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Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, The (GA) September 25, 2003
With no ties to past failures
and not beholden to any entrenched political bureaucracy, Gov. Sonny
Perdue made a bold statement about how we will protect Georgia's children
in the future.
He cleaned house in the state's Department of Human Resources,
presenting Georgians with a clean slate on which to create a new system,
with new leadership, dedicated to child protective services.
The change in leadership accomplishes the first of several very
important steps in correcting our past mistakes, allowing us to chart a
much different course.
The failures of the past have placed our state consistently at the
bottom of the nation in protecting its at-risk children. Finger-pointing,
blaming, lawsuits and firings have all made national news. But now it must
stop. Simply stated, we must roll up our sleeves and get to the business
of protecting Georgia's children -- as a team.
Here's a start:
> No more on-the-job training for the DHR commissioner. We must
appoint a commissioner and Division of Family and Children Services
director with experience in leading a child protection agency, and one
with a proven record of transforming similarly broken state agencies to
bring about rapid change. He or she must be a true professional, with
aspirations of being the best DHR commissioner this state has ever seen,
with no political ties or allegiances.
> Place a moratorium on criticism, complaints and lawsuits. All
child advocates, including myself, who have been the lightning rods of
criticism must declare a moratorium on vocal disapproval, giving a new
leader at least two years of unwavering support.
> Give caseworkers a bill of rights. Let's give credit where
credit is due to the hardworking, deserving and unrecognized caseworkers
who have toiled for many years underpaid, overworked and without the
proper tools to do their job. The first priority of the new commissioner
should be to enact a bill of rights that guarantees that each caseworker
will be given proper training and will have a reasonable caseload, a
workable computer data system, a cellphone and other tools necessary to do
the job.
> Recognize the role of our corporate citizens. The public
sector, including our state's successful corporations and their management
gurus, must lend time and services to assist in the rebuilding of the
Child Protection Agency. The management principles that make Home Depot,
Georgia Pacific and Coca-Cola great are the same management principles
that will turn around our troubled DFCS.
> Emphasize that all Georgians have a job to do. Churches, civic
groups, public associations and any person who is reading these words must
volunteer to help rebuild DFCS. Whether that's providing respite care to
foster parents, becoming a foster parent, volunteering to become a CASA
worker or simply being available to talk on the phone to troubled
children, everyone has a role to play. It can't simply be a governmental
function.
Will there be failures? Of course. But if we move forward as a
team, inclusive rather than exclusive and willing to give full credit to
everyone, in time those failures will fade away.
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