States like Montana struggle to get information about abuse and neglect inside residential foster care facilities like group homes and emergency shelters.
The U.S. Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General surveyed every state about what data state officials collect on abuse and neglect in licensed foster care facilities.
The report found that a third of states don’t have enough information to identify patterns of abuse in the foster care system. Many states also don’t track abuse at chains of residential facilities and struggle to get reports from out-of-state homes.
The report found that Montana doesn’t track information in all three of those categories.
Tal Goldin with Disability Rights Montana says this has been a long-standing issue nationwide. While he supports federal officials’ suggestions to help states improve data collection, he thinks they could mandate it.
“Entities tend not to collect data unless they’re legally required to collect it. Mandating tends to be helpful, but also tends to get a lot of resistance,” said Goldin
Goldin says this kind of tracking is becoming more important as more for profit entities and private equity move into the industry.
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Montana is accessing federal funds for a program aimed at preventing kids from ever getting separated from their families. -
Since 2010, Montana has seen a steady rise in the number of children placed in foster care. Policymakers want to know both why that is the case and how to prevent a continued strain on the foster care system. -
According to Montana’s child protective services division, there are about 3,800 children in the state’s foster care system. State officials say a new… -
Life isn’t easy for kids in foster care. They’re often separated from their parents for reasons they don’t understand, and can bounce around a lot through… -
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Montana Senate has endorsed a bill to give the state health department oversight of private residential programs for troubled…
