Report calls for abolition of DSS
/The Boston Herald
FERIC FEHRNSTROM and BEVERLY BECKHAM
The state Department of Social Services should be dismantled because it is "inherently conflicting" for one agency to provide both child protection and family support services, according to a new report.
The report, issued by a committee of child advocates, academics and citizens, recommends the state establish a new Department of Child Protection to investigate child abuse and neglect.
Family services would become the responsiblity of a Family Resource Agency that would oversee a statewide network of local centers.
This network would be responsible for providing comprehensive family support services - including outreach, information and referral, parent education and activities relating to child development.
The report, a copy of which was obtained by the Herald, is due to be released Nov. 30 by the Special Committee on Family Support and the Child Welfare System.
The committee was formed last year by the Children's Advocacy Network and the Statewide Advisory Council to the Office for Children.
The recommendations will form the basis for legislation in 1993, according to an advisory sent to members of the Legislature this week.
Virginia Burns, the chairwoman of the commitee and executive director of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, did not return phone calls yesterday.
But the report said DSS, which was established in 1980, has "struggled under the well-intentioned but inherently conflicting mandate" of providing both child protection and family support services.
"This dual mandate contributes to a costly cycle of crisis intervention where the more pressing need to protect children always takes precedent over supportive services," the report said.
"Families most in need of supportive services to avert crisis often report feeling hesitant to seek help from the same agency that could potentially remove their child," the report states.
The special committee's report also recommends Gov. William F. Weld establish a Cabinet post on children and families to better coordinate services.
DSS has been criticized for its handling of a number of recent cases, including the abrupt removal of foster child "Mikey" Sanborn from a Hubbardston family that wanted to adopt him.
Last month, DSS Commissioner Gerald Robinson resigned, saying he no longer had Weld's support.
A blue-ribbon commission appointed by Weld to study the problems in the state's child welfare system and make recommendations is expected to issue its own report early next year.
Weld's human services secretary, Charles Baker, has already ordered a review of all 23,000 DSS cases to identify any situation in which a child may be at risk.
