“Today’s
progress report from the Child Welfare League makes it clear that we have
substantial work to do to reform the Department of Children and Families, and
to ensure that the health, safety, and well-being of vulnerable children are
not jeopardized by this agency.
The
report confirms the need for responsible caseloads, more modern technology and
better medical screening protocols, and woven through all of these issues is
greater accountability at all levels.
In
addition, the report also points to the immediate need to confront the problem
of granting waivers for children to be placed in homes with those convicted of
felonies and other crimes. There is a clear contrast between the
situation we have today and the system we need to have, which bans some
placements outright and puts in place monitoring and accountability to protect
the children in others.
Changing
from a system that grants waivers to one that requires approval, as expressed
in the report, reflects the intent of the amendment offered by Senate
Republicans and approved by the Senate on February 13th, to require that the
safety and necessity of these placements be certified in writing before they
are allowed.”
