In Washington state, if a doctor notices a child is not thriving, calls social services and sees no action being taken, he or she can call children’s ombudsman Mary Meinig and get results.
In Rhode Island, if a day-care worker sees suspicious bruises on a child, even after reporting them to police, he or she can call child advocate Jametta Alston, and an investigation is launched immediately.
Meinig and Alston do not work for state departments of social services, the courts, the schools or the cops.
They work for the children, and they accept no excuses.
If Colorado had an independent ombudsman or children’s advocate, it may or may not have saved the life of 7-year-old Chandler Grafner. Meinig and Alston admit it’s not easy to stop parents who are determined to kill a child. But at least the little boy might have had a fighting chance.
Grafner’s guardians are facing murder charges in the death a week ago of Chandler, who arrived at the hospital weighing 30 pounds, according to 9News.
Teachers and his grandmother say they tried to get the boy the help he needed. What happened to those pleas remains a secret.
If Chandler’s death could have been prevented by a social worker or someone else in the child-protection system, an independent advocate such as Meinig or Alston would be charged with identifying what went wrong, documenting the negligence and making it public.
“That’s our job,” Alston said. “If the system fails, we pull the case apart and say, ‘This caseworker didn’t answer his e-mail, or this person didn’t follow up on a red flag.’ We don’t allow a coverup.”
Meinig and Alston are appointed by the governors of their states. Their appointments are confirmed by the state’s senates, and they remain stalwartly independent.
Rep. Debbie Stafford, R-Aurora, introduced a bill to create a children’s ombudsman in Colorado in 2004. It didn’t even make it out of committee.
“I still believe, in some cases, we’re not bridging the gaps,” she said. “Maybe it’s time to bring the measure back.”
Fundamentally, it’s just a matter of priorities, said Jeff Koy, director of litigation at the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center. “It all comes down to where we place the importance of protecting children in our society.”
The budgets for social-service agencies “have taken huge hits in recent years,” Koy said. “The caseworkers are working feverishly on overwhelming caseloads,” and the services available to them for assisting families have been disappearing.
Access to mental-health programs, treatment for substance abuse, foster care and other programs for vulnerable children have not kept pace with demand.
Still, when teachers, grandparents, cops and others report that a child is in mortal danger and nothing is done, there’s no excuse. Something is wrong.
In Rhode Island, Alston said, her office can bust a child-protection case mired in bureaucratic inertia and get results in a matter of hours.
“If anything comes in, even if it sounds odd, we immediately call the agency involved and talk with the caseworker or her supervisor. We have instant access to all the records. We can shine a light on the problems with no fear of repercussions or retaliation,” she said.
In Washington, Meinig’s office acts as “neutral fact-finders,” she said. With no butts to protect except those of the kids, “we can identify clearly where the gap in response has occurred, which department failed to make collateral calls and determine what needs to be done right away.”
The measure to create a children’s ombudsman in Colorado died in 2004 because legislators said it was too expensive.
In Rhode Island, population 1,067,000, the annual budget for the child advocate’s office is $600,000. In Washington, population 6,395,000, the ombudsman’s office runs on $500,000 a year.
In Colorado, population 4,753,000, a children’s ombudsman is an extravagance, a low priority.
Chandler Grafner apparently starved to death. He was waiting for help in a state that ranks eighth in per-capita personal income and 30th in its state and local tax burden, a state that is coming up with $40 million in cash to host the Democratic National Convention.
Think about it.
Diane Carman’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Reach her at 303-954-1489 or dcarman@ denverpost.com.
