Post by pavel on May 13, 2016 4:29:10 GMT -6
JACKSON -- Advocates for children agreed to give Mississippi more time to improve the state's child welfare system under a deal presented Tuesday to a federal judge. In exchange, state officials agreed to try to reduce the number of children in state custody who are being cared for by unlicensed foster parents.
It's the latest development in the long-running Olivia Y case, named for one of eight children who lawyers said had been abused because of the state's failures. Despite a series of settlements that promised reforms, the state has repeatedly failed to meet its targets.
The plaintiffs in the 12-year-old lawsuit agreed not to ask Senior U.S. District Judge Tom Lee to take over until October, unless a July progress report is unsatisfactory.
The agreement follows a $34 million infusion of state funding by lawmakers who also agreed to create a freestanding Department of Family and Children's Services in an attempt to stave off a federal takeover.
Read more: www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=50109
It's the latest development in the long-running Olivia Y case, named for one of eight children who lawyers said had been abused because of the state's failures. Despite a series of settlements that promised reforms, the state has repeatedly failed to meet its targets.
The plaintiffs in the 12-year-old lawsuit agreed not to ask Senior U.S. District Judge Tom Lee to take over until October, unless a July progress report is unsatisfactory.
The agreement follows a $34 million infusion of state funding by lawmakers who also agreed to create a freestanding Department of Family and Children's Services in an attempt to stave off a federal takeover.
Read more: www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=50109