* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: President Dixon
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
Title
Joint Investigative Hearing - Baltimore City Children in Foster Care
FOR the purpose of requesting the Chairs and Members of the Baltimore City Senate and House Delegations to the 2006 Maryland General Assembly to come together with the Members of the Baltimore City Council to hold a joint investigative hearing to explore the systemic problems in the Baltimore City Department of Social Services that led to the current crisis in the care of emotionally fragile youth and to identify corrective fiscal, administrative, and personnel-related interventions to insure that our most vulnerable children are provided adequate and appropriate care.
Body
Recitals
Recently, the media highlighted the alarming condition of Baltimore City's foster care system when it reported that children who should have been cared for in a loving and nurturing environment were instead spending nights in a downtown Baltimore City Department of Social Services' office building and spending days anywhere but in the classrooms where they should have been receiving an education.
Child advocates were scandalized that perhaps dozens of children were housed in a waiting room in the building on Gay Street night after night, with no access to showers, personal grooming necessities, or blankets. While the boys spent the night upright in hard plastic chairs, some o...
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