What is with this fear of nudity that runs through this thread? Surely it's a matter of context, culture and common sense.

In the seventies, I spent many a summer in the city of Campeche in the Yucatan peninsula, where my father is from. First of all, we mostly ran around in our underwear all day. And secondly, whenever there was a rain shower, every man woman and child in my grandparents' neighborhood would traipse outside in their underwear, a lot of the children buck naked, and take impromptu showers on the street. We all enjoyed ourselves tremendously. Were we savages? Were all our parents bad parents? Photos were taken by my father, who was capturing a social/cultural phenomenon in bright Kodachrome. Was he a pornographer?

Now I have a two-year-old son who, whenever we're at the park, will pull his shirt and pants off and will throw a fit when I don't let him pull his diaper off. The kid wants to be naked. But I can't let him. Can I? I live in the USA, where some of you psychos may want to lock me and my wife up in a prison (where we can find and accept Jesus Christ), and send my son to a foster family so he can be fed Ramen noodles and tied to a bedpost. Just as long as he keeps his clothes on.

"What is with this fear of nudity that runs through this thread? Surely it's a matter of context, culture and common sense."

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Exactly. And in this culture, for whatever reason or collection of reasons, we don't have common sense about nudity. Therefore, if you're an adult, take your own clothes off if you want to, but don't make that choice for your children unless you're all in the lively, nudity-healthy context you described.

Ok, here goes, I found my original database.

Every year there is exactly the same discrepancy in their budget requirements and a very close similarity to “screened in” versus “screened out” investigations. I know that looking at the numbers may be confusing but simply look at line 3. and 6. you will notice every year and almost every fiscal quarter there are virtually the exactly the same screened in rate and screened out rate, as well as actual support rate and actual unsupport rate. Kind of uncanny huh?

Furthermore, if you read my note at the end of both fiscal year 02 and 03 the actual support rate is EXACTLY 7 percentage points above the actual number given in the report. I did this research back in ’04 and haven’t updated it yet but am thinking of revisiting the issue and exposing these people for what they are. You and your children are nothing but numbers used to justify their salaries and budget expenditures. Be worried, be very very worried.

2002

1.Total 51A Reports...........67,366

2.Reports Screened In.........43,910__________23,456......Reports Screened Out

3.Screen In Rate.................65%__________35%.........Screened Out Rate

4.Supported Investigations....21,103__________22,807......Unsupported Investigations

5.Support Rate...................48%__________52%.........Unsupported Rate

6.Actual Support Rate............31%__________69%.........Actual Unsupported Rate

Note: The report concludes that the actual support rate is 55% when the actual rate is 48%

Page 1 DSS Area Office Statistics – Statewide Totals 2002

2003

1.Total 51A Reports...........68,404

2.Reports Screened In.........44,672__________23,732......Reports Screened Out

3.Screen In Rate.................65%__________35%.........Screened Out Rate

4.Supported Investigations....21,834__________22,838......Unsupported Investigations

5.Support Rate...................49%__________51%.........Unsupported Rate

6.Actual Support Rate 32% 68% Actual Unsupported Rate

Note: The report concludes that the actual support rate is 56% when the actual rate is 49%

Page 1 DSS Area Office Statistics Statewide Totals 2003

2004(Q3)

1.Total 51A Reports...........18,446

2.Reports Screened In.........12,015__________6,431.......Reports Screened Out

3.Screen In Rate.................65%__________35%.........Screened Out Rate

4.Supported Investigations.....5,603__________6,412.......Unsupported Investigations

5.Support Rate...................47%__________53%.........Unsupported Rate

6.Actual Support Rate............30%__________70%.........Actual Unsupported Rate

Page 47 DSS Quarterly Report FY 2004 3RD Quarter – Maltreatment Reports, Investigations and DA Referrals

2004(Q4)

1.Total 51A Reports...........18,492

2.Reports Screened In.........11,835***_______6,657.......Reports Screened Out

3.Screen In Rate.................64%__________36%.........Screened Out Rate

4.Supported Investigations.....5,934__________5,901.......Unsupported Investigations

5.Support Rate...................50%__________50%.........Unsupported Rate

6.Actual Support Rate............32%__________68%.........Actual Unsupported Rate

Page 47 DSS Quarterly Report FY 2004 4th Quarter – Maltreatment Reports, Investigations and DA Referrals.

***1,361 Investigations pending.

I can not believe that you had to go through that. I have two kids, six and two and I can totally relate to the joy of camping and spending simple time with your kids...and to have it turned against you! All I can say is I am truly sorry for anyone that has experienced the absurdity of what you went through.

Hopefully your story will inspire others to be careful developing photos, etc... Thank you for this cautionary tale.

Must have been my wife and kids who next used that campsite, where the fire was put out so creatively.

Just kidding.

I blame it on feminism, too. Wasn't that kind of hysteria during the very conservative, religious '50's and 60's when I grew up and skinnydipping at YMCAs was routine.

Feminist victimology has gotten everyone's panties in a twist for fun and profit and government jobs and power.

Read "The War Against Boys" by Christina Hoff Sommers, or "One Nation Under Therapy" by the same author.

male = demon

Such funny asshole-y responses. thanks. i got a good chuckle reading how you all responded to so many things I didn't even say, or imply.

You're right, Rich, I forgot about you Catholics and the communion wine - and look how GREAT all of you turned out. No child pornographers or molesters there!

Under federal law, if I emailed my traditional baby picture of me bare on a bearskin rug, to ME, I could become a felon!

But then again, any and all pictures of nudist children that are not blatantly sexual are protected and legal.

So a 100% explicit picture of a minor at a naturist facility is perfectly legal.

But that same picture at a private campground is a felony.

Like it or not, that is federal law...

IMHO, only a practicing or latent child molester would ever consider a picture of children skinny dipping to be child pornography.

That needs to be addressed in court!

The trouble with "erring on the side of the child" is that families where NOTHING BAD IS GOING ON get put through hell--and you better believe that this includes the children as well as the parents. It is very upsetting and traumatic for a child to be put through an investigation of the sort that Mr. Jenkins describes. Even if the parents try to hide it, the children know something is going on. In states where such investigations involve removing children from their homes and placing them in foster care, the children's suffering is incalculable. There is bound to be long-term damage from such trauma, but even if there weren't, it is no trivial thing to cause a young child such suffering even for a short period.

How do you balance the very real effect of such investigations on wrongly accused families vs. the risk of possibly overlooking an instance of real abuse? Does it make sense to ruin--that is not too strong a word--the innocence, happiness and security of 9 families (say, 13 or 14 kids, some of whom will actually be removed from their families for no reason whatever) to save (say) one child from actual abuse? Or is this an instance of destroying the village in order to save it?

Laws concerning mandatory reporting, and the agencies that carry them out, cannot possibly do what they are intended to unless all parties are properly trained and decently supervised, as well as having the right motives and a large dose of common sense.