Welfare Watch - February 17, 2010 - DHS Board Meets

The Department of Human Services met today for their monthly board meeting.  This Board Meeting comes in the midst of the Legislative Session.  Interest was high concerning the proposed Budget cuts in the House and Senate Amended Budgets. The House recommended further cuts to their 1.6 billion dollar budget.  The House cut 2.6 million from the Governor's recommendation.  Most of the House cuts were found in personnel and operations.  For every state dollar spent within DHS, the Federal Government provides two. If these cuts are approved by the Legislature, this could mean the layoff of more than 300 persons within DHS providing services to Georgia's vulnerable populations. Some are warning that these cuts could make this Department dysfunctional. 

The Senate Appropriations Committee is proposing a less drastic cut of $662,000.  They are expecting the Department to make this up in earned income from Targeted Case Management Revenue, which has not be identified. 

The investments that were made in the Department in recent years are showing dramatic results.  These results are the consequences of a commitment of dollars to appropriate staffing levels, investment in infrastructure, evidence based practice, performance base management and provision of effective services in a timely manner.  Caseloads are down by half, a third fewer children are in foster care, child safety numbers are significantly up and their connections with their families have increased.  This has happened because of the commitment of dollars for those who do the work.  Further cuts to the Department raised the concern of the Board about how it can effectively operate. 

In the midst of bad news about the budget, there was good news about foster care within our Child Placing Agencies, privately licensed foster care agencies.  CPAs have seen a decrease in the number of license violations since 2008 by more than five fold.  This speaks to the cooperative work of Department and the private sector to identify, address and meet the challenges of providing safe and nurturing homes for Georgia's foster children.  New licensing guidelines and experienced and trained inspectors help to reduce the number of violations found in our child placing agencies.  The number of licensed Child Placing Agencies have remained constant in the last five years.  The present number is 89. 

The Commissioner informed the Board of an initiative between the public and private sectors to reduce the number of foster children, who are maltreated while in care.  Less than 1% of the more than 10,000 children in foster care are hurt each year.  This number is too high by the Federal Standards and the States.  The number should be more around 1/3 of 1%.  The profile of the children in DFCS custody is that they are older, more behaviorally and emotionally disturbed.  The Commissioner pointed out that these children are harder to keep safe. The older the child and the more severely disturbed a child is, the more likely they are to be at risk of harm. We have to do more to keep them safe.  

Keeping a child from hurting himself and maltreatment are not necessarily the same.  Sometimes our data does not capture severe maltreatment as the Feds define it.  A child running away has been substantiated as severe maltreatment for neglectful supervision. Children hurting themselves with common household items, too, has been substantiated as maltreatment. Maltreatment should and can be eliminated.  The data must accurately reflect what the Feds are calling severe maltreatment.

The Commissioner reiterated, "Bad actors in the system should and will be closed."  Normer Adams, GAHSC Executive Director, speaking for all providers said that all we are in support of this most important initiative to assure safety for children in care and completely eliminate maltreatment in care.  

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Welfare Watch, an email newsletter of the
Georgia Association of Homes
and Services for Children
as a public service.
http://www.gahsc.org                            
                            Normer Adams, Editor
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