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David Stanley Ford

Oklahoma kids in DHS care face dangers, report finds
Group seeks reform of state system

BY RANDY ELLIS    Comments Comment on this article22
Published: November 12, 2009

TULSA — Treatment of children in Oklahoma’s child welfare system has been "incomprehensible, unimaginable, outrageous and immoral,” a child welfare expert stated Wednesday in a report filed in Tulsa federal court.

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Child welfare consultant Peg McCartt Hess wrote that she reviewed the case files of five children in custody of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services and was extremely alarmed by the "neglect, physical abuse and sexual abuse” the children experienced while in state care.

One foster care child was routinely "hit with tree switches” by his foster parents, Hess reported. She quoted one of the foster parents as stating, "If you don’t beat them down they will run all over you.”

Hess described other children in state care who had been scalded in bath water, beaten with a belt or sexually molested.

One 5-year-old boy was so emotionally distraught after being bounced around various DHS placements that he repeatedly threatened to harm himself by jumping out of a van or window "to go to heaven,” Hess wrote.

"His DHS worker failed to increase the frequency of face-to-face contact to monitor his safety and/or to meet with him privately,” Hess reported.

Another child welfare expert who reviewed the case files of nine DHS foster children concluded the system is dangerous for children.

Federal government data show "children in OKDHS’s care are more likely to be abused and neglected than are children in the care of almost any other state,” child welfare expert John Goad said.

"It is probable that all children who are placed in the custody of the agency are in danger of being placed with abusive, neglectful and dangerous caregivers whom OKDHS has failed to identify because of its deficient response to child abuse and neglect referrals,” Goad wrote.

The reports were filed by attorneys for Children’s Rights, a New York-based child advocacy group that is seeking to reform Oklahoma’s child welfare system through a class action lawsuit in behalf of all children in DHS care.

The group hopes the report will persuade a judge to force DHS to release additional documents that could show how widespread problems are within the agency.

Oklahoma state offices were closed Wednesday, and DHS officials did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

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David Stanley Ford


Related Topics: Culture and Lifestyle, Crime, Welfare Policy, Domestic Policy, Social Policy, Political Policy, Politics, Child Abuse, Family, Foster Care


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Something else Paul don't think we have not been trying for years to change this but the only way to do that is to get our government to step in and they won't do it. If you ask them they all have the same answer I am sorry it is out of my jurisdiction. I know this for a fact I have gotten the same answer from Governor Henry, Oklahoma Senate, and The House of Representatives etc. The truth is DHS does not have a boss they can do what they want whenever they want. If you only knew how many of these stories the media has been sitting on for years and wouldn't even report them because they are also scared of DHS. In my opinion the only reason they are doing some of these now is because of Britton Follet with Channel 25. She is the one who was not scared off. Finally Channel 4 decided to do a story and then Channel 9 and Channel 5 had no other choice but to follow suit. I called Channel 9 once and asked them about a story done by Britton and asked them how come they didn't do the story and they lied and told me they did it. Once I busted them on their lie they hung up on me so you see they don't really want to do these stories either. If you people only knew what is really going on that the government doesn't want you to know. Also for any who think I don't know what I am talking about I have all the documents to prove what I say. How much money is involved etc. Just for the record Oklahoma collected over 29 million dollars from the Social Security Administration last year on the pretense of helping children.
Dana - Nov 14, 2009 at 3:04 pm
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To answer your question Paul #1 it is hard to get the feds involved because of all the money involved and we are talking in the millions. Something else believe it or not Oklahoma is not the worst actually California is. As far as the top 5 would go it California, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Also half these kids are taken for the money not because they are in need of help. According to DHS records the ones who are truely abused are usually put back in the home. They are considered unmarketable there for not adoptable so no need for DHS to keep them if they don't have to. The ones they really want are the ones who have nothing wrong with them so they can adopt them out quickly. They recieve money from the Social Security Administration to take these kids. Then once they are adopted the adoptive parents recieve a check every month for that child until they turn 18 and free medical. These checks start at 1,100 a month and go up depending on the circumstances. Now once you refuse to let them put your child up for adoption that is when they stick them in abusive foster homes so that if you ever do get your child back the emotional scars are sometimes too much for the child to bear. In some of these cases these children kill themselves if the state doesn't do it first. These people don't care about these children they only care about the money.
Dana - Nov 14, 2009 at 2:49 pm
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When you have a system whose funding is based on the number of children in that system, and those involved in with the system can't agree on how many children there are,(7000 or 14000?)while another juvenile agency,(OCCY)in the same state,(involving some of the same people) is caught using "ghost children",(fictitious cases used to collect funding) and 30% overbilling in one program alone it should be clear fraud is likely present and an audit is called for. Our legislature knows this but refuses to act. Yet knowing this and about the many abused and dead children as a result of DHS our legislature will not investigate. Instead they pass a law to screen children at school for BMI,(body mass index). And if your child is "outside the norm" on the screening there is provision for DHS involvement if you don't take the child to the Dr.
Ask yourself if any of our legislators really care about children or if some of them also profit from the "Child Abuse Industry"
William - Nov 13, 2009 at 6:54 pm
From www.childrensrights.org
In 2003, after DCF
repeatedly failed to implement court-ordered reforms in many key areas, Children’s
Rights sought to hold Defendants in contempt of court. Negotiations followed and
Children’s Rights obtained an unprecedented court order in which the state voluntarily
transferred management authority over the child welfare system to the federal court. In
early 2004, a comprehensive exit plan of 22 “outcome measures” was developed, which
details the necessary reforms and improvement benchmarks that DCF is required to meet.
queen326 - Nov 13, 2009 at 1:42 pm
05 May 2008 / Posted by cr

Citing the ongoing failure of Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families to meet performance standards mandated by the settlement of a federal class action reform lawsuit brought against the state on behalf of approximately 6,000 children in state custody and thousands more at risk of entering state custody, the national advocacy group Children’s Rights and Connecticut co-counsel today asked for a partial federal takeover of the agency’s management. The full article can be read at

http://www.childrensrights.org/news-events/press/advocates-seek-partial-federal-takeover-of-connecticut-child-welfare-system/
queen326 - Nov 13, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Im sorry I made a mistake Paul...It is 16 lawsuits in 16 different states including Oklahoma and DC. And this is just what I found during one search of the internet. I have others who are members of the OKFRC that are compiling a more complete list for you.
queen326 - Nov 13, 2009 at 1:24 pm
On the contrary, Paul the organization Children's Rights is responsible for 16 class action suits in 11 different states. Many of those were at the verge of Federal intervention until settlements and/or rulings were made. you can check out summaries of each of the suits by visiting http://www.childrensrights.org/reform-campaigns/legal-cases/
queen326 - Nov 13, 2009 at 1:14 pm
THe other thing that I might add is that some people are in it for the money and there are not enough social workers to have routine home inspections. Foster parents should be more closely monitored, with twice monthly visits to the home. The emotional and physical ability to give good care should be evaluated often. Circumstances change and sometimes foster parents get overwhelmed. They need support too. The bottom line is that the system needs a overhaul. Money paid for care of children should be accounted for and proof should be required that the children are being taken care of. They have already had trauma being taken from their homes they should not suffer again in foster care. I've read the same storied from all states so Washington should sit up and take notice.
Rhonda, Altus - Nov 12, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Being a former Foster Parent I agree that the system is broken but after writing to every representative in Oklahoma and Washington and being told they didn't have time to fix the problem where do you go. I was not an abusive home but I do know they exist. The reason is that not enough good people want to get involved in the care of these children and that policy is reunion even if it takes years. The children's futures should be considered and the effect being in foster care for years has on them. If parents do work to fix problems then yes they should have them. But give me a break, parents that can't pass a drug test for 4 years shouldn't get their kids. The whole system is messed up with the idea of reunification at all cost. I adopted one of my foster children and she is awesome. I loved everyone of the children I took care of and would have gladly adopted any of them. To all the people that think it is just Okies that are this bad, get real it is this bad all over the U.S.
Rhonda, Altus - Nov 12, 2009 at 8:40 pm
"The system is not only flawed here in Oklahoma but nationwide."----Perhaps, but your comment is trying to change the subject at hand here.

Your question should have been, "The system is flawed not only in okieland but nationwide, but how many OTHER states are at the point of having the Feds come in due to the pathetic shape of DHS like okieland"?

Queen, see if you can find any other states that are at the point of having the Feds take over, will you?

Now, for Jennifer---------------------""Why is everyone blaming all of the people from oklahoma."-----When the topic is about the pathetic and immoral condition of DHS in okieland, who should we be blaming besides okies? You okies ARE the DHS system, and you suck, hence the Feds threatening to step in because you clods can't get it fixed yourselves.......


paul, yukon - Nov 12, 2009 at 6:05 pm
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The system is not only flawed here in Oklahoma but nationwide. Until we as a people demand that our elected officials in Washington change the way foster care is funded, any thing done here is just a bandaid over a serious wound.
queen326 - Nov 12, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Why is everyone blaming all of the people from oklahoma. I was born and raised in OKC and I am not just some stupid okie. I agree that DHS is a flawed system and needs some overhaul. Anyone who has ever had to deal with DHS knows what kind of crap they do and it is a horrible system.
Jennifer, Oklahoma City - Nov 12, 2009 at 11:43 am
What's sad is that 4 of the top 5 stories viewed on this suck site are OU stories, the 6th top viewed one is a sex tape scandal. Okies priorities are football and underage sex tapes. Is it any surprise DHS sucks so bad in dirt patch land?
Cletus, Mayberry - Nov 12, 2009 at 9:11 am
Looks like the inbreds strike another one for leading the nation in suckiness...how about just digging a hole and burying yourselves in it, although as fat as most of you are your big asses would stick out of the ground.
Cletus, Mayberry - Nov 12, 2009 at 9:10 am
Anytime you let the judiciary system have control over anything it's all about the money. Gary if you would read the bible you would see that most of the bad is because the lack of or distancing ourselves from God is the biggest problem in the world. Agree LLLL Western (God help our children). Thank you Oklahoman for running this info, people of Oklahoma wake up.
Rick , Oklahoma City - Nov 12, 2009 at 8:59 am
Lemmee see. You write an article bashing the agency and publish it the day state offices are closed, noting you couldn't get their side of the story. Fair and balanced, right? Yeah.
stinkerpants, Oklahoma City - Nov 12, 2009 at 8:56 am
The fish rots from the head down. It is time Governor Henry calls for Howard Hendricks resignation.
GreggTunison.com - Nov 12, 2009 at 8:49 am
DHS is a broke system that has no interest in the safety of children. There are children who could be placed with grandparents that due to DHS and some of the da's saying that the grandparents don't believe the allegations that some anti-social child with numerous psyc problems have made, they can't have their biological grandchildren. Children are dangled out in front of parents who try their best to conform to DHS's "plan" when in reality there is no one that can jump through all the hoops. There used to be some good DHS workers. No more. They all are over paid under worked state employees that have only their best interest in mind. DHS needs SHUT DOWN. They won't even abide by their own "policies". God help our children.
LLLL, Western - Nov 12, 2009 at 7:11 am
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how about a new hate crime law for the kids.
Gary, Oklahoma City - Nov 12, 2009 at 7:05 am
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these kids cast no votes, so sally and randy and their cronies dont have much intrest. too busy putting up monuments where they dont belong.
Gary, Oklahoma City - Nov 12, 2009 at 7:04 am
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I'm amazed that all you "upstanding, Christian, family oriented" okies allow stuff like this to happen in this state.

I guess as long as you can go and thump that bible anytime you want then the actual amount of wrongdoing that happens in all aspects of life in okieland is tolerated, right?

Just one more area okieland sucks in....
paul, yukon - Nov 12, 2009 at 6:11 am
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I hope Howard Hendricks is proud of his 'cronyism'. He has allowed employees to be promoted thru the ranks for who they knew and not on what they know. I went on CNN back in 06 to exspose his management. Nothing has changed. Cash your paycheck Howard. Doing a great job.
smark, Oklahoma City - Nov 12, 2009 at 5:34 am

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