The Jacks Case: Let’s Point Some Fingers!
Nothing like the deaths of four D.C. children to prompt a classic round of fingerpointing. Just check out the brief piece by Dena Levitz in this morning’s edition of the Examiner.
Here’s what you got:
A highly placed charter school official defending the actions of Meridian Public Charter School, where three of Banita Jacks’ kids were enrolled. “They showed concern and followed up as they should have,” Josephine Baker told the D.C. Council. The school relied “on the word of the children’s godmother that they would be homeschooled,” in the words of the piece.
Baker slammed the Child and Family Services agency for dropping the ball routinely on these types of cases, explaining that the agency’s deficiencies account for why rich schools employ their own social workers.
Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso was busy abhorring the truancy problem in D.C. public schools. That’s a new one.
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January 17th, 2008 at 11:46 am
WE’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE - MORE HORRORS TO COME
The phony outrage and fake sense of urgency is almost as sickening as the death of four little girls. Have we forgotten mayor Adrian Fenty’s oversight and handling of MRDDA and DMH? As head of the Committee on Human Services, chaired by then Ward 4 councilmember Fenty, there were ongoing horrors in the Departments of Mental Health (DMH) and the Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Administration (MRDDA). Mayor Fenty needs to stop the predictable ambulance chasing for photo-ops to present the image of a mayor-in-charge and on the case. Remember, it has been one year since Fenty’s election, with the “promise” of better governance. Brittany, Tatianna, N’Kiah and Aja suffered and died well within the Fenty Administration. Firing those directly responsible is one thing. However, if you don’t pay attention to the details of correcting the systemic problems that caused the death of these four girls, there will be more horrors to come. Having ADD (administrative deficit disorder) since his chairmanship of the Committee on Human Services, we may have to settle for more horrors resulting from the neglect and incompetence already in progress. Mayor Adrian Fenty needs to be effectively proactive and pay attention before the news cameras arrive.
Dennis Moore, Chairperson,
District of Columbia Independents for Citizen Control (DCICC) Political Party
http://www.DCIndependents.org
dennis@dcindependents.org