Bill would revamp child-welfare system with private contractors

OLYMPIA —

If there is one point of agreement in Washington child-welfare circles, it is this — the system is broken. The evidence is everywhere, but nowhere so stark as in the dozens of child fatalities that agency critics say could have been prevented.

Key state legislators think they have found the answer: privatization.

Senate Bill 5943 would radically transform the state's child-welfare system by requiring the state to hire private contractors to work with children and troubled families after verified complaints of abuse or neglect and the first dependency court hearing.

The proposal would impact thousands of families and force hundreds of state workers out of jobs. No one knows how much it would cost, or even how, exactly, it would work.

And yet, supporters say, they can't stand by and let the current system continue.

"We have seen very little progress for all that we have invested," said Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, who has worked for child-welfare changes for 20 years. "The current system is dysfunctional."

Considering the size of this potential undertaking — and the unanswered questions — Hargrove has garnered considerable support for his bill. So far, opposition comes mainly from the Washington Federation of State Employees, the union representing state workers.

The Children's Administration, which is a part of the Department of Social and Health Services, has been plagued by problems for years.

A study released in January by the Office of Family and Children's Ombudsman showed that complaints against the Children's Administration were at an all-time high in 2008.

A relative newcomer brought the idea of privatization to the forefront in Washington. Two years ago, the University of Washington recruited Mark Courtney, a professor at the University of Chicago who was known nationally for his studies of foster children, as a professor in the UW School of Social Work and executive director of Partners for Our Children.

Partners for Our Children was a new public-private partnership aimed at changing the state's child-welfare system. The organization began with $12 million in seed money, mostly from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and his wife, Connie. Among child-welfare experts, landing Courtney was seen as a great coup.

Last fall, he hosted a symposium on private contracting. Many left thinking the idea held promise.

Hargrove says contractors would be held to performance standards, although they have not yet been developed. If an agency doesn't make the grade, it could lose its contract.

The proposal would impact only the state's foster-care system, not Child Protective Services. That means the state would continue to investigate child-abuse complaints and decide whether a child is safe in the home, or whether he or she should be made "dependent."

At that point, the contractor would take the lead. That means conducting regular check-ins, arranging for services like mental-health counseling and making recommendations to the courts.

The state, however, could still be held liable if a child is harmed on the private agency's watch.

The legislation is aimed foremost at improving the lives of children, not saving money. Hargrove said savings would be seen down the road because he believes more children would be reunited with their families. If there were fewer children in foster care, contracts could be scaled back.

The new contracts could leave about 1,000 social workers and support staffers out of work, said Randy Hart, interim assistant secretary for the Children's Administration. The agency isn't taking a position on the bill but appears to be urging caution.

"This is a pretty large public-policy decision," Hart said.

Gov. Chris Gregoire isn't taking a position, either.

The proposal could go before the Senate for a vote as early as today. The measure has bipartisan support, including from legislative leadership.

Better? Or worse?

Private contracts are nothing new to DSHS, or even the Children's Administration.

Interim DSHS Secretary Stan Marshburn said the agency contracts out 70 percent of all of its work — everything from elder care to group homes to services for people with mental illness. Private contractors supervise visits between parents and children who have been removed from their homes, provide certain kinds of family-support services and license some foster parents, among other things.

Currently, Courtney points out, there are no performance standards for these private agencies.

In Kansas, performance-based contracts are being linked to an increased rate of children in safe foster-care homes and increased adoptions, said Michelle Ponce, spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services. Similar contracts are used in Tennessee, Chicago, New York City and Milwaukee.

Some say there isn't enough information to determine whether private contracts are actually better. Others point to what they see as failures.

In Milwaukee, the private contracting system came under fire last year when a 13-month-old boy was killed and his sister was tortured after being placed with their 24-year-old aunt.

In Washington, the use of private contractors was cited as a main problem in the case of Shayne Abegg, who was hospitalized in 2007 after being purposely starved. Initially, the contractor had been assigned to work with the Everett family on "food issues," after reports of abuse or neglect. After several months, the contractor told the state that the family was doing well and the case should be closed.

A week after the contractor's last visit, 4-year-old Shayne was hospitalized weighing less than 25 pounds, severely malnourished. Not long after that, the contracted agency was sued by former employees who said they weren't being paid for their work.

One father's concern

Tumwater social worker Christine Kerns wonders how private agencies would handle the intricacies of the child-welfare system — working with law enforcement, courts, counselors, schools and employers while addressing the agency's focus of getting children into permanent, safe homes quickly.

Robert Dunlap, 37, of Lacey, worries that the services his family receives from the state would decrease if he were assigned to a private contractor. Dunlap, who has been battling methamphetamine addiction for more than 20 years, was granted custody of his sons, ages 12 and 9, in December.

Dunlap said DSHS helped find bunk beds for his sons when none could be found in local thrift shops. The agency also helped connect him with substance-abuse treatment courses and family counseling.

Dunlap has monthly meetings with Kerns, his social worker, and will continue to do so until she clears his family from state supervision.

"I don't think the private sector would help," Dunlap said. "I have quite a safety net."

Jeanine Livingston, with the state employees union, said change at the agency is sorely needed. But one of the biggest problems is staffing — something borne out by a December 2007 study calling for 1,200 additional caseworkers. About 400 were hired after that.

"They're completely buried," she said. That problem likely wouldn't be solved by hiring contractors, who need to make a profit.

Still, the union isn't opposed to some additional contracting, Livingston said. State workers "really value their private partnerships and need them desperately," she said. "It isn't 'us versus them.'

"But we all need to work together to find a real solution, not jump to another model just because it's new and different."

Jennifer Sullivan: 360-236-8267 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com

Maureen O'Hagan: 206-464-2562 or mohagan@seattletimes.com