TRANSCRIPT:
This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Luis Hernandez: Katelyn Medeiros is the state’s new Child Advocate. That means she’s responsible for ensuring the safety of all children in the custody of the state’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families. A recent report by the Office of the Child Advocate detailed abuse and negligence at St. Mary’s Home for Children in North Providence, a contractor with the DCYF that has since closed. Katelyn Medeiros joins me now to talk more about her plans to address these issues and others within our child welfare system. Katelyn, I really appreciate the time. Thank you.
Katelyn Medeiros: Thank you for having me.
Hernandez: I kind of explained a little bit about what your position is, but if you wouldn’t mind to elaborate a little bit more what the state Office of Child Advocate actually does.
Medeiros: We function as the watchdog to DCYF. We are an independent state agency comprised right now, we have 13 people on staff and we oversee the best interests of any child who is open to DCYF in any capacity, maintaining those children and ensuring their educational rights there, ensuring that their medical and emotional behavioral health needs are all met timely and to the fullest extent. We are also tasked with overseeing any legislative or policy changes that may be impacting youth who are involved with DCYF as well.
Hernandez: My understanding, though, is this: even though you were officially appointed Child Advocate earlier this year, you’ve actually been the interim Child Advocate now for a couple of years, right?
Medeiros: Correct.
Hernandez: So, in all, you will have been in this position for quite a while. I’m wondering, all this time that you’ve been there, how that’s prepared you now for this moment?
Medeiros: I had an opportunity as a staff attorney early on to really learn the interworkings of the office. I was then promoted by my predecessor, Jennifer Griffith, to Assistant Child Advocate back in 2017. I think that was a really pivotal moment in my career, to really take a leadership role within the office and learn a lot about the management of the office, budget, as well as how to operate this office within our larger scope within the state. I think all of that then leading into my time as Interim Child Advocate really prepared me and paved the way to really hit the ground running as I was officially appointed in May. I didn’t really have as much of a learning curve as maybe a new director may have had around the operations of the office. So I’m really fortunate.
Hernandez: Katelyn, for you, what is the most important thing you want to accomplish in your tenure in this position?
Medeiros: If you’ll indulge me, I have a few things. Unfortunately, I think we have a lot to accomplish. I think there’s a lot of great work being done, but I will say for me, I have probably my top three priorities. Number one, this is an issue that has been a historic issue: we really lack a continuum of care that can adequately meet the needs of our children and youth here in state, and do so in a timely way. We need to develop that continuum that encompasses services, from prevention services all the way through high-end residential treatment for behavioral health, mental health needs. We need to do so, so we can really meet the needs of our kids here in state. Right now we have approximately 85 Rhode Island youth who are placed out of state. That is not limited to the New England area. We have kids as far as Tennessee, Utah, Idaho. I think one can imagine that overseeing and monitoring operations and facilities that far is challenging. But we also owe it to those kids to be able to receive the services in their community, having contact with their families, with their educational providers. They deserve to have that treatment here in state. So in addition, one of the continued issues we’ve seen is kids languishing in a hospital setting for far too long. They’re not receiving treatment in the least restrictive setting. So one of my top priorities is continuing the great work we have going with our community providers, the Rhode Island family court and our partners in state government to really develop a continuum of care that can adequately meet the needs of our children and youth.
Hernandez: I wanted to get to, obviously, the really big story this year. Your office recently conducted the investigation into St. Mary’s Home for Children, which closed this past spring following revelations of abuse and neglected mismanagement. St. Mary’s, as a reminder, was a facility contracted by the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families. And it was the only in-state psychiatric residential treatment facility for kids in Rhode Island. Following the investigation into St. Mary’s, your office made a series of recommendations designed to help DCYF provide better care for kids under its purview. Could you just briefly tell us about some of these recommendations?
Medeiros: Some included the process and procedure when a complaint is received by DCYF, how those are handled by Child Protective Services; children’s behavioral health and licensing; what follow up is required by each unit to ensure that anytime a child steps forward with a concern that that does not fall on deaf ears. We want to ensure that the systems that we have in place, that they’re working and they’re responsive in real time when concerns are brought forward.
Hernandez: The state is facing a lack of foster homes and high-end residential centers. Again, this is forcing many kids to be placed out of state. Why do we lack these spaces and services in Rhode Island, and what can we do about that? Is it really just saying we need the money?
Medeiros: I think it’s more than money, honestly. What we really need to do is be thoughtful in how we’re setting up our system and ensuring that a true well thought-out and well resourced continuum exists in our state. That, again, is everything from prevention services, foster homes, community-based services, all the way up to high-end residential with appropriate step-downs. We want to make sure that we’re being thoughtful and planful on how we’re moving kids through the system to provide them with the necessary interventions right away, rather than allowing for kids to struggle.
Hernandez: What else is on your mind? What else are you thinking about as you move forward?
Medeiros: I know we talked a lot about continuum of care here today, but I will say for me, two other areas I’m really focused on. One is education. We looked at data going back 20 years. The graduation rate for kids in foster care is significantly lower than their peers. Last year, the graduation rate was 51% in comparison to 85% of their peers. That just shows that we really have an opportunity, really, to explore how the system is serving our kids with respect to education and try to make improvements. Additionally, I am very, very focused on our transition-age youth. We are fortunate enough that since 2018 here in Rhode Island, we have extended foster care. However, I think there’s always room for improvement. We are really exploring the way in which we’re supporting kids with housing, with healthcare, as well as job and educational opportunities. I think one of the key things that we’re really trying to center is centering the voices of the youth who are being served by these programs. They’re the expert in their experience. We cannot define that for them. We do not know better than them. They are the ones who can tell us what they need, how we can support them, and really try to tailor our supports and build programming around their experiences.
Hernandez: Katelyn Medeiros, Child Advocate for the State of Rhode Island. It’s been a pleasure, Katelyn. Thank you so much for sharing with me.
Medeiros: Thank you so much. I appreciate being here.
