LilMtnCbn
05-18-2004, 06:15 AM
http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0405/18/a01-156199.htm
Thousands stranded in foster care
Broken system leaves Michigan kids vulnerable
By Karen Bouffard / The Detroit News
FARMINGTON HILLS — State foster care systems across the nation, including in
Michigan, are crippled by inadequate funding, poorly trained case workers and a
lack of good foster homes.
The fallout includes children stranded in foster care for years and, in some
cases, at risk of further abuse and neglect in foster homes that receive little
state oversight, the report found.
A nationwide study released today finds Michigan ranks seventh among the states
for the number of foster children overall, with 20,000; and 10th for the number
of children under age 5 in foster care, the group most likely to linger in the
system for years.
“They just give you a manual, drop off the kid and leave,” said Farmington
Hills foster mom Nicole Christ, who has experienced problems cited by the
commission firsthand, such as workers stretched too thin to return phone calls
promptly.
Problems with Michigan’s foster care system have resulted in tragic
consequences for some children.
Two 4-year-old boys died of abuse in Detroit foster care homes last year after
social workers ignored a paper trail of warning signs. Two caseworkers were
charged with felonies as a result of one of the deaths, but the charges later
were dropped.
And last August, authorities discovered that two children were allowed to
continue living with their adoptive father — a convicted child predator —
because of a judge’s mistake.
About 800,000 children nationwide cycle in and out of foster care every year,
with about a half-million in the system on any given day, according to the
findings of the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, a 16-member body
that includes Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Maura Corrigan. The study
was funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, a Philadelphia-based foundation.
The commission found that federal funding guidelines limit the ability of
states and private agencies to tailor services to the specific needs of
children because federal rules dictate how money is spent. And children often
fall through the cracks because of poor communication between state agencies,
private foster care providers and the courts.
Last August, the federal Administration for Children, Youth and Families
reported of 32 states reviewed so far, not one has passed the rigorous Child
and Family Service evaluations. The review assesses the states’ ability to
protect children from child abuse and to find permanent homes for kids who
often languish in foster care.
The 32 states, including Michigan, that failed to pass their reviews could lose
millions of dollars from the federal government if they fail to fix problems
within a few years. The reviews are the first time federal officials have tried
to measure how well children fare in state foster systems.
Caseloads heavy
Workers at the Michigan Family Independence Agency, the state office charged
with protecting children, aren’t allowed to talk about problems within the
system because of privacy laws, but foster parents, court workers and others
are angry and crying out for reform.
“All (foster workers) ever do is complain about how busy they are and how
many cases they have,” Christ said.
Michigan has 19,600 children in its foster care caseload, said Gino Gonzales,
the Family Independence Agency’s acting deputy for childrens services. The
state will spend $214.1 million on foster care services in 2004, about 70
percent funded by the federal government and the rest by the state.
The agency is plagued by a shortage of foster care workers, with its 825 staff
members averaging about 20 cases each, Gonzales said. Some of that shortage is
due to high turnover of foster care workers, who leave because of stress, he
said. Michigan has taken steps to improve foster care for Michigan children by
providing better training and support for its foster care workers, Gonzales
said.
“The goal is always to try to reduce caseloads so that workers have more time
to visit the children and spend with the foster parents and the parents back
home,” Gonzales said. “And to allow workers to have more time to do their
job.”
Spending restricted
The shortage of workers is apparent to foster parents like Christ, who became a
foster parent last year. From the beginning, she had trouble getting through to
caseworkers. And she had to delay registering her foster child in school
because she didn’t have a birth certificate.
“They would take three to five days to return a phone call; they took a week
to give me a worker,” Christ said.
Cameron Hosner, president and chief executive of Vista Maria, a nonprofit
childrens services agency in Dearborn, said Michigan’s foster care problems
can’t all be blamed on the FIA. Federal funding formulas restrict how state
and foster care agencies can spend the money.
“We need to build a range of services from prevention to treatment that
allows us to use this money in a more flexible way,” Hosner said. “You have
to figure out if a service is covered or not covered — rather than just
prescribing what the child needs.”
Dianna Moore of Lincoln Park formerly was the foster mother for her two
grandchildren. They were returned to their mother’s care, but were recently
removed from their home for the second time. The children have been in foster
care for a week, and they haven’t had a caseworker assigned to them yet.
“The first time they were taken, (foster care workers) had my grandson for a
week, and when we got him back he was really shaky and nervous and afraid to
move,” Moore said. “I’ve called (the FIA) three times a day and they
haven’t returned my calls. They’re being unresponsive.”
Chief Justice Corrigan said the federal government needs to allow states to
make their own decisions about how to spend their foster care dollars. Federal
money currently can’t be used to provide many kinds of training, she said.
“States and courts need to help children have safe, permanent homes,”
Corrigan said. “States need to have a flexible source of federal funding and
the tools and training they need to fulfill their responsibilities to
children.”
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
Thousands stranded in foster care
Broken system leaves Michigan kids vulnerable
By Karen Bouffard / The Detroit News
FARMINGTON HILLS — State foster care systems across the nation, including in
Michigan, are crippled by inadequate funding, poorly trained case workers and a
lack of good foster homes.
The fallout includes children stranded in foster care for years and, in some
cases, at risk of further abuse and neglect in foster homes that receive little
state oversight, the report found.
A nationwide study released today finds Michigan ranks seventh among the states
for the number of foster children overall, with 20,000; and 10th for the number
of children under age 5 in foster care, the group most likely to linger in the
system for years.
“They just give you a manual, drop off the kid and leave,” said Farmington
Hills foster mom Nicole Christ, who has experienced problems cited by the
commission firsthand, such as workers stretched too thin to return phone calls
promptly.
Problems with Michigan’s foster care system have resulted in tragic
consequences for some children.
Two 4-year-old boys died of abuse in Detroit foster care homes last year after
social workers ignored a paper trail of warning signs. Two caseworkers were
charged with felonies as a result of one of the deaths, but the charges later
were dropped.
And last August, authorities discovered that two children were allowed to
continue living with their adoptive father — a convicted child predator —
because of a judge’s mistake.
About 800,000 children nationwide cycle in and out of foster care every year,
with about a half-million in the system on any given day, according to the
findings of the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, a 16-member body
that includes Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Maura Corrigan. The study
was funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, a Philadelphia-based foundation.
The commission found that federal funding guidelines limit the ability of
states and private agencies to tailor services to the specific needs of
children because federal rules dictate how money is spent. And children often
fall through the cracks because of poor communication between state agencies,
private foster care providers and the courts.
Last August, the federal Administration for Children, Youth and Families
reported of 32 states reviewed so far, not one has passed the rigorous Child
and Family Service evaluations. The review assesses the states’ ability to
protect children from child abuse and to find permanent homes for kids who
often languish in foster care.
The 32 states, including Michigan, that failed to pass their reviews could lose
millions of dollars from the federal government if they fail to fix problems
within a few years. The reviews are the first time federal officials have tried
to measure how well children fare in state foster systems.
Caseloads heavy
Workers at the Michigan Family Independence Agency, the state office charged
with protecting children, aren’t allowed to talk about problems within the
system because of privacy laws, but foster parents, court workers and others
are angry and crying out for reform.
“All (foster workers) ever do is complain about how busy they are and how
many cases they have,” Christ said.
Michigan has 19,600 children in its foster care caseload, said Gino Gonzales,
the Family Independence Agency’s acting deputy for childrens services. The
state will spend $214.1 million on foster care services in 2004, about 70
percent funded by the federal government and the rest by the state.
The agency is plagued by a shortage of foster care workers, with its 825 staff
members averaging about 20 cases each, Gonzales said. Some of that shortage is
due to high turnover of foster care workers, who leave because of stress, he
said. Michigan has taken steps to improve foster care for Michigan children by
providing better training and support for its foster care workers, Gonzales
said.
“The goal is always to try to reduce caseloads so that workers have more time
to visit the children and spend with the foster parents and the parents back
home,” Gonzales said. “And to allow workers to have more time to do their
job.”
Spending restricted
The shortage of workers is apparent to foster parents like Christ, who became a
foster parent last year. From the beginning, she had trouble getting through to
caseworkers. And she had to delay registering her foster child in school
because she didn’t have a birth certificate.
“They would take three to five days to return a phone call; they took a week
to give me a worker,” Christ said.
Cameron Hosner, president and chief executive of Vista Maria, a nonprofit
childrens services agency in Dearborn, said Michigan’s foster care problems
can’t all be blamed on the FIA. Federal funding formulas restrict how state
and foster care agencies can spend the money.
“We need to build a range of services from prevention to treatment that
allows us to use this money in a more flexible way,” Hosner said. “You have
to figure out if a service is covered or not covered — rather than just
prescribing what the child needs.”
Dianna Moore of Lincoln Park formerly was the foster mother for her two
grandchildren. They were returned to their mother’s care, but were recently
removed from their home for the second time. The children have been in foster
care for a week, and they haven’t had a caseworker assigned to them yet.
“The first time they were taken, (foster care workers) had my grandson for a
week, and when we got him back he was really shaky and nervous and afraid to
move,” Moore said. “I’ve called (the FIA) three times a day and they
haven’t returned my calls. They’re being unresponsive.”
Chief Justice Corrigan said the federal government needs to allow states to
make their own decisions about how to spend their foster care dollars. Federal
money currently can’t be used to provide many kinds of training, she said.
“States and courts need to help children have safe, permanent homes,”
Corrigan said. “States need to have a flexible source of federal funding and
the tools and training they need to fulfill their responsibilities to
children.”
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
