Audit says improvements needed in Missouri foster care system

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The state foster care system needs better management and more careful background checks to ensure that children in the system are protected and state costs are held down, according to a new audit.

State Auditor Claire McCaskill released the report Friday. It also said that databases for the Department of Social Services' Children's Division, which runs the foster care program, are error-ridden, meaning auditors could not figure out workers' average caseload.

Such figures are important for programs to be accredited, the audit said.

National standards generally call for foster care workers to handle no more than 18 cases at a time, the audit said, while those investigating child abuse and neglect should handle only 15.

According to the division, meeting those standards would require hiring an additional 432 workers, plus supervisors, at a cost of $38.9 million. The audit said it could not verify the figures.

Missouri's child welfare system also has come under scrutiny from Gov. Bob Holden, state lawmakers and a special commission composed of people from all branches of government and the private sector.

Those reviews all began after the August 2002 death of 2-year-old Dominic James, of Springfield. The boy's foster father was convicted of fatally abusing the toddler and is to be sentenced in January.

The audit also found the division paid more than it should have to foster parents for emergency placement of children. Children are supposed to be placed on an emergency basis for no more than 30 days, with an extension to 60 days possible with management approval. But the audit said the 30-day limit should be enforced. In some cases, auditors found children were in emergency placement for hundreds of days, costing the state thousands of dollars more than it should.

The division also pays residential facilities to hold a spot for up to seven days after a child has run away in case that child returns, but the audit found no runaways returned, and that money could be better spent elsewhere.

The audit was the second of two reports by McCaskill on the effectiveness of Missouri's foster care system. The first part, released in March, focused on its management, while this one dealt more with finances.

The audit also found that three foster parents were licensed despite criminal activity that turned up in their background checks, and that a more thorough check of social workers is warranted.

The audit said prospective social workers should be checked against the Family Care Registry, which identifies those unsuitable for working with the elderly or mentally ill.

Also, foster parents in Missouri are among the lowest paid in the country, and social workers make less than their counterparts in most surrounding states, the audit found. It also said stronger efforts should be made to keep good, trained foster parents in the system.

In a written response to the audit, the department said it would review the recommendations as it makes improvements to the system, including running more thorough background checks on potential foster parents. The agency also said it's working to improve its data collection but is limited by a tight budget.

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On the Net:

State Auditor: http://www.auditor.state.mo.us

Social Services Department: http://www.dss.mo.gov