Transcript WHAT WORKS in SOUTH CAROLINA

How the SCCRP is Impacting
Repeat Maltreatment
October 2, 2012
DONNA XENAKIS, Low Country CRP
STEPHEN CLYBURN, III, Midlands CRP
CAROLYN DORRELL, Midlands CRP
MICHAEL GASKIN, Upstate CRP
JESSICA HANAK-COULTER, SC Department of Social
Services
 UPSTATE CRP
 MIDLANDS CRP
 LOW COUNTRY CRP
South Carolina Citizen Review
Panel Membership Composition
 Diverse
 Experienced
 Skilled
 Astute
 Multifaceted
 Common Interest
PURPOSE
COMMITMENTS
RESPONSIBILITIES
SIGNATURES
DATE
2011 Project Identification
SCCRP guardians ad litem express concern
over number of child abuse and neglect
unfounded incidents in group homes and
foster homes. They believed that these
cases were not being properly investigated
An overview of the Program is arranged
for the benefit of all members of the
panel
Panel reviews state and national data
and questions low numbers
Children and Family Services Review: South Carolina’s
ABSENCE of Maltreatment in Foster Care (2005-2009) *
Year
2005 - 99.43
2006 - 99.82
2007 - 99.81
2008 - 99.93
2009 - 99.89
2010 – 99.57
*The results are based on a “unique count” meaning that the Bureau
identified and counted a child only once, regardless of the number of
reports that received a CPS response.

Based on the 2009 report Child Maltreatment conducted by the
Children’s Bureau through the Administration for Children and Families
the following information was found regarding the maltreatment of
children in foster care in South Carolina.

Data from South Carolina DSS
Total # Of
Referrals
FY 06-07
FY 07-08
FY 08-09
FY 09-10
FY 10-11*
894
834
968
990
781
Investigation
Type
Foster Home
Accepted
Indicated
Accepted
Indicated
Accepted
Indicated
Accepted
Indicated
Accepted
Indicated
223
16
178
14
253
18
111
5
2
0
Group Home/
Institution
State Total
159
15
106
5
122
11
132
7
70
2
382
31
284
19
375
29
243
12
72
2
Indication
Rate
8%
7%
8%
5%
3%
Out of Home Abuse and Neglect
Incident is Revealed to SCCRP
 Report of boys allegedly sexually abusing
other boys in a group home facility as an
initiation
 Incident is not indicated by out of home
abuse and neglect division because it is
“child on child” behavior which is not
specifically addressed in statute.
 SCCRP brought the case to SCDSS senior
staff attention
 Acted to secure safety of youth
 Required compliance plan
 Put in interim measures for safety of
all youth
 Ordered independent investigation of
the incident
 DSS Deputy Director requests that SC
Citizen Review Panel convene a statewide
committee
 Reviewed statutory requirements
 Pondered possible courses of action
South Carolina Citizen Review Panel works
with DSS to revise out of home abuse and
neglect policy



Move the out of home abuse and neglect
function outside the scope of SCDSS
Provide accrediting bodies with access to
Out of Home Abuse and Neglect
information (OHAN)
Inform other stakeholders making
placement decisions of facilities with
multiple OHAN complaints
Specify membership of
multidisciplinary team and at a
minimum include a mental health
professional, the guardian ad litem, the
case manager and supervisor; and a
licensing representative
 Develop a consistent protocol for handling
"child on child” abuse cases for any child
involved in nonconsensual sexual behavior
 Include a clinical assessment for the alleged
perpetrator and victim
Require a staff meeting with the licensing
division to address supervision issues as part
of the corrective action plan whenever there
is a child on child incident
 Passionate advocates who insisted on being heard by a
decision maker
 DSS leadership that understood the value of citizen input
and collaboration
 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
 Monthly SCCRP/DSS meetings
 Follow-up/through
 DSS Response to SCCRP Annual Report
 Personnel changes
 DSS structure changes to improve
communications between divisions
 Alerts to custodians re: facility maltreatment
concerns
 Training for DSS staff
 Protest from affected entities re: more aggressive
investigations
 Anecdotal information from guardians
 Statistics show increase in indicated cases
 Included in Agency Annual Progress and Services
Report