Mary Beth Bonaventura, the former Lake County Superior Court Judge appointed to the position of Director of the Department of Child Services, just left that high paying job arguing a case of irresponsibility on the part of the administration as her reason. She said in a letter to Governor Holcomb that her department needed the money requested to meet the needs of children at risk of abuse or neglect, 80% of these children’s needs due to caregivers involved in drug addiction.
Director Bonaventura and you and I deserve a better answer from the Governor.
In a rather patronizing response to Director Bonaventura’s passionate and very specific letter of concerns, the Governor said the department was getting millions more in this next two year budget, in other words, be glad for what you get.
Regretfully, the Governor did not respond to the other issues in the letter that warranted his every effort to satisfy her concerns and keep Director Bonaventura from leaving. They were all directly related to protecting our children.
So now that she is gone, let me offer this praise for her great work for the children of Indiana. The Governor will never be able to match the skills and experience this person brought to the job.
Mary Beth Bonaventura turned around a department after years of leadership that was damaging to the department and ultimately hurt our children. She reversed the high turn over rate in our local departments after years of poor relationships with the public; she greatly improved the image of the department with residential providers; she raised the bar for performance in the department; and she effectively advocated personally with legislators for changes in legislation to benefit children at risk.
I personally want to thank her for her leadership on the Commission for the Improvement of the Status of Children.It takes a strong person with a positive attitude to accomplish the goals she set. It is commendable how well she worked with the directors of the health department, mental health department, family and children, attorney general, education, the court system and appointed legislators on this committee to solve problems for our children, sometimes those problems in our own “backyardâ€.
Job well done, Mary Beth Bonaventura, and every success in your next adventure. You will be missed.
Sincerely,
Gail Riecken
Former District 77 State Representative And City County Observer Statehouse Editor
