Can Y'all Believe They Lost Tekenya Wooten AGAIN??? 12 y.o. nearly 9 Months Pregnant

Remember how relieved the Blogosphere was when Durham police recovered a 12 year old Black girl who was 8 months pregnant named Tekenya Wooten? Well guess what... she ran away again almost a week to the day that they found her:

Durham police located Tekenya Wooten Friday, one day after she was reported as a runaway for a second time in two weeks.

Wooten, 12, is 8 months pregnant. She has been under the supervision of the Lenoir County Department of Social Services but has been placed in Durham.

She was first reported missing on Oct. 18, and a Durham police officer found her unharmed on Gordon Street Oct. 24.

On Thursday, Durham police again reported that she had run away.

"Laws related to juveniles limit what can be done and said about this case. Tekenya has not committed any criminal act as far as we know," Deputy Police Chief Ron Hodge said.

"We are concerned about her safety and the safety of her unborn child," he said.

Tekenya was listed as voluntary runaway, so her disappearance did not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert, Hodge said. NC Wanted

Thank goodness for Wayne over at Electronic Village otherwise I would have thought that the news articles were related to her disappearance two weeks ago which we covered extensively on this blog.

Apparently after y'all raised sand about them reporting Tekenya Wooten missing, and yet refusing to find her, Durham managed to lose a now 8 and a half month pregnant 12 year old again.

Readers over at Electronic Village asked a relevant question what is she running to or running away from? How truly sad for this little girl to be about to give birth and to be literally all alone in this world. She has to be confused, scared and alone. This is what I meant when I said blogs can mount air wars and raise awareness, but you can be a cyber social worker email me if those of you who made contacts with folks in Durham know what if any services she is getting on the ground there in Durham.

Previous Posts

Why in the Heck isn’t Somebody Looking for Tekenya Wooten (12 y.o- 8 months Pregnant)
WE CARE ABOUT Tekenya Wooten—-”Run-A-Way” IS “High Risk” (UPDATED 10/24)
Durham Police Chief Responds-Tekenya Wooten Found

Comments

[miriam]

Yep scared and alone -I definitely sense that. I hope the home won't take away her baby from her (if she doesn't want). but then again I don't know what's best.

[miriam]

oops I guess they found her again.

[gem2001]

Miriam I am beginning to wonder if THAT's why she is running because she knows they are going to take her child and yes, almost immediately after th baby is born they will likely take the child away. Maybe she is running to maintain the only "family" she's got.

[miriam]

I don't know how she got preg. and I don't know what other will say, but I think its so beautiful. The lioness in her has kicked in already to protect the "cub". I pray she also gets the voice to roar and demand what she needs to be a good mother to her baby and a happy woman. She will have to be fierce (against judgement criticism society, etc) and its not going to be easy. May God give her the strength.

[gem2001]

Miriam, we don't know that.

[Spinster]

Where is her family?

Why is she in a group home?

Who had the disgusting gall to impregnate an 11 year old girl?

What or who is she running away from?

Why has she not been classified as high risk? She's 12 and pregnant, for the love of god.

I quit.

[JS]

Umm, Miriam, I'm not trying to be snaky but this is a 12 year old girl, not a woman. She isn't even a teenager yet and was impregnated when she was 11. Unfortunately, don't be surprised if Tekenya Wooten winds up dead. At her tender young age both, herself and her child could die during the birthing process if she doesn't get critical natal health care.

I feel gravely sorry that this little girl has no one to defend her. A group home is not a suitable or safe living situation for a minor. Orphans and abandoned children have traditionally been taken advantage of throughout history. If you meditate on this situation, it makes your soul cry.

[Roslyn Holcomb]

I can't speak for NC, but I know that in AL they would not automatically take her baby away. Being 12 yo is not automatic grounds for having your parental rights terminated. When I worked I had several cases like this and you find a placement that will take both mother and child. Of course, if you're dealing with someone with emotional, psychological or behavioral problems it increases the difficulty.

Unless she in some abuses or neglects the child, there are no grounds to remove the child from her.

I would imagine she's running away from the group home because she doesn't want to be there. Nobody wants to be in foster care, no matter how nice the facility is. Most children prefer to be with their families of origin, even if the it is abusive or neglectful. (Not saying her family of origin is either.) Bottom line is, without any evidence to contradict it, we have to assume that this girl is running away because she wants to return home.

[Roslyn Holcomb]

And, as I said before, under normal circumstances you put a runner in a locked facility. I don't know of any locked facility that will take a girl who is pregnant. (Lord knows I tried.) Given those circumstances, I'm not surprised that they can't keep their hands on her. It's almost impossible to retain someone without locks if they don't want to be retained. So, I can't really so bad on the authorities there. I've been there myself, more than once.

[thewhitefanofgina]

Why can't just someone sit down with this girl and ask her what she really wants herself? Where she wants to live and what she wants to do with herself and her baby. Maybe that will make her stop running away.

[gem2001]

@whitefanofgina

The solutions are never simple when it comes to children being raised by the government especially one who was impregnated at 11. You assume this child has any sensible reasoning ability at all. I am trying to remember being 11 and 12 and I don't think I had enough judgment to answer the questions you have for her.

She's 12, she shouldn't be burdened with responsibility for determining where her food shelter and clothing is coming from. It should just be there.

[Naima]

Ok, she must think or know they are going to take her kid away. I am assuming the only way she can keep it is if they find a foster home willing to take mother and child.
People who choose to reproduce must take building families more seriously. Where are any of her biological family members.
I don't think there is anyway the gov't can build a "good" foster care system. I mean someone being paid to take care of someone?
Does this girl have a drug problem?

[Naima]

when I mean choose to reproduce I am talking about her mom and dad not Tekeyna. Oh nevermind her mom is probably only 25 or something.

[Monica]

How in the hell did this happen?

Why couldn't they put her in a foster home with adults who have experience with at-risk children?

[Roslyn Holcomb]

I assume that they have put her in a home for children who are at-risk. In AL we called them therapeutic foster homes. Those foster parents receive special training, and are ersatz therapists to work with these type children. However, and again, I hate to keep saying this, but short of locking her up, there's no way to keep this girl if she doesn't want to be kept.

As for sitting down and talking to her, presumably that has already been done. It's pretty commonplace to try to discuss these issues with young people in these typ situations, but again, there's no way to hold onto if she doesn't want to be held.

[Monica]

Roslyn,

Isn't the AL system of placement based on the county instead of the state?

I was born and raised in AL (the Black Belt) and I can recall off hand two young girl who became pregnant and couldn't remain in the home. One was placed with a family member and the other was placed in a foster home. I don't recall a group home in the county.

[1moregem]

At this point because this child is a high risk pregnancy at 8 1/2 month why haven't they tried to hospitalize her? It would not be hard to justify her hospitalization. The guv'ment has found ways to institutionalize people for lesser reasons. She and her baby would be hooked up to monitors and someone would know when she moved, coughed, or looked crazy. IThis is a basic common-sense move. The other thing is that if she is receiving any adequate pre-natal care (and at this point she should be going weekly) some doctor with a reasonable portion of sense would have hospitalized this child, if only to keep an eye on her.

For all of the reasonable, experienced, experts in Durham, how about doing a cost analysis of the costs involved to locate this child and do damage control everytime she runs away vs. the cost of a high risk pre natal hospitalization vs. the costs of a traumatic birth (which it will be at the age of 12) with subsequent hospitalization and a baby born with a possible disability being cared for by the state for the rest of the its life. Oh and the costs Tekenya receiving mental health services for post-traumatic stress disorder. If she doesn't have PTSD already, she and I surely will by the time this child has her baby.

[Roslyn Holcomb]

Yes Monica, placement is on a county basis. I think I read that she is from Lenoir county, yet for some reason they have her in Durham. My guess, and this would only be a guess, is that they placed her out of county because they didn't have a facility for a pregnant child in her home county.

Facilities for pregnant teens (or children) are rare and hard to come by.

Again, I can't speak for NC, but in AL, hospitalizing someone is a major undertaking. You have to have two psychiatrists sign off on the order indicating that she is mentally ill, AND a danger to herself and/or others. You have to have an overt act, and that overt act must occur within fairly close proximity to the request for hospitalization. Merely running away probably does not rise to the level of an overt act, though it might depending on the laws in NC.

And again, you'd have to find a hospital willing to take on the liability issues of a pregnant child who is a chronic runaway. Good luck with that.

[LorMarie]

I wonder if she's running from abuse.

[Roslyn Holcomb]

If I had to lay odds I'd say she's either running to the boyfriend or back to her family of origin.

[wisdomteachesme]

hi to all,
i am from durham and now live about 20 miles outside of durham.
it is very sad what is going on with this little girl.

she is from lenoir, nc--which is what we call the foothills here--it's about 2 1/2 hrs from durham.
we were trying to figure out how she got to a group home that far from her hometown. it could be that the group homes there are full or and cannot handle a pregnant client.

they will not put her in the hospital to keep her 'safe' as that would be another expense for the state to pay- unless she is a druggie or hurts herself, ie- a cutter or suicidal they will not take her baby from her in this state-oh, or unless she is a ward of the state.

she keeps going back to the same neighborhood--full of crime, prostitutes and drugs--my best thought is that either she is running to the baby's father, or another male that has taken her in--or a friend that is now back home.
true, trying to talk with a child like this is the best way to find out what is going on--but if she will not talk -- no one can help her.

[LorMarie]

I was recently contacted by a woman at an NC church who would like to help Tekenya. Would someone drop me aline via email regarding who should be contacted to help this Tekenya (group home, social worker, etc.)

please send info/advice to nyauthor12@aol.com