Washington Post: Head of DC child welfare agency departs as problems persist
In early October, Child and Family Services Agency Director Raymond Davidson stepped down from his position. This prompted the Washington Post to write about some of the issues facing CFSA over the years. One of the more recent came in 2015, when the District essentially ran out of foster parents after ending contracts with two private foster-care management companies.
The Washington Post reached out to Children’s Law Center Executive Director Judith Sandalow for insight.
In early 2015, the District ended contracts with two private foster-care management companies, expecting that foster parents would switch over to new operators. Many did not, leaving officials scrambling to relocate 46 children while dealing with an unexpected spike of new children in need of homes, stretching the system to capacity. ‘The minute there weren’t enough homes, everyone had to focus on that,’ said Judith Sandalow, executive director of the Children’s Law Center. ‘Everything else stalled.’