TONYA BOGA RESIGNS AS GEORGIA'S DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF THE CHILD ADVOCATE

Tonya Boga

Georgia - Tonya Boga has resigned as Director of the Office of the Child Advocate. An attorney in her own right, perhaps Ms. Boga will return to practice, as her license to practice law is active.

 

In 2012, Ms. Boga stated in an interview with Channel 2 News investigative reporter Aaron Diamant, "I see us as a voice for the children of the state of Georgia." Ms. Boga went on to say, "I think there needs to be more training, and DFCS is working on that training." [1] [2]

 

These statements indicate more smoke and mirrors. Blame the work force, not  the upper echelon of supervisors and directors. How proactive is it to train more DFCS/CPS investigators/agents, if it is the supervisors, who are afforded carte blanche in subjective editing of final survey reports? 

 

In  a 2011 interview, a DFCS/CPS/ORCC investigator disclosed, off the record for fear of reprisal, that a report the investigator submitted was ignored, and this was not the first time.  "You stay in line. You don't ask questions; not if you wish to keep your job." There was no question the fear factor was overwhelming. 

 

As 'real' child advocates, we found that several of our complaints filed with the ORCC under DHS, including DFCS and the subsequent finalized survey reports generated by those entities, were either missing in the final survey report, changed, or the original complaint was not addressed in the final survey report with coinciding complaint identifiers.

 

As 'real' child advocates, we met with Tonya Boga in the Fall of 2011. On our own time, we went to the Governor's Office. We offered documented evidence and testimony to the Governor's Office, along with Ms. Boga and her entourage at the OCA -- including recommended oversight reforms and regulations based on our experience with the  "kid gloves" handling of a facility.  We found nepotism, ineptitude, and apparent corruption-rampant. All of which, indicated the problems are systemic as other facilities generate reports with the same failures and 'nothing' is done. "We are not in the business to shut these facilities down," as one Director stated. 

 "We the People" thought the creed for agencies under the arm of  DHS, such as DFCS, the ORCC,  and CPS, was to protect the children, not the facility. Think again.

 

We found the directors to be incompetent, not the investigators/agents. If the directors and supervisors are not incompetent, then their plight of containment, an insular quest, shines a worse light toward their embracement of corruption.

Governor Deal: “It is one of those oversight areas, where I think any time we have an extra set of eyes that are looking at a situation, perhaps we can avoid bad things happening,” he said of the office. [1]

Governor Deal's politics and rhetoric aside, in our advocacy for the safety of children and transparency, obviously his 'blanket' statement did not apply. "DEAL would not deal with Ryan and Dunne and get the deal done," retorts a child advocate.

 

When the Georgia Bureau of Investigation raided the Muscogee County DFCS alleging "false statements and writings, concealment of facts, fraudulent documents in matters within jurisdiction of state or political subdivisions, and subornation of false swearing," industry people were shocked.  Georgia goes after one of their own?  Why Muscogee?  Our postion, "they raided the wrong office." [3]

 

Two years later, "We are still investigating."  Now, Ms. Boga is gone.

 

If one is hopeful that a new Director of the Office of the Child Advocate will be a visionary, do not hold ones breath.

Oversight with no accountability, simply will not work.



[1] http://wabe.org/post/deal-expand-office-child-advocate-agency-head-resgines

 

[2] http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/child-advocate-puts-pressure-dfcs-over-child-cruel/nLMfC/

[3] http://www.wtvm.com/story/19460720/2012/09/05/dfcs-employees-arrested-for-allegedly-falsifying-child-abuse-reports

DHS -    Department of Human Services
DFCS -  Department of Family and Children's Services
CPS   -   Child Protective Services
ORCC - Office of Regulatory Child Care
OCA -   Office of the Child Advocate
 



GEORGIA - DHS AND DFCS - CHANGING OF THE GUARD DOES NOT EXACTLY CLEAN HOUSE

 

Georgia - The summer brought changes to the hierarchy at Georgia's Department of Human Services and the Department of Family and Children's Services.

 

Clyde Reese - Out as DHS Commissioner - In as Commissioner at the Department of Community Health (DCH)

No tears here... Our dealings as parents and advocates with former DHS Commissioner Clyde Reese were less than stellar, actually non-existent, although repeatedly attempted by advocates, during the Ridge Creek School fiasco.

DHS/ORCC lack of accountability, lack of oversight, and  lack of transparency allowed the debacle to continue. However, moving Mr. Reese to the DCH is not exactly proactive, nor progressive in an administrative attempt to fix the problems repeatedly cited in reports such as Kenny A.,  the Children's Rights Org, and the Georgia Advocacy Office.

Ron Scroggy - Out as DFCS Director - In as Executive Director of Georgia Association of Homes and Services for Children (GAHSC)

Ron Scroggy heralded from Inner Harbour Youth Villages as the former CEO, where ORCC survey reports on Youth Villages provided egregious incidents of non-compliance. Hiring Mr. Scroggy as Director of DFCS appeared to be a conflict of interest to begin with, offering up just another avenue for the "fox to guard the henhouse." Mr.Scroggy is now at GAHSC, which is far from comforting.

Both gentlemen appeared to do a remarkable job insulating Georgia's DHS and DFCS from any transparency and accountability.  Under Mr. Scroggy's tenure, DFCS offices were raided by the FBI and charges were brought against underlings.  Advocate's general opinion - the FBI raided the wrong offices.

Do not bang the drums quite yet... Governor Deal just shifted the players around to different departments providing each player with a different venue for the same apparent inepitude, lack of integrity, and complicit behavior.

Dave Statton,  former Director of the ORCC, who abruptly cleaned out his desk in 2011, the morning after our parent/advocate conference call, holds the trump cards relating to his immediate exit - among other issues. Were you really given a RIFF? Perhaps it is time to release the conference call... what say you Mr. Statton?
How do you really feel about subjectively changing survey reports before release?


http://www.childrensrights.org/news-events/press/metro-atlanta-backslides-on-protecting-kids-in-foster-care/

 

http://gov.georgia.gov/press-releases/2013-05-30/deal-nominates-two-state-agency-leadership-positions

 

Georgia: "Foster care fraught with private abuses, public excuses" | ajc.com

Foster care fraught with private abuses, public excuses | ajc.com

Welcome to Georgia's Child Care Regulatory Agencies

I would like to share this well-written article by Alan Judd from 2010. If one substitutes CCI (Child Caring Institution) for "Foster care" the frightening similarities are more than apparent and clearly show the need for change in the entire DHS and DFCS "good ole boy" family tree. Resignations at this point would be too kind; the old entourage at the top of the tree need to go, period. However, not before extending a formal apology to parents and children that have been subjected to their lack of professionalism, ineptitude, indifference, blatant containment, and skewing of the truth.

What is alarming is that Mr. Judd's article is a mirror image of what advocates and parents have been dealing with for over ten years regarding the DHS/ORCC/DFCS supervisors and their oversight of CCI Hidden Lake Academy now Ridge Creek, Inc. and their other former and current sister programs, including Ridge Creek Wilderness... "Our hands are tied" just doesn't cut it. Again, if it was their child sleeping on wood planks, carrying boulders for hours, or involved in any other cited, egregious incidents, I highly doubt DHS/ ORCC response would be "our hands are tied."

I received an email from a former senior administrator of Ridge Creek, Inc. back in 2006. At first, I thought, "take it with a grain of salt." But now, I know better ... and, well, it is 2011 and still going on.

"DHR workers tried hard to hold Hidden Lake Accountable

supervisors backed down"

I am assuming "workers" relates to the DFCS and ORCC surveyors, case workers, and agents. "Supervisors," well read Alan Judd's article.
...and that's my take.

RIDGE CREEK SCHOOL/RIDGE CREEK WILDERNESS - TRUDGING THROUGH THE MUCK

To fully understand what murky water one must wade through, let us glance at an excerpt taken from the website of Thomas J. Croke founder of “Family Light.”  Mr. Croke is an educational consultant.

http://www.familylight.com/link3/3.03/3.032/RS/RidgeCreek.htm

Family Light Thomas J. Croke

“Ridge Creek has  settled into a new identity and focus.  Historically, it was  a wilderness program.  In 2009, it expanded into a therapeutic "College Prep [School] with a Wilderness Twist."  Since then, the wilderness program has been dropped, and the therapeutic boarding school well establishcd.   Ridge Creek School, took over the buildings of a former school  historically located near it.  However in the fall of 2011, those buildings will become the site of newly founded boarding and day school that will not have therapeutic content.  Ridge Creek will return to the nearby buildings that are mostly unussd at the time this is written.”

If one is going to put their reputation on the line, one should investigate the school they recommend. It is not enough to add a disclaimer. The family pays you a fee to do your homework. Whether or not you place a disclaimer on your website, you have a moral and ethical responsibility, not to mention a fiduciary one.  Before placing this drivel on your website, perhaps you should remember, a child’s life is in your hands.

There is a huge problem here.  The ORCC documents state on one hand that Ridge Creek Wilderness (RCW) program was indeed active in 2009 and 2010, yet on the other hand, the ORCC documents state the RCW program was not active.   Several DFCS and ORCC interviews with students and parents state that their children were sent to RCW in 2009 and 2010.   More alarming, students stated that “Wilderness Intervention” was not a “program,” but a “Tavern” also known amongst insiders as “The Chalet."  Several children were sent to “Wilderness Intervention” for eight days as part of behavior modification; according to DFCS, this is no longer allowed per the ORCC.

RIDGE CREEK SCHOOL - A MICROCOSM OF INEVITABLE FAILURE

More children have been hurt at Ridge Creek School (RCS), formerly known as Hidden Lake Academy (HLA), a residential teen facility in Dahlonega, Georgia. A ‘tough’ group of students appears to be causing harm. Years ago, we had a handful here and there at HLA, but nothing like the apparent gang mentality where the kicking of heads in appears to have become a favorite past time, aside from playing “Yahtzee.” “Yo-bro” has replaced “ya'll”– perhaps achieved by watching too many reruns of “The Sopranos.”

Admission of violent students is increasingly obvious and so is the fact that the staff does not appear to be able to handle them. Admission of children with serious mental and behavioral health issues was/is not appropriate when the credentials of staff monitoring these children is that of a novice at best; thus,lending itself to an environment that is dangerous for students and staff. This appears to run rampant at other residential teen facilities across the nation. Perhaps the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office is bored out of their gourds and looks forward to dispatching units to RCS. Either way it costs the taxpayers money and K9 -1 can cock its head to the sound of “yo-bro” while lickin’ “chew” off the ground.

Years back, facilities operating like RCS were called "reform schools.” The insane incidents at RCS make the facility more congruous to that of a PRTF (Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility).