Inquiry on foster care summons one Pulaski County judge; placing children with kin at issue

Circuit Judge Patricia James  is shown in this file photo.
Circuit Judge Patricia James is shown in this file photo.

Lawmakers on Tuesday subpoenaed a Pulaski County juvenile court judge to answer questions about her reported refusal to give priority to relatives in the placement of children who are in state custody.

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Special to the Democrat-Gazette

Children and Family Services Division Director Cecile Blucker.

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Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, is shown in this file photo.

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Rep. Mickey Gates, R-Hot Springs, is shown in this file photo.

During a Joint Performance Review Committee meeting held at a youth detention center near Alexander, members listened to testimony that former Children and Family Services Division Director Cecile Blucker gave in March.

At that meeting, Blucker said Circuit Judge Patricia James repeatedly stood in the way of caseworkers trying to do their jobs.

State law requires that family members be given placement preference, yet James almost always sent children into foster care or group homes, Blucker said. And if division staff members dissented, James was "punitive," she said.

Neither Blucker nor James attended Tuesday's meeting.

In a previous interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, James said it was in the child's best interest if family members were thoroughly vetted first.

Currently, investigators have 72 hours to petition the court for a child's placement, which, the judge said, was not nearly enough time.

After listening to Blucker's recorded remarks, committee members debated whether they had the authority to issue subpoenas as part of the group's ongoing review of the Department of Human Services and the Children and Family Services Division.

"I am concerned about the separation of powers," said Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock. "What we are doing is questioning the judicial authority to make decisions."

But Rep. Mickey Gates, R-Hot Springs, insisted that judges were not autonomous.

"Part of the checks and balances is that we get to ask questions," Gates said.

Legislators also commented on James' failure to respond, on several occasions, to committee questions since April.

"The power of this committee is to investigate. We don't set policy, we don't interfere," said Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale. "But it is highly unusual that anyone does not answer an invitation to a legislative committee and especially that staff does not return phone calls."

The panel voted unanimously in favor of issuing subpoenas. The members are requesting to see James during an Oct. 4 meeting.

The decision also applies to documents and records maintained by the Human Services Department. Any record, once reviewed by researchers and redacted if needed, can be subpoenaed, lawmakers said.

Tuesday's meeting was held at the Arkansas Juvenile Assessment and Treatment Center. A brief recess allowed legislators a tour of the facility, which is sprawled across a 108-acre campus.

Rites of Passage of Minden, Nev., took over the lockup Aug. 1, after it secured the three-year contract for $34.1 million from the state.

The private company already has begun some changes at the center, from the academic program and behavioral services offered to the physical buildings. Rites of Passage runs 30 youth centers in 15 states.

A Section on 08/31/2016

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