Juvenile
Aug. 8, 2002
L.A. Ranks First by Far in Foster-Care Abuse
LOS ANGELES - A child is four times more likely to be abused or neglected in foster care in Los Angeles County than in any other place in the nation, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
"L.A. is four times higher than the national average," said Genevra Gilden, chief of the quality assurance division for the county Department of Children and Family Services. "I can't tell you why."
Worse yet, Gilden said the abuse and neglect rate in foster care is probably much higher. Berkeley researchers, she said, failed to measure abuse and neglect that occurs in group homes and placements with relatives.
"Sixty percent of the kids are in group homes and with relatives so we know it's going to be higher," she said.
The Berkeley study was done in preparation for a first-of-its-kind federal review of the state's child protective system scheduled to begin next month. Gilden shared results of the study Monday at a meeting of the county's Commission on Children and Families at the county Hall of Administration. Three California counties were selected for an in-depth review: Los Angeles, San Mateo and Stanislaus.
In the event federal standards are not met, Gilden said, "millions of dollars" in federal funding may have to be returned. How much money is at stake is unclear - and attempts to pin down state and county officials Tuesday were unsuccessful.
"The feds are not expecting states to meet all the standards," said Beth Fife, chief of federal review for the state Department of Social Services.
But harsh adjectives flew through the room Monday when child advocates learned that Los Angeles County, according to Berkeley study, also has the worst record in the nation for the time it takes to reunify children with their families.
Gilden said researchers found that only 18.8 percent of the children in Los Angeles County went home within a year.
"We look terrible," she said. "We are the worst in the state."
Federal law requires that children be reunified with their families, or placed for adoption, within 12 months after being removed from their homes. Nationally, 76.2 percent of children were reunified within the time frame; in California, 53.7 percent of the children went home before the year was up.
"I think it's shameful that we only return 18 percent within a year," said Lisa Mandell of Dependency Court Legal Services. "We are not working with families. ... We are just waiting and waiting."
"It's pitiful. It's horrible," said Virginia Wiesz, directing attorney for children's rights at Public Counsel. "We're not realizing the sense of time for these kids, [and] we have to have a time frame to provide the services upfront."
"We are failing as a county," Mandel said.
"This is abysmal," Wiesz said. "And here we are, advocates for these children, putting up with it."
Last week, a federal legislator asked for a state law that would create criminal penalties for social workers who falsify reports.
In response to this and the Berkeley study, a spokesman for the union representing Los Angeles County's children's social workers said that whoever is placing the blame on social workers is misguided.
Tom O'Connor of Service Employees International Union, Local 535, said all the recent "shock and outrage" being expressed sounds like newspaper clippings from five years ago.
"This is chronic," O'Connor said of the situation.
What's propelling problems in the largest foster care system in the country, O'Connor said, is that the county's leaders have yet to devote proper resources to the child protective system. More social workers need to be hired, he said, because caseloads - now 50 to 60 per worker - have to drop to 20 per worker "for any kind of real work to be done."
"It's easy to cheap-shot and point the finger at an individual social worker, but it doesn't address the problem," O'Connor said.
Amy Pellman, acting executive director of the Alliance for Children's Rights, agreed that blaming social workers is tantamount to picking an easy scapegoat.
"The underlying issue has to do with training, lower caseloads and access to resources," Pellman said.
Cheryl Romo
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