A child's rights when placed in state care
When placed in DCYF care, children have the following rights:
- to basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and personal belongings
- to be treated with dignity and respect
- to contact family and friends by phone, mail and/or visits unless there is reason to stop this due to treatment issues or safety
- to a hearing before being placed over 30 miles out of state
- to go to school
- to practice religion
- to other rights contained in the law and the Children's Bill of Rights.
Source: Kids Rights Brochure, Child Advocate's Office
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"I would like to never again see a child killed in foster care," says new state child advocate Jametta Alston. Photo by Agapao Productions |
On being an advocate for children:
The Office of Child Advocate has legal
authority to advocate for children whose legal and civil rights in
the Department of Child, Youth and Families system or family court
proceedings are not being met. Daily, an average of 10,000 children
receive services from DCYF.
Two issues top Alston's agenda; improving foster care and enforcing statutory rape laws.
By focusing her attention on foster
care, Alston says, "I would like to never again see a child
killed in foster care."
Preventing adult males from having
sex with teenage girls is also a priority for Alston. "Why
aren't we prosecuting or why aren't we teaching young women that this
is not safe or necessarily a beneficial relationship? What are we
doing to protect our young women?"
On motherhood:
A single parent, Alston adopted her
daughter when she was 7. Alston recalls asking her what she wanted to
be when she grew up. She said she wanted to have a baby. "To me
that was startling," At her age I wanted to be a veterinarian."
Not long after when someone asked her
what she wanted to be she responded that she wanted to have a baby,
but would go to college first. "It shook me, in two weeks she
had changed," Alston said. "That's how quickly children can
be won or lost."
Alston daughter is 12. She describes
her as "delightful, brilliant, intelligent, wild and crazy."
"Being a mom is the hardest thing
I've ever done in my life." Alston said. I don't think I'm
confident in my skill, it is much easier being a lawyer then being a
mother."
A pioneer: Jametta Alston, is the first African American to head the Rhode Island Child Advocate Office.
She was the first black Rhode Island Bar Association president.
And she was Cranston's first black female city solicitor.
Deborah L. Perry |
