Texas' central registry of child abusers is called into question

3-28-2011 Texas:

At age 10, Sam became a child abuser.

Sexually molested by his mother and beaten by his father, Sam eventually repeated the abuse on younger children while in the state’s care.

Now 15 and adopted by a single father in Carrollton, Sam had thought he could shed his troubled past. ..Source.. by JON NIELSEN

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Keep working to fix abusive state registry

3-9-2011 Iowa:

House File 191 is dead. Perhaps that's just as well. It addressed only a few of the many problems with Iowa's child abuse registry. This state needs more than tinkering when it comes to a blacklist that is fundamentally flawed.

Fixing any disaster is complicated. Iowa's registry is a disaster.

Instead of passing HF 191 out of committee, lawmakers added an amendment to another bill. It requires the Iowa Department of Human Services to work with other agencies and groups to address problems with the registry and report back in December.

That is an incredibly important task - one that the 50,000 Iowans on the registry and anyone who lives with or works with children should be involved in.

Iowans accused of abusing a child - usually their own child - don't have adequate due-process rights before they're placed by a social worker on the state-maintained list. Then the "guilty" Iowan has a short window of time to appeal. Getting a final answer on an appeal can take a year. Miss the deadline and remain on the registry for 10 years.

Numerous Iowans have had their lives turned upside down because of the registry. Some say they never even knew they were on it. Some lost jobs or couldn't find new jobs. One was a teacher afraid to apply for a new position because she'd gotten into a physical altercation with her teenage daughter years earlier.

The new director of DHS, Chuck Palmer, told the Register editorial staff he met Iowans who couldn't finish an academic degree because the registry prevented them from participating in a required internship. Last year the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the state wrongly placed an Iowa City mother on the registry. Acting Citizens' Aide/Ombudsman Ruth Cooperrider said her office has received complaints from Iowans who say the state did not treat them fairly.

Addressing what's wrong with the registry must be comprehensive, and the discussion should include rethinking the very existence of the database. Some states do not have child abuse registries, and the Iowa DHS could continue to maintain an internal database to assist in child abuse investigations.

In fact, eliminating the registry would likely save much more money than tinkering with the current system. Rep. Bruce Hunter (D-Des Moines) said state agencies told him implementing HF 191 - which proposed only a few changes - would have cost a fortune.

"I, for one, didn't believe their costs at all," said Hunter. "I was seeing figures between the three departments that it would take at least 30-some employees and over a million to do all this." He suspects inflated costs of legislation come from "a worst-case estimate of 'I don't really want to do this program, so it's probably gonna take 32 people' " attitude. Yet, Hunter said he understands state agencies are underfunded.

"I really and truly believe this year all the parties realize there's a big problem," he said. "I believe DHS was sincere and they are going to come up with some changes and get us on the road for fixing this problem."

That must happen. ..Source.. by The Register's editorial

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Lawmakers should fix child abuse registry

Two registries are not the same: Some people confuse the child abuse registry with the Sex Offender Registry. These are two different lists. The Sex Offender Registry contains the names of people who have been convicted by a court of a sex crime. The information is public and easily available on the Internet to anyone who wants to check it. The child abuse registry is entirely different. Most of the people on that list have not been convicted of a crime, and they were placed there by social workers. To check for a name on this registry, you must make a request through the Iowa Department of Human Services.

2-25-2011 Iowa:

Nearly 52,000 people are listed on Iowa's child abuse registry. Gather them together, and they would almost rival the population of Ames. It's a lot of names - more than many other states have on their registries.

Few of the people on the database of "abusers" have been charged, let alone convicted, of a crime. Social workers- not judges or juries - add names to the list. These people are not sex offenders.

There are numerous problems with the list maintained by the state. These problems should scare the heck out of anyone who lives or works with children. They should prompt lawmakers to finally address problems with the state list.

If you are investigated for abuse by the Iowa Department of Human Services, you have few due-process rights before you can be placed on the registry. If you are added, you have six months to appeal and it could take more than a year to have your case resolved or your name removed. If you miss the appeal window, you'll remain on the blacklist for 10 years.

Because employers use the registry to check job applicants, being on the list may prevent you from getting a job. It may negatively impact you in a custody battle. For teachers or social workers or child-care providers, it is professionally devastating.

Iowa lawmakers need to rethink the very existence of this state's abuse registry. Some states don't have one. The state can maintain a confidential database - not accessible by employers - to assist them in child abuse investigations. However, lawmakers should do something this session: Pass House File 191. Gov. Terry Branstad should sign it into law. It's a beginning.

The legislation provides some protections for those accused of abuse and makes clear they must be notified of the outcome of an investigation. It also allows appeals to be expedited. Iowans would not be placed on the registry until their appeals are exhausted.

These are important changes. Yet there is more work to do.

The legislation doesn't help the thousands of people currently on the registry and facing many more years there. The Register editorial page staff has talked with many of them. They tell of being wrongly placed on the list and losing a job. Many say they were never even notified they were placed on the registry.

Last week, Jason Heck of Grinnell said we could share his story.

Heck has a long and complicated tale of abuse allegations and social workers visiting his home - but he thought the problems were behind him. About a month ago, in the midst of a custody battle, his lawyer told him he was on the registry. He'd been there for years and found out too late to appeal.

"I've been talking to representatives and judges. All I get is the runaround. The last judge I talked to said 'You're just gonna have to deal with it'," said Heck. He also thinks being on the list is one reason he's had such a hard time getting a job.

"There's got to be changes," said Heck. "There are too many people out there with too much power to make calls on things they shouldn't. They write something in a report on paper and that becomes the 'facts' about what went on."

Then Iowans on the list face a 10-year "punishment."

It's going to take more than a seven-page bill to address such problems. For now, it is a decent start. ..Source.. by The Register's editorial

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