Our "Precious" System

So, I did it. I, along with thousands of others, went to see the highly anticipated, Oprah Winfrey-backed movie, Precious, this weekend. I rarely go to see a movie during its opening weekend, but all the buzz had me in a tizzy. The movie is based on the novel Push by Sapphire. It examines abuse through the eyes and life of a 16 year-old girl in inner city New York, Harlem to be exact.

I don’t really know if I had any expectations for the movie. Oprah has made it her mission to publicize this movie since she decided to be a part of it…and it worked. The movie didn’t surprise me, but it was what I expected…a good film. That is what I always expect when I go to the theatre and this didn’t disappoint. Precious reminded me of the broken social services system we have. The state government is supposed to provide services to those who need and qualify for them. The kind of abuse that this girl suffered throughout her young life is all too commonplace. The abuse, while disgusting, is not the most disturbing part of the film.

The most disturbing part of the film is the gross neglect by the system that is on vivid display. Everyone has failed this girl. How is it that a 16 year-old girl is still in junior high school, unable to read and no one seems to notice? To add insult to injury, she is pregnant with a second child and the social worker’s home visits are paltry, at best. She asks the most basic questions and doesn’t conduct a home check. Yes, this is a movie, but it is an honest portrayal of a broken system and its lackluster foot soldiers. Precious demystifies the system. It removes the veil on so many ugly, awful truths about our society and how we don’t care for the downtrodden and less fortunate. Would this have occurred if Precious and her family lived in Middle Class, USA? Is she a victim of her socioeconomic status? I think that is easily answered.

This is about more than lack of follow through and interest by social workers and teachers. It is about a lack of training and the missing system of checks and balances. These employees are wards of the state and often times aren’t provided with resources to do their jobs. At the end of the day, it’s a numbers game. How many homes did you visit? How many people were you able to deny benefits? Performance standards could and should be in place, but the system is broken. People are falling through the cracks every day.

According to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, there were 161,580 child protective service reports in New York State 2008, 58,749 were from New York City. This is one piece of a larger puzzle. Here’s a thought: maybe the system is not broken at all and this is a systematic way to keep a class system in place. The lower class has to exist in order for these services to be viable. If the lower class was actually allowed to move up, there would not be a need for many of these agencies and their services or better yet, disservice. How many real-life Precious Jones’ exist today? More important, do we care? If so, we need to examine our social services just as we have done with healthcare. I hear a call for more reform.