With such considerations and care, we present the following:
REFORM # 1: Foster children need someone other than the agency to report abuse to. When the agency has to investigate an abuse claim against a Foster Care Provider, they are in effect investigating themselves.
Suggested Improvement: That foster children have a toll free telephone number to call when they experience abuse while in care and custody of the states. The number must not be to the agency responsible for the child; but to the state police, who have full capabilities of investigating allegations of abuse and or neglect. Every child entering the protective care of the states should be given this toll free number at the time they are placed in protective custody. Also, the toll free number is listed in the phone book for easy access to any one needing to find it.
REFORM # 2: Any child that reports abuse must be transferred to another location that is safe for that child while the investigation process goes on against the foster care provider or agency member that is responsible for the alleged abuse. That the investigation of allegations is done to include any evidence – that which can validate the allegation. When a complaint is made, the child must be transferred to a new living place, as the bond that may have been at the last home will be gone. If the allegation is unfounded or could not be proven, at least the child will already be relocated.
We must take into account the allegation type, history of the foster provider, other complaints, and the child. Has the child made complaints against other foster parents? What were the findings? Etc. There is the possibility that a child makes a false accusation in order to force a move from a placement s/he doesn’t want to deal with because the foster parents are forcing the child to deal with difficult issues.
Background Information: The child welfare investigation process looks for evidence that will validate the allegation. Since in the child welfare investigation process a caregiver has no opportunity for due process – an opportunity to defend themselves against the allegation with counsel to assist – and since the standards of parenting are different within the foster parenting rules. Foster caregivers find themselves accused and substantiated with findings of neglect and abuse. We feel that investigations by the Attorney General’s office or the state police can be done with everyone’s rights Protected.
When there is an investigation against foster caregivers or parents, for allegedly abusing or neglecting children, there must be a professional investigation done by the Attorney Generals Office or the State Police. Foster parents are entrusted with the care of children that have been traumatized and allegedly abused prior to there arriving in foster care.
Suggested Improvement: Establish allegation review committees composed of an agency person from another agency, foster parent licensed by another agency, adult former foster child, and a member of the state attorney general’s office to review the investigation prior to the issuing of a substantiated finding. If criminal charges are made by the state police, the review board will not have a say so, as the defendant will have the usual court rules and appeals if necessary to follow. Any complaint that there are no criminal charges brought about from, the review board will evaluate what is in the best interest of the child and determine whether or not the foster parent will continue his/her duty as such a care giver. The board will keep proper record of each meeting by recording them and will contact the persons necessary to carry out their ruling.
REFORM # 3: Foster Caregivers are often unaware of a child’s physical and mental health when a child arrives. This does not enable the Foster Caregivers an opportunity to provide the child with proper medical, mental, and dental treatment, which could result in health problems or even death.
Suggested Improvement: When a child is brought into care, the agency will have an assessment of the child’s medical and mental health done. The child must be taken to their own physician for a full physical; also a referral to a hearing test. If an OBGYN is needed, children must receive that care as well. They must be taken to their own dentist for evaluation of needs. Children must be taken to an eye doctor for a vision test, and a mental health professional for evaluation. Using the children’s own family doctors will largely improve on the child assessment as the doctor, a professional, will already be knowledgeable with the child and family.
At that time the family doctor will do all referrals as needed. If there is a need for further visits to any of the doctor’s, appointments shall be made and later kept by the person responsible for the child. Treatment must be provided to foster children with services that help them succeed and stay out of institutions. This could include effective counseling, child-driven transition planning, and wrap around approaches for kids with more intensive needs. If at any time medical treatment is denied or not given, the caregiver, agency, or foster parent must be held responsible for medical neglect.
REFORM # 4: Upon entering care the agencies must allow visits of biological parents and siblings on a daily basis even if supervised, as children are often removed as a matter of course when an allegation is made against a caregiver or biological parent. However, these visits are not to be forced upon the child or children. The children must request a court order to stop visits by the family to ensure that the agency does not use the excuse that the children do not want to visit, as a way to stop the family from visiting together.
While some allegations merit immediate removal of children from the home, a removal is always traumatic to the child and the other children in the family. Parents and foster parents are likewise effected when contact is shut off while an investigation is under way which can sometimes take months only to find out the allegations were unfounded. Many have suffered from such investigations and the damage they can cause can be irreparable and may follow those involved for the rest of their lives.
Given the trauma of removal and foster care, given the increase in false allegations to get CPS to harass enemies, given the knee-jerk response of take first, investigate later, we think the measure for removing children should be raised much higher. There needs to be a higher standard of proof, i.e. approaching or equaling criminal charges.
This is why the state police must do any investigations on child abuse. When it comes to a parent or foster caregiver the state police must do their investigation so that probable cause of abuse or neglect can be determined and criminal charges filed against anyone who abuses children like any other crime if warranted.
Proceedings to terminate parental rights must not begin until after the parents have been found unfit in a criminal trial.
REFORM # 5: Moving of children from foster home to foster home must stop. If a proper evaluation is done when the child is entering foster care, there should be no more than two moves in the child’s life in foster care.This will reduce the trauma that the agency causes by continually uprooting the child from familiar environments.
We have been told that sometimes children are moved many times but one child was moved 25 times and the child was only 11 years old.
Although moving kids from foster home to foster home are caused not by bad social workers but because they don’t have enough foster families, so they have to place a child with whoever has an empty bed. Not surprisingly, that placement may not work so they have to try another quick fix placement.
It is not surprising that the states do not retain the many foster caregivers they recruit and use. The agencies need to stop playing games with foster parents like, caseworkers lying to foster parents, not giving information about a child's history to the foster parents, not providing services like mental health, medical, and dental services to foster parents. Agency personnel are not making sure the personal things are forwarded to foster parents. Examples: the paper work for medical insurance and school records, clothing and personal things of a foster child are not always transferred to the new foster parents, support for the children should be given when they have achievements in school and sports by providing fees necessary to join up in social activities in the community, etc.
When an agency uses moving children from caregiver to caregiver as an excuse for not providing services for mental health because they do not want to spend the money needed to properly care for a child; that must stop. If a child is being moved more than twice an evaluation of that child’s mental health must be a consideration and a specialized foster home will then be required even at the additional expense.
REFORM # 6: After foster care, programs must be set up to help former foster children with the problems of independent living. Very few people can succeed at 18 years of age, especially children without family support. Help with housing, food stamps, employment, job training, higher education, medical insurance, and support groups, is of great importance to the success of these now adult foster children. These children need a place to seek help with everyday things that a child without a family cannot know or find without a family. Examples: how to obtain a drivers license, get a permit for a yard sale, purchase proper food to have a balanced diet, general cleaning knowledge, how to properly manage their money, how to get utilities hook up where they live, and how to pay their bills, etc. We must understand that most of these children do not know how to have general relationships with their peers such as neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc.
This is another area that JOB CORPS can come into play for foster children as they have an age limit of about 21 years old.
Our group received some flack from some citizens for wanting former foster children to come from years on welfare while on foster care to adulthood at 18 years old to be placed on welfare again.
Well that may be true but at 18 years old someone at the welfare office will work with the new adult to have them gain independence by helping with job development, housing, medical issues, and other issues in becoming an adult. After all the years on welfare in foster care the state will just drop that child once they want to become independent. Only if the child is attending school will the states continue assisting them.
Why don’t they just do this while the child is in foster care?
