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December 8, 2006 CRITICS: Claim hostility to
families
BACKERS: Say kids are helped
Panel probes conditions at child facility
Posted by the Asbury Park Press
BY MICHAEL RISPOLI GANNETT STATE BUREAU
mrispol@gannett.com
 To
listen to this panel
:
Click here, scroll down and
click on "archived proceedings" in the middle of the page, then
in the middle column scroll down to "assembly human services".
Click on the link, then click on "listen" for the December 7
committee meeting.]
A developmental and behavioral
children's facility was in
the hot seat Thursday as it looks to turn around a past
culture of neglect and failing to protect its residents.
Bancroft NeuroHealth in Haddonfield
was before the Assembly Human Services Committee to discuss progress
toward safety and staffing improvements recommended by an
independent expert's report conducted earlier this year.
Steve Eidelman, an expert hired by
the state Office of the Child Advocate, issued a 111-page report in
November saying that while the site complied with most standards for
quality care, it also must upgrade video monitoring policies and use
of a database technology to track "unusual incidents."
The report also cited tension and
hostility between families and the facility.
"We are very committed to parents
who feel that way," said Bancroft president Toni Pergolin. "There
are ways they can help us become a stronger organization by working
with us."
Child and parent advocacy groups
continued to criticize Bancroft's history of disenfranchising
parents and failing to make upset parents comfortable enough to come
forward with complaints.
Peg Kinsell, policy director for
the Statewide Parents Advocacy Network, said some families were not
willing to testify before the committee for fear of endangering
their children.
"That kind of history does not just
turn over in a couple of quarterly meetings," said Kinsell. "We have
to find a better way to communicate with parents. . . . We need to
make some real efforts to facilitate those conversations and for
people to feel safe around those issues."
Members of the committee also were
alarmed by the stories from families whose children have been abused
at Bancroft.
Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, D-Union,
the committee chairman, said some of the stories he heard were
horrifying.
Parents who were present, however,
came in support of Bancroft. Several gave emotional testimony to the
committee saying how much their children have been helped by the
center.
Joe Atkinson, a member of
Bancroft's board of trustees, whose child is a resident there, said
despite problems in the past, the facility's officials are committed
to making an improvement.
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