Minority legislative caucus backs foster care suit
6:42 PM Wed, Jul 11, 2007 | Permalink
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Projo Politics Blog |
PROVIDENCE -- A minority legislative caucus today announced support for the class-action lawsuit filed by Child Advocate Jametta O. Alston, who is pushing to overhaul a state foster care system the suit alleges is replete with horror. Alston's lawsuit, against Governor Carcieri, the state Department of Children, Youth and Families director and other state officials, is being pursued on behalf of the 3,000 children in state custody. "It's disturbing and sad that innocent children who've already suffered through tough situations at home would suffer again while they're in the state's hands," said Rep. Joseph S. Almeida, D-Providence, speaking for the Minority Legislative Leadership Caucus in a news release. He added that he and other caucus members are not pointing fingers at anyone. "These problems were here before the current governor, before the director, and before Jametta," Almeida said. The suit says children in state foster care are being neglected, molested, beaten, burned with cigarettes and, in one well-known instance, killed. Sen. Harold M. Metts, D-Providence, said in the release the state has fallen short "of its charge to protect children, and that injustice must be corrected." He added that a "defective budget" puts children at age 17 into the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston and, according to the news release, "allows" abuse of children in the foster care system. Earlier this month, the governor said he was unaware of the widespread sort of abuse the suit alleges is riddling the state's system. Twenty-four hours after initiating a review of the foster care system, Carcieri announced there was no evidence of intentional wrongdoing by the Department of Children, Youth and Families. -- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney 
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As a former "client" of DCYF I can honestly say that they're are many difficulties facing both the children as well as the adults in thier home life and in the fostercare system.
Sometimes it makes one wonder where the child would be better off?I know I lived in the streets for some time before I finally got out! as a system it doesn't have anywhere to go or to turn but as indiviuals it's far worse.When a child is abused and someone says something we all wonder if that is in the best interest of the child because of where they MAY end up!
will it really change anything or will the child get worse off or will they get really lucky and happen in to a decent situation?so all in all what is the purpose of this "DCYF"?
how do we rectify it and how do we do better by our kids?
By asking them how to fix it!
and letting them help make some of the decisions about this institution called DCYF because I'll tell ya Kids are smart! and they definately know where they have been so they'll tell where they could do better and where they want to go.
somewhere safe warm and mostly secure. maybe even alittle happiness thrown in for good measure.in one way or another all kids know a good person from a bad person and place so just ask and you'd be surprised at how many have different solutions to the "ADULT" problem of what's wrong with DCYF
I know I could,ve
Cheryl-Amy Wilson
woonsocket R.I.
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A little benchmarking could go a long way ... Boston College did a study a few years back that showed that the costs of housing the the homeless was cheaper than the cost (medical, societal) of having them homeless. Likewise, the cost of assigning a 'nanny' or full time mentor/helper/facilitator to the parents would be cheaper (more just, etc) than removing the child in 9 cases out of 10. Hmm.
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