DCYF Defies Chafee, Still Closing Children’s Shelters
Friday, December 24, 2010
The Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, and Families is closing three children’s shelters—despite a plea from Governor-elect Lincoln Chafee that it wait until after the holidays, when he takes office.
A month ago, when news of the plan to shut down the shelters first surfaced, Chafee asked DCYF to slow down the process so he could review it when he came into office. But the directors of two of the state’s shelters for abused and neglected children told GoLocalProv that DCYF had already begun moving children out of their facilities.
“Apparently, the current administration is still trying to complete the process they were talking about in defiance of the Governor-elect,” said Eileen Hernandez, executive director of the Children’s Shelter of Blackstone Valley in Pawtucket. “I’m at a loss for words because it’s incredible that children’s shelters will not be needed. Without children’s shelters, children will be at risk.”
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Hernandez said she is down to just one child in her eight-bed facility. In Providence, two children have been moved out of the eight-bed Washington Park Children’s Shelter and the remaining ones are expect to all be gone by the end of next week, according to Frances Murphy, the director. A third shelter, Boys Town New England in Portsmouth, has five children, according to DCYF.
The closure plan was first announced in an end-of-the-day e-mail sent out to the shelters on Nov. 15. “Unfortunately, it came out of the blue—right before the holidays,” Murphy said. “Certainly this is not the appropriate time to do this.”
An official at DCYF confirmed yesterday that the removal of children was underway. Despite what Chafee had asked, Deputy Director Jorge Garcia said the closure process was “staying at the same pace.”
He said the closures were part of a long-term plan to get children into additional foster homes instead of alternative facilities. Over the last five years, he said 100 beds had been eliminated from the state’s network of group homes, temporary shelters, and residential treatment facilities.
Chafee: ‘Surprised and … disappointed’
The news came as a surprise to Chafee's transition office yesterday. “We’re surprised and frankly disappointed,” spokesman Mike Trainor told GoLocalProv. “We thought we had made it clear that the incoming administration should be given the courtesy to at least review the plan.”
“I’m not sure what he’s reacting to,” Garcia responded. “I’m sure he’s not disappointed that kids are being placed with relatives.”
Budget cuts have been cited as one reason for the closures—which Trainor said only adds to the concern. “It may not be in the best interest of children,” he said. “That’s why we had asked for a delay so we could get on top of the situation and make our own determination.”
Garcia, however, said research had shown that children do better in school and other areas of their life when they are in foster homes instead of a group environment. “I’m not familiar with any research that necessarily suggests that children will benefit from going to a congregate level of care,” Garcia said. “We continue our ongoing practice that children that need to be removed from home have the opportunity to be placed with a relative or a home-like environment.”
Advocates defend shelters
But advocates of children’s shelters argue that they are a critical intermediate step between forceful removal from an unsafe home and placement in foster care. “It’s wonderful to say children should be in a foster home and I have no problem with that—except children are not ready at the point of intake to be placed in a foster home,” Murphy said.
She said the shelters give DCYF time to find the best home for children. The shelters also provide medical and psychological assessments of children before they enter the foster care system. Now, she said the state is setting up a system of emergency foster homes where children will go until they are placed in a more permanent home. “Unfortunately, they want them to do everything the shelters were doing … with no increase in their rate,” Murphy said.
Phil Keefe, president of the Rhode Island Alliance of Social Service Employees and a supervisor at DCYF, agreed. “They’re scrambling now to get these kids in foster homes. It’s not being done in the manner it needs to be done,” Keefe told GoLocalProv. “Shelters may not be the best option, but it’s an option.”
Approximately 200 children pass through the shelters each year, spending between a week and a month in one of the facilities before moving onto a foster home. Closing all three shelters is expected to save about $1 million. Murphy and Hernandez, however, dispute that claim, saying they receive some support for their work their donations, saving the state money.
Whether Chafee can still intervene in time is now unclear. “I really don’t know the answer to that,” Murphy said. “Two or three weeks ago I would have told you I am feeling good.”
But now, “I’m not feeling hopeful.”
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