Report on Child Services Set for Today

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's administration is holding a news conference this morning to provide an update on the Child and Family Services Agency.

The news conference is set for 10:30 with Attorney General Peter J. Nickles and interim CFSA director Roque Gerald at the agency's Sixth St. NW headquarters.

CFSA had begun to make progress against its history of chronic problems when it faced a major setback this year in the wake of the Banita Jacks case, the woman charged with killing her four daughters in their SE Washington home. The girls' badly decomposing bodies were found in the home in January. CFSA had received reports about the Jacks girls but had closed the case.

The tragedy shocked the city and set off increased calls from residents about children in possible danger, overwhelming the ageny's already strained resources. The city has been struggling to reduce the case load in recent months and to avoid being returned to receivership.