The foster care system in Mississippi has been a source of shame and embarrassment for years, if not decades. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that the state appears to be making a good-faith effort to improve conditions for one of the most vulnerable groups of Mississippians — children who have no family to support them.
Like many injustices, this move was not entirely a voluntary proposition for the state. In 2004, a federal judge ruled Mississippi had failed to provide an adequate and effective system for meeting the needs of foster care children ... .
Since then, the battle has continued, with the state facing charges of non-compliance. Finally, when faced with the prospect of the state’s foster care system being taken over by federal authorities, the state seems to have taken measures to correct the problem.
• The Commercial Dispatch, Columbus.
