Mississippi system
Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 8:28 pm
.
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs. ... S/71108009
November 8, 2007
Settlement reached in Miss. child welfare suit
The Clarion-Ledger
Attorneys representing 3,500 abused and neglected children in Mississippi?s child welfare system have reached a preliminary settlement to resolve a federal class action lawsuit against the state, according to the national child advocacy group that brought the suit.
The settlement agreement mandates top-to-bottom reform to be implemented over five years at the Mississippi Department of Human Services, according to New York-based Children's Rights, which enlisted a team of attorneys from Mississippi and across the country for the lawsuit filed in 2004.
The agreement, if approved by the court would require DHS to better protect children from maltreatment in foster care and place them in permanent homes as quickly as possible instead of moving them among multiple homes and institutions, according to Children?s Rights. DHS also would have to reduce its workers' caseloads, increase the frequency of caseworker visits to children in foster care, develop new services, increase reimbursement rates for foster parents, and provide timely health-care services to the children
"After decades of maintaining a system widely known to place abused and neglected children in further danger, Mississippi has finally made a legally enforceable commitment to fix it," Marcia Robinson Lowry, founder and executive director of Children's Rights, said in a news release.
In a joint news release with Attorney General Jim Hood, Gov. Haley Barbour said: ?Foster care is a challenge for every state because of the complexities involved in caring for these most vulnerable children. Since only a handful of states are accredited in this area I expect this settlement to help create a system in Mississippi that will become a national model for how these essential services can best be delivered.?
Said Hood: ?It will require a great deal of hard work on the part of Human Services to fulfill the terms of this agreement. Our office supports the settlement and applauds DHS? commitment to improving the quality of services provided to foster children in our state.?
The lawsuit alleges incidences of sexual abuse, unqualified employees and fiscal mismanagement, among other problems.
Plaintiffs' counsel on the case includes Children's Rights; Wayne Drinkwater and Melody McAnally of Bradley Arant Rose & White; Stephen Leech, attorney at law of Jackson, MS; and John Lang, John Piskora, and Christian D. Carboneof Loeb & Loeb LLP of New York, NY.
.
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs. ... S/71108009
November 8, 2007
Settlement reached in Miss. child welfare suit
The Clarion-Ledger
Attorneys representing 3,500 abused and neglected children in Mississippi?s child welfare system have reached a preliminary settlement to resolve a federal class action lawsuit against the state, according to the national child advocacy group that brought the suit.
The settlement agreement mandates top-to-bottom reform to be implemented over five years at the Mississippi Department of Human Services, according to New York-based Children's Rights, which enlisted a team of attorneys from Mississippi and across the country for the lawsuit filed in 2004.
The agreement, if approved by the court would require DHS to better protect children from maltreatment in foster care and place them in permanent homes as quickly as possible instead of moving them among multiple homes and institutions, according to Children?s Rights. DHS also would have to reduce its workers' caseloads, increase the frequency of caseworker visits to children in foster care, develop new services, increase reimbursement rates for foster parents, and provide timely health-care services to the children
"After decades of maintaining a system widely known to place abused and neglected children in further danger, Mississippi has finally made a legally enforceable commitment to fix it," Marcia Robinson Lowry, founder and executive director of Children's Rights, said in a news release.
In a joint news release with Attorney General Jim Hood, Gov. Haley Barbour said: ?Foster care is a challenge for every state because of the complexities involved in caring for these most vulnerable children. Since only a handful of states are accredited in this area I expect this settlement to help create a system in Mississippi that will become a national model for how these essential services can best be delivered.?
Said Hood: ?It will require a great deal of hard work on the part of Human Services to fulfill the terms of this agreement. Our office supports the settlement and applauds DHS? commitment to improving the quality of services provided to foster children in our state.?
The lawsuit alleges incidences of sexual abuse, unqualified employees and fiscal mismanagement, among other problems.
Plaintiffs' counsel on the case includes Children's Rights; Wayne Drinkwater and Melody McAnally of Bradley Arant Rose & White; Stephen Leech, attorney at law of Jackson, MS; and John Lang, John Piskora, and Christian D. Carboneof Loeb & Loeb LLP of New York, NY.
.