SavetheChildren2009
Desperate Children In Need!
Jurisdiction Grade Chart
Abused Children Dying Under Shroud of State Secrecy
Tue Apr 29, 2008 1:30pm EDT
Report Shows Most States Fail to Release Information Critical to Exposing and
Resolving Systemic Problems in Child Abuse Prevention Systems
WASHINGTON, April 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The majority of U.S.
states fail to release adequate information about fatal and life-threatening
child abuse cases, adhering to misguided and secretive policies that place
confidentiality above the welfare of children and prevent public scrutiny that
would lead to systemic reforms, according to a report released today by First
Star and the University of San Diego School of Law's Children's Advocacy
Institute (CAI), two leading national child advocacy groups.
Only a handful of states fully comply with the legislative intent of
federal law mandating public disclosure of the deaths and near deaths of
abused or neglected children, according to the report, entitled State Secrecy
and Child Deaths in the U.S. The report's authors argue that states withhold
critical information that would hold child welfare systems accountable and
avert future tragedies. First Star and CAI released their findings at a
Capitol Hill briefing today.
The report issues letter grades from "A" to "F" based on an analysis of
the child death and near death disclosure laws and policies of all 50 U.S.
states and the District of Columbia. Only six states -- Nevada, New
Hampshire, California, Indiana, Iowa and Oregon -- receive top grades of "A"
or "A-." Twenty-eight states receive a "C+" or lower grade. Ten states flunked
entirely: Georgia, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania,
South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Vermont received a grade of "F" (see
attached chart).
"When abuse or neglect lead to a child's death or near death, a state's
interest in confidentiality becomes secondary to the interests of taxpayers,
advocates and other children, who would be better served by maximum
transparency," said Amy Harfeld, First Star's Executive Director and a
co-author of the report. "Once we know what is broken, we can try to fix it."
Approximately 1,500 children die each year in the U.S. as a result of
child abuse and neglect. Countless more suffer life-threatening injuries.
First Star and CAI are calling on Congress and individual state Legislatures
to adopt stronger policies and laws that demand closer examination of the
handling of child abuse cases that result in child deaths or near deaths.
"The current emphasis on confidentiality only masks the problems inherent
in child protection systems," said Robert C. Fellmeth, CAI Executive Director
and Price Professor of Public Interest Law at the USD School of Law. "Public
exposure is a critical step toward fixing these problems."
All 50 states and the District of Columbia accept federal funds under the
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). To be eligible for funding,
states are supposed to have provisions that "allow for public disclosure of
the findings or information about" abuse or neglect cases that result in child
death or life-threatening injuries. But few states adequately comply, in part
because the public disclosure requirement in CAPTA leaves too much room for
interpretation.
The Report highlights Massachusetts as an example of a state in need of
reform. In Massachusetts in 2005, Haleigh Poutre, then 11, was allegedly
beaten into a coma by her foster parents. The Department of Social Services
had received and dismissed at least 14 separate reports of prior suspected
abuse.
First Star and CAI are pushing for changes in state and federal laws,
including: -- Clarified language in federal law (CAPTA). CAI and First Star
acknowledge that the public disclosure mandate as written in federal
law is vague and leaves too much room for interpretation. They support
changes that would clarify and strengthen disclosure requirements so
states know how to comply with the intent of the legislation.
-- Amendments to state policies and laws. To make disclosure policies more
enforceable, the advocacy groups want state Legislatures to more
clearly articulate and strengthen their policies and modify their
statutes to require maximum transparency in cases of death and near
death caused by abuse or neglect.
-- Separating disclosures from criminal proceedings. Currently, some
states, such as Minnesota and North Carolina, will not release
information about a child fatality or near fatality unless a person is
criminally charged. Disclosures should not be dependent on a district
attorney's decision to prosecute.
"Child abuse deaths and near deaths reflect the system's worst failures,"
said CAI's Emily Reinig, the report's chief author. "Unfortunately, it is
often only through such cases that lawmakers and the public learn of systemic
inadequacies in child welfare systems. Until state laws require the regular
release of accurate and unfiltered information, an informed public discussion
cannot occur. Public access to the facts will protect children and save
lives."
GRADES
At a Glance
Jurisdiction Grade Jurisdiction Grade
Alabama B- Missouri B-
Alaska C Montana F
Arizona B Nebraska C+
Arkansas C- Nevada A
California A- New Hampshire A
Colorado D New Jersey B-
Connecticut B- New Mexico F
Delaware C New York B+
District of
Columbia B- North Carolina C
Florida B+ North Dakota F
Georgia F Ohio C+
Hawaii B- Oklahoma C+
Idaho B- Oregon A-
Illinois B+ Pennsylvania F
Indiana A- Rhode Island C-
Iowa A- South Carolina C
Kansas B South Dakota F
Kentucky C- Tennessee F
Louisiana C- Texas C+
Maine D+ Utah F
Maryland F Vermont F
Massachusetts D- Virginia C-
Michigan B- Washington B
Minnesota B West Virginia B-
Mississippi B- Wisconsin D
Wyoming D+
Problems in the state foster care system
Posted by Lauren Patwell on 12/14/08 • Categorized as CommunitySPRINGFIELD, MA — Within the foster care system of justice, abuse and neglect remain a problem, worldwide reports show. According to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Social Services, there are more than 12,500 children currently in foster care within the state, with Springfield accounting for a large percentage of these numbers. The frightening reports on this failing system are often kept hidden from the public, which can provide no support for the youth of our local city, and country as a whole.
Statistics from Massachusetts Citizens for Children (MCC) have shown that nationally, over half a million children and youth were in state foster care system in 1996. Since 1997, there has been a 90 percent increase of American children in foster care while the number of licensed family foster homes has significantly decreased.
Consequently, Massachusetts is far more likely than other states to remove children from their homes. In July 1997, there were 11,957 Massachusetts children living under state care. In 1995, for every 49 of 1,000 abused children removed nationwide, Massachusetts statistics showed 65 for every 1,000. Many local DSS workers will vouch for the increasing difficulty to recruit and retain foster homes.
The lack of stability has lead to multiple placements, which are the most serious problem facing children in foster care, according to the MCC. It has been reported that in 1997, more then one-third of children in DSS foster care had experienced three or more placements in their lives. The DSS is built upon the fundamental "do no harm" to these children. But as more cases come forward, the exposure to multiple placement causing both psychological and emotional harm is becoming an alarming issue.
Because more than half the children in foster care are between the ages of 13 and 21, and while some of these youth will leave foster care to enter a permanent family, in 2004 12 percent "aged out" with no family to rely on. Without the support of a family, many young people who age out of care experience homelessness, incarceration, unemployment or suffer from physical or mental illness.
The National Foster Care Awareness Project has found that 12 to 18 months after leaving foster care, 27 percent of male and 10 percent of females had been incarcerated, 37 percent had not finished high school, and 50 percent were unemployed. Studies have also found that 30 percent of the nation’s homeless population is made up of former foster children.
Whether a child is being moved around to different homes or "aging out" before he or she can find any stability the psychological harm takes place. The newest issue stirring up is the abuse seen with the skyrocketing prescribing of harmful psychotropic drugs to children in foster care.
Legislator Marie Parente and parents call for disclosure of "how many children in state care are being given psychotropic drugs, and for government agencies to take a critical look at the procedures for allowing these medicines to be prescribed." Parente suggested that "the state may be motivated to label children as mentally ill because of the reimbursement checks they receive from the federal government, which compensates Massachusetts for half of all Medicaid expenditures."
Between multiple exposure, slim chances for a happy ending and now the exposure to drugs, our hope for a system of justice is doing little to help the youth prevail.
The abuse is in our state, local city, and neighborhood hidden within a government system. A federal watchdog group agrees. Written by the Children’s Advocacy Institute, a report released Tuesday charges the DSS with "adhering to misguided and secretive policies that place confidentiality above the welfare of children." The state of Massachusetts received a D-.
