By SJ Otto
Since Governor Sam Brownback came to office almost 8 years
ago, The far-far-far-far right-wing of the Republican Party have made it clear
that Kansas is trying to be the stingiest state in the union when it comes to
child welfare.
The state government has cut the welfare department
(Department for Children and Families) to the bone. There is little money given
to ANYONE in this state and the requirements are tremendous. You have to be
close to death to get any benefits and to get any cash, that only goes to women
with children.
It is surprising that any funds go to people living in
poverty in the state of Kansas
When it comes to poor people, the right-wing Republicans
show complete indifference to their suffering and much of what they do is just
plain spite. To label them mean-spirited is more than just an opinion—it is fact.
Therefore it was no surprise when I picked up the Sunday's The
Wichita Eagle and saw the headline:
"Kansas DCF[1]
failed to meet 16 standards for child safety, well-being over past year."
Kansas Republican strive to give children the worst possible care in the country and according to this article they have succeeded:
"The Department for Children and Families this week disclosed a report tracking 30 performance measurements. On more than half, the agency’s performance didn’t meet federal and state standards.
The shortfall shows the agency still needs to improve after a year of intense scrutiny that led to changes in leadership and a push for better performance."
The DCF said it had implemented several initiatives to improve. For the most part the system simply hasn't put in what it takes to work. According to the article:
▪ Children had 8.9 homes for every 1,000 days they were in foster care — more than double the standard of 4.12.
▪ The agency assessed family strengths and needs within 30 days just 66 percent of the time. Standards call for timely assessments 95 percent of the time.
▪ Children were adopted in less than two years just 17.6 percent of the time. The standard is more than 26.8 percent.
The report “tells us we still have a long ways to go,” said Rep. Jarrod Ousley, a Merriam Democrat and member of a state child welfare task force. The DCF provided the report on Monday as the task force met but didn’t discuss it during the meeting.
We see that Republican's running of this system is far too inadequate to do the job. They are simply skimpy on the staff and skimpy on what it takes to run the system. We see the same lackadaisical inattention to the details of this task.
As with other systems Kansas uses to try and get things done, this one also didn't work.
▪ Children had 8.9 homes for every 1,000 days they were in foster care — more than double the standard of 4.12.
▪ The agency assessed family strengths and needs within 30 days just 66 percent of the time. Standards call for timely assessments 95 percent of the time.
▪ Children were adopted in less than two years just 17.6 percent of the time. The standard is more than 26.8 percent.
The report “tells us we still have a long ways to go,” said Rep. Jarrod Ousley, a Merriam Democrat and member of a state child welfare task force. The DCF provided the report on Monday as the task force met but didn’t discuss it during the meeting.
We see that Republican's running of this system is far too inadequate to do the job. They are simply skimpy on the staff and skimpy on what it takes to run the system. We see the same lackadaisical inattention to the details of this task.
As with other systems Kansas uses to try and get things done, this one also didn't work.
No comments:
Post a Comment