[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.''

     

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