Several reports today, including one by Ofelia Casillas and Manya A. Brachear the Chicago Tribune, state that Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago has been forced to drop its foster care program because it is unable to obtain insurance after a $12 Million settlement last summer. I was one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in that case, and I would like to set the record straight.
I represented three minors who were subjected to severe abuse while in Catholic Charities' foster care system. The children were repeatedly sexually abused, physically abused, malnourished, and neglected. The case finally came to the attention of DCFS when a medical provider reported that the foster parent forcibly placed the middle child's hands in a pot of boiling water.
There was evidence that Catholic Charities was guilty of gross neglect while responsible for these children:
1. Licensed an unqualified foster parent;
2. Failed to obtain an employment verification for the foster parent;
3. Placed the children in the foster parent’s home even though there were not enough bedrooms;
4. Failed to perform home visits as often as required by DCFS regulations;
5. Never acted upon reports that indicated the children were being abused and malnourished;
6. Failed to remove the children from the home when the foster parent requested Catholic Charities to do so;
7. Lost or destroyed key records with respect to this foster home
I feel that justice has been served here. The children of Illinois will be better served by being transferred into the care of other social service agencies that follow the rules.
This case did not come about by any single lapse by Catholic Charities. It took the combined failures listed above to result in the devastating abuses to these children. If Catholic Charities had acted responsibly with respect to any of the foregoing lapses, the children I represent would not have been abused, the case would never have existed, the settlement would not have occurred, and Catholic Charities would not be subject to increased insurance premiums.
