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Life and death in D.C. social services

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THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Within the District government, bureaucratic clumsiness in most every agency and department is costing the city millions of dollars in stolen, uncollected, wasted and otherwise lost revenue. In some cases it is costing lives. Two-year-old Dontray Kevin Bradley is the system's latest victim. He was beaten to death for his birthday this week, his tiny, innocent life ultimately compromised by derelict social workers who failed in their job to protect him.

Reporters Jonetta Rose Barras and Darryl Lynette Figueroa of The Washington Times have been uncovering disturbing details about the dysfunctional operation of city government, particularly two of the city's largest agencies - the Department of Public and Assisted Housing (DPAH) and the Department of Human Services (DHS). Both departments are fiscal black holes of runaway budgets, chronic malaise and an extraordinary absence of financial and administrative accountability.

Little Dontray might not have died if social workers had visited his environment more than twice in a five-month period. Had they kept up with him and his aunt, who was his court-appointed guardian, they might have discovered that the aunt's violence-prone boyfriend was living with them. But then social workers wouldn't have known where to look. They didn't know where the pair were living.

According to court records, four domestic-violence charges were pending against the boyfriend, Reginald N. Hunter, when he was arrested last week for the toddler's death. DHS procedure requires that social workers interview and scrutinize anyone and everyone living in a home where a child has been placed. But it didn't happen for Dontray.

It would be of some macabre comfort to say this child's case was the rare one that fell through the cracks. But it was not. In fact, it is a routine occurrence, if the stories told by dozens of current and former foster-care parents are any guide. They have said that social workers rarely visit their homes. Some are completely inaccessible by telephone and do not return calls. When workers do show up at homes, usually when the child is first being placed in foster care, the visit is little more than cursory.

DHS social workers have defended themselves by arguing that there are too many cases and too few workers. But the failure of the department to function properly is not just a DHS problem. It reflects the breakdown throughout city government. It goes beyond negligent employees to a failure deep within the system.

Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly has talked about turning over some D.C. government functions that have become unwieldy to the private sector. She should think hard about DHS and DPAH. They are ripe candidates. These two city agencies have become so politicized, distant and weighted with personalities that they are dysfunctional.

Contracting out will not be a cure-all for the city's administrative ills, but at least in real businesses, such things as profit, function, performance, accountability and a system of checks and balances are regarded as key elements. None of them seems to matter much to government - as the case of Dontray Kevin Bradley tragically proves.

1992 Jun 8