wexwimpy
December 10th 04, 03:20 PM
On notice Reform essential for foster-care agency
Last update: December 09, 2004
Every year, the state takes responsibility for the safety of thousands
of children at risk of abuse or neglect.
In the worst cases, children are placed in foster homes, in
preparation for being returned to their families or put up for
adoption. Ensuring child safety is a heavy burden, and it has caused
state officials to stumble more than once.
A few years ago, Florida embarked on an experiment that shifted the
responsibility for foster care to private agencies. The move troubled
many who saw child welfare as a fundamental responsibility of
government. They worried that foster care would become tangled in
issues of profitability, competition and turf.
Those concerns have come to life in Volusia and Flagler counties,
where the non-profit agency running the foster-care system is plagued
with performance problems.
It may be time to pull the plug. Community-Based Care of Volusia and
Flagler Counties, a subsidiary of the Childrens Home Society, has had
problems ever since it started to provide foster care services. A
year-long review that ended August 31 shows that the non-profit
agency's performance is still falling short of the contract
requirements. Recent scandals over caseworkers falsifying reports and
skipping required visits only add to concerns.
CBC officials say many problems brought up in the review have been
addressed. And they point -- justifiably -- to funding as a key issue.
Other regions still recieve more money to do the same job.
But that isn't the whole explanation, especially since CBC's
performance has been slipping even as funding increased. If it expects
to keep its contract, the agency should show rapid improvement. That
includes making sure that children are receiving health care and
counseling, and that caseworkers are keeping watch over children and
their parents in cases where families could eventually be reunited.
CBC officials say they've already made major improvements in the three
months since the last review period ended. But they've had the
contract for three years -- and they've promised major improvements
before. Those promises get harder to believe each time.
Administrators with the state Department of Children and Families put
CBC on notice last week, giving the agency 60 days to show significant
improvement or lose its contract. It's a tough but fair approach,
given that children's lives are at stake.
CBC needs fundamental changes. Local children's advocates say that one
of the agency's biggest problems is that it's too self-contained. CBC
is responsible for handling individual cases -- but also for
overseeing how those cases are handled. And its five-person board is
dominated by three Childrens Home Society employees and one former
employee. That's too cozy. There should be more independent oversight.
CBC officials say they're seeking more local community board members.
Lucy Hadi, the new Department of Children and Families secretary,
takes that even further, saying she'd like to see the board controlled
by members of the community with no pre-existing ties to CBC or CHS.
That's a good idea: It can't be community based care until the
community has control over child-safety efforts.
The entire privatization effort is an experiment. In Volusia and
Flagler counties that experiment is falling short of its goals.
The failures aren't just paperwork and percentages: They're boys and
girls whose lives are irretrievably altered while CBC and the state
struggle to get it right. More failure and excuses can't be tolerated.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Editorials/03OpOPN33120904.htm
Defend your civil liberties! Get information at http://www.aclu.org, become a member at http://www.aclu.org/join and get active at http://www.aclu.org/action.
Last update: December 09, 2004
Every year, the state takes responsibility for the safety of thousands
of children at risk of abuse or neglect.
In the worst cases, children are placed in foster homes, in
preparation for being returned to their families or put up for
adoption. Ensuring child safety is a heavy burden, and it has caused
state officials to stumble more than once.
A few years ago, Florida embarked on an experiment that shifted the
responsibility for foster care to private agencies. The move troubled
many who saw child welfare as a fundamental responsibility of
government. They worried that foster care would become tangled in
issues of profitability, competition and turf.
Those concerns have come to life in Volusia and Flagler counties,
where the non-profit agency running the foster-care system is plagued
with performance problems.
It may be time to pull the plug. Community-Based Care of Volusia and
Flagler Counties, a subsidiary of the Childrens Home Society, has had
problems ever since it started to provide foster care services. A
year-long review that ended August 31 shows that the non-profit
agency's performance is still falling short of the contract
requirements. Recent scandals over caseworkers falsifying reports and
skipping required visits only add to concerns.
CBC officials say many problems brought up in the review have been
addressed. And they point -- justifiably -- to funding as a key issue.
Other regions still recieve more money to do the same job.
But that isn't the whole explanation, especially since CBC's
performance has been slipping even as funding increased. If it expects
to keep its contract, the agency should show rapid improvement. That
includes making sure that children are receiving health care and
counseling, and that caseworkers are keeping watch over children and
their parents in cases where families could eventually be reunited.
CBC officials say they've already made major improvements in the three
months since the last review period ended. But they've had the
contract for three years -- and they've promised major improvements
before. Those promises get harder to believe each time.
Administrators with the state Department of Children and Families put
CBC on notice last week, giving the agency 60 days to show significant
improvement or lose its contract. It's a tough but fair approach,
given that children's lives are at stake.
CBC needs fundamental changes. Local children's advocates say that one
of the agency's biggest problems is that it's too self-contained. CBC
is responsible for handling individual cases -- but also for
overseeing how those cases are handled. And its five-person board is
dominated by three Childrens Home Society employees and one former
employee. That's too cozy. There should be more independent oversight.
CBC officials say they're seeking more local community board members.
Lucy Hadi, the new Department of Children and Families secretary,
takes that even further, saying she'd like to see the board controlled
by members of the community with no pre-existing ties to CBC or CHS.
That's a good idea: It can't be community based care until the
community has control over child-safety efforts.
The entire privatization effort is an experiment. In Volusia and
Flagler counties that experiment is falling short of its goals.
The failures aren't just paperwork and percentages: They're boys and
girls whose lives are irretrievably altered while CBC and the state
struggle to get it right. More failure and excuses can't be tolerated.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Editorials/03OpOPN33120904.htm
Defend your civil liberties! Get information at http://www.aclu.org, become a member at http://www.aclu.org/join and get active at http://www.aclu.org/action.