|
A quarterly update from Frank Cervone, Esquire, the Executive Director of the Support Center for Child Advocates.
July 2010
by Frank P. Cervone and Carol E. Tracy < /p>
"The community has a need. The solution: give back the money!"
As more information is made public about the dealings leading to the construction of a new Family Court in Center City, the need for the courthouse has been overshadowed. It is apparent that short cuts have been taken, and that conflicts of interest exist. The project now teeters on the edge of failure because of apparent self-dealing by the court’s lawyer and ultra-high costs associated with real estate development. That court administration should have been more responsible, and either more or less involved, are interesting critiques that seem off the mark. The community has a need. The solution: give back the money!
+ Read more
November 2009
"Too many children fall through the cracks. We have to look out for each other."
The death of Charleeni Ferreira tells an incredible story. Parental abuse undetected for years. Siren calls of suspicion from school nurses who were then mistrusted. A child not comfortable enough or perhaps too traumatized to reveal her sad secret. Her story and one other reveal some answers.
Last month I had occasion to visit with a family whose child was subject to a protective action in Philadelphia’s Dependency Court. A four-year-old boy had been found wandering on his neighborhood street at night. While the family members disputed the time of the events, the mother explained that she had put her child to bed, and then left the house to visit friends on the block. She thought the boy was sound asleep in his bed, when he had actually awakened and walked out the front door.
Both the boy’s mother and the maternal grandfather said they knew the neighbor who had found the child and made the report to the children and youth agency … and they were OK that she had reported the case! “Too many children fall through the cracks. We have to look out for each other,” the grandfather observed. The judge and social workers agreed that the young parent needed supports, but that her children were safe and well.
OK with a child neglect report against you? In all my years in child advocacy, I had never heard such a refreshing response.
+ Read more
March 2009
"There is no substitute for a trustworthy leader, but sometimes one must act despite the actions or inactions of the boss."
In two massive violations of public trust, attention focuses on the key bad men. On Wall Street, Bernard Madoff goes to jail for a decades-long fraud on thousands of investors. In Luzerne County, PA, two judges took millions to sell out juvenile offenders and other litigants in their courts. I want to know about their supply chain: Where were the lawyers, probation officers and court staff in Luzerne? Where were the traders, office administrators and accountants?
+ Read More
December 2008
We almost wish this had been a whodunit.
But we know who did it. The real question was: How could they?
- In re County Investigating Grand Jury XXII: Report of the Grand Jury
The “other shoe” finally fell this past summer in the two-year Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS) leadership crisis, as Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham issued a grand jury report and indictments of nine people, including two DHS workers, in the inexcusable death of Danieal Kelly. The report cited glaring deficiencies in social work practice afforded to this helpless, disabled 14-year old child, including:
+ Read More |
