Children's services takes center stage at state capital

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's child welfare system took center stage Monday in the capital as a new commission began sifting through improvements recommended after last year's death of a 2-year-old foster child.

As the panel began meetings, one Springfield lawmaker outlined his own proposal to bring "revolutionary change" to the state's foster care system.

The state Legislature started work earlier than usual Monday so lawmakers -- who will be considering any proposed changes to state law -- could attend a court-sponsored juvenile justice symposium to learn how things currently work.

Meanwhile, State Auditor Claire McCaskill touted figures showing that of the 147 Missouri children who died of abuse in the past five years, 103 lived in households previously reported for abuse and neglect. Just five were in the custody of the state Division of Family Services, including three in which a foster parent was believed responsible for the deaths.

Monday's various meetings, reports and news conferences highlighted the type of attention children's services have received since the August death of Dominic James in Springfield. The boy remained in a foster home despite concerns held by his biological parents and some people assigned to his child welfare team. His foster father, John Dilley of Willard, has pleaded innocent to abusing and killing him.

Government investigations

Since Dominic's death, there already have been two government investigations -- one by appointees of Gov. Bob Holden and another by a special Senate committee. Holden also has proposed a reorganization of the Department of Social Services to place a greater emphasis on children's services.

The new Commission on Children's Justice, which began its weekly meetings Monday, brings together people from the judicial, legislative and executive branches of government, as well as the private sector.

Chairman John Holstein, a recently retired Missouri Supreme Court judge, said the panel intends to have a preliminary report March 28, perhaps in time to make recommendations during the current legislative session.

Rep. Mark Wright isn't waiting that long.

The Republican from Springfield outlined a bill he called the "Dominic James Memorial Foster Care Reform Act," which focuses on the operations of the Division of Family Services. He said a separate bill would overhaul the structure of child welfare services.

"It's because of this little boy that a lot of revolutionary change is coming down the pike," Wright said at a Springfield news conference.

Wright's legislation would require extensive background checks of potential foster parents -- barring anyone who has a history of violence -- and make state employees both civilly and criminally liable if they violate state policy and it results in serious injury or death.

The legislation also would require callers to the state's child abuse hot line to provide a name, address and other information.

Wright said state workers currently spend too much time investigating anonymous false reports made by parents in custody or domestic disputes.

McCaskill said last week she was initiating another audit of the way the state handles hot line calls after reports surfaced that a father had made several dozen calls over the years before his children finally were removed from their mother's home.

Theresa L. Smith and her boyfriend, Kevin Donovan, of Kansas City, now face charges of sodomy and rape involving Smith's two daughters. Both have pleaded innocent.

McCaskill, a former Jackson County prosecutor, is nearing the end of an audit of the state's child welfare system. She said she released the fatality figures -- showing most child-abuse deaths occur in homes, not in the foster system -- because she was frustrated by "knee-jerk" attempts to change the state's foster care system.

The National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, based in Alexandria, Va., accused McCaskill of engaging in "statistics abuse." A seemingly small number of children die in foster care because there are comparatively few children in foster care, the group said.