What kids in poverty really need
People who wind up in Washington's child- welfare system are often beset by "profound deprivation."
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Seattle Times staff columnist
People who wind up in Washington's child- welfare system are often beset by "profound deprivation."
Mark Courtney, whose organization conducted a study of the system, told me the depth of poverty has been a surprise even to people who regularly deal with child welfare.
Data from a new study shows half of those families had problems securing housing, some were homeless, and two-thirds were so broke they needed food stamps.
The study is part of an effort to transform the way this state helps its most endangered children, and it underscores the need to address poverty as a core part of that effort.
The study was done for the Department of Health and Human Services, which usually makes news only when something has gone terribly wrong and the lawyers are circling.
But the people it serves and the rest of us desperately need for it to work well. That is especially true when children's futures and even their lives are at stake.
That is why the agency is in the midst of a transformation in its approach to the deep problems we ask it to solve.
I actually feel upbeat about the prospects after a conversation with Courtney, who holds the Ballmer Endowed