Hearing on Baby's Death Today
Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) is seeking answers in a hearing this morning on the death of 6-month-old Isiah Garcia, who died on June 25th.
A social worker in the Child and Family Services Agency had never seen the child, who had been reported to the agency for neglect. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty fired the worker last week, saying there was no excuse for not reaching the child. A cause of death has not been determined.
Wells, a formal social worker, said he is concerned about CFSA and how it's handling a backlog of cases in the wake of Banita Jacks and her four daughters.
The sisters were found dead in their Southeast home in January, and their mother has been charged with their deaths. CFSA had closed the case on the girls, though a school social worker had pleaded for more intervention. The girls, whose bodies were badly decomposed, were believed to have been dead for months.
The case caused a spike in reports of neglect and abuse to the agency. The worker in charge of Isaih's case, for example, reportedly had gone from four cases to 50. At the time of Isaih's death, she had 17 open cases. The social worker made calls to the household but never saw the Isaih, as CFSA regulations require.
His parents, Morgan Herrera-El and Jesus Garcia, told The Washington Post last week that they did not abuse or neglect their four children. They did, however, say they have had problems as a couple, including domestic violence. It was after a fight with Garcia that Morgan had gone with her children to a shelter. A call alleging neglect of Isiah was made for the shelter.
By Marcia Davis |
July 14, 2008; 8:08 AM ET
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D.C. Council
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Posted by: Dead Baby | July 14, 2008 11:03 AM
I've heard people talk about the backlog caseworkers have for years now, and we always talk about it as if it's a problem that's secondary to child neglect/abuse, but really, the problem is as bad if not worse because an overwhelmed caseworker can easily - easily - lose a child in the system.
If we can all agree that caseworkers have too many kids assigned to them, then it's time to talk about a solution. I've done case management before, but not for the state - I worked for a private nonprofit foster care agency. It is incredibly demanding work. I have friends who have worked for the state (In DE, we call it DFS) and all of them have either left or are trying to leave DFS at some point. The two biggest complaints is too many kids, not enough money. These jobs are salaried too, so working overtime trying to get in all the kids - which I and my friends have all done - has no rewards.
I would accept an increase in my taxes if if went towards hiring more workers. Also, I do believe that those with children in foster care should be paying something that amounts to income-appropriate child support to the state in order to cover the cost of managing children in foster care. It is extremely expensive to take in foster children and also to pay workers to supervise them.
Additional training for the workers...out of the question. Who would pay for it? I for one would have appreciated the opportunity to continue my education and develop my skills through inservices and such, but who will pay for it? And who would step in my shoes for a day and make the phone calls and home visits? CNAs, nurses, teachers, and many others working with children are required by law to obtain a certain number of CEUs, but not case workers, and they may the ones who need it the most.
Posted by: Bonnie | July 15, 2008 9:25 AM
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Too little - too late!