Wex Wimpy
August 20th 03, 03:50 PM
Florida fails its kids
By Stephanie Erickson Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted August 19 2003
Florida is failing to protect its children, a new federal study
concludes, and the state's child-welfare system could lose millions of
dollars in the next few years if there are no improvements.
The state Department of Children & Families has until April 2005 to
show progress toward correcting lapses to avoid a $3.6 million penalty
and the stigma that it cannot take care of some of its most vulnerable
citizens.
Federal officials for the first time are measuring how well children
are faring across state systems created to protect them. And most are
falling short, according to the Child and Family Service Reviews
mandated by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Nearly half ofthe 32 states reviewed have failedall seven areas,
including how well children are protected from abuse and neglect and
whether children are bouncing from one foster home to the next, never
able to put down roots.
Florida, which already has submitted a required improvement plan,
failed six of seven areas after reviews of 50 abuse and neglect cases
and interviews with more than 100 judges, attorneys, foster parents
and others who work with the child-protection system.
Among the recommendations Florida should speed up how quickly it
begins investigating child-abuse complaints and improve services to
ensure children's physical and mental health needs are met.
"When it comes to rhetoric around protecting children, we are not in
short supply," said Jack Levine, president of Voices for Florida's
Children, a statewide advocacy organization based in Tallahassee.
"But when it comes to the reality of investing the dollars needed to
prevent child abuse, to preserve families or to assist foster children
when they are removed from home, there are many too many slogans but
not enough solutions."
The Children's Bureau, part of the Department of Health and Human
Services, is administering the reviews.
However, critics say the reviews are flawed, in part because 50 cases
are only a fraction of any state's caseload.
Those critics, including state officials and outside experts, point to
one measure in the review that focuses on reuniting children and
parents, a commonly accepted goal among child-welfare advocates.
The review counts how many children were reunited with their parents
within a year and how many adoptions were finalized within two years.
But neither measure looks at the entire caseload to calculate the
likelihood of reunification or adoption.
In addition, the data from several states, including Florida, are two
years old.
Federal officials say the review paints an accurate picture and that
the process marks a turning point in child welfare.
Reviews of all states will be completedby the end of next year. To
pass, 90 percent of the cases reviewed must be in compliance with
federal standards and, in some cases, data must meet national
standards.
In the past, before the new requirements, reviews did not provide
states with opportunities to make improvements before penalties were
imposed.
Now, states must write improvement plans. A second round of tests will
determinewhether states made promised changes, before federal
officials determine which states should lose federal child-welfare
money.
Maximum penalties proposed range from $130,000 in Delaware, which
failed six of seven measures, to more than $18 million for California,
which failed all seven.
"There is a lot of work to be done," said Joan Ohl, commissioner of
the Administration for Children, Youth and Families at the Department
of Health and Human Services. "It's a daunting task."
DCF spokesman Bob Brooks said Florida's improvement plan is one of
only a few already approved by federal officials.
The agency's improvement plan outlines goals to lighten caseloads by
increasing staff, ensure that workers are well trained before having a
full caseload and build partnerships with communities to address
specific needs in those areas.
DCF officials said Monday that the agency already has reduced the
number of backlogged child-protection investigations. The number of
protective investigators will be increasedJan. 1, 2004, and the base
pay for child-welfare frontline social workers will be increased by
July 1, DCF spokeswoman Jackie Cooper said.
Levine said Florida's plan will not work without more state dollars
committed to improving children's programs.
"A great plan is a cookbook -- I want to know who is going to deliver
the groceries," he said. "We've known now for decades that you cannot
protect children on the cheap."
Many child-welfare agencies, including DCF, did receive more money
this year when Gov. Jeb Bush signed the state budget. But critics say
it wasn't nearly enough to keep up with the need created by Florida's
fast-growing population.
The result is that many programs -- including nonprofit Jeppesen
VisionQuest, which provides free vision exams and eyeglasses for
children -- took significant cuts.
Levine called the state's possible loss of dollars as a result of the
new study a "great irony."
"We have failed to invest adequately and for that failure we can now
be fined and punished by withholding of additional dollars," he said.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/orl-asecchildren19081903aug19.story
By Stephanie Erickson Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted August 19 2003
Florida is failing to protect its children, a new federal study
concludes, and the state's child-welfare system could lose millions of
dollars in the next few years if there are no improvements.
The state Department of Children & Families has until April 2005 to
show progress toward correcting lapses to avoid a $3.6 million penalty
and the stigma that it cannot take care of some of its most vulnerable
citizens.
Federal officials for the first time are measuring how well children
are faring across state systems created to protect them. And most are
falling short, according to the Child and Family Service Reviews
mandated by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Nearly half ofthe 32 states reviewed have failedall seven areas,
including how well children are protected from abuse and neglect and
whether children are bouncing from one foster home to the next, never
able to put down roots.
Florida, which already has submitted a required improvement plan,
failed six of seven areas after reviews of 50 abuse and neglect cases
and interviews with more than 100 judges, attorneys, foster parents
and others who work with the child-protection system.
Among the recommendations Florida should speed up how quickly it
begins investigating child-abuse complaints and improve services to
ensure children's physical and mental health needs are met.
"When it comes to rhetoric around protecting children, we are not in
short supply," said Jack Levine, president of Voices for Florida's
Children, a statewide advocacy organization based in Tallahassee.
"But when it comes to the reality of investing the dollars needed to
prevent child abuse, to preserve families or to assist foster children
when they are removed from home, there are many too many slogans but
not enough solutions."
The Children's Bureau, part of the Department of Health and Human
Services, is administering the reviews.
However, critics say the reviews are flawed, in part because 50 cases
are only a fraction of any state's caseload.
Those critics, including state officials and outside experts, point to
one measure in the review that focuses on reuniting children and
parents, a commonly accepted goal among child-welfare advocates.
The review counts how many children were reunited with their parents
within a year and how many adoptions were finalized within two years.
But neither measure looks at the entire caseload to calculate the
likelihood of reunification or adoption.
In addition, the data from several states, including Florida, are two
years old.
Federal officials say the review paints an accurate picture and that
the process marks a turning point in child welfare.
Reviews of all states will be completedby the end of next year. To
pass, 90 percent of the cases reviewed must be in compliance with
federal standards and, in some cases, data must meet national
standards.
In the past, before the new requirements, reviews did not provide
states with opportunities to make improvements before penalties were
imposed.
Now, states must write improvement plans. A second round of tests will
determinewhether states made promised changes, before federal
officials determine which states should lose federal child-welfare
money.
Maximum penalties proposed range from $130,000 in Delaware, which
failed six of seven measures, to more than $18 million for California,
which failed all seven.
"There is a lot of work to be done," said Joan Ohl, commissioner of
the Administration for Children, Youth and Families at the Department
of Health and Human Services. "It's a daunting task."
DCF spokesman Bob Brooks said Florida's improvement plan is one of
only a few already approved by federal officials.
The agency's improvement plan outlines goals to lighten caseloads by
increasing staff, ensure that workers are well trained before having a
full caseload and build partnerships with communities to address
specific needs in those areas.
DCF officials said Monday that the agency already has reduced the
number of backlogged child-protection investigations. The number of
protective investigators will be increasedJan. 1, 2004, and the base
pay for child-welfare frontline social workers will be increased by
July 1, DCF spokeswoman Jackie Cooper said.
Levine said Florida's plan will not work without more state dollars
committed to improving children's programs.
"A great plan is a cookbook -- I want to know who is going to deliver
the groceries," he said. "We've known now for decades that you cannot
protect children on the cheap."
Many child-welfare agencies, including DCF, did receive more money
this year when Gov. Jeb Bush signed the state budget. But critics say
it wasn't nearly enough to keep up with the need created by Florida's
fast-growing population.
The result is that many programs -- including nonprofit Jeppesen
VisionQuest, which provides free vision exams and eyeglasses for
children -- took significant cuts.
Levine called the state's possible loss of dollars as a result of the
new study a "great irony."
"We have failed to invest adequately and for that failure we can now
be fined and punished by withholding of additional dollars," he said.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/orl-asecchildren19081903aug19.story