A recent article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
newspaper correctly points out that "Caseworker
turnover" has sent an alarm throughout Georgia's
Division of Family and Children Services.
Here we go again.
You don't have to be a public policy wonk to
understand a limited number of caseworkers are
attempting to properly work an unlimited number of
alleged cases of child abuse. Additionally, you don't
have to be a genius to realize children are our most
precious human resource on the planet. We are all
"against" child abuse. No one is "for it."
However, it is time to look at DFCS differently. With
a set of fresh eyes. With a willingness to tackle the
biggest problem facing DFCS. To do this, you just
have to look at the number of cases of alleged child
abuse that are substantiated - versus the number of
cases that are screened out or deemed unsubstantiated.
I live in Douglas County. According to Georgia's
Child Protection Services State Fiscal Year 2002
report for Douglas County, out of the 1,469 reports of
alleged child abuse - 532 reports were screened out.
A total of 661 cases were closed as unsubstantiated.
There were 276 substantiated cases of alleged child
abuse. But we're supposed to believe child abuse is
rampant.
I am aware of no one, I repeat no one, who at a
governmental level is trying to reform DFCS by doing
something serious about the huge number of false
allegations of child abuse essentially filed by both
adults and children.
If Department of Human Resources Commissioner B.J.
Walker and Clayton County caseworker Rita Goodman want
to see less caseworkers quit and caseloads where they
ought to be, than it is high time for those who make
false accusations to be punished.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Craig Schneider
says a lot in his article, "Caseworker turnover alarms
agency", when he writes, "In some instances,
caseworkers cut short an investigation when it becomes
apparent that a family needs some counseling or health
advice."
But those accused of child abuse the investigator
knows are innocent, must contact the references the
accused has provided ASAP to let them know a case of
alleged child abuse is no longer being pursued. Why
should the accused have to keep asking their
references (usually, loved ones or co-workers) if the
investigator has called? What must the references be
thinking?
We truly need a statewide discussion on the policies
and procedures that DFCS caseworkers follow. With the
huge number of screened out and unsubstantiated cases
in every Georgia county, does anyone have the heart to
think about how many people have seen their individual
lives and families ruined because of false allegations
of child abuse? Better to be safe than sorry doesn't
cut it.
So, here's the sad part of the DFCS puzzle that
everyone is afraid to address: a child protection
system that does nothing to punish those who make
false allegations of child abuse bears some
responsibility when families split up over these same
false allegations of child abuse.
There should be stiff penalties in the form of jail
time for both adults and children who knowingly
initiate a DFCS investigation that should never be
initiated at all. Only then will we finally be able
to look at DFCS differently. Surely, a child
protection system that only protects accusers at the
expense of the accused, is a system that must be
completely reformed if justice is to flourish in a
civil society.
Zizza is a freelance writer based in the Atlanta area
who writes frequently about public policy and
children's issues.
Email comments to him at:
tz777@yahoo.com
