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| keenan's
kids law center |
Law Center Role in Change
of DFCS Leadership
In
2001, the Keenan’s Kids Law Center believed that the conditions
of Child Protection Services in Georgia were in such a state of
disrepair that a lawsuit was necessary. After interviewing several
out of state child advocacy groups, a NY-based advocacy group
was chosen. At the time of the selection, the Keenan’s Kids
Law Center was very clear that any intended litigation would be
limited in focus and calculated to conclude in a relatively short
non-protracted amount of time to save taxpayers dollars and save
precious money for children services rather than costly litigation.
The class action lawsuit known as Kenny A. v. Roy
Barnes, Governor was filed in the summer of
2002. Immediately, there arose conflicts between Keenan’s
Kids Law Center and the out of state child advocacy group.
Because of the divergence of opinions, the Keenan’s Kids
Law Center decided not to actively participate in the class action,
but instead advocate for children outside of the lawsuit.
In August of 2003, once again, Georgia heard of tragic deaths
of children at the hands of Child Protection Services.
Keenan
Calls for Booting of DHR and DFCS Chiefs
Don C. Keenan was the first child advocate to speak for the immediate
removal of the head of the Department of Humans Resources and
the Director of DFCS. Those remarks were prominently carried in
the local media: WSB-TV on 15 August 2003 and Atlanta Journal
Constitution, 28 August 2003 carried a headline: “Welfare
Officials Under Fire Over Their Job; Pressure Builds After Tot’s
Death”. The article contains the following statement:
“The fatal flaw in all of
this is the leadership, the head of DFCS
has been there four years and DHR
Commissioner is going on
two years and they have done absolutely
nothing”, said Don Keenan,
head of Keenan’s Kids Foundation,
Atlanta-based non-profit that
advocates on child welfare issues.
“When
you have a failing football team like this, you blame the coach”.
See August 28, 2003 Atlanta Journal-Constituion Article.
Federal Judge Boots Keenan From Class Action and
Calls Him “Stupid”
The Federal Court Judge assigned to the class action was angered
by Don Keenan’s public statements demanding that DHR and
DFCS department heads be terminated and scheduled a hearing at
which time he stated Keenan’s remarks were:
“a pretty stupid
thing to do frankly when the Judge and the Court
says the man has done a great
job and then Keenan comes out
and criticizes him”.
On
5 September 2003, the Federal Judge removed the Keenan’s
Kids Law Center and Don C. Keenan from the lawsuit stating in
part:
“Mr. Keenan has
made public comments about this case including
calling for the firing of
Defendant Martin, Commissioner of the
Department of Humans Resources”.
See Atlanta
Journal-Constitution “Lawyer Cut From DFCS Suit, 13 September
2003”.
Governor
Boots DHR CHIEF 4 Days Later
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 17 September 2003 edition carried
the front page story: “Governor Perdue Outs DHR’s
Chief”.
“That’s one out of
two”, said lawyer Don Keenan a vocal critic
of DHR and an instigator of the
lawsuit. He welcomed Martin’s
resignation, but wants Blount-Clark
(head of DFCS) out too.
“I don’t think anything’s
going to get done until we see a new
face in DFCS too”, Keenan
said. He said Blount-Clark has had four
years to clean up the child welfare
agency. “Clearly, during her
reign, we have seen deterioration
unprecedented across the
board”, he said.
See
September 17, 2009 Atlanta Journal-Constituion Article.
Ironically, Mr. Keenan, in the same newspaper, openly criticized
Blount-Clark’s appointment 4 years earlier. (See Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, 23 November 1999). Keenan said Blount-Clark
is:
“someone who has never
criticized DFCS, someone who is
intimate and knowledgeable
with all the personalities there.
She is not a fresh face,
she is not an outsider”.
See November
23, 1999 Atlanta Journal-Constituion Article.
DFCS Head Resigns 2 Days Later
“The
Director of Georgia DFCS resigned under fire”
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 19 September 2003).
Lawyer
Don Keenan, another vocal critic of Blount-Clark and
DFCS, said the director didn't
have the professional experience
to run the child welfare agency.
"She was clearly a nice,
well-intentioned person who had
never been in the cockpit of
the type of bureaucracy that she
was in charge of," he said.
Georgia
must name an "experienced leader for DFCS,"
Keenan said.
"A sign should be erected
over the director's office that says,
'No on-the-job training permitted.'
"
See September
19, 2003 Atlanta Journal-Constituion Article.
Fresh
Start – New Day For Children
Keenan sets forth in an op-ed article a common sense approach
for reform
FIXING DFCS: To protect children, everyone must help
 By
DON C. KEENAN
Child Advocate-Founder
Keenans Kids Foundation
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.
Action
Plan:
-
1)
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.
-
2)
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.
-
3)
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.
-
4)
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.
-
5)
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.
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Three days later, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution carried a major
story: “A Chance to Change: Clean Slate Spurs Hope for Child
Welfare Reform”, 28 September 2003.
See September 28, 2003 Atlanta Journal-Constituion Article.
The article stated in part:
“Don Keenan, an
Atlanta attorney and child welfare advocate,
said, "There's an opportunity
I've never seen in 25 years." He
cited the blank slate of leadership,
a governor not tied to the
mistakes of the past, and a new
and involved board overseeing
the state Department of Human Resources,
which oversees DFCS.
Many
agree real change starts with good leadership. Perdue said
he has initiated a nationwide search
for a new DHR commissioner
and strongly prefers someone with experience
in child welfare issues.
Keenan,
whose lawsuit three years ago over the death of Terrell
Peterson helped jump-start some state
reform efforts, said, "A good
leader will summon the troops and give
them rights."
Keenan
called for a "Caseworkers Bill of Rights" stipulating
that
caseworkers have a reasonable amount
of work and that their
supervisors have adequate experience.
Personal Note
Keenan always believed and was often quoted that the former DHR
and DFCS heads were nice, well-intentioned people. However, these
positions are not for “on the job training”.
Experience counts and, in the end, experience was lacking.
Don Keenan regrets that anyone feels his activities to remove
these people was “personal”. Further, Mr.
Keenan regrets that the federal judge resorted to calling him
“stupid” for advocating the removal of these
two individuals. Two people can disagree without calling the other
stupid.
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