When influencers turn abusers, everyone’s hands are dirty
YouTube personality and Christain family vlogger, Ruby Franke, who recorded her journey of raising six children, was recently arrested on charges of child abuse. After separating from her husband, Franke moved herself and her four youngest children in with her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt. Franke had recently become a part of Hildebrandt’s “therapy” company, ConneXions Classroom, which claims to help positively transform lives, though the videos with Franke consist primarily of controlling parenting advice.
Franke apparently practiced what she preached as evidence of child abuse was brought to light following her recent arrest. Though many are surprised at the severity of the situation, the signs of abuse have always been somewhat visible in the family’s YouTube videos. This varies from when Franke forced her oldest son to sleep on a bean bag for six months as punishment, to when her youngest son forgot to bring his lunch to school and she refused to bring it to him because it was the “natural consequence.”
Considering the public lens for this“influencer” family, and others like it, including their questionable behavior toward their children, it’s odd how Child Protective Services didn’t get more involved much earlier. In Franke’s case, it was revealed that the cops had been contacted “several times” and nothing resulted from it. They had numerous opportunities to help Franke’s six children, but stood idly by. Unfortunately, this seems to be a recurring theme in child welfare as the system seems more concerned with keeping ‘families’ together than protecting individual children.
For a system that’s meant to protect children, it seems to do anything but that. This has been seen through cases like that of Gabriel Fernandez, an eight-year-old who fell victim to the the neglect of not only his mother, but also the Department of Children and Family Services. In 2013, Fernandez was brutally murdered by his mother and her boyfriend, and it was something that was easily preventable. His teacher had contacted the authorities on multiple accounts, and while they did show up to his residence, they only talked to the perpetrators of the abuse, not bothering to do a welfare check for Fernandez.
The young boy’s heartbreaking story is one of many. The Child Welfare System has too often failed those in need time and time again, ironically neglecting its main role of policing neglect. This all ties back to the Franke children, whose lives may have been lost had Franke’s youngest son not made the impossible decision to escape his abusers.
For those who are unfamiliar with the details of the case, Franke’s youngest son, Russell, escaped Hildebrandt’s home, running to a neighbor's house for help. The 911 call, which was made on August 30, revealed the extent of the horrors Franke’s children had endured. Not only were they deprived of food, but they were restrained and covered in bruises. This injustice likely would not have gotten to this point had child welfare decided to step in, instead remaining complacent.
Arguably, the biggest contributor to this vast issue is the structure of the Child Welfare System in general. The system was never intended to serve the large numbers of struggling children. 1,820 children have died of abuse or neglect, according to the Administration for Children and Families. The irony of this is that the system was created to prevent these tragedies, yet the numbers continue to rise. To offer children support, adequate staffing is a necessity. However, adolescents struggle with a variety of extremes.
In order to aid children through whatever pains they endure, the staff have to be experts in countless areas, including social work, psychology, and human resources and development. Additionally, they should embody nurturing and observant qualities. Psychology itself is a growing field, however, there is little interest in child services. While the mediocre wages are presumably a factor, the occupation itself takes a strong-willed individual who not only handles trauma carefully, but ensures the child ends up in safe hands. Working so closely with suffering kids is certainly heavy on the heart. Not to mention, service workers fulfill an authoritative role. The increasing number of children being rushed into mortality depicts the urgency of effective employment in Child Protective Services. Considering the weight of responsibility and the skill set necessitated by the job, the average pay of around $30 an hour seems awfully low.
Recent studies show that there were only about 30,000 people working in Child Protective Services, bearing the workload of nearly 450,000 cases reported nationwide. This overwhelming number of cases, all in need of careful attention, outnumbers the staff by a longshot. The field is in need of kindhearted and determined minds with the will to contribute to the lives of desolated children. Unfortunately, it seems there are never enough applicants. In desperation, the hiring process is rushed and positions are filled with people of inadequate diligence. Yet, as cases are swept under the rug, they do not disappear. Cries for help are inadvertently suffocated, due to the demands for human expertise and empathy in the investigation process.
Of course, this also brings about the broader issue of child exploitation in the media. Living in the digital age, more and more people have flocked to YouTube or other social media platforms in efforts of making a living; including families. The issue presents itself when a child’s value is reduced to a mere number. Whether this number is in views, likes, or comments, the content shows the children in their rawest form, with no remorse for forcing them into such a cruel spotlight. Perhaps, if controlling children to the point of abuse hadn’t become must see streaming, the Franke children would have been spared. The more the line between privacy and publicity blurs, the more problematic these channels become.
by Emma Toney and Jazmine Blustin
Published October 2 2023
Oshkosh West Index Volume 120 Issue I