Mississippi Not Complying with Foster Care Guidelines UPDATED

“A new report shows that the Mississippi Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) has yet to deliver on court-mandated reforms to improve the lives of abused and neglected children in state care. These reforms were spurred by Children’s Rights when the national advocacy organization filed a class action suit against the state in 2004.

According to the progress report, released today by an independent federal court-appointed monitor, chronic understaffing and an inadequate data management system continue to hamper efforts to ensure the basic safety of foster children.

Statistics collected from January 1, 2009, through March 31, 2011, showed that less than 60 percent of reports of child abuse were investigated within the required 24 hours or completed within the 30 day timeframe. Requirements stipulate that if a child remains in the same home after the launch of an abuse investigation, a caseworker must visit the child twice a month for three months after the conclusion of the investigation. The report showed that fewer than 60 percent of caseworkers made these follow-up visits.

“The state’s performance shows a lack of commitment to protecting the abused and neglected children of Mississippi,” said Marcia Robinson Lowry, Founder and Executive Director of Children’s Rights. “It is clear that a tremendous amount of work must be done to address the ongoing failures under the current leadership at DFCS.”

The monitor says DFCS still needs to make substantial improvement when it comes to other issues surrounding child placements, noting that 24 percent of children were sent to unlicensed homes at some point during the period under review and 27 percent were sent to shelters when they entered care.

“It is alarming and inexcusable that after all these years Mississippi is failing to place kids with relatives or in stable foster homes that meet approval standards,” said Lowry. “Children’s Rights will continue to keep a close eye on DFCS until the children in state care get the security they deserve.”

The class action, known as Olivia Y. v. Barbour, charged Mississippi with failing to provide legally required care and protection to the approximately 3,500 abused and neglected children in state custody, and denying them safe, stable, permanent homes. Longstanding problems cited in the lawsuit, which was filed in 2004, included dangerously high caseloads, untrained caseworkers, a shortage of foster homes, and a widespread failure to provide basic health care services.

Counsel for the class of child plaintiffs includes Wayne Drinkwater, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, Jackson, Miss.”

 

Just In: State Not Responding Well to Child Abuse, Neglect

[Jackson Free Press 6/29/12]

 

Agency Accused Of Failing Foster Kids

[WJTV 7/5/12 by Ross Adams]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update:”Mississippi officials and a group that sued over the state’s child welfare system have reached a third settlement.

At the center of the new proposal is the hiring of a “director for sustainable transformation” at the Mississippi Department of Human Services to oversee efforts to improve the agency’s ability to protect and support children in foster care.

Marcia Robinson Lowry, executive director for New York-based Children’s Rights, said the position is to be filled by Nov. 1 for the state to avoid further legal action. The state and the plaintiffs would jointly choose the director.

“We are glad that the state has recognized the significant lack of capacity that has led to its failure to implement required reforms. We are hopeful that creating a new team, which includes a national search for its director and has an advisory panel of experts, will jump-start this effort,” she said in a news release.

The Olivia Y. case was filed in 2004, alleging that the state’s foster care system and investigations of abused children violated children’s constitutional rights. The state settled in 2008, and although both sides agreed the state has progressed, both Mississippi and Children’s Rights agreed more work is needed.

A modified settlement agreement was approved in 2012 and contained an action plan to address the state’s consistent failure to meet court-ordered performance standards, but an independent federal monitor found Mississippi was still failing to produce key data, including complete measures of how many cases each worker has.”

Settlement reached in Mississippi child welfare lawsuit
[Commercial Appeal 7/3/14 by Associated Press]

Update 2:“A seven-member committee would be established to help with the creation of the freestanding state Division of Child Protection Services, which is being formed as part of the settlement of a federal lawsuit.

The state House approved legislation Monday by an overwhelming 115-3 margin to establish the new agency.

The creation of the new Division of Child Protection Services is part of the settlement of a federal lawsuit filed against the state for its administration of Mississippi’s foster care system. The state, including Gov. Phil Bryant and Attorney General Jim Hood, has conceded problems with the foster care system and has agreed in a court settlement to many of the changes in the legislation passed Monday by the House.

Currently, the program is administered in the Office of Family and Children’s Services of the Department of Human Services.

But under the legislation and the court order, the Division of Child Protection Services will be a free-standing agency by July 1, 2018.

The Housed passed the legislation and multiple other bills Monday in its normal manner. There were no demands that bills be read to slow the process as occurred last week when members of House Republican leadership and the Legislative Black Caucus battled over redistricting of the three state Supreme Court districts.

The Black Caucus said the change pushed through by the Republican leadership could make it more difficult to elect African-Americans to the nine-member Supreme Court, which currently has only one black justice.

While not spoken, it is presumed that the Supreme Court legislation might be killed in the Senate, where it is currently located.

An agreement was allegedly reached by both sides before representatives left for the weekend.

At any rate, legislation was taken up Monday in the House with regular, sometimes heated debate, but no procedural delays.

Rep. Toby Barker, R-Hattiesburg, said the bill establishing the freestanding Division of Child Protection Services is a good start in fixing the state’s embattled foster care system.

“This is just the beginning of a long transition process,” Barker said.

The key, Barker said, will be garnering an additional $34 million in the appropriations process to hire more social workers and other personnel to help with the foster care system. The hope is that state funds can be garnered to hire an additional 200 social workers and family protection specialists.

Bryant already has named former Northern District Supreme Court Justice David Chandler to administer the new agency. Under the legislation, Chandler would face Senate confirmation.

The legislation now goes to the Senate.

Pending in the Senate already is a proposal by Senate Appropriations Chair Buck Clarke, R-Hollandale, that would break out the children’s services agency, but merge the Division of Medicaid and the Department of Rehabilitation Services with the Department of Human Services, which administers various federal services, such as the Temporary Aid for Needy Families program.

It has been estimated the administrative costs for the three agencies is a little less than $250 million per year, though, mostly in federal funds.

Many people involved with Rehabilitation Services have expressed concerns that programs for the disabled would not be a priority in the new agency since Medicaid and Human Services are such massive agencies with large budgets.”

Legislation would form state agency to handle foster care issues [Sun Herald 3/1/16 by Bobby Harrison]