DCF Under Fire, Needs More Oversight

This past week the office of the Massachusetts state auditor, Suzanne Bump, released a report detailing deficiencies at the state's Department of Children and Families.  This comes after the DCF has hit a string of bumps in the road that suggest Massachusetts residents should demand closer oversight of the agency.
    The official audit report, issued on March 26 and covering the period from July 2010 until September 2012, suggests that DCF improve its operations. Specifically, it noted that DCF "has not been conducting checks for the proximity of level 2 and 3 registered sex offenders"; also that children are not receiving required 7-day and 30-day health checks when they are placed into custody, and furthermore that "DCF has not updated its department-wide risk assessment since 2008... As a result, DCF may not be identifying significant risks to its operations..."
    DCF responded by stating it is working to obtain sex offender registry information and taking measures to make its health screenings more timely.
    Earlier this year, Governor Deval Patrick asked the Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) to investigate the disappearance of Jeremiah Oliver of Fitchburg.  He went missing and is presumed to have died even as his family was involved with DCF for the two years prior to him going missing. In response, DCF fired three employees and examined what went wrong. The OCA reported, "Excessive caseloads do not excuse the specific failures that prevented DCF from discovering Jeremiah Oliver's disappearance."  It also recommended further review of DCF.
    In light of the Jeremiah Oliver affair, the Patrick administration also tasked the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) with looking into DCF.  Its interim report was issued in mid-March and suggested that the agency needs to be proactive in order to "fill positions and minimize the number of case worker and supervisory vacancies."  It also suggested the state investigate ways to make the social workers more effective by introducing greater use of handheld devices such as tablets that would be securely linked to state databases.  The final report will come out in May.  Meanwhile the administration has pledged to hire 177 more social workers after an earlier initiative to add workers was not included in the FY14 budget.
    The recent spotlight on DCF comes after the state was hammered by child-welfare rights groups.  A 2012 study by a Florida group ranked Massachusetts 50th out of 51 states plus the District of Columbia in its measures of effectiveness.  The study notes, "This annual ranking is a reality check on how well each state is serving the most vulnerable children."  It looked at we well states "stop the cycle of abuse and neglect, as evidenced by children not repeatedly entering the child welfare system for persistent abuse and neglect," as well as the overall reduction of abuse and neglect. (Right For Kids Ranking - Foundation for Government Accountability).  
    The agency recently won a lengthy legal battle with another children's welfare group named Children's Rights.  But even that ruling, which came down in November 2013, was critical of DCF.  The judge noted that  “DCF has failed not only to comport with national standards of care and state and federal requirements but also to comply with its own internal policies” (Pg 67 Connor B et al vs Deval Patrick et al,  Nov 22 2013).  The children’s group said the judge's standard to win a case, which requires the agency be shown to operate at a level that "shocks the conscience of the court", is too high.  The group is appealing.
    Recently DCF has picked up critics even among its friends.  Martha Coakley, the state Attorney General, defended DCF in its court case against Children’s Rights but laid into the agency on the campaign trail. “During my career, I have seen, day in and day out, how the current structure of DCF puts children at risk and overburdens social workers,’’ Coakley said in a statement released by her gubernatorial campaign and quoted in the Boston Globe.
    This litany of woe for DCF suggest that the residents of Massachusetts would be wise to keep a closer eye on the agency.  And they should take a second look at the most recent controversy surrounding its action, the sad case of Justina Pelletier.  
    This week a judge rejected the wishes of the family of Justina, a Connecticut girl in DCF custody, who wanted her back.  Her case has stretched on for more than a year after officials at Children’s Hospital in Boston became concerned about the medical treatment her parents were receiving from Tufts. Children's Hospital officials considered the treatment at Tufts to be medically incorrect and filed an application to the state labelling this a possible case of medical child abuse by her parents.
    This week the judge in that case awarded permanent custody of Justina to the state and against her parents, citing their aggressive language to hospital staff and failure to accept the Children's Hospital diagnosis. The case and decision has raised an outcry among family advocates worried that an extreme abuse of power has been taking place. (A non-binding resolution at the state house to send Justina back to her parents was shot down by Rep. David Linsky (D-Natick) earlier this month).
    Given the checkered history of DCF over the last few years, at the least we should expect a full inquiry into the facts surrounding the Pelletier case.  We should also pay close attention to the pending CWLA report due over the next few months and also ensure previous recommendations are not ignored.