Living > Family

  Family  

Kansas gets 'B' for abuse disclosure

Eagle staff and news services

NEW YORK - Kansas earned a "B" in a new report that graded states on their policies for releasing information about fatal and near-fatal child abuse cases.

The report, released Tuesday, was a joint project of First Star, a national nonprofit that advocates for abused children, and the University of San Diego School of Law's Children's Advocacy Institute.

It gave 10 states failing grades for their disclosure practices, saying they placed confidentiality above disclosure to a degree that thwarted needed reforms.

"When abuse or neglect lead to a child's death or near death, a state's interest in confidentiality becomes secondary to the interests of taxpayers, advocates and other children, who would be better served by maximum transparency," said Amy Harfeld, First Star's executive director and a co-author of the report.

"Once we know what is broken, we can try to fix it," she said.

Why Kansas got a B

Kansas earned 86 out of a possible 100 points in the study.

The report called Kansas' policy "vague and unclear" regarding the scope of information authorized for release.

For instance, the study said, the policy provides that "reports and records" are open to the public but does not specify what types of information will be released.

Michelle Ponce, spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, said she was pleased with the state's grade.

"It shows that SRS and the state of Kansas in general obviously believe that being open and transparent to the public that we serve is a priority," she said.

But the department must always balance disclosure with children's right to privacy, Ponce added. "These are very sensitive situations, and we always have that concern for the privacy of children and individuals involved."

Several of the states receiving low grades defended their policies on grounds that families entangled in near-fatal abuse cases were entitled to confidentiality. Harfeld responded that the report is not pressing for disclosure of families' names, but for other details illuminating how state agencies handled the cases.

Disclosure varies

The report issued grades for the disclosure policies of all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Every state accepts federal funds under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, which directs states to "allow for public disclosure" of information regarding fatal and near-fatal cases.

But the report says many states limit disclosure because the act provides too much leeway. For example, according to the report, some state policies cover abuse deaths but not near-fatalities, while other states impede access by releasing information only if a petition is filed.

Robert Fellmeth, executive director of the Children's Advocacy Institute, noted that extensive details often emerge only when a child abuse death gets heavy media coverage.

"But the reality is that 90-plus percent of the time, nobody knows anything and the states actively conceal it," he said in a telephone interview. "That's not right, and that's what we're mad about.

"The system most of all wants to protect its most embarrassing gaffes," Fellmeth said.

About 1,500 American children die from abuse annually. The report contends that more standardized and thorough disclosures about these deaths, and near-fatal cases, might reduce the toll.

Best and worst

Six states -- Nevada, New Hampshire, California, Indiana, Iowa and Oregon -- received grades of A or A-minus.

Ten received an F: Georgia, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Vermont.

In South Dakota, Virgena Wieseler of the Division of Child Protection Services said her agency will propose changes based on the laws in states that got high grades. Rob Johnson of Tennessee's Department of Children's Services said legislative efforts were under way "on how to better release information."

But several states contested their ranking.

Cathy Utz of Pennsylvania's Office of Children, Youth and Families said the report did not reflect a recent state initiative to provide summaries of fatal and near-fatal cases in its annual child abuse report.

Elizabeth Sollis of Utah's Department of Human Services said the report was wrong in asserting that her state had no policy on disclosure.

The report made three general recommendations:

• Amend federal law to clarify and strengthen disclosure requirements, so states know how to comply with its intent.

• Revise state policies and laws to make disclosure policies more enforceable.

• Separate disclosures from criminal proceedings so information on fatal and near-fatal abuse is made available no matter whether a criminal charge is filed.

Contributing: Suzanne Perez Tobias of The Eagle; Associated Press