Did anyone else catch this bit of ridiculousness in today's Associated Press piece on the growing pressure on the Department of Child Services over the tragic death of Tajanay Bailey?
A prosecutor said Indiana's child welfare system failed a 3-year-old girl beaten to death four weeks after being returned to her birth mother and that foster parents and state case workers would be interviewed to find out why.
Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi stopped short Friday of saying Department of Child Services staff acted criminally but said foster parents of other children have contacted his office to complain that the state agency, despite extensive reforms, continues to place youngsters in danger.
[...]
DCS spokeswoman Susan Tielking said the agency was cooperating with Brizzi's office and was turning over its file on the case.
She said it was premature to make conclusions, but the agency still was implementing the reforms Daniels ordered when he took office in January 2005.
Wait...so let me get this straight: The official response of the DCS is that they are super-duper sorry about all of this, but the blame should really be put at the feet of everyone who came before them?
Federal officials say Indiana's rollout of its privatized welfare program has broken federal food stamp rules by bypassing state employees in some cases. Indiana risks losing millions of dollars in federal funds if it does not fix the problem.
FSSA Secretary Mitch Roob says the problem shows that state workers aren't following standard operating procedures.
He says that supports his contention that Indiana's welfare system is outdated and that the privatization is needed to make the delivery of benefits more efficient.
You see, this is the standard response from Governor Daniels whenever anything goes wrong. The blame for everything bad in state government can be placed on either, A) state employees, who he hates, or B) the Democrats, who he hates.
When is Mitch going to start taking responsibility for his agencies? He seems perfectly willing to drive around the state on the taxpayer dime, cutting ribbons and kissing babies, but when the going gets rough, he dives under his desk and starts pointing fingers. He's had three years to work on our welfare system, and to chalk up this (or any) failure on a previous administration isn't just foolish, it's pretty insulting to the intelligence of his constituency.
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You see, this is the standard response from Governor Daniels whenever anything goes wrong. The blame for everything bad in state government can be placed on either, A) state employees, who he hates, or B) the Democrats, who he hates.
