Some of Massachusetts’ most vulnerable children are in state custody with nowhere to go, spending nights in rented spaces under the watchful eye of social workers.
Veteran social workers are calling this a crisis for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
State records obtained by NBC10 Boston Investigators show that a lack of group home beds and foster care facilities for children in need has caused some areas of the state to become so-called It is shown that the apartment or room is rented out for “sitting for children.”
“In an ideal world, foster parents would wait for children instead of children waiting for foster parents, but we’re not there yet,” says Ethel, a longtime social worker and SEIU Local 509 leader.・Mr. Everett said. A labor union that represents people working at the site.
Our cameras captured the heartbreaking reality of children outside several DCF offices at the end of the day with only a few belongings in need of a safe and stable home.
Some of these children are stuck in offices after hours as social workers scramble to find them.
Everett says DCF is in the midst of a staffing crisis.
“Unfortunately, it is the children in the care of this department who are suffering,” she said.
Many children are being moved nightly to emergency shelters known as “hotline homes” or housed in rented spaces.
“The biggest concern is the trauma to children, and the added trauma to children who have already been separated from their families in their home countries,” Everett said. “There are also safety risk factors. Many of the areas we go into don’t know the area.”
A South Shore home is being used to monitor children in DCF custody until the department finds a suitable placement, according to records obtained by NBC10 Boston Investigators. In this region, the state pays contract workers to supervise children on nights and weekends.
The site costs $465,000 a year to operate, according to the contract, and DCF also leases space in Boston and Springfield.
The social worker is responsible for sitting the child there and administering medication if necessary.
A DCF spokesperson said the rental space is primarily used for youth with high needs.
“What’s going on is not working,” Everett said. “Kids are experiencing trauma, social workers are experiencing secondary trauma, and I think the job crisis is real.”
Danielle Bonney opened her heart and home to foster parents in Carver eight years ago. She has seen the impact and need firsthand. Bonnie adopted her two of the children she fostered and is currently fostering teenagers, and always has her door open for emergency adoptions.
“One of the hardest things for me is when my child asks me in the morning if I’m going home or where I’m going tonight,” Bonnie said.
The need is incredibly high, she said.
“I get calls at least five times a week,” she says. “I get calls from anywhere in the state. I live near the Cape. I even get calls from the western part of the state. Kids come up to my house for up to 2 hours to find a place to stay for the night. It takes time to come.”
Bonnie said she has raised multiple children from Springfield, more than 100 miles away.
“We have kids who come from Springfield one night, pick us up in the morning, go to school, and come back the next night,” she said.
Although the number of children placed in DCF facilities continues to decline, children are being transferred to another home an average of seven times per 1,000 days, compared to the national standard of four times, according to the latest state data. far outperformed, indicating that stable placement remains difficult. .
Everett said children “deserve to be cared for, heard and valued, and we have a responsibility to meet their needs and we should do so to the best of our ability.” ” he said.
We asked her if DCF was meeting the needs of those children.
“I would say it’s not at the level it should be,” she said.
A DCF spokesperson said the rental space is intended to provide a comfortable place to stay for short periods of time. The department also said it is working to safely and quickly expedite the process for new foster homes and is working to increase available group home beds. There is a shortage of human resources due to a national shortage of welfare service workers.