June 20, 1989



     The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a class
action civil rights suit against the District of Columbia's
Department of Human Services charging that the city's foster care
program is out of compliance with state and federal law and that
children in the system are denied their constitutional rights.

     "The district's child welfare system is in an ongoing state
of chaos and crisis," said Marcia Robinson Lowry, who directs the
ACLU's Children's Rights Project.  "As a result, the department
of city government charged with protecting these children is
instead contributing to their abuse and neglect."

     The suit, filed in the District Court of the District of
Columbia, was brought on behalf of seven named plaintiffs who
are in the city's custody.  These plaintiffs and the 2,500 others
in the foster care system, have been systematically denied
services they are entitled to under the law, including adequate
medical care, opportunities for adoption, preventive and
protective services for troubled families and adequate emergency
services for children in crisis.

     "Once children enter the custody of the District of Columbia
Department of Human Services," the complaint states, "they are
likely to spend most of their childhood in government custody." 
The city routinely has ignored provisions in state and federal
law for periodic review and expeditious handling of cases that
would result in adoption or other placements.  The ACLU has also
charged that the system is severely understaffed and poorly
administered, conditions that adversely affect the ability of the
city to provide care for all its foster children.

     "Foster care children generally are the most vulnerable in
our society, since they often have already suffered the
consequences of poverty prior to entering the system," Lowry
said.  "In the case of the District, these youngsters find that
instead of the government helping them to overcome their past
difficulties, their problems are exacerbated, sometimes with
permanent and devastating results."

     The ACLU is seeking a major overhaul of the District of
Columbia's child welfare system, including an increase in staff,
bettering planning for children and an adequate tracking system
to identify the status and special needs of foster children.

     The ACLU Children's Rights Project litigates on behalf of
foster care children throughout the country seeking reforms in
child welfare systems and other government agencies charged with
providing help to children.  The National Capitol Chapter of the
ACLU is participating in the litigation.


                           * * * * * *


                For Further Information Contact:

     Marcia Lowry                       (212) 944-9800, Ext. 536
     ACLU Children's Rights Project


                         Press Contact:

     Colleen O'Connor                   (212) 944-9800, Ext. 464
     ACLU Public Education        +=============================================+
        +=============================================+
        |   FOSTER CARE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:  |
        |                                             |
        |               AN ONGOING CRISIS             |
        +=============================================+
        +=============================================+


                          June 20, 1989

                          * * * * * * *



     The District of Columbia operates one of the worst foster
care systems in the country.  That system, which requires the
government to provide adequate care for children when their
parents cannot properly do so, has been mismanaged, overburdened
and callously neglectful of these children -- children who are
among the most vulnerable in the city.

     Here are some of the facts about the D.C. foster care
system:

     o    There are approximately 2,500 children in Washington,
          D.C., a disproportionately high percentage for a city
          of this size.

     o    The law requires the city to place children with foster
          homes or reunite them with their families.  In
          Washington, children remain in foster care an average
          of 57 months (4 1/2 years).  The average rate of   

y
retention in the nation is 17 months.

     o    The District offers no care for children with special
          needs, such as medical or emotional problems.  Instead
          problematic children are placed in regular homes with
          foster parents untrained to meet their needs, or sent
          to out-of-state institutions, separating them from
          their families and caseworkers.
          
     o    Border babies are routinely abandoned by the District
          government in hospitals.

     o    Fewer than 65 of the 2,500 children in the department's
          custody have been placed in the adoption units, making
          them eligible for adoption.

     o    Approximately 1/3 of all caseworker positions in the
          District's child welfare system are vacant.

     o    The average caseworker load in the District is four to
          five times the national average.  Some workers are
          responsible for as many as 100 children.  One 
          four-person unit was assigned responsibility for 440 
          families with 900 children.

     o    One hundred percent of the foster care homes are
          overcrowded, according to the department's own records.

     o    Emergency care facilities -- where parents may
          voluntarily surrender their children for short
          durations -- are used as permanent placement.  More
          than 100 children remained in temporary care for more
          than 90 days last year.

     o    District mismanagement is so severe that the federal
          government has made a preliminary determination that
          the District should return $6.l million.

     The ACLU Children's Rights Project, which litigates
nationwide for foster care reform, and the National Capitol
Chapter of the ACLU has filed this suit on the basis that the
department has systematically denied children their rights under
federal and District laws, and the due process guarantees of the
Constitution.


                           * * * * * *


                For Further Information Contact:

     
     Marcia Lowry                       (2l2) 944-9800, Ext. 536
     ACLU Children's Rights  Project


                         Press Contact:

     Colleen O'Connor                   (212) 944-9800, Ext. 464
     ACLU Public Education
        +=============================================+
        +=============================================+
        |   FOSTER CARE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:  |
        |                                             |
        |               AN ONGOING CRISIS             |
        +=============================================+
        +=============================================+


                          June 20, 1989

                          * * * * * * *



     The District of Columbia operates one of the worst foster
care systems in the country.  That system, which requires the
government to provide adequate care for children when their
parents cannot properly do so, has been mismanaged, overburdened
and callously neglectful of these children -- children who are
among the most vulnerable in the city.

     Here are some of the facts about the D.C. foster care
system:

     o    There are approximately 2,500 children in Washington,
          D.C., a disproportionately high percentage for a city
          of this size.

     o    The law requires the city to place children with foster
          homes or reunite them with their families.  In
          Washington, children remain in foster care an average
          of 57 months (4 1/2 years).  The average rate of
          retention in the nation is 17 months.

     o    The District offers no care for children with special
          needs, such as medical or emotional problems.  Instead
          problematic children are placed in regular homes with
          foster parents untrained to meet their needs, or sent
          to out-of-state institutions, separating them from
          their families and caseworkers.
          
     o    Border babies are routinely abandoned by the District
          government in hospitals.

     o    Fewer than 65 of the 2,500 children in the department's
          custody have been placed in the adoption units, making
          them eligible for adoption.

     o    Approximately 1/3 of all caseworker positions in the
          District's child welfare system are vacant.

     o    The average caseworker load in the District is four to
          five times the national average.  Some workers are
          responsible for as many as 100 children.  One 
          four-person unit was assigned responsibility for 440 
          families with 900 children.

     o    One hundred percent of the foster care homes are
          overcrowded, according to the department's own records.

     o    Emergency care facilities -- where parents may
          voluntarily surrender their children for short
          durations -- are used as permanent placement.  More
          than 100 children remained in temporary care for more
          than 90 days last year.

     o    District mismanagement is so severe that the federal
          government has made a preliminary determination that
          the District should return $6.l million.

     The ACLU Children's Rights Project, which litigates
nationwide for foster care reform, and the National Capitol
Chapter of the ACLU has filed this suit on the basis that the
department has systematically denied children their rights under
federal and District laws, and the due process guarantees of the
Constitution.


                           * * * * * *


                For Further Information Contact:

     
     Marcia Lowry                       (2l2) 944-9800, Ext. 536
     ACLU Children's Rights  Project


                         Press Contact:

     Colleen O'Connor                   (212) 944-9800, Ext. 464
     ACLU Public Education



 
 
 
 
 
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