At 11:30 a.m., the Fair Budget Coalition and Save Our Safety Net-DC will be holding a rally at the Wilson Building to protest Fenty and Co's proposed cuts to core social-service agencies. After the demonstration, both organizations have planned visits to the D.C. Council. The Fair Budget Coalition boasts a huge roster of committed members [...]
Updated: 5 p.m.
The proposed budget cuts to D.C.'s Child and Family Services Agency do not just include the laying off of 54 employees and the cutting of the Rapid Housing Program. It became quite clear at yesterday's D.C. Council hearing that more cuts have been proposed to the troubled agency.
Judith Sandalow, executive director of the [...]
Last Friday, we report that Mayor Adrian Fenty's proposed budget called for 54 Child and Family Services Agency employees to be laid off. Roque Gerald, the agency's director, announced that the cuts would be coming during a recent staff meeting. But there's more proposed cuts on the table. Fenty has proposed cutting the agency's $1.19 [...]
Update: 6 p.m.
D.C. Child and Family Services Agency Director Roque Gerald announced in a staff meeting last week that 54 agency employees will soon be getting pink slips. Mayor Adrian Fenty had stipulated in his proposed budget that the cuts be made.
One CFSA employee confirms the cuts to City Desk: "He did bring it up [...]
In a 46-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas F. Hogan held today that D.C.'s Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) is not yet ready to come out from under its court oversight. This represents a significant setback for Attorney General Peter Nickles, who has pressed to end the court-appointed monitoring of the troubled agency.
Hogan [...]
On the early morning of Feb. 9, a newborn baby was found unconscious at D.C. General's family shelter. The baby was pronounced dead at an area hospital. D.C. Police reported that there was no signs of trauma and that the baby had been found in a bassinet.
Another city agency apparently has a different take on [...]
As chair of the Committee on Human Services, Councilmember Tommy Wells presides over one of the toughest tasks facing any local politician: conducting oversight of the Child and Family Services Agency. The last few years have not been kind to the city's social workers. Banita Jacks could have served as a catalyst for sweeping reforms. [...]
AG Peter Nickles push to have the city's child welfare system removed from federal court oversight has hit a road block. In a very non-shocking report [PDF] released today, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) has found huge gaps in CFSA's foster-care system.
CSSP is the court-appointed monitor. Its reports are the fuel [...]
In case you missed it: here's all you need to know about yesterday morning's federal court hearing on CFSA: In CFSA Case, Nickles Plays Defense; Judge Hogan Critical Of CFSA Director Selection Process.
Dee Does the District decides to not open up about getting terminated by DCPS. But this doesn't stop her from opening up about [...]
This morning, D.C.'s Child and Family Services Agency was once again the subject of a U.S. District Court hearing. The issue before Judge Thomas F. Hogan: Whether to hold the city in contempt for violating his court order and failing to meet stipulated benchmarks.
The plaintiff's, Children's Rights, a New York-based advocacy law firm which specializes [...]
This morning in U.S. District Court, Judge Thomas F. Hogan took up the on-going legal battle over the District's Child and Family Services Agency. At issue was whether or not the agency could be held in contempt. Hogan devoted much of his consternation on the how the District went about picking Dr. Roque Gerald (pictured) [...]
The City Council finally approved Dr. Roque Gerald so that he can now drop the "acting" from his title as director of the Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA). Gerald took over last summer at a time when the agency was reeling from the Banita Jacks case. It also had to deal with problems that [...]
On Friday, I attended Positive Nature's organized conference on vulnerable children and families. The event, held among several conference rooms at the convention center, was also put together with the Department of Mental Health and the DC Children & Youth Investment Trust Corporation. The bigwigs from CFSA, DMH, DYRS and DCPS showed up and gave [...]
In case you missed it: the latest court hearing in the CFSA case is going on in U.S. District Court this morning. Here's a preview from youth advocates...
We're Not In New Hampshire Anymore questions these new neighborhood names popping up on Craigslist and elsewhere: "Scanning Craigslist for an apartment today, I ran into this listing. [...]
An independent monitor, the Center for the Study of Social Policy, has just released its reporting on the state of D.C.'s Child and Family Services Agency. The monitor notes up front that the agency has stabilized since the Banita Jacks fallout and credited Acting Director Roque Gerald with boosting morale. But it notes:
"There are many [...]
