Saturday, July 10, 2004
Independent eyes needed
Bakersfield Californian
http://www.bakersfield.com
July 10th, 2004
You have to give Kern County supervisors points for trying. And they weren't the first to try it and fail. The public, the media and even a state senator have tried and failed to shine the light of public scrutiny on county child protective services.
State and federal laws shroud in secrecy the public services designed to protect the most vulnerable among us. And when those services fail to protect children who are injured or killed by abusive adults, the public's demand for answers are denied.
It is one of the few areas of government that the public is powerless to monitor.
In the wake of child abuse cases that have outraged this community including the recent homicide of a foster child and the report of a toddler left caged in a closet to wallow in his own feces supervisors initiated a review of the county's child protective service.
They also proposed increasing their oversight of the services, which are housed in the county's Human Services Department. The Board of Supervisors appoints the department's director.
Supervisors discussed appointing an independent ombudsman who would investigate high-profile cases and child deaths, reporting confidentially to supervisors. They discussed regular outside review of the protective services the county department provides to children.
Last week, supervisors were told by department Director Beverly Beasley Johnson that they would have to settle for much less.
In presenting an "action plan" that calls for program improvements and preventative steps, Johnson told supervisors to forget about appointing an "independent" ombudsman an inspector general type position to investigate and report to the board when tragedy strikes.
She claims state and federal law prevent such an appointment. She proposes to hire an ombudsman within her department, who will work for her and report shortcomings to her. Johnson then will give supervisors the reports they seek.
Supervisor Ray Watson was among those who noted such an ombudsman would not be viewed as "objective."
Independence is necessary "to make sure the department is not trying to protect itself" when children's lives are at stake, he said.
Watson is correct.
The buck stops the ultimate responsibility for child protective services rests with the Board of Supervisors. They hire and they can fire the department head who oversees the program. As our elected representatives, supervisors are responsible for seeing that tax dollars are being wisely spent and government services efficiently delivered.
Supervisors deserve objective and independent information to do their jobs. Their constituents must be confident particularly when normal public scrutiny is limited by sweeping confidentiality laws that supervisors are providing vigilant oversight.
The creation of an independent ombudsman or inspector general not only makes sense, it is essential.
Mechanisms exist through the courts and the authority of such agencies as the county counsel's office to penetrate the shroud of secrecy that surrounds child abuse cases.
Supervisors are encouraged to continue their pursuit of independent oversight through these mechanisms. The safety of Kern's children depend on it.
http://www.bakersfield.com
July 10th, 2004
You have to give Kern County supervisors points for trying. And they weren't the first to try it and fail. The public, the media and even a state senator have tried and failed to shine the light of public scrutiny on county child protective services.
State and federal laws shroud in secrecy the public services designed to protect the most vulnerable among us. And when those services fail to protect children who are injured or killed by abusive adults, the public's demand for answers are denied.
It is one of the few areas of government that the public is powerless to monitor.
In the wake of child abuse cases that have outraged this community including the recent homicide of a foster child and the report of a toddler left caged in a closet to wallow in his own feces supervisors initiated a review of the county's child protective service.
They also proposed increasing their oversight of the services, which are housed in the county's Human Services Department. The Board of Supervisors appoints the department's director.
Supervisors discussed appointing an independent ombudsman who would investigate high-profile cases and child deaths, reporting confidentially to supervisors. They discussed regular outside review of the protective services the county department provides to children.
Last week, supervisors were told by department Director Beverly Beasley Johnson that they would have to settle for much less.
In presenting an "action plan" that calls for program improvements and preventative steps, Johnson told supervisors to forget about appointing an "independent" ombudsman an inspector general type position to investigate and report to the board when tragedy strikes.
She claims state and federal law prevent such an appointment. She proposes to hire an ombudsman within her department, who will work for her and report shortcomings to her. Johnson then will give supervisors the reports they seek.
Supervisor Ray Watson was among those who noted such an ombudsman would not be viewed as "objective."
Independence is necessary "to make sure the department is not trying to protect itself" when children's lives are at stake, he said.
Watson is correct.
The buck stops the ultimate responsibility for child protective services rests with the Board of Supervisors. They hire and they can fire the department head who oversees the program. As our elected representatives, supervisors are responsible for seeing that tax dollars are being wisely spent and government services efficiently delivered.
Supervisors deserve objective and independent information to do their jobs. Their constituents must be confident particularly when normal public scrutiny is limited by sweeping confidentiality laws that supervisors are providing vigilant oversight.
The creation of an independent ombudsman or inspector general not only makes sense, it is essential.
Mechanisms exist through the courts and the authority of such agencies as the county counsel's office to penetrate the shroud of secrecy that surrounds child abuse cases.
Supervisors are encouraged to continue their pursuit of independent oversight through these mechanisms. The safety of Kern's children depend on it.
# posted by Senator Dean Florez @ 12:04 PM 
