The Perdue Approach to Child Welfare
"Abused children? I don't see any abused children."
When it comes to child well-being, Georgia ranks 44th in the nation, but that won't stop Sonny Perdue from removing one of our children's strongest advocates, Dee Simms, Georgia's Child Advocate. Her crime? Pointing an unwavering finger at the problems that exist at Fulton County DFCS, and in the process, making the Governor look bad.
According to an article in today's Telegraph, Simms knew that she was putting her job on the line when she submitted her scathing report of inadequacies at Fulton DFCS. I'm not sure why the Governor was surprised by the results of her evaluation. Children dying while in the care of Fulton County DFACS or after a report of abuse or neglect is made is hardly a new problem.
Silence on the part of responsible adults allows child abuse and neglect to continue. Who could be a more "responsible" adult than Georgia's Child Advocate? Apparently not Georgia's Governor. Simms is to be commended for doing the right thing for Georgia's children. Sticking our head in the sand will not make our children safer.
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2 comments:
When a Governor decides to replace a critical advocate, a principled person like DeAlvah Simms, it becomes obvious that politics, political survival, careers of commissioners and division chiefs, and maintaining the status quo, are all more important than the needs of the constituents, in this case: the protection of children.
This letter may be too little to late, and it may not carry the weight necessary to sway the powers that be to reconsider their decision to remove Georgia’s Child Advocate, DeAlvah Simms, from her position, but it may be enough to encourage the movement to restructure the position. The Georgia Child Advocate position should not be controlled by the Governor. How can the Child Advocate do the work of ensuring that State systems are protecting children, when the position is directly overseen by the Governor? How can the State’s Child Advocate bring evidence to light that State systems have serious flaws, when it is ultimately the Governor who is responsible for those systems? How can we expect the State’s Child Advocate to pursue investigations, like the one which recently lead to the reassignment of a County and Regional DFCS Director, when reprisals and retaliation are real, and impending risks to her?
It is a difficult job to protect children. Keeping people in place who are true child advocates, who put their own careers on the line to protect children, is what is necessary.
Seek the truth, do the right thing, and always help the victims and the vulnerable among us... DeAlvah Simms did.
Dan Hillman
You've been promoted. Thanks for the thoughtful comment.
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