In Newton, Massachusetts, Framingham man is facing child endangerment charges after police say he left his 3 children — ages 5,3, & 9 months old — inside a car in sub-freezing temperatures for about an hour while he was in court. (USA Today 1/16/2015, p. 9A)

While this was certainly a poor decision on the mans part, it’s also a perfect example of how society creates it’s own messes and sets people up to fail.  Low income parents, faced with the prospect of getting arrested for not going to court and with no access to a child sitter, do drastic things.  It’s unfortunate that we’ll now spend thousands more of time and  money condemning this man than it would have taken to offer him assistance.