SRS social workers who no longer work with foster care now are able to do a better job of identifying abused and neglected children. Consequently, the numbers of children coming into foster care have grown significantly. For example, in a 12 county area served by one of the state s private contractors, Methodist Youthville, the number of confirmed cases of neglect went from 62 in 1995 to 1,469 by 1997. Many of the kids who come into the system are mentally retarded or have mental health problems or are substance abusers. Private foster care contracts with providers, such as Methodist Youthville, underestimated the cost of providing for these troubled youth, in addition to the growth in numbers.
Legislators agree that more needs to be done to keep kids from coming into the system.
In addition to placing more money into the foster care system to ensure quality care for these kids, we also provided for a permanent guardianship program and increased spending for children who are at risk of becoming severely emotionally disturbed. Juvenile Justice involves many of the same issues. Juvenile Correctional Facilities are overcrowded to the point that all but those who have committed violent crimes are staying shorter periods of time not long enough for their problems to be addressed. Violence among juveniles has increased, as demonstrated by the nature of their crimes and their aggressive behavior in correctional facilities. Littleton, Colorado is an all too vivid illustration of the growing violent acts among juveniles.