California / California Watch / Child Custody / Child Custody / Child Protective Services / Child Welfare / Domestic Violence / Family Court / Family Court Reform / San Marcos Abduction Attempt / The Smiel Series
From Safe Haven to Systemic Betrayal: How San Diego’s Polinsky Children’s Center Failed the Smiel Family
Hundreds of lawsuits, state violations, and survivor accounts paint a devastating portrait of San Diego County’s flagship children’s shelter — the same facility where Giselle Smiel’s kids were taken before being handed to their abusive father.
Polinsky’s story reveals how California’s “child-protection” pipeline can deliver children straight back into danger.
