PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Children in the custody of Rhode Island's child-welfare system were abused and neglected at rates that far exceeded national averages from 2007 through 2011, according to a consultant who helps the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services assess the performance of state-administered child welfare systems.
Testifying in U.S. District Court, Providence, the consultant, Thomas W. Ward, who also assists in the accreditation of child-welfare agencies, said the incidence of reported abuse and neglect in Rhode Island during this period put it among the sixth worst-performing states in the country in terms of protecting foster children.
Ward acknowledged that the definition of abuse and neglect, or "maltreatment," in Rhode Island is broader than in some states.
Still, in a comparison with five other states with similar definitions of abuse and neglect, Rhode Island had the worst rate of maltreatment in 2011, with 1.23 percent of all children suffering abuse or neglect while in state custody, according to a table that was entered into evidence Friday afternoon during testimony before U.S. Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi.
The next worst performing state in 2011, South Carolina, reported that 0.41 percent of children were abused or neglected while in custody, according to the table compiled by the federal government.
"This is just a consistent theme across the years that I reviewed, that they [Rhode Island] are ranking down at the very bottom," Ward testified.