Committee Approves FY2009 Budget; Councilmember Tommy Wells Launches Child Welfare Safety Net Reform Plan

On Thursday, May 01, 2008, the Committee on Human Services, Chaired by Councilmember Tommy Wells, approved the FY2009 committee budget, including several components of a comprehensive package of reforms aimed to repair the safety net for child welfare.

Councilmember Wells stated, “The tragic deaths of Brittany Jacks, Tatianna Jacks, N’Kiah Fogle, and Aja Fogle wounded our community deeply.  Held hostage by their mother in their own home, and cut off from the outside world, they died long before anyone could figure out what had happened to them.  Sadly, none of us knew what had happened to these girls until U.S. Marshals found their bodies -- four young girls slipped through all our hands and the tears in our safety net were exposed.”

Reports from the Child Fatality Review Committee have also shown that most death of children occur under the age of 1, or after the age of 15. Added Wells, “When it comes to child welfare, it goes beyond Banita Jacks.”

In February, Councilmember Wells created a task force of experts in the child welfare community to work with him in outlining a comprehensive package of child welfare reforms aimed at ensuring families who are in crisis and need assistance have access to supports and services. This work led to a series of recommendations – some steps included in the FY2009 Committee Budget and others to be introduced as legislative reform at Council.

“In examining the multiple contacts the Jacks family had with the District government following their move to the city in December 2005, we found startling truths about the inefficiencies in the city’s safety net. Every city has a safety net that responds when children are in crisis and families are in need of services and supports. This net is woven through the collaborations of both public and private agencies and organizations whose missions are to provide for the safety of children and the welfare of families,” Wells explained.

The FY 2009 budget provided an opportunity for the committee to make repairs to the safety net for at-risk children and families of the District of Columbia. Councilmember Wells added several recommendations within the budget to address these needs, and on Monday, May 5th, will announce additional legislative components to be considered by Council.

The “Repairing the Safety Net for At-Risk Children and Families Reform Plan”, which includes the following policy and legislative initiatives, will facilitate a more responsive and effective Washington DC safety net ensuring that every child is known and nurtured; families have help when they need it and children and youth have healing when they are injured.

Committee Actions

• Pre and Postnatal Home Visitation Program
To tackle the District’s challenge of reducing high rates infant mortality and preterm births, disparities in birth and pregnancy outcomes, and the high number of young children who enter the child welfare system due to abuse or neglect, the Committee doubled the proposed funding for nurse home visitation programs – such as those run by Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Health – and set a goal of reaching 20 percent of all births in the District within 3 years.

• Universal School Child Accountability Regulations
To ensure that every child in the District of Columbia is enrolled in and regularly attends an appropriate educational program, the Committee is calling on the Mayor to develop a universal tracking system for every school age child.

• Early Intervention Differential Response System
To engage families known to the child welfare system and connect them to a full range of services without requiring a determination of maltreatment, the Committee is requiring the Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) to develop and implement a differential response system for the District of Columbia, creating policies and procedures where none currently exist.

• Mandated Child Abuse and Neglect Reporter Training
To provide mandated child abuse and neglect prevention training to all professionals identified as mandated court reporters, the Committee is requiring CFSA to submit a plan for review by October 1, 2008.

• Gateway to Services Family Self-Assessment
To empower families to assess their own needs and connect to additional resources and supports, the Committee is requiring that every family that applies for government benefits shall complete a “Gateway to Services Family Self-Assessment.”

• Expanding Youth Mentoring Opportunities 
To coordinate programs and expand public/private partnerships in support of mentoring opportunities for at-risk youth, the Committee is recommending the establishment of an Office for Youth Mentoring, responsible for coordinating youth mentoring-related activities.

Legislative Initiatives at Council

On Tuesday, May 6th, Councilmember Wells will offer the following bills for review and consideration by Council.

• Youth Mentoring Incentive Act of 2008
Provide District residents with an annual income tax credit for volunteering one year as a youth mentor in a recognized youth mentoring program; 2) provide employers who allow employees to serve as youth mentors with a tax credit for costs; and 3) amend the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978, to allow District employees to use accrued leave to volunteer as a youth mentor to District youth.

• CFSA Internal Critical Incident Advisory Board Creation Act of 2008
Establishs an Internal Critical Incident Advisory Board to review the course of action taken by all social workers in the Child and Family Services Agency involved in a case that results in serious harm to or death of a child. The Advisory Board will be authorized to provide the Director of CFSA and the Executive Office of the Mayor with recommendations regarding whether and what corrective personnel action, if any should be taken.

Councilmember Wells has already introduced legislation to move the Child Fatality Review Committee from the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office to the Office of the City Administrator to improve cross agency coordination to prevent child deaths.

“With 1 in 5 DC residents living in poverty, and 1 in 3 of all DC children living in poverty, it’s more clear than ever that for these youths and families, poverty often goes hand in hand with low-quality care before birth, higher risk of child fatality, and lack of connection to vital city resources and supports.  While poverty stricken populations are at greater risk for child abuse and neglect, all Washingtonians suffer from the lack of an adequate child welfare safety net,” added Wells.

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