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Web site on abused children in state care

CHICAGO, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- The Cook County Public Guardian Thursday opened a Web site featuring the stories of abused children in state care.

Public Guardian Patrick Murphy said he developed the site -- publicguardian.org -- because state law supposedly designed to protect the children's privacy in actuality shields "government negligence and incompetence."

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The site, which cost $8,000 to develop, will feature summaries of numerous cases, providing everything except the children's names. It offers a section titled "Child Welfare Realities" that posts the stories of 30 of the more than 20,000 children in the system. The section is to be updated periodically.

Shortly after the site was launched Thursday, a spokeswoman said it developed server trouble, rendering it inaccessible.

Murphy said he hopes the site will make private facilities and foster families accountable.

Jess McDonald, director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, said he hopes Murphy's site offers solutions as well as criticisms.

"We absolutely agree that confidentiality has been used in the nation's child welfare system as a way to hide the plight of abused, neglected children from the public," McDonald told the Chicago Tribune. "Our job has been to come up with solutions. Patrick's job has been to find problems."

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But Thomas C. Vanden Berk, president of Uhlich Children's Home and co-chairman of the Child Welfare Advisory Committee for DCFS, said he does not think the Internet is the appropriate place to discuss the issues.

"My preference would be to sit at the table with the public guardian," he said.

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