Summary: <p> Last month the Charlotte Observer, in conjunction with Q City Metro, published an <a href="http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/10/24/3617725/secret-study-child-welfare-broken.html#storylink=misearch">article </a>outlining the findings of a report that was supposed to be secret. It was a report commissioned with taxpayer dollars that was aimed at exploring the management structure and efficiency of the Department of Social Services in Mecklenburg County. Some of the findings were alarming but other issues are in play. How can such studies be secret? Who may have leaked the information and, most importantly, what is the state of the county’s social services department. We’ll meet with an author of the article as well as experts who can help us understand the challenge of protecting children in need.</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Guests<br>Fred Clasen-Kelly</strong> - Charlotte Observer staff writer and Co-Author of an <a href="http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/10/24/3617725/secret-study-child-welfare-broken.html#storylink=misearch">article on the study</a><br><strong>Brett Loftis </strong>- Executive Director, <a href="http://www.cfcrights.org/ourStory.shtml">Council for Children's Rights</a><br><strong>Judge Lou Trosch</strong> - District Court Judge, 26th Judicial District, Mecklenburg County<br><strong>Jodi Hall</strong> - Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work and Director of Master of Social Work Field Education, North Carolina State University</p><ul> <li><a href="http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/dss/Pages/Default.aspx">Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services</a></li> <li>Charlotte Observer: <a href="http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/10/24/3617725/secret-study-child-welfare-broken.html#storylink=misearch">Secret study: Mecklenburg County's child welfare division broken, in turmoil</a> </li> </ul>
