A Shared Responsibility

A Shared Responsibility

South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board Posted February 13 2005

In the ideal world of "community-based care," the Florida Department
of Children & Families would spot and help correct problems in the
child-welfare services it now contracts out to community groups.

In the real world, though, DCF is fumbling in its role of program
monitor. The agency lacks the resources and, as importantly, the will.
All this was on display last week in Tallahassee as state senators got
an earful of testimony -- horror stories would be more accurate
-- associated with foster care's Independent Living Transition
Services.

Dubbed the Road to Independence, the program is supposed to help
teenagers in foster-care become self-sufficient when they become too
old to qualify for child-welfare benefits. Unfortunately, too many of
the program's participants are unable to live on their own after
spending time as wards of the state.

A state audit found that program participants experienced high rates
of arrests, dependency on welfare, and homelessness. Only one out of
five pursue an education or vocational training after high school, and
almost half were expelled or suspended from school during the past
year. It's no wonder that many frustrated child advocates have their
own nickname for the program: "The Road to Homelessness."

Further testimony showed problems of management and oversight. Program
operators did a poor job of documenting eligibility. The audit found
77 percent of the tested cases to be deficient. The program is running
over budget by at least $1.5 million. Some put the figure above $3
million.

It would be easy to point fingers at DCF, since it remains the one
state agency with the ultimate responsibility of overseeing state
child-welfare services. But the task of fixing Florida's independent
living program is a shared responsibility -- beginning with the
Legislature, which writes laws and more importantly appropriates the
money for state services.

State lawmakers must increase the stipends for youngsters
participating in the program, particularly if former foster kids
expect to find housing in South Florida. They also need to extend
Medicaid services to teenagers who are left without health services at
the stroke of their 18th birthday. Building a more comprehensive
training program and holding those community-based groups that have
contracts with DCF responsible for administering it is a must.

In the past, the department hasn't shown much as an oversight agency.
Its prospects might improve if given the mandate and the resources to
do the job
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opi...,5748151.story
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