An overwhelmed D.C. child welfare agency has been hard-pressed to close 2,000 investigations into possible child abuse as the District’s elected leaders roll out a slate of reforms to improve the city’s response to abuse allegations.
The Child and Family Services Agency’s child welfare hotline has received 9,900 calls since January, when the four daughters of Banita Jacks were found dead in their Southeast home, CFSA Director Sharlynn Bobo said Friday. A third of the callers reported abuse and neglect, and another 500 alleged educational neglect.
As a result of the deluge, CFSA now has 2,000 open investigations, a “historic” number that is taxing the agency’s resources, Bobo said. In December the agency closed more reviews than it opened, 380 compared to 290. Since January the figures have reversed: In March, for example, CFSA opened 615 investigations and closed only 188.
D.C. law requires the closure of child welfare reviews within 30 days, but most of the existing investigations are pushing 60 days. An additional 30 agency staff members have been detailed to child welfare through June, Bobo said.
“Responding to those investigations has been difficult for us,” she said. “What’s good about it is, it means that community awareness about child safety has been raised to a high level, to a good level.”
The District is “steadily moving toward the day” when thetroubled CFSA is free of court monitoring, Mayor Adrian Fenty said. The urgency for reform exploded following the highly publicized failure of CFSA employees to pursue warnings of trouble in the Jacks’ family.
Upcoming reforms include retraining of social workers, better resources for mandated abuse reporters, an outside review of the child welfare system and additional vehicles for social workers.
D.C. Councilman Tommy Wells, chair of the Human Services Committee, announced plans to double funding for pre- and postnatal home visitations, provide a tax credit for people who mentor youth, and establish an advisory board that will review social workers involved in cases resulting in serious harm to or death of a child.
“I know that it’s hard to focus on reform at the same time you’re dealing with a crisis, but I do feel that the agency is dealing with the crisis,” Wells said.
Child welfare investigations
January: Opened 715, Closed 179
February: Opened 695, Closed 152
March: Opened 615, Closed 188
April: Opened 593, Closed 276
