Too many abused and neglected children are taken into DHS custody in Oklahoma County and they are kept too long, according to a secret report obtained by The Oklahoman.
"Once a child enters care, the child is there for an unreasonable amount of time — often several years,” the American Bar Association wrote.
The Department of Human Services paid $26,000 for the study by a team of attorneys from the association's Center on Children and The Law. The 25-page report rips DHS, saying caseworkers are not trusted by judges or assistant district attorneys.
"DHS experiences ongoing difficulties with new and inexperienced workers, high caseworker turnover, and more caseworker time committed to preparing for court hearings instead of working with families,” the report found. "All feed the belief that DHS is incompetent and unreliable.”
The study found the system fails deprived children at many levels. Juvenile courtrooms in Oklahoma County are overcrowded and unsafe. Confidentiality laws are violated. Assistant public defenders carried caseloads of more than 1,000 children at a time, too many to fulfill their ethical duty to provide quality representation.
At fault is a broken court system, problems at DHS and an inadequate juvenile justice center, according to the report.
"The Oklahoma County child welfare system is composed of caring competent professionals, however it is also a system that is spread dangerously thin,” the report concluded.
DHS Director Howard Hendrick and juvenile court judges agreed Oklahoma County has significant problems. They said improvements are being made.
While the length of stays in state custody can probably be trimmed for some children, the average length of stay in Oklahoma County is still six months below the national average — 22 months as compared to 28 months, said Judge Roger Stuart.
"We're doing some things,” Hendrick said. "We're trying to, all together, solve the problem.”
A national child advocacy group raised some of the same concerns in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed against DHS in February in Tulsa.
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