Big MS Child Welfare Settlement

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Author Message   Yvettep AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Yvettep Post Number: 2055 Registered: 01-2005 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 04:37 pm:        Listen to complete story, as well as links to additional info, here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10222950 For more than a decade, Mississippi's child welfare system has been failing. According to Children's Rights, a child advocacy group in New York, there are 10,000 documented reports of abuse and neglect every year. Children's Rights filed suit three years ago. In federal court Thursday, a partial settlement with Mississippi was approved — the first step in trying to repair a foster care system that has reached its breaking point. The settlement agreement submits Mississippi to a federal court order to come up with a specific plan to fix the problems. The state has set aside $12 million in additional funding this year to help. But many child-welfare advocates say it will take much more to turn around a system that is so troubled. The severity of the problem is astounding. The state hasn't met federal standards — or even its own state standards – on caring for foster children for more than a decade. Cases of abuse and neglect often involve children who are unable to get the medical care or psychological help they need. There are heartbreaking stories of children left in homes too long who ended up getting hurt — or worse. "We are aware of several incidents of children being killed," says Eric Thompson of Children's Rights. "One 4-month-old last summer was murdered by his parents after being left in the home by the Department of Human Services, who had an open case on that family. Another teenager was killed while in a group home." The state doesn't track these incidents, so, Thompson says, no one really knows how many children have died or were seriously injured while they were in the state foster-care system. What is easier to document are the thousands of children who didn't get the attention or treatment they needed and were left struggling in the system for years. Long History of Neglect DeMarcus Hysten is a named plaintiff in the lawsuit. He has been in the foster care system since 1991, when he was 5. That's when he and his two older sisters were taken away from his mother because she couldn't take care of them. "The Department of Human Services, they drove by the house several times, not expecting anyone to live there because the house was so abandoned-looking," Hysten recalls of life in his mother's home. The state first moved Hysten to his grandmother's house, but she didn't have utilities. Then he endured a series of 28 moves, including temporary foster placements: group homes, emergency shelters, mental health facilities and, by the time he was 16, a home for juvenile offenders — even though Hysten had not committed any crime. "I'm in there with sexual offenders, vandalizers, people who have assault records, stolen stuff. I'm talking about real mini-criminals — these are little criminals that I'm with," he says. The inappropriate placement and constant moves left Hysten alone and, many times, scared. He never found a permanent home. Now 20 years old and in his first year of college, he says he is still dealing with the consequences...   Renata AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Renata Post Number: 2187 Registered: 08-2005 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 - 05:22 pm:        Mississippi is terrible in its care of black children. I remember years ago there was a case against the state from a VERY smart woman. I don't know how the case ended because I had left there and didn't follow it. Basically, this woman had successfully adopted numerous black children....I believe 5 or so. She then adopted a bi-racial child successfully. She then tried to adopt that child's white sister, and was told that she would have to be subject to numerous psychological tests before she could adopt any more children and that the child's case worker questioned her sanity due to some behavior she witnessed, which wasn't specified. LOL. She sued the state of MS, I hope she won. (Apparently, they didn't mind this "crazy" woman adopting numerous black kids). Also, it's COMMON knowledge that if you contact the child welfare agency with a complaint, a case worker will go and tell the caretaker that such and such person filed a complaint.....but afterwards won't check on the child again. Basically, just start some trouble between the caretaker and the person filing the complaint, but won't take the time to find out if the complaint is warranted. This is NORMAL in MS. I personally don't see the point of the agency at all.   Chrishayden AALBC .com Platinum Poster Username: Chrishayden Post Number: 4437 Registered: 03-2004 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Saturday, May 19, 2007 - 10:30 am:        Mississippi--Texas with one tenth the people and no oil.