Child services task force sought

Panel would recommend reforms

The Denver Post

Colorado's human services chief unveiled plans Thursday for an independent task force to recommend reforms of the state's child protection system after the recent deaths of four children under the watch of government caseworkers.She also called for internal changes in her own department.

"We wanted to clean our own house," said Marva Livingston Hammons, executive director of the state Department of Human Services.

Hammons' 10-page report does not call for additional money for any of her proposals except a previous request for 12 more state monitors to oversee foster homes, group homes and private youth corrections centers.

Owens asked Hammons to investigate the child welfare system earlier this month after The Denver Post reported on the cases of two Colorado babies who died despite repeated warnings to caseworkers. Two other child deaths also prompted Hammons' review: a baby drowned while unattended in a bathtub despite prior complaints of neglect, and a toddler was beaten to death in his foster home.

After the deaths, some critics called for an independent review of the system. Hammons' proposed task force - to be appointed by Gov. Bill Owens - will be composed of child advocates, doctors, judges and others. It will recommend reforms to Owens by August. The meetings likely will be open to the public, Hammons said.

Hammons also is pushing a state team to finish its investigation of the four deaths by early April.

Hammons called for additional training of caseworkers, better criminal background checks of employees of all child-placement facilities, and the creation of a multi-department state team to respond within 24 hours to serious allegations of safety problems at foster homes, group homes and youth correction centers.

She also called for opening some child protection records to the public, but when asked, she could not outline any specific changes she'd like to see in the law.

"We will be open as much as possible," she said.

Child advocates argue that government caseworkers hide behind confidentiality rules to prevent scrutiny of their work.

"These dead children don't have voices, and disclosing things brings their voices forward," said Adoree Blair, a longtime foster parent who has worked to reform child welfare laws.

Some of the system's biggest critics were encouraged by the reform efforts but questioned who would end up on the task force. Hammons assured reporters at a news conference that she wants "people who have been highly critical" to be part of the group.

"We need people who are tough," said Sen. Dorothy Rupert, D-Boulder, a member of a state team that reviews all child deaths.

Others questioned whether there was enough political will to implement whatever the task force recommends.

A 1994 task force appointed by then-Gov. Roy Romer recommended sweeping changes to Colorado's Children's Code, but few made it into law. Some disillusioned task force members felt the 100-page reform bill ended up collecting dust.

"The idea of a task force is good, but it's not enough," said Dr. Richard Krugman, dean of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and a child abuse expert critical of the system. "The only way task forces matter is if governors and legislators actually do something with the recommendations that are made."

One of the key reforms that came out of the earlier task force was a law that gives counties one year to decide whether to reunite foster children younger than 6 with their biological families or free them for adoption. Counties have until 2004 to comply with the law. However, the Legislature's joint budget committee recently cut the state's original request of $6.9 million for that program to $1.8 million.

Critics say that does not bode well for future reforms that the task force recommends.

"That's really lawmakers working in two different directions," said Seth Grob, an attorney at the Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center. "Ms. Hammons is trying to improve the response in child welfare while simultaneously they are taking away resources to expedite dependency and neglect proceedings."

Hammons also ordered changes in the state's youth corrections system, including minimizing the placement of mentally ill youth in solitary confinement and adding monitoring of corrections centers for safety issues. Within 60 days, a multi-department team will review all severely mentally ill youth in the corrections system and determine their needs.

Hammons, appointed by Owens in January, is no stranger to child welfare reform. Before becoming Colorado's human services chief, she instituted reforms in Michigan's system.

When she was New York City's chief social services administrator 3 1/2 years ago, her department faced nationally publicized investigations when repeated complaints to caseworkers went unheeded and a 6-year-old girl was killed by her mother. Patricia Callahan's e-mail address is Pcallahan@denverpost.com. DEATHS

Four child deaths triggered the state investigation:  *Dec. 7: Marquisha Richardson, 4 months, dies of complications after her premature birth. University Hospital warned Denver officials that Marquisha's 17-year-old mother couldn't handle the baby's needs.

*Jan. 4: Kayanna Rae Pierce, 14 months, is allegedly beaten to death in Delta by her mother's boyfriend. Kayanna's father and others had warned of possible abuse but county and city officials said they could find no evidence. Jeremiah Duran, 20, faces a murder charge.

*Jan. 31: Precious Hickman, 3 months, drowns in a bathtub in her mother's Denver apartment. Tiffany Hickman, 21, left the room. Hickman, who is charged with child abuse resulting in death, was in court two days before her daughter's death on another neglect charge.

*Feb. 2: Miguel Arias-Baca, 2 1/2 years old, dies at Children's Hospital. His Westminster foster father allegedly beat Miguel Jan. 31 after the boy soiled his diaper. Ricky Haney, 37, is charged with child abuse resulting in death. Haney had a criminal record.