January 14, 2008
At Least Six People to be Fired in Wake of Jacks Murders
As promised, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty held a news conference this morning to announce a series of actions designed to address what his office is calling "shortfalls" in the city's Child and Family Services Agency. The new measures include immediate policy changes such as increased time and reporting spent on each case, a review of past cases and a series of firings of individuals who were involved in the Jacks' case.
"A minimum of six people will be terminated from their positions. That number could rise to eight," Fenty said. The names of the people he plans to fire were not released, but they include a division director and at least five other child welfare employees.
Fenty also played recordings of two phone calls made by a school social worker last April to police and the child welfare hotline. Kathy Lopes' calls were to report a visit she paid to the Jacks home in which she observed Benita Jacks, who stands accused of murdering her four daughters, appearing to be suffering from serious mental illness and holding her eldest daughter, 16-year-old Brittany Jacks, hostage inside their Southeast D.C. home. The Washington Post has since made one of these telephone call recordings available on their web site. The frustration heard in Lopes' voice and in her description of getting nowhere with CFSA and being transferred all over when trying to contact someone at the MPD who could help her is pretty tough to take.
D.C. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), a former social worker who chairs the committee that oversees the District's welfare agencies, has said he will have a public hearing this week on the case.
Photo of Mayor Adrian Fenty at last week's crime scene by the Associated Press
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Maybe Tommy Wells can also hold a hearing on what kind of oversight his committee has provided. As mentioned in Loose Lips a few weeks ago, Wells' committee has a handful of bills before it. Which should mean it has plenty of time to conduct actual oversight. But I won't hold my breath.
You got it Fenty. You're fixing things now.
I'm reminded of the phrase closing the barn door after the horses have run away.
What in the name of christ is wrong with you people?
So there are not-baseless accounts of CFSA investigators not doing their jobs, that negligence contributed to (if not resulted in) 4 deaths, and ... what? You're complaining that Fenty's firing the people who didn't do their jobs?
What the fuck do you expect to happen in the world? Yes, it would be better if 4 girls weren't dead; taking that as the basis for the investigation, you want him NOT to fire anyone? you want him to ... resign and let a deputy mayor take over?
What fucking good is your baseless carping?
Oh you're totally right. I'm sure the social workers just had this one particular case on their workload and weren't overworked or underpaid at all or trapped within the completely backwards D.C. social services system. I'm sure they were deliberately negligent in this case without a doubt because He says they were.
Clearly, firing them will solve these problems and prevent future deaths! It's the best solution! It's not for the media at all! So sorry to doubt The Lord and Saviour Adrian Fenty.
If you think this Donald Trump pursuit to being a Mayor is the best possible option, please pet one of the unicorns flying out of your ass for me. Doubting people getting thrown under the bus in a nationally-publicized incident? In this town? Who are you?
Amen, Jim.
You can bitch about the messed up system that let these kids fall through the cracks or bitch about Fenty's management style. Go ahead and bitch about the city council's ineffectiveness on a whole host of issues or bitch about the general state of DC government.
Fine.
But this is what you choose to whine about? Fenty firing people who apparently didn't do their jobs, resulting in four tragic deaths?
STFU. I mean seriously.
Fenty is no better than any other mayor who has been in charge of this city. Reactionary, and hardly visionary, as he would have you to believe. Perhaps he should order his thug frat brother Sinclair Skinner to investigate the matter further.
Yay! Now talk about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and you will be able to have a little 2006 comment wankfest all over again!
It took a series of children dying after NYC Children Services had been called before the agency was totally overhauled. Firings are only the first step.
When the smoke clears and we hear of His master plan, I guess we'll see if any improvement in the system has been made. Other than, you know, increasing the workload of the already dwindling number of D.C. Children Services employees.
Call me crazy but it's easy to point your finger at someone while you're kicking their ass out the door.
Also Chief Lanier looks like a zombie in that photo. At least THAT is something we can agree on.
is it just me or does Chief Lanier lurking in the shadow of Fenty remind one of a certain phantom menace?