MOUNT PLEASANT, NY — Ronald Richter can measure the level of emotional disturbance among the children on his campus by the size of his window repair bill.
According to Mr. Richter, the state has been sending him foster children with much greater needs—needs that JCCA is neither licensed nor equipped to handle. Costs to maintain these facilities have increased owing to the tight labor market and skyrocketing insurance rates. The consequences of these more violent children and teens coming to the campus have been devastating.
Greg McKay, a former homicide detective and former director of Arizona’s Department of Child Safety, says that he is not surprised to hear about both the behavior and the lack of resources to deal with it. Many political and philanthropic leaders came to believe that congregate care should be eliminated entirely.