What is the Child Watch Visitation Program?

denied the services they need.ooThe District of Columbia experienced a 19 percentincrease in the number of children reported abused orneglected between 1988.. and 1989, with almost all of theincr~ase in neglect reports. The number of childrenentering out-of-home care increased approximately 50%during that same period.Boarder babies (many born to drug-exposed mothers),spend months in sterile hospital environments longafter they are medically ready for discharge, becausealternative family settings are not provided.o Foster family homes are in short supply. As of April1989, approximately 50% of DHS's foster homes had onechild more than they were licensed for; 30% had twochildren too many; and the remaining 20% had three ormore children too many.ooooFoster parents are denied the supports they need tocare for the increasing numbers of children withspecial physical, mental and emotional needs.Increased training, supports and compensation, as wellas respite care for foster parents are criticallyneeded. In D.C., the monthly payment for a healthychild under 12 is just $307, yet the U.S. Department ofAgriculture reported in 1988 that the cost of raising anurban child in the South was $455 a month.Children continue to be placed in distant states,cutting them off from family contacts and agencyreview. Approximately 300 children, 90 percent of whomhave been diagnosed as severely emotionally disturbed,were in out-of-state mental health treatment centers in1987 at a cost of over $23 million to the city. Forthat same $23 million, 800 children could be providedwith mental health day clinic services and ther4peuticfoster care.Children in foster care do not receive the servicesthey need to be reunified with their families, nor arethey placed with adoptive families when appropriate.They remain in care for.an average of 4.8 years, far inexcess of the national median stay in foster care whichis 17 months.CUrrent severe shortages of trained staff jeopardizethe care children and families receive. About half ofthe Division's social work positions are vacant,resulting in average case loads of 61 families(including 136 children) per worker. (The ChildWelfare League of America's standards recommendcaseloads of 17 families per worker.)38