Foster Care

Jackson, MS --  

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A federal judge today approved a settlement of a lawsuit to fix problems in Mississippi's foster care system. Children's Rights, a national advocacy group, sued Mississippi in 2004 to push for better conditions for the estimated 3,000 to 3,500 children in foster care. The lawsuit settlement was signed in November. U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee approved it today. The settlement gives the state five years to put changes in place.

Under the settlement:

- The state Department of Human Services will hire more social workers and increase the number of visits the workers make to each foster child.

- DHS will increase its offerings of educational and therapeutic services for foster parents and children.

- The state will do a more thorough job of checking children's physical and mental health when they enter foster care.

- The state will establish a 24-hour hot line so people can report abuse or mistreatment of children throughout the state.

- The state will increase reimbursement rates for foster parents.

- DHS will have to be approved by the Council on Accreditation, a national group that helps states improve their foster care systems.