D.C. Gets Warning On Care Of Wards

City officials tried hard to comply with the court's orders but ran into problems that caused them to miss the Feb. 10 deadline, Amato said.

"If there were fits and starts, it certainly wasn't because of a lack of commitment," Amato said.

She said the District -- led by Brenda Donald Walker, deputy mayor for children, youth and family issues -- is working to fill several mid-level vacancies in the developmental disabilities administration; devise a separate, dedicated budget for the agency; and bring in a chief operating officer to help Marsha Thompson, the interim administrator, address procurement and other "intractable problems."

Huvelle interrupted Amato at several points to express frustration with the slow pace of reforms. She complained about the constant turnover of city officials charged with improving services.

"It's not an excuse that the District has changes of personnel, because it has changes of personnel all the time," Huvelle said. "There needs to be systemic change."

Special Master Clarence J. Sundrum told Huvelle that he met recently with six former Forest Haven residents and their relatives, who complained that case managers were difficult to reach. He said one resident with physical disabilities was referred to a supposedly better home -- with 26 steps.

"The system treats people as paper files rather than as people with needs," he said.

Walker said after the hearing that the District will "step up the pace" of improving services but argued that "wholesale change does not come overnight.

"We have to accelerate the pace of reforms, and we're committed to doing that," the deputy mayor said.