[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 112 (Monday, September 9, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1525-E1526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CONTINUING CRISIS IN FOSTER CARE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 9, 2002

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, there is a crisis 
affecting the 500,000 children in foster care in this country. Day 
after day, there are reported cases of sexual abuse, neglect, and even 
death of foster children, all while under the care of the state child 
welfare agencies. Social workers remove children from their homes 
because of abuse and/or neglect. Yet neither safety nor stability is 
ensured by child protective services interventions.
  In the following article, The Washington Post reports that a 7-year-
old boy, a ward of the District's Child and Family Services Agency, was 
warehoused in a group home for older foster children, where 12-year-old 
boys later admitted to sodomizing him. Additionally, officials 
confirmed that other boys were sexually abused at that facility and at 
a separate group home for mentally retarded foster children.
  But severe problems in the foster care system exist in many states 
and jurisdictions beyond Washington D.C. Articles and reports that I 
will provide in subsequent extensions document how children in foster 
homes, children's shelters, and group homes are sometimes subject to 
even greater abuse as a result of those placements.
  A strong federal law passed in 1980 establishes tough accountability 
standards to protect children in foster care. It is evident that there 
has not been sufficient oversight at the state or federal level, and 
that billions of dollars are being spent, often in violation of federal 
law, to perpetuate a system that falls to provide children and their 
families with necessary services and safeguards.
  The circumstances described in these reports underscore the need for 
lawmakers, practitioners, and advocates to work together without delay 
to reform the child welfare system and to review the enforcement and 
implementation of our foster care laws without further delay.
  The article follows:

           [lsqb]From the Washington Post, Aug. 1, 2002[rsqb]

 D.C. Speeds Group Home Change; Move Follows New Report of Assaults on 
                                  Boys

       The director of the District's child welfare agency 
     yesterday ordered her staff to speed up the removal of 
     children under 12 from foster group homes, as officials 
     learned of another unreported case of alleged sexual abuse 
     involving youths at one of the privately run facilities.
       The agency acknowledged yesterday that it did not remove an 
     11-year-old mentally retarded boy from one of the homes until 
     nearly three months after he reported being sexually abused 
     by a 15-year-old resident.
       A city social worker learned of the April 9 incident 
     shortly after it occurred but did not report it until July 2, 
     city officials said. Police then interviewed the I 1-year-old 
     and his 12-year-old roommate, who also reported being 
     sexually assaulted, and removed them from the home. The 
     alleged perpetrator is still at the facility.
       The case is the latest in a string of such incidents that 
     were not promptly reported to authorities. Last week, city 
     officials said that a 7-year-old boy was sodomized by two 12-
     year-olds at another group home in April and that the home's 
     staff did not report the abuse until two days later. This 
     week, officials said that home also failed to tell government 
     monitors about a 1999 abuse incident.
       The D.C. Child and Family Services Agency announced 
     yesterday that it has strengthened its procedures on the 
     reporting of abuse and that it will refer for prosecution any 
     caregiver or employee who fails to make such a report.
       More than 400 District foster children are in congregate 
     care, as group homes and other institutions are called, and 
     the agency's policy is to limit the facilities' use to older 
     children and those with special medical needs.
       Yesterday, Olivia A. Golden, the agency's director, ordered 
     an inventory to determine how many group home residents are 
     younger than 12. She ordered her staff to review those cases 
     and prioritize the children for placement with foster 
     families or relatives or for reunification with birth 
     parents. A key hurdle to that effort, however, is a shortage 
     of foster families, especially families who are trained to 
     offer therapeutic services for children with intensive needs.
       Golden's order comes one year after the agency emerged from 
     six years of federal court control, the legacy of a 1989 
     lawsuit filed over poor conditions in the child welfare 
     system. The agency is trying to improve its regulation of 
     private foster care institutions, which have never been 
     licensed because the city failed for 15 years to implement a 
     1986 licensure law.
       ``We knew we were coming into a situation where congregate 
     care was substantially overused, and we knew that group home 
     providers did not have enough resources and staff,'' said 
     Golden, who took over the agency in June 2001.
       Golden said she was ``surprised and saddened'' by the 
     severity of unreported abuse. ``The fact that we're still 
     having tragedies is what we have to change,'' she said.
       Marcia Robinson Lowry, the New York-based lead counsel in 
     the class-action suit against the District, said yesterday 
     that she has asked the agency's court-appointed monitor to 
     investigate the recent incidents.
       ``We had been focusing on children 6 and under, but it is 
     clear that the problem is well beyond that and that children 
     under 12 should not be in group home facilities,'' Lowry 
     said.
       In the latest abuse case, a police report obtained by The 
     Washington Post indicates that during an April 9 bed check at 
     the group home, in the 800 block of Floral Place NW, staff 
     members observed the 15-year-old running out of the two 
     younger boys' bedroom with his pajama pants open.
       The 11-year-old told the staff that the older boy had 
     touched him on the buttocks, according to the police report,
       The report states that when a detective went to investigate 
     on July 2, the boy said he had been forced to perform oral 
     sex on the 15-year-old. The boy's roommate corroborated the 
     account and said his penis was grabbed by the teenager on the 
     same night.
       The 11-year-old ``stated that this has occurred several 
     times and each time he has reported it to the staff of the 
     group home,'' the police report said,
       Moderate mental retardation has been diagnosed in all three 
     boys. The 11- year-old is living temporarily with his family 
     while awaiting an alternative placement, and the 12-year-old 
     has been placed with a foster family.
       The group home is run by a nonprofit contractor, Community 
     Multi Services Inc. It operates five homes that serve up to 
     18 mentally retarded foster children, as well as seven care 
     facilities and 15 apartments for adults with developmental 
     disabilities. It is paid nearly $3,500 a month for each 
     foster child.
       Constance A. Reese, the contractor's program director, said 
     her staff interviewed the three boys and had them seen by a 
     doctor but determined that ``nothing took place with these 
     children.'' She said the staff notified the three boys' 
     social workers and sent an incident report to a government 
     monitor.
       Mindy L. Good, a spokeswoman for the child welfare agency, 
     said that the 15-year-old boy's social worker learned of the 
     incident April 10 but ``completely failed to report this 
     until July.'' The social worker, Emmanuel K. Baah, called the 
     agency's abuse and neglect hotline in July after his super-
     visor ordered him to do so, Good said. The hotline staff then 
     contacted the police.
       Good said Baah violated agency policy on the reporting of 
     abuse by not immediately calling the hotline or informing his 
     super-visor. She said that the actions of the group home, the 
     monitor and the social workers for the two younger boys also 
     are being reviewed.
       Baah, who has worked for the city since 1992, said he 
     received a dismissal letter from the agency yesterday. He 
     said the group home told him about the incident April 18, 
     right before he went on a six week vacation. He said he did 
     not call the hotline because group home employees were 
     reviewing the alleged abuse and ``because they were not sure 
     whether it was substantiated or not.''
       For years, city law has required health care providers, law 
     enforcement officers, educators and social service and day-
     care workers to immediately report suspected child abuse or 
     neglect to the police or the child welfare agency.
       Group home regulations that took effect in September 
     require any staff member who knows of possible abuse or 
     neglect to call the hotline immediately and submit a written 
     report within 24 hours to the child's social worker and the 
     child welfare agency.

[[Page E1526]]

       But in February, the agency sent a letter to foster care 
     institutions indicating that staff should make oral reports 
     to social workers during business hours and to the hotline 
     during evenings and weekends. Yesterday, the agency said that 
     the 24-hour hotline, 202-671--SAFE, should always be used.
       In addition, the agency said it will refer violations of 
     the reporting requirements for prosecution and push for an 
     increase in the penalties for violators. Currently, failure 
     to report abuse or neglect is punishable by a fine of up to 
     $100 or imprisonment for up to 30 days.
       Staff researchers Bobbye Pratt and Karl Evanzz contributed 
     to this report.

     

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