of children to be with their "real" parents, and such was the case here. Gregory's parents had abused and neglected him and his two brothers. They selfishly put their own wants ahead of the needs of their children. In short, they only wanted to be parents when they felt like it,and even then, they were lousy at it. When Gregory is placed in the home of a lawyer and his wife and their large family, he comes to know what being in a family SHOULD be like. Desperate to stay in the first loving, stable and safe environment he has ever known, he tries to "divorce" his parents. Naturally, Gregory is accused by his mother's attorney of wanting to be "rich"; that he only wants to live with the Russ' because they have money. What she fails to see, and indeed our system doesn't recognize, is that children are not property and that people don't deserve unlimited opportunities to get their act together when those chances come at the expense of the physical, mental and emotional well being of their children.