Thank you for Sun Journal’s coverage of the Children and Family Subcommittee meeting regarding the cultural problems at the Department of Human Services. I was there, as I am on the subcommittee, and was very pleased that Connie Allen got a chance to tell her story of how the us-against-them mentality at DHS has ruined her foster child’s life.

The response from DHS was just more of the same, their usual “There is more that we can’t tell, but you would be shocked if you knew what we know.” The only people who believe that are those who are predisposed to believe everything DHS says, and there aren’t too many of them left any more.

As a foster parent who has been critical of DHS, participating in this subcommittee has been a great opportunity. My goal is DHS reform, and I was heartened to see that DHS has plans for many of the very reforms I think are necessary.

It worries me, though, that they are planning to do better in the future without admitting to any mistakes in the past. They are saying, in essence, “We never did anything wrong, but we won’t do it again.” It is illogical.

I will believe they are going about good faith reform, not just a smokescreen for more of the same, when they start examining past cases like Connie Allen’s honestly and admitting to their mistakes and even undoing some of their mistakes.

Mary Callahan, Lisbon