Thursday, March 13, 2014
Statement on a Report Released Today by the Child Welfare League
Today I released the
following statement regarding a report issued by the Child Welfare League, who
has been hired to review the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families:
“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.”
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