Children's Advocates Demand Emergency Relief for Dangerous Shelters in Georgia.

PRESS RELEASE

Fact-finding on shelters reveals alarming conditions that compromise the safety and well-being of children in Fulton and DeKalb Counties

After conducting expedited fact-finding into the conditions at two emergency shelters in Fulton and DeKalb Counties (the Atlanta metro area), attorneys for the children in Kenny A. v. Barnes, a child welfare reform lawsuit, today filed a motion for preliminary injunction demanding immediate relief for dangerous shelter conditions that compromise foster children's safety and result in serious harm.

According to court papers, a supervisor described the situation at one of the shelters as "Chaos! Chaos!" A teen who was placed at one of the shelters recently described it as "a zoo without bars."

Under a Federal Court order authorizing expedited fact-gathering, lawyers for the children, Children's Rights, the national advocacy organization, and Keenan's Kids Law Center, a local advocacy group, have brought in experts, reviewed thousands of documents, taken sworn testimony of Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) officials, interviewed former and current child residents of the shelters and conducted inspections of shelter facilities. The records show that these shelters, instead of being temporary, are being used as long term placements for troubled children who are not given adequate supervision, properly trained staff or necessary programs. The records describe suicide attempts, frequent incidents of fighting and violence and a chronic runaway problem.

"Conditions at these shelters are causing immediate and irreparable harm to children and violating their rights," said Ira Lustbader, attorney for Children's Rights. "It is unconscionable that state and county officials have allowed these conditions to continue."

The motion for preliminary injunction describes the individual problems at each shelter. Problems common to both facilities, include:

*Inappropriately long stays at shelters designed for very short term placements, with some children staying close to a year
*Limited and inadequate supervision by unqualified and poorly trained staff
*Insufficient mental health services
*The placement of delinquent children and sexual predators with younger and more vulnerable children

Some of the problems specific to the DeKalb Shelter include:

*Housing children in an old, converted school building in barrack-style dormitories, with little privacy or space
*Failure to ensure that children go to school
*Failure to screen employees for criminal histories
*Absence of structured activities, leaving children idle for much of the day
*Failure to supervise residents

Some of the problems specific to the Fulton Shelter include:

*Location in crime-ridden neighborhood where violence, drug use and prostitution are common
*Housing babies and young children in a grossly inappropriate institutional setting

Evidence collected by attorneys for plaintiff-children clearly establishes that defendants have been aware of the hazardous conditions at the shelters for over a year, but have failed to adequately correct these problems. The plaintiff-children have asked the Federal Court for an order closing the institutions and, until they are closed, addressing a number of dangerous problems. The relief sought for both shelters includes:

*Limiting children's stays in the shelters to no more than 30 days. Children remaining in the shelters longer than 30 days must receive intensive case management services to find alternative, longer term placements. Such children must also receive mental health assessments and services, as needed.
*Maintaining a 1:6 staff-to-child ratio at the shelters at all times.
*Training staff on safety techniques, such as First Aid and crisis intervention methods, emergency procedures, counseling, the effects of psychotropic medications and how to appropriately distribute medications.
*Providing on-site mental health treatment by a licensed clinician to those in need of such services.

Performing an initial assessment for every child entering the shelters within 72 hours of his/her admittance to the shelters. Identifying (and denying admittance to) children with serious mental health problems; finding alternative placements for these children and promptly treating their medical and mental health needs.
Specific relief sought for the DeKalb Shelter includes:

*Conducting criminal record checks for all current and future staff and complying with the applicable laws and procedures concerning the results of such checks.
*Ensuring all residents are promptly enrolled in and consistently attending appropriate educational programs.
*Denying children under 12 years-of-age admittance into the shelter.
*Developing and implementing a comprehensive policy and procedure manual.
*Closing the facility no later than January 1, 2003. Until then, the shelter's capacity should not exceed 35 children.
*By November 15, 2002, the shelter's population should be no more than 20. By December 15, 2002, the population should be no more than 10.

Specific relief sought for the Fulton Shelter includes:
*Denying children under 6 years-of -age admittance, except under limited circumstances. Under no circumstance allowing children under 6 to be placed in the facility for more than 1 week.
*Closing the shelter no later than March 1, 2003. As of November 15, 2002, the shelter's population should be no more than 65. As of December 15, 2002, the shelter's population should be no more than 50. As of January 15, 2003, the shelter's population should be no more than 35. As of February 15, 2002, the shelter's population should be no more than 20.

Attorneys for the children also requested a court-appointed Monitor to ensure compliance with the requested provisions. The Monitor, through full access to the shelters, would conduct monthly inspections of the shelters, issue quarterly reports detailing the shelters' compliance with the Order's provisions and make appropriate recommendations to ensure compliance with the Order.

Background on Kenny A. v. Barnes:

On June 6, 2002, Children's Rights and Atlanta's Keenan's Kids Law Center filed Kenny A. v. Barnes in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, charging that Georgia's Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) in Fulton and DeKalb Counties is over-burdened, mismanaged and out of control, placing thousands of children at risk of harm. The lawsuit, later removed to Federal Court, seeks to stop ongoing violations of children's rights and to ensure that DFCS provides proper protection and care for the 3,000 foster children in state custody in Fulton and DeKalb Counties. At filing, the lawsuit claimed that the Fulton shelter frequently exceeds its licensed capacity of 85 children, housing as many as 118 children at one time in 2001; the DeKalb shelter, licensed for 35 children, housed as many as 55 children at times during the last year; and, as many as 28% of the Fulton shelter children and 20% of the DeKalb shelter children were missing on any given day during 2001. The Governor's appointed child welfare monitor, the Georgia Child Advocate, reported in 2001 that the Fulton shelter is "unfit for the children who reside there," and that the DeKalb shelter "is grossly inadequate for use as an 'emergency shelter'."

[A complete version of the motion for preliminary injunction can be obtained from Jennine Meyer at the email address and phone number listed below.]

Children's Rights works throughout the United States in partnership with national and local experts, advocates and government officials to document the needs of children in the care of child welfare systems. Children's Rights helps develop realistic solutions and, where necessary, uses the power of litigation to ensure that reform takes place.