logo logo
Donate
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Social Justice
    • Racial Justice
    • Climate Justice
    • Disability Justice
    • Economic Justice
    • Health Justice
    • Immigration
    • LGBTQ+
  • Civic News
  • Nonprofit Leadership
    • Board Governance
    • Equity-Centered Management
    • Finances
    • Fundraising
    • Human Resources
    • Organizational Culture
    • Philanthropy
    • Power Dynamics
    • Strategic Planning
    • Technology
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Leading Edge Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Webinars

Child Welfare Nonprofit Wins Okla. Settlement

Saras Chung
March 8, 2012

March 5, 2012; Source: Tulsa World

A case brought by Children’s Rights, a New York-based nonprofit, in Tulsa, Okla., against the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) has ended in a settlement that was recently approved by a federal judge. Data from the Oklahoma case shows that its social workers had caseloads that were too high to effectively handle, foster children with multiple placements, shelters routinely topping capacity and a deficiency in supervision and training for foster parents.

DHS spent $7 million to defend the case brought against them and has approved another $2 million for legal costs. The settlement includes the creation of a three-person panel that will approve a plan for 15 areas targeted for improvement. Since the filing of the lawsuit, Tulsa’s DHS has reduced the number of children in foster care from about 11,000 to 8,000.

Children’s Rights has raised legal challenges in at least 15 states and jurisdictions since 1995 to seek improvements in child welfare systems; only two haven’t ended in settlement agreements or judicial consent orders.

Most see the nonprofit’s work as a way to reform child welfare on a national level. However, critics question the motive of the nonprofit, wondering if their work is to seek a payout or to unjustly impose its values.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

In response to such critics, Marcia Lowry, Children’s Rights founder and executive director, asks, “What’s so bad about trying to reform child welfare nationally? Yes, we are trying to do that because hundreds of thousands of children are suffering.”

According to its 2010 tax records, the nonprofit has net assets of about $14 million. Lowry indicates that that the organization operates on a tight margin, with salaries comparable to those of paid public interest lawyers, devoid of bonuses for cases won.

“Problems in child welfare are national problems. It’s not a boilerplate,” says Lowry. “There are some very serious national problems that play themselves out with local variations. They are common problems but are not exactly the same.”

Citing the need for Children’s Rights, Lowry points to the lack of specialized expertise and resources to handle federal class-action cases like this one. She says, “A lawsuit is a massive undertaking. It requires a huge amount of resources, an enormous amount of lawyer hours and a lot of cash. You can’t do a case like this without experts, and experts cost a lot of money. There are not a lot of commercial law firms prepared to take on that kind of commitment.”

The work of Children’s Rights points to an increasing need to monitor the safety of children even within a welfare system. The very structure that is setup to protect the children could be the same system that is harming them, as is shown by the work of nonprofits such as Children’s Rights. –Saras Chung

About the author
Saras Chung

Saras Chung is a PhD Candidate in Social Work at WashU. She promotes strategies in education for healthy and engaged youth.

More about: Civic InfrastructureHuman ServicesNonprofit NewsPolicy

Our Voices Are Our Power.

Journalism, nonprofits, and multiracial democracy are under attack. At NPQ, we fight back by sharing stories and essential insights from nonprofit leaders and workers—and we pay every contributor.

Can you help us protect nonprofit voices?

Your support keeps truth alive when it matters most.
Every single dollar makes a difference.

Donate now
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

You might also like
Summer Camp in a Climate-Changed World
Alison Stine
New York and Other States Move to Fix Nonprofit Contracting Delays
Lauren Girardin
Trump Budget Bill Spells Trouble for Nonprofits
Isaiah Thompson
How Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” Hurts Youth Mental Health
Megan Kerns
Holding the Line for LGBTQ+ Youth: Community, Care, and Resistance
Deepa Iyer
Trump’s Authoritarian Spectacle: Corruption in US Governance and What Nonprofits Can Do About It
Zane McNeill

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
July 24th, 2:00 pm ET

Organizing in Divided Times

The Relational Infrastructure We Need to Protect Democracy

Register
Group Created with Sketch.
September 24th-25th, 2:00 pm ET

Advanced QuickBooks for Nonprofits

Expert Guidance for Experienced QuickBooks Users

Register

    
You might also like
Two young people watch from shore as a canoe with a child in a life vest enters a lake.
Summer Camp in a Climate-Changed World
Alison Stine
An aerial view of New York City buildings during the daytime.
New York and Other States Move to Fix Nonprofit Contracting...
Lauren Girardin
US Capitol Building
Trump Budget Bill Spells Trouble for Nonprofits
Isaiah Thompson

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Donate
  • Editorial Policy
  • Funders
  • Submissions

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.