From KELO, Senator Bill Napoli takes issue with the Department of Social Services and the way they operate:
"We've got to eliminate some of the secrecy surrounding these children. It's almost as if it's like a hidden world where these children go into D.S.S. And they disappear. And we've got to change that," Napoli says.
This failure of the system around Ted Klaudt, as terrible as it is, remains only one facet of a larger problem with child protective services.
I've worked with DSS as a referral agency from my time in law enforcement many years ago, and even then, some of what I saw about how they operate is chilling. There is a dreadful lack of accountability for DSS, and they have a frightening amount of power; they make the police look like school crossing guards. And any efforts to redress grievances with them is an exercise in frustration and futility.
I talked with Senator Napoli earlier tonight. While I'll be writing more about that conversation at a later date, for now I'll say that we share a common concern about the need for drastic change in child protective services in South Dakota. If anything good can come out of this sad incident, hopefully it could be the catalyst for much-needed change in how the state deals with children and families across the state.
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