COST OF PREVENTING CHILD ABUSE RISING.

Byline: Troy Anderson

Staff Writer

Despite attempts in recent years to revolutionize foster-care financing, a national analysis to be released today finds that the costs of child abuse and neglect have soared to $104 billion annually -- up from $94 billion in 2001 -- and very little of the money is available to help improve family problems that lead to mistreatment.

The analysis comes as Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services officials warned that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed 11 percent child-welfare cut would leave the agency with a $25 million shortfall.

"We consider this an issue of life and death and we are extremely concerned," DCFS Director Trish Ploehn said. "Over the past seven years, social services in California have taken consistent cuts in order to help reduce deficits, but this year looks to be the most severe yet."

The two reports -- both sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trust -- found that more than 90 percent of child-protection system funding is still only available once a child is placed in a foster home -- a very costly funding structure that discourages the use of taxpayer dollars to help prevent abuse.

"The whole structure of the way the child-protective system works is extremely challenging because it waits for children to be abused and neglected and then pours resources in, trying to fix the problem," said David Sanders, executive vice president for systems improvement at Casey Family Programs and former DCFS director.

"The best thing to do is to actually try and prevent abuse and neglect in the first place."

The reports by Prevent Child Abuse America and Kids Are Waiting found that the antiquated child-welfare funding system has contributed to the rising costs associated with child mistreatment.

They peg the estimated cost of child abuse at $104 billion -- including more than $33 billion in direct costs for foster-care services, hospitalization, mental-health treatment and law enforcement.

Indirect costs of more than $70 billion include loss of productivity, as well as costs related to chronic health problems, special education and the criminal-justice system.

"We as a nation need to talk about prevention," said Jim Hmurovich, president of Prevent Child Abuse America. "Would people be surprised to learn that a significant number of inmates in state prisons throughout the country were victims of abuse and neglect?

"Would people be surprised that abuse and neglect have serious, lifelong effects on health, greater instances of mental health needs, substance abuse and other services that we often don't connect with incidents of abuse and neglect?"

The reports recommend that the president and Congress reform funding for the child-welfare system -- focusing on prevention services, reducing the need for some children to enter the foster-care system, and helping others reunify with their families more quickly.

Officials with Prevent Child Abuse America and other groups plan to visit members of Congress at the end of the month to give them copies of the reports.

Sanders said officials are watching whether federal funding waivers granted to Los Angeles and Alameda counties and the state of Florida are successful before deciding to change the way the system is financed nationwide.

"I think the one good thing happening in Los Angeles is that the number of kids in out-of-home placement is continuing to go down," Sanders said. "But not having a strong investment in prevention is going to be a real challenge.

"That's what the waiver was contingent on. And now with the governor's budget -- all this will be a factor in how successful the waiver is going to be in reshaping how services are delivered."

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com

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