NO STATE has passed Federal audit of CPS agencies

Not one.

And yet folks would disempower families, cede their civil liberties, and allow
a cadre of untrained bureaucrats to attempt to raise children.

Since folks are becoming aware of CPS illegalities, a number of lawsuits have
commenced, leading to some fiscal punishment for DHS agencies.


http://www.dailypress.com/news/local...lfare1020oct20
,0,1675385.story?coll=dp-headlines-virginia
Virginia social services officials brace for federal review

By the Associated Press

October 20 2003

RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia's child-welfare program is expected to join the
growing number of state programs that don't measure up to federal reviews.

A federal team evaluated Virginia's child-welfare system this summer and
signaled as much before leaving. While its findings won't be known for at least
another month, social services officials already have begun making changes.

"We did not approach this review as an audit, we approached it as 'this is now
a chance to really make a difference in children's lives and to get some muscle
behind improvements,' " said Cathleen Newbanks, the director of family services
for the state Department of Social Services.

Each state must undergo an extensive assessment of programs such as child
protective services, foster care, adoption and family preservation to determine
whether the federal dollars provided for the services are making a difference.

Of the 45 states that have been reviewed thus far, none has received what would
be considered a passing grade.

This is the first comprehensive federal review conducted on child-welfare
programs. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched the review
process two years ago to comply with an amendment to the 1994 Social Security
Act.

States that fail to meet the federal standards risk the eventual loss of some
of their funding for these programs.

To be rated as strong, a state's child-welfare program must receive a rating of
90 percent on seven factors that fall under the categories of safety,
permanency and well-being.

No state has received that rating in every area, which ranges from a state's
success in protecting children from recurring abuse and neglect, to providing
stable and permanent homes for foster children, to making sure those children's
educational needs are being met.

Federal reviewers detailed some of the areas in which the state can improve.

Virginia needs to do a better job of providing dental and psychiatric services
to youths in foster care, Newbanks said state officials were told.

The state's 121 local social-services departments should have more consistency
in foster care and adoption practices, she said. Currently, each locality can
administer those programs as it desires.

Federal reviewers also said that many of the 7,000 children in the state's
foster-care system remain there too long. The average stay is about 36 months,
Newbanks said.

Since receiving the preliminary findings in July, Newbanks and other state
social-services officials have been working to enhance some of the
child-welfare practices in localities around the state.

Once the state receives the official report from the federal government,
Virginia will be required to submit quarterly reports on improvement efforts
for about two years.

In 2005, a federal team will conduct a follow-up review.

For every area in which the state has not attained a 90 percent rating, a 1
percent penalty on Virginia's federal child-welfare funding will be assessed.
The state receives about $109 million each year.
Copyright © 2003, Daily Press


DESCRIPTORS; FIA, SCF, SRS, DSHS, CYS, CYF, DYFS, ACS, DFYS, DCFS, ILDCFS,
DFACS, CSD,CSB, DCYF,DCS, DCF, DSS, CORPORAL PUNISHMENT, CPS, CHILD PROTECTIVE,
DFS,DHS, DPSS,SoSCF, CPA, DSS