Catholic Charities halting foster care program after 90 years

[NNN0LHI]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IL_CATHOLIC_CHARITIES_ILOL-?SITE=ILKAN&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

CHICAGO (AP) -- Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago said it will end one of the state's oldest and largest foster care programs after a $12 million lawsuit payment caused the agency's insurer to drop its coverage.

The program, which serves more than 900 children in Cook and Lake Counties, has been run by Catholic Charities for almost 90 years. The program's last day will be June 30.

"This is permanent. There is no way we can dismantle this infrastructure and then recreate it," said Walter Ousley, the chief operating officer for Catholic Charities. "It's the most painful decision I've had to make in 34 years."

Catholic Charities' troubles reached a critical point in 2006, when the agency settled a lawsuit claiming parental abuse. Three children placed in 1995, alleged they had been abused by foster parents licensed by Catholic Charities, according to plaintiff's attorney Christopher Hurley.

[Raven]

1. Boston CC too stopped its foster care and adoption services

which were also the best and the oldest. In Boston's case it was because of gay adoption.

[Wickerman]

2. That is a true shame

it was a fantastic program and a shame it was ruined by a small group of participants.

The issue now is how will the gap be filled. Chicago has long had a crisis in housing foster kids - this won't make it better and in our era of "compassionate conservatism" we have sliced already scant government programs to the bone and started hacking through to the marrow.