Kids are removed from their parent’s homes for all kinds of issues, including drugs, abuse and neglect. Sometimes they're placed into foster care, but other times they're put in alternative living arrangements, or ALA.
When an ALA is arranged for a child, they typically go to live with a relative or someone they know during a Child Protective Services investigation. Right now, state officials say the number of children in Virginia who have been placed in ALA is unknown.
"We saw a lot of those cases just not handled. Well, maybe they went on for too long," said Eric Reynolds, Director of the Office of the Children's Ombudsman. We interviewed him several months ago about issues impacting children across the Commonwealth.
Hampton mother Brittany Whitworth has been struggling to see her children after they were put into ALA. Her kids are now living with a family member she says she has a strained relationship with.
"I want my kids home and I want the policies, or whatever is allowing this to even happen, to stop," said Whitworth.
When kids are put into foster care, there are strict rules on how the cases are handled, according to state officials. But ALA are far less restrictive, and state officials say they don't have a way to track how many kids are placed into ALA.
State officials say all 120 local social service agencies operate differently, which can lead to widespread inconsistencies when tracking data.
"There's not an accurate number [of children placed into ALA] so, depending on when you pull the data, it looks different. Localities give you different data. Some localities track it on a hard spreadsheet. Some localities don't track it at all," said Carl Ayers, Virginia Deputy Commissioner of Human Services.
A report from the Office of the Children's Ombudsman found that there are benefits to ALA, including keeping kids with people they know and sometimes having less restrictive rules are beneficial for the situation. However, the office also acknowledged that there are concerns, including how long the kids stay in these arrangements and a lack of clear direction on what parents need to do to get their kids back.
The Office of the Inspector General found that the current computer system used by the Department of Social Services, called OASIS, is outdated and not compliant with new federal regulations.
"It's built on a computer language that they don't teach anymore. I call it, in my terminology... a dead computer language," said Ayers. "The ability to have somebody come in and navigate that system and change that system is very cumbersome."
Ayers explained how the state received funding from the General Assembly for a new system they're working to implement. He says the system, called COMPASS, will drastically improve workflow for employees and make life easier for families.
"[The new system] allows us to do a better job of serving them and the capacity that we exist so, it's a very unique way that we are entering into this and quite a difference from the 90s-era technology that we have now," said Ayers.
He said the new system will better track specific substance abuse issues a family is dealing with, help unify the 120 local state agencies and better track the kids in ALA.
Ayers said tracking children in ALA has been a huge topic of conversation for years. He said they have struggled with the issue and said the new system will have a way to track kids in ALA.
Ayers said the new system is mobile-friendly and will help tell the story of each kid in the system.
"You can go in and gather information. You can query it and get the information you're looking for in a much different manner than... what we have at our fingertips now," said Ayers.
State officials hope to have the system up and running by 2026.
