Are we paying for this?*

I really love to know if these people were getting government taxpayer help:

The boy and four of his siblings were placed in the custody of Lee, a maternal uncle who was ordered by the judge not to allow the boy’s parents any contact with him. Lee also agreed to adopt the children if their parents are unable to regain custody. The boy also has an 18-year-old sister who is pregnant.

On Monday afternoon, Lederman, a veteran child-welfare judge with a history of overseeing some of South Florida’s most notorious child-abuse cases, demanded answers.

“He looks like he just came out of Auschwitz,” Lederman said. “This is like a neon sign for child abuse. It would have been obvious to anyone who came in contact with this family the last few years.”

Among those who came in contact: a child-abuse investigator from the Department of Children & Families, a mental health counselor from Jackson Memorial Hospital and educators from the 9-year-old’s school — who called the state’s child abuse hotline recently seeking help for the boy.

Lederman set a hearing for next month to hear from all those people. “It appears to me that there has been gross negligence here,” she said.

------------

*One way or another, we sure are...