2½ years ago the Rhode Island’s child advocate sued the state alleging
widespread abuse and neglect of the children in its care. The child
advocate’s office convened a panel of child safety experts to
investigate and concluded that Department of Children, Youth and Family
workers had missed or ignored several warning signs that might have
prevented the beating death of a 3-year-old boy in an unlicensed foster
home.
The DCYF revamped its licensing of foster homes, purchased fingerprinting equipment and conducted its own criminal background checks to reduce the time lag in evaluating prospective foster parents but child advocate Jametta O. Alston was frustrated with the pace of change at the agency and sued the state. Last May, a federal court judge in Providence dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that Alston and the other plaintiffs had no standing. Alston appealed to the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, which heard arguments earlier this month. Their decision is pending.
For more, see projo.com.
The DCYF revamped its licensing of foster homes, purchased fingerprinting equipment and conducted its own criminal background checks to reduce the time lag in evaluating prospective foster parents but child advocate Jametta O. Alston was frustrated with the pace of change at the agency and sued the state. Last May, a federal court judge in Providence dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that Alston and the other plaintiffs had no standing. Alston appealed to the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, which heard arguments earlier this month. Their decision is pending.
For more, see projo.com.
