LilMtnCbn
04-07-2004, 06:54 AM
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/8370758.htm
Comptroller calls for massive overhaul of foster care in Texas
BY JOHN MORITZ
Knight Ridder Newspapers
AUSTIN, Texas - (KRT) - Flanked by photos of a bucket being used as an outdoor
toilet and perishable groceries being stored in coolers with no ice at
so-called therapeutic camps, Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn called Tuesday
for a massive overhaul of Texas' foster-care system.
"I am appalled at the conditions too many of our foster children must endure,"
Strayhorn said during her release of "Forgotten Children," a scathing
indictment of state-paid foster care that stemmed from unannounced inspections
at dozens of residential centers.
"I challenge any defender of the current system's status quo to put their child
or their grandchild in some of the places I've seen for one day, much less for
a lifetime," she said.
The report, bound in a 292-page book with dozens of color photos from several
foster-care facilities, makes 87 recommendations for improving conditions.
Among them:
_Redirect $193 million from state caseworker salaries to foster-care
enforcement.
_Remove all children from therapeutic camps that do not meet permanent
licensing regulations.
_Revoke the licenses of facilities that have ongoing problems affecting the
health, safety and well-being of children.
"I saw filthy living conditions, makeshift outhouses, unsanitary food storage
in so-called outdoor camps where children must sleep in sleeping bags - no
walls, no fans, no heat - for months and months, and in many cases, year after
year," Strayhorn said. "That's not care. That's cruelty. That's not educating.
That's endangering."
The head of the agency that oversees foster care and the brunt of Strayhorn's
criticism said steps are being taken to address many of the problems Strayhorn
cited.
"Texas is taking strong steps to improve state services for young Texans and
enhance accountability among foster-care programs for children, and we already
have implemented many of the programs and changes mentioned in the
comptroller's report," said Albert Hawkins, the state's health and human
services commissioner.
"The best solution for a child in foster care is a permanent home, and we will
continue to focus our efforts on reuniting children with their families or
finding adoptive homes for these children. These efforts are working. In Texas,
86 percent of the children in foster care either return to their families or
find a permanent home through adoption."
Last year, 26,133 children were in foster care. The state pays homes that offer
group residential services from $20 a day per child all the way up to $277 a
day for a child with complex needs, Strayhorn said.
Most of the photos Strayhorn displayed during her news conference depicted
unsafe or unsanitary conditions. But she also offered examples of clean,
comfortable conditions at some of the facilities that she and comptroller's
office staffers visited.
Robert Ellis, a former foster child who now runs the 120-bed Pegasus School for
boys ages 10-17 in Lockhart, said the bad examples outlined by Strayhorn
undercut the facilities that offer quality care.
"I believe that everyone who goes into this business was as idealistic as I
was," said Ellis, who was finally adopted at age 12 in 1972.
Ellis, who started the Pegasus School in 1989, described himself as "one of the
lucky ones" who as a child lived in foster-care facilities before the state
implemented many of the oversight standards in place today and who was then
adopted by a loving family.
Strayhorn said state officials must be more vigilant to ensure that all
foster-care facilities are safe and well-run.
"It has been said that any society can be judged by how it treats its weakest
members," Strayhorn said. "My investigation shows that Texas can and must be
judged harshly."
---
KEY FINDINGS
_Some "therapeutic camps" lack adequate sanitation facilities, with makeshift
outhouses and improper food storage.
_Inadequate licensing standards for camps, weak contract monitoring and
ineffective inspections by state regulators.
_Heavy caseloads and high turnover by caseworkers in the agency that oversees
foster care.
_Inadequate planning for foster children making the transition to adulthood.
---
RECOMMENDATIONS
_Eliminate the inefficient dual system of foster care, one that is run by the
state, creating a conflict of interest in which the agency regulates itself.
_Direct and redirect $193.9 million in savings to better care for children by
replacing state caseworkers with independent oversight enforcement staff.
_Move children out of all therapeutic camps that do not meet licensing
standards.
_Revoke the licenses of facilities that have ongoing problems affecting the
well-being of children.
_Develop a foster grandparent program to mentor and support the children.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
Comptroller calls for massive overhaul of foster care in Texas
BY JOHN MORITZ
Knight Ridder Newspapers
AUSTIN, Texas - (KRT) - Flanked by photos of a bucket being used as an outdoor
toilet and perishable groceries being stored in coolers with no ice at
so-called therapeutic camps, Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn called Tuesday
for a massive overhaul of Texas' foster-care system.
"I am appalled at the conditions too many of our foster children must endure,"
Strayhorn said during her release of "Forgotten Children," a scathing
indictment of state-paid foster care that stemmed from unannounced inspections
at dozens of residential centers.
"I challenge any defender of the current system's status quo to put their child
or their grandchild in some of the places I've seen for one day, much less for
a lifetime," she said.
The report, bound in a 292-page book with dozens of color photos from several
foster-care facilities, makes 87 recommendations for improving conditions.
Among them:
_Redirect $193 million from state caseworker salaries to foster-care
enforcement.
_Remove all children from therapeutic camps that do not meet permanent
licensing regulations.
_Revoke the licenses of facilities that have ongoing problems affecting the
health, safety and well-being of children.
"I saw filthy living conditions, makeshift outhouses, unsanitary food storage
in so-called outdoor camps where children must sleep in sleeping bags - no
walls, no fans, no heat - for months and months, and in many cases, year after
year," Strayhorn said. "That's not care. That's cruelty. That's not educating.
That's endangering."
The head of the agency that oversees foster care and the brunt of Strayhorn's
criticism said steps are being taken to address many of the problems Strayhorn
cited.
"Texas is taking strong steps to improve state services for young Texans and
enhance accountability among foster-care programs for children, and we already
have implemented many of the programs and changes mentioned in the
comptroller's report," said Albert Hawkins, the state's health and human
services commissioner.
"The best solution for a child in foster care is a permanent home, and we will
continue to focus our efforts on reuniting children with their families or
finding adoptive homes for these children. These efforts are working. In Texas,
86 percent of the children in foster care either return to their families or
find a permanent home through adoption."
Last year, 26,133 children were in foster care. The state pays homes that offer
group residential services from $20 a day per child all the way up to $277 a
day for a child with complex needs, Strayhorn said.
Most of the photos Strayhorn displayed during her news conference depicted
unsafe or unsanitary conditions. But she also offered examples of clean,
comfortable conditions at some of the facilities that she and comptroller's
office staffers visited.
Robert Ellis, a former foster child who now runs the 120-bed Pegasus School for
boys ages 10-17 in Lockhart, said the bad examples outlined by Strayhorn
undercut the facilities that offer quality care.
"I believe that everyone who goes into this business was as idealistic as I
was," said Ellis, who was finally adopted at age 12 in 1972.
Ellis, who started the Pegasus School in 1989, described himself as "one of the
lucky ones" who as a child lived in foster-care facilities before the state
implemented many of the oversight standards in place today and who was then
adopted by a loving family.
Strayhorn said state officials must be more vigilant to ensure that all
foster-care facilities are safe and well-run.
"It has been said that any society can be judged by how it treats its weakest
members," Strayhorn said. "My investigation shows that Texas can and must be
judged harshly."
---
KEY FINDINGS
_Some "therapeutic camps" lack adequate sanitation facilities, with makeshift
outhouses and improper food storage.
_Inadequate licensing standards for camps, weak contract monitoring and
ineffective inspections by state regulators.
_Heavy caseloads and high turnover by caseworkers in the agency that oversees
foster care.
_Inadequate planning for foster children making the transition to adulthood.
---
RECOMMENDATIONS
_Eliminate the inefficient dual system of foster care, one that is run by the
state, creating a conflict of interest in which the agency regulates itself.
_Direct and redirect $193.9 million in savings to better care for children by
replacing state caseworkers with independent oversight enforcement staff.
_Move children out of all therapeutic camps that do not meet licensing
standards.
_Revoke the licenses of facilities that have ongoing problems affecting the
well-being of children.
_Develop a foster grandparent program to mentor and support the children.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
