Here are a few things to read while you’re recovering from staying up too late for three straight nights watching the World Series…..
We all know the child welfare system is reactive, not proactive, and Maine is the latest example. Following a series of child deaths, the State’s agency hired Casey Family Programs to conduct a review. They recommended a number of reforms such as improving relationships and information-sharing among child welfare, law enforcement, and medical personnel. But, as the Portland Press-Herald noted, “Many of the ongoing problems with the child protective system date back years or even decades. The state has a long history of making reforms, often in response to specific tragedies, but it has never truly overhauled the system.” To work, reform has to be systemic and continual and supportive of frontline staff.
Texas a few years began shifting to a system in which private agencies manage the placement of children in care rather than Texas DFPS. This article indicates that program is continuing to expand statewide, but I think it gets the details a bit wrong. Judges still control whether a child is placed in care. But the Community-Based Care organization in charge of the region handles the details of the child’s level of care and can move the child among various placements but with a “no eject, no reject” policy. It’ll be interested to see how this idea works out. According to this article, Texas has lost a number of foster care facilities over the past couple of years.
Following reports of problems in its foster care system, which apparently has the highest per-capita foster care rates in the country, West Virginia is looking for reforms. An advocacy group has made recommendations including the creation of a family leadership council of birth and foster parents and a database to share information with the public on children in care. While the agency says the database would be expensive, I’d disagree. Maybe they should just join this group. Or take lessons from states like Oregon, which seems to have reduced its foster care population by 20% over the past year or so.
In Oklahoma, a mother is being criminally charged with failing to protect her son from his death at the hands of her boyfriend, who is now dead. This editorial raises good questions about the fairness of the charges. We all know that women and children who are in situations of domestic violence often are trapped unless someone reaches out to help them.
Finally, I’m going to write this week’s column on the movement to reform child welfare systems by de-emphasizing child protection on the basis that CPS systems unfairly target poor minorities. In a similar vein with the “defund the police” movement, organizations are re-branding child welfare as the “family regulation system” and promoting such ideas as ending mandated reporting. At the same time, a study is out arguing that increased state spending for poor families will reduce child abuse, suggesting (falsely?) a link between abuse and poverty.
Want to move to Venice, Italy and get paid to be a child welfare expert? Here’s a job for you!