A village once raised the child. Now a form does, pending review
In Jersey, the government repays parents for the keeping of their own children, provided the correct paper is submitted. The paper of record is the receipt. The bill, a nearly identical paper, is refused. Committees now convene to explain the difference. This is what remains of the village.
Understand: the money is not the shame. Supporting the raising of children is among the few correct uses of a treasury. The shame is the maze. A mother with an infant on one arm should not require guidance documents to be made whole. The old test of any system was simple: could a tired person use it at night? No system passes anymore. They are not built to pass.
One mother reports bearing her children back-to-back, foregoing rest, to fit the shape of work. Read that twice. The household once set the calendar and the fields obeyed it. Now the calendar is set elsewhere, and the household bends.
Still — 409 families steadied, £1.4m moved, a trust that fronts the money for those who cannot. Some beams in this house are sound. Simplify the form. Then rest.