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Texas suspends placements by foster-care contractor
Texas suspends placements by foster-care contractor
Agency to challenge placement suspension, says 4 incidents cited by state were exaggerated 09:37 PM CDT on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...s.3014439.html AUSTIN – The state has suspended placements of foster children with most foster parents recruited by Lutheran Social Services of the South Inc. in North Texas and Central Texas, citing "serious incidents" in four homes last spring. While no deaths occurred, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services said two young foster children in Lutheran's care sustained serious injuries, and he said there was lax supervision in two other homes. Lutheran officials said they will challenge the placement suspension. State spokesman Darrell Azar said the state this summer has closely scrutinized Lutheran – an Austin-based child-placing agency managing 660 foster homes, more than any other contractor in Texas – because of insights gained from difficulties with another private agency, now-defunct Mesa Family Services of Harker Heights. Mesa recruited the homes where three North Texas foster children suffered fatal head injuries between August 2005 and last December. "We learned a lesson from that," Mr. Azar said. "When you see multiple, serious incidents within a single [agency], you have to take those seriously and look to see if there's a pattern. Although this is not comparable to the problems you saw with Mesa ... certainly these were some serious problems." Lutheran officials accused the state of exaggerating the four incidents last spring, all of which they said Lutheran promptly reported, as required, to a Child Protective Services hotline. Irene Clements, a top Lutheran executive, said the department launched the crackdown against her nonprofit – named three times as the "child placing agency of the year" by the National Foster Parent Association – to retaliate for strong criticisms she and other Lutheran officials have made in legislative testimony and press interviews. Mr. Azar said criticisms by Lutheran played no role in the state's actions. In May, Child Care Licensing representatives and contract enforcement officials from the department made unannounced inspections at 73 foster homes managed by Lutheran's Dallas office, 38 homes run by its Mineral Wells office and 30 homes recruited by its Waco office. The 141 affected homes care for 304 foster children. Officials said they found scores of rule violations, many involving poor training of foster parents and insufficient background checks. On Aug. 13, the department's licensing division notified Lutheran, which has 19 branch offices across the state, that offices in Dallas, Mineral Wells and Waco had been placed on "evaluation." The state warned that if the homes and the agency's supervision in those three regions don't shape up quickly, it could put the contractor on probation – the last step before the state suspends or revokes licenses and starts removing children. Improvements must be made by Feb. 29, the state said. Patrick Crimmins, the department's deputy spokesman, said, "We don't think any of the [304] children are in any danger at all or at any risk of imminent harm." However, he said state workers had some concerns about care being given to 30 of the youngsters in North Texas and Waco. "Caseworkers are tracking the cases of all 30 children to ensure their care improves," he said. Mr. Crimmins said he didn't think the freeze on new placements with Lutheran would affect Child Protective Services workers' decisions about removing children from possibly abusive or neglectful birth families. Together with its Mesquite branch, which was unaffected, Lutheran's Dallas and Mineral Wells offices supply about 11 percent of the private foster-care slots in North Texas. DESCRIPTION OF INCIDENTS The state cited four incidents last spring in foster homes managed by Lutheran Social Services of the South Inc.: • On April 2, a 2-year-old foster girl in Waco was allegedly shaken and suffered brain damage. Her foster father was charged with injury to a child. • On April 12, a medically fragile, 1-year-old girl in North Richland Hills was poked in the eye several times with a sharp object. No arrest has been made. The assault was made "allegedly by a substitute caregiver," the state says. • On April 24, a longtime foster mother in Granbury self-reported that police told her that an 18-year-old boy formerly in her care admitted having consensual sex with a 16-year-old girl then in her home. Finding other deficiencies, the state closed it as a foster home. • On May 27, a foster mother who was helping another foster mother move – the second woman was being evicted from her home in Richardson – found a 1-year-old boy unattended in the home, which is a violation, and reported it. CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA WIRETAPPING PROGRAM.... CPS Does not protect children... It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even killed at the hands of Child Protective Services. every parent should read this .pdf from connecticut dcf watch... http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US These numbers come from The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN) Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS *Perpetrators of Maltreatment* Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59 Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13 Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241 Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12 Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5 Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per 100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a bunch of social workers. CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON... BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION... |
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