LilMtnCbn
03-18-2004, 07:26 AM
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/8206293.htm
Family foster care pays off for mom
By Peter Felsenfeld
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Anna Sangermano never took her fifth baby home from the hospital.
Soon after she gave birth to the baby boy in 1998, Sangermano listened as
doctors reported they had found traces of methamphetamine in his blood. He was
her fourth child in a row born with drug poisoning.
Sangermano, who admits using drugs during all her pregnancies, had already
placed a daughter in adoption. Now, child welfare officials took away her
remaining children.
"I just thought I need to get my family back together. I need to get my
children home," she said.
The road to stability appeared daunting. Battling addiction, Sangermano was
homeless, sleeping in a chicken shack in a friend's yard. She had no money, no
family, no job, only a palpable yearning to overcome her guilt and turn her
life around.
Child welfare officials determined she might benefit from a little mothering,
so they assigned her a mentor through a unique Contra Costa service called
Shared Family Care.
The program is akin to foster care for the entire family. County workers place
mostly at-risk mothers and their children in stable households to learn the
finer points of functional living.
Contra Costa is the only county in California, and one of a handful nationally,
to offer such support. Since 1997, the county has assigned mentors to more than
60 families.
Program graduates are 50 percent less likely to re-enter the system than
families who do not participate, said John Cullen, the county's Health and
Human Services director. On Tuesday, he testified before the state Assembly
Human Services Committee on Shared Family Care's success.
"The governor's budget proposes reforming the state's foster care program," he
said. "I'm suggesting that this program should be part of the redesign."
Sangermano's life drastically changed for the better in 2000, when she and her
son Justin Reed spent eight months in the Richmond home of Joyce Parker, known
affectionately to neighbors as Granny P.
With gentle persistence and occasional tough love, Parker offered Sangermano
parenting tips, took her to appointments, reintroduced her to church and
encouraged her along the difficult path of recovery.
"Basically, she opened her heart and home to me," Sangermano said. "She had
enough faith within herself to get me back on track."
That track turned into an accelerated path to self-sufficiency.
Today, Sangermano, 41, and Justin, 8, live together in a San Pablo apartment.
Clean and sober for more than four years, Sangermano works as a janitor and
takes classes at Contra Costa Community College. She wants to become a drug
counselor.
Success stories like Sangermano's translate into money saved for the county.
Foster families receive $1,000 per month to take care of a child. Mentors in
the Shared Family program are paid a flat rate of $1,200 per month. That
investment pays off when parents learn the life skills to keep their children
at home, said Paul Buddenhagen, program administrator.
"This isn't just a parenting class," he said. "This is a full-time, 24-hour
immersion experience for parents, many of whom have never had a positive
parenting role model."
The program's $350,000 annual budget is enough to provide mentors and follow-up
services for 10 families with 20 kids. The county covers the cost with general
fund dollars, and grants from the state and federal government and private
foundations.
The nonprofit Families First administers the program.
"The challenges of parenting can be pretty daunting," said Families First
program manager Steve Shmidaur. "We find our clients can get overwhelmed, and
the mentor becomes an anchor of stability."
-------------------------
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
Family foster care pays off for mom
By Peter Felsenfeld
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Anna Sangermano never took her fifth baby home from the hospital.
Soon after she gave birth to the baby boy in 1998, Sangermano listened as
doctors reported they had found traces of methamphetamine in his blood. He was
her fourth child in a row born with drug poisoning.
Sangermano, who admits using drugs during all her pregnancies, had already
placed a daughter in adoption. Now, child welfare officials took away her
remaining children.
"I just thought I need to get my family back together. I need to get my
children home," she said.
The road to stability appeared daunting. Battling addiction, Sangermano was
homeless, sleeping in a chicken shack in a friend's yard. She had no money, no
family, no job, only a palpable yearning to overcome her guilt and turn her
life around.
Child welfare officials determined she might benefit from a little mothering,
so they assigned her a mentor through a unique Contra Costa service called
Shared Family Care.
The program is akin to foster care for the entire family. County workers place
mostly at-risk mothers and their children in stable households to learn the
finer points of functional living.
Contra Costa is the only county in California, and one of a handful nationally,
to offer such support. Since 1997, the county has assigned mentors to more than
60 families.
Program graduates are 50 percent less likely to re-enter the system than
families who do not participate, said John Cullen, the county's Health and
Human Services director. On Tuesday, he testified before the state Assembly
Human Services Committee on Shared Family Care's success.
"The governor's budget proposes reforming the state's foster care program," he
said. "I'm suggesting that this program should be part of the redesign."
Sangermano's life drastically changed for the better in 2000, when she and her
son Justin Reed spent eight months in the Richmond home of Joyce Parker, known
affectionately to neighbors as Granny P.
With gentle persistence and occasional tough love, Parker offered Sangermano
parenting tips, took her to appointments, reintroduced her to church and
encouraged her along the difficult path of recovery.
"Basically, she opened her heart and home to me," Sangermano said. "She had
enough faith within herself to get me back on track."
That track turned into an accelerated path to self-sufficiency.
Today, Sangermano, 41, and Justin, 8, live together in a San Pablo apartment.
Clean and sober for more than four years, Sangermano works as a janitor and
takes classes at Contra Costa Community College. She wants to become a drug
counselor.
Success stories like Sangermano's translate into money saved for the county.
Foster families receive $1,000 per month to take care of a child. Mentors in
the Shared Family program are paid a flat rate of $1,200 per month. That
investment pays off when parents learn the life skills to keep their children
at home, said Paul Buddenhagen, program administrator.
"This isn't just a parenting class," he said. "This is a full-time, 24-hour
immersion experience for parents, many of whom have never had a positive
parenting role model."
The program's $350,000 annual budget is enough to provide mentors and follow-up
services for 10 families with 20 kids. The county covers the cost with general
fund dollars, and grants from the state and federal government and private
foundations.
The nonprofit Families First administers the program.
"The challenges of parenting can be pretty daunting," said Families First
program manager Steve Shmidaur. "We find our clients can get overwhelmed, and
the mentor becomes an anchor of stability."
-------------------------
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
