Disproportionality

Today the House Ways & Means Committee held a hearing on disproportionality in child welfare. It is great that we have elected officials who are interested enough in child welfare in general, and specifically in disproportionality, that they felt it worthy of special attention. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend but I look forward to listening to and reading the testimony when it becomes available.
Cheers to McDermott and others for bringing attention to this important issue!

Revolving Door

In the last week or two, I've noted that three child welfare directors/commissioners have announced their departures. I won't comment on the individual circumstances. Rather, I want to pose a very broad, and very basic question. That is, how effective can child welfare leadership be when they are likely going to be in the position less than two years? How many Fortune 500 companies have built successful organizations with leadership turn-over similar to that of child welfare? (Seriously--I don't know the answer to that but I'm guessing it is zero.)

I think it is time we have a dialogue about this system and what needs to happen in order for public child welfare to effectively protect and serve children, families, and communities.