[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 115 (Thursday, September 12, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1569-E1570]
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
Thursday, September 12, 2002
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, in 1980 Congress made a
commitment to improve the lives of abused and neglected children.
However, lack of federal oversight and accountability has undercut that
commitment. In fact, in far too many instances we have had devastating
results. Of the estimated 2000 children annually who die of abuse and
neglect, more than 40 percent were already known to child welfare
agencies.
In Milwaukee, 48 percent of families investigated for abuse had prior
involvement with the child welfare system; in Washington, DC, 32
percent of such families had been previously reported to protected
services; and in New York City, in 43 percent of families that had been
the subject of an abuse/maltreatment complaint, children were abused or
maltreated again while under city supervision.
These sobering statistics are made worse when you consider that this
state-sanctioned abuse and neglect occurs despite federally mandated
procedural safeguards, including individualized case planning, case
management and case reviews.
Federal law requires that children have a safe environment consistent
with their special needs. Yet year after year, many states have
consistently failed to meet even the basic needs of foster care
children. This continued failure raises serious questions about the
adequacy of federal oversight of state child welfare programs, which
the federal government largely funds.
In yet another tragic example of our failure to provide for and
protect foster children, a 9-year-old boy died of an asthma attack six
weeks after being placed in foster care. According to the following
article in the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles county officials admit
that social workers failed to inform medical workers of the child's
severe asthma.
[lsqb]From The Los Angeles Times, July 31, 2002[rsqb]
Tearful Apology in Boy's Death; County: A $1-million Payout is OKd.
Molina, Moved by a Mother's Plea, Vows Answers in Foster Care Case.
(By Garrett Therolf)
A mother's plea for a criminal investigation into the death
of her son--whose life ended while he was in the Los Angeles
County foster care system--Tuesday elicited a trembling and
tearful apology from county Supervisor Gloria Molina, who
pledged to demand answers from county officials about what
happened.
Hours later, Molina and her colleagues approved a $1-
million settlement in the lawsuit brought over the boy's
death.
Molina's remarks and the board action followed an emotional
appeal by the boy's mother.
Debra Reid, 44, entered the hearing room grim-faced,
flanked by eight family members dressed in black. At her side
was her son Debvin, who was placed in foster care for 15
months in 1997. His older brother, Jonathan, was taken away
at the same time. The children were taken from their mother
after social workers concluded that she was unstable and not
tending properly to their medical needs.
But Jonathan died six weeks after being placed in foster
care, where social workers, by the county's admission, failed
to inform medical workers of his severe asthma. Reid has been
fighting the county in the courts ever since.
``This is five years in coming,'' Reid began.
Racked with sobs, Reid recalled how she begged social
workers to treat Jonathan's asthma. Social workers had
dismissed Reid's account of the severity of the child's
asthma, county officials acknowledged.
``They said my child was healthy,'' Reid told the board.
``Well, that child now lies in an Inglewood cemetery.''
None of the social workers has been disciplined in the
case, county officials said. Reid begged supervisors to
launch a criminal investigation, alleging that social workers
had falsified reports to take the boy from her.
``We have sought true justice and we have not received it
until someone sends this case for criminal investigation,''
Reid said. ``All we have received is a payoff, and we're not
satisfied with a payoff. ''
``Not one person from the county,'' Reid said, ``has
bothered to apologize.''
Reid's appeal to the board is one of many that the
supervisors have heard involving the foster care system.
Virtually every week, a parade of parents come before the
supervisors, pleading for help in getting their children out
of that system. Most weeks, they leave empty-handed, as
supervisors insist that they cannot involve themselves in
matters that are before the courts. The pleas often meet with
indifference from county officials, who typically talk among
themselves as parents address the supervisors.
Tuesday was different.
As Reid spoke, the hearing room went silent. Aides and
department heads dabbed at tears. In an adjacent chamber
where county administrators eat snacks and drink coffee, all
movement ceased.
Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke asked Reid whether she
was satisfied with the settlement. After conferring with her
attorney, Reid said she was, but reiterated her call for
justice.
Then Molina spoke, her voice trembling, her eyes watering.
She recalled how supervisors routinely rebuff requests for
help in foster care cases, and how she had told a
congresswoman
[[Page E1570]]
pleading on Reid's behalf that she had to trust the courts to
do the right thing.
``I don't know that my apology to you will help you at
all,'' Molina said. ``I can only say I apologize for not
being more attentive.''
Promising to personally pursue the issue, Molina said,
``We've got to really take the gloves off on this thing,
because this is a real battle. If that department [the
Department of Children and Family Services] could not protect
those children, then we should not be empowering that
department to carry out this work.''
Supervisor Mike Antonovich quickly added his apology.
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavskcy said the whole board apologized
for what happened to Jonathan.
After the meeting, Reid said Molina's apology ``meant a
lot. She was sincere. That is the first sign of remorse I
have seen in the county.''
Reid said Tuesday's hearing and the conclusion of two civil
cases filed over Jonathan's death and Debvin's placement in
foster care were gratifying milestones in her family's quest
for justice.
The determination to press for further action on Jonathan's
death has occupied Reid and her family for years, she said
Tuesday. At each step of the way, nine family members have
gathered to vote on strategic decisions about how to pursue
the case, she said.
Along the way, the family has turned to one lawyer after
another--seven in all.
``Every time a lawyer didn't believe in me or in this case
we got rid of them,'' Reid said. ``Jonathan is still very
much a part of this family.''
____________________