Children, not foster parents, must first be protected
Cincinnati Enquirer (?), May 21, 2007
Children being kept in cages. Or being bound and confined to a closet in 80-degree weather while the "responsible" adults go out of state for a family reunion. Incidents such as these - the child who was confined died - have prompted state legislators to respond with proposed laws to strengthen the background checks of prospective foster parents.
The bills would ensure an extensive background check of foster parents. The vast majority are good people providing a caring and much needed service. Sometimes their love of the child in their temporary care is so strong they adopt the child. However, the actions of a few have been so devastating that not trying to better protect foster children would be a mistake.
But legislators might be going too far and actually could end up hurting the state's oversight efforts rather than contributing to kids' safety. This is the case in a proposal to shield from public eyes the names of foster parents. The state already did so last year when it denied the Cincinnati Enquirer's request for the names of Ohio's foster parents. This proposal would enshrine this policy in law.
It's understandable there is a desire to protect foster parents. Theirs is a sensitive service that often comes at times of great stress in a foster child's family. It is believed that, in keeping their names private, some protection would be afforded from what might be a dangerous situation, though the privacy laws protecting children seem sufficient to bar any discovery of whose kids are with any foster parents.
But without this public scrutiny, the effort to more closely examine the backgrounds of foster parents would fall short. It also would hold those government agencies charged with oversight of foster care more accountable.
After all, in some cases the information that would have raised red flags about potential foster parents was known but not acted upon.
Much sensitivity is due in this matter. Already, in some parts of Ohio, there seems to be a declining interest in foster parenting because of the publicity surrounding these cases - this before any new laws.
It is essential all of these aspects work together because - though it is an overused expression, in this case it is clear - it is about the children.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
A case for Solomon
Whose child is it? Women disagree as welfare takes boy
Associated Press, May. 25, 2007.
DAYTON, Ohio - Child welfare officials took a 15-month-old boy into temporary custody Thursday after the child was found playing next to a major thoroughfare in the middle of the night and two women disputed who was responsible for him, authorities said.
Police found the boy at 1:30 a.m. next to a woman sleeping on a bus bench, said Ann Stevens, spokeswoman for the Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services.
Stevens said the woman told police the boy's mother gave her the child on Monday, saying she no longer wanted him.
But Stevens said a woman identifying herself as the boy's mother went to the children services division Thursday afternoon and told workers the other woman had been baby-sitting the boy. The mother said she was a temporary worker on call and she had used the woman as a baby sitter in the past, Stevens said.
Stevens said the boy was unharmed.
Messages were left with the police seeking information.
Associated Press, May. 25, 2007.
DAYTON, Ohio - Child welfare officials took a 15-month-old boy into temporary custody Thursday after the child was found playing next to a major thoroughfare in the middle of the night and two women disputed who was responsible for him, authorities said.
Police found the boy at 1:30 a.m. next to a woman sleeping on a bus bench, said Ann Stevens, spokeswoman for the Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services.
Stevens said the woman told police the boy's mother gave her the child on Monday, saying she no longer wanted him.
But Stevens said a woman identifying herself as the boy's mother went to the children services division Thursday afternoon and told workers the other woman had been baby-sitting the boy. The mother said she was a temporary worker on call and she had used the woman as a baby sitter in the past, Stevens said.
Stevens said the boy was unharmed.
Messages were left with the police seeking information.
What a relief - another foster care alumna besides me doesn't know how to cook!
Leaving the Light On
Preparing foster kids for life on their own
Pierce, Margo. City Beat, May 24, 2007.
Turning on the oven and popping in a frozen pizza for about 20 minutes doesn't seem difficult. The directions on the box are explicit. Some boxes even have a picture of a dial on the stove turned to 350 degrees. So what is there to screw up?
"We walked into this place: 'Something's burning in here,' " says Mark Kroner, describing a visit to a teenager's apartment. "He goes, 'Yeah, I'm making a pizza.' He opened up the oven, and he had a pile of sticks in the oven and this pizza sitting on top of it. "He grew up in an Appalachian family with no money -- the utilities had been shut off. That's how they cooked, gathering wood in the city. You would never think that you would have to teach someone not to do that."
This kid just did what was normal for him. This is just one of hundreds of funny and amazing, sometimes sad, stories Kroner can tell as director of the Independent Living Program run by Lighthouse Youth Services.
The boy with the pizza is one of the approximately 25,000 kids in some form of child protective services in the United States who will "age out" of the system at 18. The goal of independent living programs is to teach the soon-to-be-adults how to be self-sufficient. In conjunction with Hamilton County Job and Family Services and Juvenile Court, which has legal custody of kids removed from their parents' care, Lighthouse puts teens who are working or going to school into their own furnished apartment and pays all of their bills -- rent, utilities and an allowance for food and clothes -- as a hands-on method for teaching them how to survive.
"A big part of our job is to help kids understand what they don't know," Kroner says. "We put them out there and we assume they know a lot of things they don't know. Or we'll assume they don't know a lot of things that they do know. "
Not only do kids that grow up in the system not learn what we learned from our parents, but they grew up in a group home where ... they weren't allowed to go into the kitchen. They had a house manager who cooked dinner, so they never used an oven. The kids that grew up in a foster home that say, 'We were never allowed to use the washer and dryer.'
"They come to us at 17 1/2 with no knowledge of the bus system or even money. They've been infantilized by the system, which is made up of lots of good people. But they're not thinking about the reality of these kids being gone at 17 1/2 and 18."
Cooperation works
The child welfare system is designed to take care of and protect children who have been abandoned, neglected, abused and removed from their families. The intention is good, but when you have a county system responsible for caring for children -- in Hamilton County, that number fluctuates daily but hovers around 700 -- the already difficult job of parenting is complicated by the fact that social workers, caseworkers and judges all have to decide and agree upon what's in a child's best interest.
When it became apparent that abruptly cutting off support to these kids at age 18 was causing serious problems -- homelessness being the most immediate -- Hamilton County created a program that is now a best-practices model emulated all over the country.
From the beginning, Lighthouse Youth Services (lys.org) proposed an approach based on practical knowledge gained from providing youth homeless shelters, at-risk-youth emergency service programs, group homes and foster care families: Spend a year teaching 16-year-olds self-sufficiency in a classroom setting and then move them into their own apartment to live for a year before they're cut loose at 18.
"It's a very frustrating thing to do because we have so many pressures on us to get these kids in and out," Kroner says. "It's like taking a seedling and saying, 'OK, you have to become a tree in six months. Grow!' Some people say, 'Water more, water more.' Some, 'Fertilize more.' It's gonna grow when it's gonna grow."
Getting three different agencies to agree about the best way to facilitate and support that growth while providing a safety net that wouldn't undermine the goal of self-sufficiency was a huge challenge.
Lighthouse Youth Services helps foster kids become adults.
"There were a gazillion rocky periods," Kroner says. "When we started, the juvenile court thought this was nuts. We've won them over.
"There was a lot of tension between the courts and the county. There's still a lot of tension about how long these kids can stay ... that's based on deficit realities. But at this point in time you have all three parties sitting down together on a regular basis saying, 'Given the realities, what's the best thing we can do? What do we need to do?'
"It's like two parents saying, 'This kid's gonna take swimming lessons.' The mom wants to keep him out and the dad pushes him in. You have to work those arguments out -- what's the best way to teach this kid how to swim? The first time he goes under, do you reach in and pull him out or say, 'Move your arms, now move your legs?' We've had to work out a lot of these things ... and have this trust amongst all the systems." '
This is how'
A collaborative relationship between the county, courts and a private agency such as Lighthouse is what it takes to make sure the kids get what they need, according to Kroner. Cincinnati's program has been around for 25 years.
"It could very easily be a blame game when something does go wrong," he says. "We got kids that will do some outrageous things. They'll commit crimes. Nobody's going to point the finger and say, 'It's your fault that this happened.' Everybody goes, 'It's really unfortunate that this kid took this opportunity and chose to do that.'
"With 70 kids, 69 of them take their allowance and buy food, a bus card, get their laundry done. The next one goes out and buys a bag of pot and a handgun. Before we know it, he's locked up for possession of a handgun and marijuana, and we're going, 'Wow! That was fast; he really screwed up quickly.' And his parents are calling us every five minutes saying, 'You've got to bail him out.' " 'What are you talking about? He's got two felony charges; he should sit there and think about what he's done. We were paying all his bills and he goes out and does that.' You can see why this kid's like that. His parents probably spent time in jail."
The paradox is that these kids are just like every other teenager -- anxious about leaving school, unsure about their future and hormonal -- but they have the added issues of mental health problems stemming from their childhood, no parents to offer guidance or serve as a safety-net and limited life skills.
The Independent Living Program appears simple, but its concepts are difficult for kids to grasp. The kids are given a budget and they have to live within it; if they run out of food and money, they have to figure out how to handle the situation. Over the course of the six- to 12-month period, the kids gradually begin to take over paying their bills.
"American kids are super-sophisticated in this area but they don't know anything about this area; they will know how to use a computer and every electronic gismo and not understand that the apartment they're moving into belongs to somebody who's trying to make money off them," Kroner says. "When they break something, they have to pay for it.
"One of my staff just came in and said one of our kids is getting a lot of complaints about loud music. They don't understand that, right on the other side of this wall, there's somebody else. They're just oblivious to the world around them.
"We're saying to them, 'Do you realize two months from now you're going to be out of this program, you're going to be on your own?' It's 'Excuse me, let me finish this game first.' They don't know what that means. A lot of them grew up in families that were always dependent upon public aid. The thing is that system has been dismantled."
After an assessment to determine the teen's skill level, she's invited to take a series of 13 four-hour classes on everything from community resources and transportation to time management and apartment maintenance. Classes are held every Saturday during the school year and on weekdays during the summer.
"Anybody 16 or older is required to take them," says Bobette Arnold, independent living coordinator for Hamilton County. "I don't go out on Saturday morning and pull them in by their ear, but I am pretty persuasive. Nobody can make you do anything you don't want to do. There's a lot of kids that are blowing me off, but a vast majority come to the classes."
Photo By Jon Hughes: Canon Hopey, Independent Living graduate, knows that if he wants more furniture in his apartment he's going to have to figure out how to pay for it.
Some teens are eventually ordered by the court to participate if they refuse to go to the classes voluntarily. But that's rare, according to Arnold.
"It never ceases to amaze me," she says. "You'll have a 16-year-old kid who you just thought was not paying any attention at all come out with this question that's something you or I as an adult would ask."
Arnold has a team of people who teach the classes and she attends them all, but her title changes to the "muscle and mouth" because when she's in the classroom her role is to help.
"They're teenagers," she says. "Angst is running rampant in the room. I'm the bouncer. Teenagers fight -- it happens. Ninety-eight percent of the time we're fine. I know 'em real well because I have spent 65 hours with them, so it's much easier for me to calm you down."
After class it's up to the group home managers and foster parents to work with the kids to make sure the information and skills are applied.
"I'm going to go over budgeting for four or five hours," Arnold says. "We're going to give 'em the basics: This is how you budget, this is how you save money here. Day-to-day living is with that caregiver. 'You had $100. Where the hell is it now?' is with that caregiver.
"You can sit in a classroom forever, and I can teach you all kinds of things, but until you actually get out there and doing it you don't get it. That's true with all of us -- not just our kids. Until you do something you don't quite understand how bad it is."
Foster home-ec
Emancipated in August 2006, Canon Hopey took over the lease on the apartment Lighthouse gave him the year before. He's grateful for the practical training he received at the end of his nine years in the foster-care system.
"Budgeting," Hopey laughs. "Oh my God, that's got to be the biggest one. They actually had a thing that helped you with the budget. There was a budget book to keep up. You have an expense book, and you write down everything that you got to pay and how much will you have at the end of your activity. Go over your grocery list, go over your bills, put all that in and see what you have left."
The class in time management has also proven helpful. When he left the program, Hopey was holding down two jobs, going to Cincinnati State Technical College and spending time with his 18-month-old daughter.
Describing his life as "like having four jobs," he has to be very organized. "Being the person I am, if I don't have anything else to do, I'll sit there and write up an agenda," he says. "I have this, this, this. I have to pay my rent, get a money order for that. Get a money order for Duke, for Cincinnati Bell.
"I go over my agenda every day: 'OK, I did this today.' I check it and sign it and know that I did that on that day at that time. Between two jobs, I can still get that in. I take my agenda to work so when I'm at my job or between those two jobs I say 'I did this in between those two jobs. I got to mark that off,' so I won't be trying to do something I already did."
When Hopey first moved to Clifton, his agenda included finding a grocery store and coin-laundry on the bus line -- he doesn't have a car -- and a place to get quarters on Sunday, when he can do his wash. It's been difficult, but Hopey says he's OK with that.
After 25 years with Independent Living, Mark Kroner still loves his job as program director, even though it caused a lot of his white hair.
"You get used to being on your own, carrying on your own business, making your own appointments, doing things when you're supposed to do it," he says.
For every success story like Hopey, there are many others who are struggling or fail. One of the most important aspects of this program, according to Arnold, is how you define success.
"(A) girl who was very bi-polar -- on medication she's fine, but off medication she's not so fine -- graduated from college, had a full-time job the whole time. There's a lot of success stories. The definition of success is what the rest of the world says is success. Sometimes our success is they didn't do anything fancy; they didn't go to college, but they have a job and they're self-sufficient."
Just Do This: 25 Steps to Self-Sufficiency, the workbook given to all kids entering independent living classes, defines self-sufficiency as "taking full responsibility for yourself financially, emotionally and physically. When you pay all your own bills with money that you have earned and you are getting your needs met without taking from or harming others, then you are self-sufficient."
The key to achieving that goal is up the kids, according to Kroner, but the kids need the support of a solid, consistent infrastructure.
"We've probably had more failures than successes, but you have to look at that over the long term," he says. "If there are no self-sufficient 18-year-olds in America (and) if our kids aren't self-sufficient at 18, is that a failure -- or just normal?
"We have kids that leave us that aren't anywhere near ready to be on their own, and it's frustrating. They really should be in the system until they're 21, at least. The time frame is totally unrealistic. Everybody knows that, but the county is basically saying, 'Look, we've got X number of dollars and a lot of kids coming in. We've got a choice of taking this 6-year-old kid in or giving this 18-year-old another six months.' We understand that."
That means making the most of every dollar. With a budget the ranges between $1.5 million and $2 million annually, Lighthouse depends heavily on donations of cash and furniture from private individuals, bulk-purchasing agreements with furniture stores and a network of landlords willing to take the risk of renting to teenagers.
'Predatory parents'
In what's called a "scattered site model," independent living participants live in one-bedroom apartments all over the city. Some live close to work, and others live close to school.
In addition to avoiding the high cost of overhead for maintaining apartment buildings, Lighthouse has learned that kids learn faster when there isn't anyone else to blame for their mistakes, such as roommates or friends who are their neighbors.
Finding apartments was a problem in the beginning, but Kroner says some prefer to have Lighthouse sign the lease until a teenager takes over because the caseworkers are ever-present.
"Now we have landlords calling us up," he says. "There are certainly landlords that will never rent to us again, but for every one of those there are three that will rent to us again and again and again. They tell us, 'Your kids are no different from the general public, and you have 24-hour pagers. I can't tell a 45-year-old crack addict that I'm going to call his mom. I can call you guys and tell you the kid's stereo is too loud, and you'll come over and take the stereo away. I'd rather rent to you than UC students.' "
Keeping a sense of humor is essential; and when it comes to housing, Kroner has plenty of funny stories. One is about a kid named Laura in 1987.
"(Laura) called us up in a panic one night and said she came home from working at Kings Island at midnight," Kroner says. "(She) walked into her apartment, turned on her light and her 80-year-old landlady was sitting on her couch: 'Where have you been sweetie?' She keyed into her apartment, had the lights turned out and fell asleep on her couch. We had to call the landlady's kids, who are my age and say, 'We think granny's getting a little senile here, because she was in our kid's apartment.' "
That "kid" from 1987 is Laura Watson, now a married foster mother who has taken in eight kids over 12 years and was an early graduate of the Lighthouse program.
"After growing up in an institution I realized how much more valuable it would be to grow up in a family," Watson says. "There's a lot you miss out on. I wanted to make sure that, if there was a way to stop one kid from going into an institution and putting them in a family life, that would be our goal."
After being moved into and out of foster homes every 90 days -- an old policy that has been abandoned -- Watson opted to live in an orphanage. She got herself to and from the School for the Creative and Performing Arts, worked, bought her own car and put herself through college. A conventional success story, Watson could be the poster mom for the Independent Living Program.
"I only take Hamilton County children," she says. "Hamilton County is very committed to making sure their children get what they need. Hamilton County wants these children to succeed. There are some different county agencies that don't want to pay for the program, so they try very hard to talk the children out of it, and that's a shame. They say they offer independent living themselves, but it's not the same, not that wrap-around service where these kids get everything they need."
Those services frequently include helping kids overcome unforeseen obstacles.
"They want to be self-sufficient," Kroner says. "They either don't know how, or they come across these roadblocks. We have these kids that ... get an apartment and they go down to get the utilities turned on and they say, 'You owe us $800.' Their relatives have used their social security numbers to get phones or utilities. We have to get notarized letters and prove when their mom ran up that bill they were 14 years old -- it couldn't have been them."
More than just an irritation, the parents and other family members who forced the kids from their own homes and into the child welfare system sometimes track them down and use them.
Unprepared to handle the conflict between caring for their parents, maintaining healthy boundaries and protecting themselves under such a difficult and emotional situation, Lighthouse caseworkers serve as a kid's only line of defense.
"If you would do a survey of the kids, they would say the parents are incarcerated, deceased, mentally ill, chemically dependent, they have no idea where they are or they have problems that have surpassed their kids," Kroner says. "Dysfunctional with a capital D. A lot of effort has gone into keeping these kids with their families, and it's just been concluded that it's not meant to be. We have a lot of predatory parents -- parents who prostituted their daughters when they became teenagers. We have kids that will say, 'I don't want my mom or my dad to know where I live or they'll come over and clean me out.'
"I remember getting a call from this landlord saying, 'You need to come over. There's this really rough-looking woman where your kid used to be, and there's guys coming in every half hour. We think she's prostituting.' Went over and, sure enough, this woman opens the door. I said, 'My name is Mark Kroner, I'm with Lighthouse Youth Services. This apartment's leased in our name, and I don't know who you are. I'm going to give you five minutes to get out of here before I call the police.' I hear all this noise in the back, and this guy comes flying out of the room, putting his clothes on.
"The young lady who (lived) there called us two weeks later crying, saying, 'I was so ashamed. My mom knocked on my door around midnight and asked, 'Can I stay here?' I let her in, and the next thing I knew there were guys coming. I got out of there because I was afraid. I was so ashamed to call you and tell you that she took it over. I'm all right, I'm staying with friends.' "We said, 'Come on back. Your mom's gone now.'
"You realize this particular youth is the only person in their entire family system that has a stable place to stay. We'll help get a place for your dad ... your mom, but they can't stay here."
All that and mental illness, too
Even with all this support, some kids simply can't make it. In some cases, the kids just walk away from their apartments and are never seen again. Who would do that?
"Somebody who is schizophrenic, somebody who's bi-polar, somebody who's never had anybody in their life they could trust," Arnold says. "Somebody who was raped by their father at 5 that's who walks way. "Let's say you get these kids at 12 or 13. They are so incredibly damaged at that point that you do everything you can, but they're just too damaged and you can't dig through all that. God knows what they've been through. I can't heal their mental illness."
Children in the custody of Job and Family Services have access to counseling, medication and other services once a social worker has identified the need. But having access and taking advantage of those resources are two different things.
"You're bipolar, we give you therapy and here's your medication -- and at that moment they may totally understand that," Arnold says. "Bi-polars are notorious for, 'I'm feeling real good right now, I don't need this.' But if they stop taking their medication ..."
Lighthouse caseworkers constantly struggle with helping kids manage their mental health issues. With up to 100 kids spread across 12 to 14 caseworkers and college interns usually working toward a master's degree in social work, it's a lot to juggle.
"A significant percentage of our kids have mental health issues," Kroner says. "When kids enter adolescence, they're not sure what's mental illness and what's normal adolescence, so we have to help sort this out: Is this budding schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder or is this just a kid having bad stretch of time? If you read about borderline personality disorder and you read about adolescence, there are a lot of similarities as far as experimentation, crises and drama. They're dealing with rejection, separation from their family, plus the future that looks really kind of tough.
"A lot of our kids have symptoms of depression, but if you and I were in their situation, we would be depressed. Most do not have a grasp of their mental illness. They don't understand it. They self-medicate like a lot of people on our planet. They drink a lot or do drugs to feel better or not fly off the handle."
The average age of complete financial independence is 26, Kroner says. That means families and parents are giving their kids support, whether that's in the form of a check or letting kids move back home.
The children of baby-boomers are now being called "baby-boomerangers" because 60 percent move back home after graduating college. Even with a solid family infrastructure, middle class kids aren't making it on their own, so expecting 18-year-olds' -- for whom "two minutes from now does not exist" -- self sufficiency seems an impossible goal, according to Kroner.
'A fighting chance'
To date approximately 1,600 teens have gone through the Lighthouse Independent Living Program, and there are a lot of successes.
Kroner believes this is because the approach is realistic and supportive. Like all public programs, it could use more money, more caseworkers and more time with the kids, but Kroner also makes it clear that Cincinnati has the best of the best in place already.
"Everything we're doing is compared to nothing," he says. "You go to another state and none of this exists. When the kids turn 18, in many states, they're out on their own. Our kids, at least, have somebody saying, 'We're going to give you a chance to live in this apartment and learn what it takes.' If you go to other cities, the kids go from the foster home or the group home to the adult homeless shelter -- that's what created the independent living movement."
Even though everyone agrees self-sufficiency training is essential for all kids in the system, independent living isn't a one-size-fits-all way to deliver those skills.
"How would you like to, at 18, be forced out onto the street?" Watson asks. "I've been there, it's a scary feeling. Right now we have one 18 year old -- he's going to stay. At age 45, I may tell him he's got to go."
Watson, Arnold and Kroner express frustration over the stereotypical view of kids who are in the custody of the state. That is exactly why they're involved is supporting and promoting independent living.
"I think people have a picture in their head of foster kids; they put them somewhere along with delinquents and the scum of the earth without realizing that foster kids got here not on their own choosing," Arnold says. "Somebody else did to them or didn't do for them, and that's why they're here.
"These are just kids -- sometimes with a lot more issues, but they're just kids. We're trying to give them what a parent should give them. Obviously we're not going to do that good a job because the county's not going to do as good a job as a parent would. But we're trying to give them as much as possible so that when they get out of there we don't see them in jail and we don't seem them in the system in any way.
"What I'm fighting for is to give them a fighting chance, because up to this point in their lives most of them have not had anything near a fighting chance."
Hotter Than July, featuring the Ed Moss Quintet, benefits the Lighthouse Youth Services Independent Living Program. The fundraiser is 6-9 p.m. July 19 at The Phoenix restaurant downtown. For ticket information and details about a silent auction and door prizes or to make a donation, call 513-221-3665.
Preparing foster kids for life on their own
Pierce, Margo. City Beat, May 24, 2007.
Turning on the oven and popping in a frozen pizza for about 20 minutes doesn't seem difficult. The directions on the box are explicit. Some boxes even have a picture of a dial on the stove turned to 350 degrees. So what is there to screw up?
"We walked into this place: 'Something's burning in here,' " says Mark Kroner, describing a visit to a teenager's apartment. "He goes, 'Yeah, I'm making a pizza.' He opened up the oven, and he had a pile of sticks in the oven and this pizza sitting on top of it. "He grew up in an Appalachian family with no money -- the utilities had been shut off. That's how they cooked, gathering wood in the city. You would never think that you would have to teach someone not to do that."
This kid just did what was normal for him. This is just one of hundreds of funny and amazing, sometimes sad, stories Kroner can tell as director of the Independent Living Program run by Lighthouse Youth Services.
The boy with the pizza is one of the approximately 25,000 kids in some form of child protective services in the United States who will "age out" of the system at 18. The goal of independent living programs is to teach the soon-to-be-adults how to be self-sufficient. In conjunction with Hamilton County Job and Family Services and Juvenile Court, which has legal custody of kids removed from their parents' care, Lighthouse puts teens who are working or going to school into their own furnished apartment and pays all of their bills -- rent, utilities and an allowance for food and clothes -- as a hands-on method for teaching them how to survive.
"A big part of our job is to help kids understand what they don't know," Kroner says. "We put them out there and we assume they know a lot of things they don't know. Or we'll assume they don't know a lot of things that they do know. "
Not only do kids that grow up in the system not learn what we learned from our parents, but they grew up in a group home where ... they weren't allowed to go into the kitchen. They had a house manager who cooked dinner, so they never used an oven. The kids that grew up in a foster home that say, 'We were never allowed to use the washer and dryer.'
"They come to us at 17 1/2 with no knowledge of the bus system or even money. They've been infantilized by the system, which is made up of lots of good people. But they're not thinking about the reality of these kids being gone at 17 1/2 and 18."
Cooperation works
The child welfare system is designed to take care of and protect children who have been abandoned, neglected, abused and removed from their families. The intention is good, but when you have a county system responsible for caring for children -- in Hamilton County, that number fluctuates daily but hovers around 700 -- the already difficult job of parenting is complicated by the fact that social workers, caseworkers and judges all have to decide and agree upon what's in a child's best interest.
When it became apparent that abruptly cutting off support to these kids at age 18 was causing serious problems -- homelessness being the most immediate -- Hamilton County created a program that is now a best-practices model emulated all over the country.
From the beginning, Lighthouse Youth Services (lys.org) proposed an approach based on practical knowledge gained from providing youth homeless shelters, at-risk-youth emergency service programs, group homes and foster care families: Spend a year teaching 16-year-olds self-sufficiency in a classroom setting and then move them into their own apartment to live for a year before they're cut loose at 18.
"It's a very frustrating thing to do because we have so many pressures on us to get these kids in and out," Kroner says. "It's like taking a seedling and saying, 'OK, you have to become a tree in six months. Grow!' Some people say, 'Water more, water more.' Some, 'Fertilize more.' It's gonna grow when it's gonna grow."
Getting three different agencies to agree about the best way to facilitate and support that growth while providing a safety net that wouldn't undermine the goal of self-sufficiency was a huge challenge.
Lighthouse Youth Services helps foster kids become adults.
"There were a gazillion rocky periods," Kroner says. "When we started, the juvenile court thought this was nuts. We've won them over.
"There was a lot of tension between the courts and the county. There's still a lot of tension about how long these kids can stay ... that's based on deficit realities. But at this point in time you have all three parties sitting down together on a regular basis saying, 'Given the realities, what's the best thing we can do? What do we need to do?'
"It's like two parents saying, 'This kid's gonna take swimming lessons.' The mom wants to keep him out and the dad pushes him in. You have to work those arguments out -- what's the best way to teach this kid how to swim? The first time he goes under, do you reach in and pull him out or say, 'Move your arms, now move your legs?' We've had to work out a lot of these things ... and have this trust amongst all the systems." '
This is how'
A collaborative relationship between the county, courts and a private agency such as Lighthouse is what it takes to make sure the kids get what they need, according to Kroner. Cincinnati's program has been around for 25 years.
"It could very easily be a blame game when something does go wrong," he says. "We got kids that will do some outrageous things. They'll commit crimes. Nobody's going to point the finger and say, 'It's your fault that this happened.' Everybody goes, 'It's really unfortunate that this kid took this opportunity and chose to do that.'
"With 70 kids, 69 of them take their allowance and buy food, a bus card, get their laundry done. The next one goes out and buys a bag of pot and a handgun. Before we know it, he's locked up for possession of a handgun and marijuana, and we're going, 'Wow! That was fast; he really screwed up quickly.' And his parents are calling us every five minutes saying, 'You've got to bail him out.' " 'What are you talking about? He's got two felony charges; he should sit there and think about what he's done. We were paying all his bills and he goes out and does that.' You can see why this kid's like that. His parents probably spent time in jail."
The paradox is that these kids are just like every other teenager -- anxious about leaving school, unsure about their future and hormonal -- but they have the added issues of mental health problems stemming from their childhood, no parents to offer guidance or serve as a safety-net and limited life skills.
The Independent Living Program appears simple, but its concepts are difficult for kids to grasp. The kids are given a budget and they have to live within it; if they run out of food and money, they have to figure out how to handle the situation. Over the course of the six- to 12-month period, the kids gradually begin to take over paying their bills.
"American kids are super-sophisticated in this area but they don't know anything about this area; they will know how to use a computer and every electronic gismo and not understand that the apartment they're moving into belongs to somebody who's trying to make money off them," Kroner says. "When they break something, they have to pay for it.
"One of my staff just came in and said one of our kids is getting a lot of complaints about loud music. They don't understand that, right on the other side of this wall, there's somebody else. They're just oblivious to the world around them.
"We're saying to them, 'Do you realize two months from now you're going to be out of this program, you're going to be on your own?' It's 'Excuse me, let me finish this game first.' They don't know what that means. A lot of them grew up in families that were always dependent upon public aid. The thing is that system has been dismantled."
After an assessment to determine the teen's skill level, she's invited to take a series of 13 four-hour classes on everything from community resources and transportation to time management and apartment maintenance. Classes are held every Saturday during the school year and on weekdays during the summer.
"Anybody 16 or older is required to take them," says Bobette Arnold, independent living coordinator for Hamilton County. "I don't go out on Saturday morning and pull them in by their ear, but I am pretty persuasive. Nobody can make you do anything you don't want to do. There's a lot of kids that are blowing me off, but a vast majority come to the classes."
Photo By Jon Hughes: Canon Hopey, Independent Living graduate, knows that if he wants more furniture in his apartment he's going to have to figure out how to pay for it.
Some teens are eventually ordered by the court to participate if they refuse to go to the classes voluntarily. But that's rare, according to Arnold.
"It never ceases to amaze me," she says. "You'll have a 16-year-old kid who you just thought was not paying any attention at all come out with this question that's something you or I as an adult would ask."
Arnold has a team of people who teach the classes and she attends them all, but her title changes to the "muscle and mouth" because when she's in the classroom her role is to help.
"They're teenagers," she says. "Angst is running rampant in the room. I'm the bouncer. Teenagers fight -- it happens. Ninety-eight percent of the time we're fine. I know 'em real well because I have spent 65 hours with them, so it's much easier for me to calm you down."
After class it's up to the group home managers and foster parents to work with the kids to make sure the information and skills are applied.
"I'm going to go over budgeting for four or five hours," Arnold says. "We're going to give 'em the basics: This is how you budget, this is how you save money here. Day-to-day living is with that caregiver. 'You had $100. Where the hell is it now?' is with that caregiver.
"You can sit in a classroom forever, and I can teach you all kinds of things, but until you actually get out there and doing it you don't get it. That's true with all of us -- not just our kids. Until you do something you don't quite understand how bad it is."
Foster home-ec
Emancipated in August 2006, Canon Hopey took over the lease on the apartment Lighthouse gave him the year before. He's grateful for the practical training he received at the end of his nine years in the foster-care system.
"Budgeting," Hopey laughs. "Oh my God, that's got to be the biggest one. They actually had a thing that helped you with the budget. There was a budget book to keep up. You have an expense book, and you write down everything that you got to pay and how much will you have at the end of your activity. Go over your grocery list, go over your bills, put all that in and see what you have left."
The class in time management has also proven helpful. When he left the program, Hopey was holding down two jobs, going to Cincinnati State Technical College and spending time with his 18-month-old daughter.
Describing his life as "like having four jobs," he has to be very organized. "Being the person I am, if I don't have anything else to do, I'll sit there and write up an agenda," he says. "I have this, this, this. I have to pay my rent, get a money order for that. Get a money order for Duke, for Cincinnati Bell.
"I go over my agenda every day: 'OK, I did this today.' I check it and sign it and know that I did that on that day at that time. Between two jobs, I can still get that in. I take my agenda to work so when I'm at my job or between those two jobs I say 'I did this in between those two jobs. I got to mark that off,' so I won't be trying to do something I already did."
When Hopey first moved to Clifton, his agenda included finding a grocery store and coin-laundry on the bus line -- he doesn't have a car -- and a place to get quarters on Sunday, when he can do his wash. It's been difficult, but Hopey says he's OK with that.
After 25 years with Independent Living, Mark Kroner still loves his job as program director, even though it caused a lot of his white hair.
"You get used to being on your own, carrying on your own business, making your own appointments, doing things when you're supposed to do it," he says.
For every success story like Hopey, there are many others who are struggling or fail. One of the most important aspects of this program, according to Arnold, is how you define success.
"(A) girl who was very bi-polar -- on medication she's fine, but off medication she's not so fine -- graduated from college, had a full-time job the whole time. There's a lot of success stories. The definition of success is what the rest of the world says is success. Sometimes our success is they didn't do anything fancy; they didn't go to college, but they have a job and they're self-sufficient."
Just Do This: 25 Steps to Self-Sufficiency, the workbook given to all kids entering independent living classes, defines self-sufficiency as "taking full responsibility for yourself financially, emotionally and physically. When you pay all your own bills with money that you have earned and you are getting your needs met without taking from or harming others, then you are self-sufficient."
The key to achieving that goal is up the kids, according to Kroner, but the kids need the support of a solid, consistent infrastructure.
"We've probably had more failures than successes, but you have to look at that over the long term," he says. "If there are no self-sufficient 18-year-olds in America (and) if our kids aren't self-sufficient at 18, is that a failure -- or just normal?
"We have kids that leave us that aren't anywhere near ready to be on their own, and it's frustrating. They really should be in the system until they're 21, at least. The time frame is totally unrealistic. Everybody knows that, but the county is basically saying, 'Look, we've got X number of dollars and a lot of kids coming in. We've got a choice of taking this 6-year-old kid in or giving this 18-year-old another six months.' We understand that."
That means making the most of every dollar. With a budget the ranges between $1.5 million and $2 million annually, Lighthouse depends heavily on donations of cash and furniture from private individuals, bulk-purchasing agreements with furniture stores and a network of landlords willing to take the risk of renting to teenagers.
'Predatory parents'
In what's called a "scattered site model," independent living participants live in one-bedroom apartments all over the city. Some live close to work, and others live close to school.
In addition to avoiding the high cost of overhead for maintaining apartment buildings, Lighthouse has learned that kids learn faster when there isn't anyone else to blame for their mistakes, such as roommates or friends who are their neighbors.
Finding apartments was a problem in the beginning, but Kroner says some prefer to have Lighthouse sign the lease until a teenager takes over because the caseworkers are ever-present.
"Now we have landlords calling us up," he says. "There are certainly landlords that will never rent to us again, but for every one of those there are three that will rent to us again and again and again. They tell us, 'Your kids are no different from the general public, and you have 24-hour pagers. I can't tell a 45-year-old crack addict that I'm going to call his mom. I can call you guys and tell you the kid's stereo is too loud, and you'll come over and take the stereo away. I'd rather rent to you than UC students.' "
Keeping a sense of humor is essential; and when it comes to housing, Kroner has plenty of funny stories. One is about a kid named Laura in 1987.
"(Laura) called us up in a panic one night and said she came home from working at Kings Island at midnight," Kroner says. "(She) walked into her apartment, turned on her light and her 80-year-old landlady was sitting on her couch: 'Where have you been sweetie?' She keyed into her apartment, had the lights turned out and fell asleep on her couch. We had to call the landlady's kids, who are my age and say, 'We think granny's getting a little senile here, because she was in our kid's apartment.' "
That "kid" from 1987 is Laura Watson, now a married foster mother who has taken in eight kids over 12 years and was an early graduate of the Lighthouse program.
"After growing up in an institution I realized how much more valuable it would be to grow up in a family," Watson says. "There's a lot you miss out on. I wanted to make sure that, if there was a way to stop one kid from going into an institution and putting them in a family life, that would be our goal."
After being moved into and out of foster homes every 90 days -- an old policy that has been abandoned -- Watson opted to live in an orphanage. She got herself to and from the School for the Creative and Performing Arts, worked, bought her own car and put herself through college. A conventional success story, Watson could be the poster mom for the Independent Living Program.
"I only take Hamilton County children," she says. "Hamilton County is very committed to making sure their children get what they need. Hamilton County wants these children to succeed. There are some different county agencies that don't want to pay for the program, so they try very hard to talk the children out of it, and that's a shame. They say they offer independent living themselves, but it's not the same, not that wrap-around service where these kids get everything they need."
Those services frequently include helping kids overcome unforeseen obstacles.
"They want to be self-sufficient," Kroner says. "They either don't know how, or they come across these roadblocks. We have these kids that ... get an apartment and they go down to get the utilities turned on and they say, 'You owe us $800.' Their relatives have used their social security numbers to get phones or utilities. We have to get notarized letters and prove when their mom ran up that bill they were 14 years old -- it couldn't have been them."
More than just an irritation, the parents and other family members who forced the kids from their own homes and into the child welfare system sometimes track them down and use them.
Unprepared to handle the conflict between caring for their parents, maintaining healthy boundaries and protecting themselves under such a difficult and emotional situation, Lighthouse caseworkers serve as a kid's only line of defense.
"If you would do a survey of the kids, they would say the parents are incarcerated, deceased, mentally ill, chemically dependent, they have no idea where they are or they have problems that have surpassed their kids," Kroner says. "Dysfunctional with a capital D. A lot of effort has gone into keeping these kids with their families, and it's just been concluded that it's not meant to be. We have a lot of predatory parents -- parents who prostituted their daughters when they became teenagers. We have kids that will say, 'I don't want my mom or my dad to know where I live or they'll come over and clean me out.'
"I remember getting a call from this landlord saying, 'You need to come over. There's this really rough-looking woman where your kid used to be, and there's guys coming in every half hour. We think she's prostituting.' Went over and, sure enough, this woman opens the door. I said, 'My name is Mark Kroner, I'm with Lighthouse Youth Services. This apartment's leased in our name, and I don't know who you are. I'm going to give you five minutes to get out of here before I call the police.' I hear all this noise in the back, and this guy comes flying out of the room, putting his clothes on.
"The young lady who (lived) there called us two weeks later crying, saying, 'I was so ashamed. My mom knocked on my door around midnight and asked, 'Can I stay here?' I let her in, and the next thing I knew there were guys coming. I got out of there because I was afraid. I was so ashamed to call you and tell you that she took it over. I'm all right, I'm staying with friends.' "We said, 'Come on back. Your mom's gone now.'
"You realize this particular youth is the only person in their entire family system that has a stable place to stay. We'll help get a place for your dad ... your mom, but they can't stay here."
All that and mental illness, too
Even with all this support, some kids simply can't make it. In some cases, the kids just walk away from their apartments and are never seen again. Who would do that?
"Somebody who is schizophrenic, somebody who's bi-polar, somebody who's never had anybody in their life they could trust," Arnold says. "Somebody who was raped by their father at 5 that's who walks way. "Let's say you get these kids at 12 or 13. They are so incredibly damaged at that point that you do everything you can, but they're just too damaged and you can't dig through all that. God knows what they've been through. I can't heal their mental illness."
Children in the custody of Job and Family Services have access to counseling, medication and other services once a social worker has identified the need. But having access and taking advantage of those resources are two different things.
"You're bipolar, we give you therapy and here's your medication -- and at that moment they may totally understand that," Arnold says. "Bi-polars are notorious for, 'I'm feeling real good right now, I don't need this.' But if they stop taking their medication ..."
Lighthouse caseworkers constantly struggle with helping kids manage their mental health issues. With up to 100 kids spread across 12 to 14 caseworkers and college interns usually working toward a master's degree in social work, it's a lot to juggle.
"A significant percentage of our kids have mental health issues," Kroner says. "When kids enter adolescence, they're not sure what's mental illness and what's normal adolescence, so we have to help sort this out: Is this budding schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder or is this just a kid having bad stretch of time? If you read about borderline personality disorder and you read about adolescence, there are a lot of similarities as far as experimentation, crises and drama. They're dealing with rejection, separation from their family, plus the future that looks really kind of tough.
"A lot of our kids have symptoms of depression, but if you and I were in their situation, we would be depressed. Most do not have a grasp of their mental illness. They don't understand it. They self-medicate like a lot of people on our planet. They drink a lot or do drugs to feel better or not fly off the handle."
The average age of complete financial independence is 26, Kroner says. That means families and parents are giving their kids support, whether that's in the form of a check or letting kids move back home.
The children of baby-boomers are now being called "baby-boomerangers" because 60 percent move back home after graduating college. Even with a solid family infrastructure, middle class kids aren't making it on their own, so expecting 18-year-olds' -- for whom "two minutes from now does not exist" -- self sufficiency seems an impossible goal, according to Kroner.
'A fighting chance'
To date approximately 1,600 teens have gone through the Lighthouse Independent Living Program, and there are a lot of successes.
Kroner believes this is because the approach is realistic and supportive. Like all public programs, it could use more money, more caseworkers and more time with the kids, but Kroner also makes it clear that Cincinnati has the best of the best in place already.
"Everything we're doing is compared to nothing," he says. "You go to another state and none of this exists. When the kids turn 18, in many states, they're out on their own. Our kids, at least, have somebody saying, 'We're going to give you a chance to live in this apartment and learn what it takes.' If you go to other cities, the kids go from the foster home or the group home to the adult homeless shelter -- that's what created the independent living movement."
Even though everyone agrees self-sufficiency training is essential for all kids in the system, independent living isn't a one-size-fits-all way to deliver those skills.
"How would you like to, at 18, be forced out onto the street?" Watson asks. "I've been there, it's a scary feeling. Right now we have one 18 year old -- he's going to stay. At age 45, I may tell him he's got to go."
Watson, Arnold and Kroner express frustration over the stereotypical view of kids who are in the custody of the state. That is exactly why they're involved is supporting and promoting independent living.
"I think people have a picture in their head of foster kids; they put them somewhere along with delinquents and the scum of the earth without realizing that foster kids got here not on their own choosing," Arnold says. "Somebody else did to them or didn't do for them, and that's why they're here.
"These are just kids -- sometimes with a lot more issues, but they're just kids. We're trying to give them what a parent should give them. Obviously we're not going to do that good a job because the county's not going to do as good a job as a parent would. But we're trying to give them as much as possible so that when they get out of there we don't see them in jail and we don't seem them in the system in any way.
"What I'm fighting for is to give them a fighting chance, because up to this point in their lives most of them have not had anything near a fighting chance."
Hotter Than July, featuring the Ed Moss Quintet, benefits the Lighthouse Youth Services Independent Living Program. The fundraiser is 6-9 p.m. July 19 at The Phoenix restaurant downtown. For ticket information and details about a silent auction and door prizes or to make a donation, call 513-221-3665.
Amy helped a murderer, but her children don't deserve to suffer - this makes me terribly sad
Baker's dad blasts county's care of children
Brunsman, Barrett. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 8, 2007.
BATAVIA - Amy Baker's father said Monday that one of her children might have been sexually molested while in foster care and that he thinks Clermont County is trying to cover it up.
Bob Ramsey said Baker told him that a county official had informed her that the child has begun acting in ways that indicate possible molestation.
Baker's three children - a 7-year-old girl, a 6-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl - have been in foster care since Aug. 29, the day after Liz and David Carroll Jr. were arrested in the death of their foster son, Marcus Fiesel, 3. Baker and her kids had been living in the Carrolls' Union Township home.
"You talk about child neglect? Clermont County's doing it," Ramsey said. "Now, (one child) is on medication because of some kind of sexual thing, they said. It happened in foster care, if it did."
Ramsey, 51, said Clermont County officials have told him to not discuss the matter, but he's tired of keeping quiet.
"I think they're mistreating Amy's kids because of Amy," he said. "They should just let the kids go (and) come to my house. If they want to keep Amy away, I'll do it."
The children have been shuffled among three foster homes and schools in eight months, and all three have developed rashes, Ramsey said Baker told him.
The kids haven't received proper counseling, he said, after being told details of the death of Marcus by officials with Clermont County Children's Protective Services.
Ramsey's accusations followed a Monday custody hearing before Judge Stephanie Wyler of Clermont County Juvenile Court.
The judge said she intends to rule Aug. 27 on who gets custody of Baker's children.
Wyler scheduled a June 1 hearing on Ramsey's request that he and his wife, Tracy, be allowed to participate in the custody proceedings, but the judge denied their request to visit their grandkids.
The judge will also rule June 1 on whether to close the Baker hearings to the public, as requested by Clermont County officials.
Ramsey, a resident of Brown County, said he had failed a home study on whether he would be a fit custodian. He was convicted of thefts in 1985 and 1999.
Ramsey said he thinks that study, done by Brown County, was unfair and that he plans to have an independent one submitted to the judge.
Baker, 25, is seeking custody, but she's in the Clermont County Jail while fighting extradition to Kentucky. She's being held in lieu of $50,000 bond on a Mason County charge of tampering with evidence in the death of Marcus.
Baker had been granted immunity by Clermont County and Hamilton County in exchange for testifying against the Carrolls, who were convicted of murder.
During the February trial of Liz Carroll, Baker testified that she accompanied David Carroll when he burned Marcus' body in Brown County and then tossed the remains into the Ohio River from a bridge near Maysville.
If found guilty in Kentucky, Baker could face up to five years in prison.
Also seeking custody is her estranged husband, Brian Baker, 26. The Brown County man was present for the hearing.
Clermont County can't comment on Ramsey's accusations because of a gag order, spokeswoman Kathy Lehr said. The judge imposed that order at the request of Anita Bechmann, a public defender who is guardian of the legal interests of the children.
Clermont County Children's Protective Services supported the gag order and, along with Bechmann, has requested that all hearings involving the Baker children be closed.
The gag order also applies to the Bakers and their attorneys, but not to the Ramseys.
Earlier Monday, attorneys for the Carrolls said they plan to ask that the couple be allowed to attend a custody case involving their four children.
The Carrolls are serving life prison sentences for the murder of Marcus
Wyler is to rule Aug. 6 on custody of the Carroll kids, who are also in foster care.
David Carroll's mother, Debra Hounshell, 51, of Union Township, is the leading candidate to get custody of the children, said his attorney, George Montgomery.
Liz Carroll's father, Delbert Sims, 54, of Ohio Township, has also filed for custody of the children - a boy and girl who are 8, a 6-year-old boy and a 3-year-old boy.
A pretrial hearing was scheduled for June 13, at which time Wyler is to rule on whether the Carroll custody case will be open to the public.
Brunsman, Barrett. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 8, 2007.
BATAVIA - Amy Baker's father said Monday that one of her children might have been sexually molested while in foster care and that he thinks Clermont County is trying to cover it up.
Bob Ramsey said Baker told him that a county official had informed her that the child has begun acting in ways that indicate possible molestation.
Baker's three children - a 7-year-old girl, a 6-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl - have been in foster care since Aug. 29, the day after Liz and David Carroll Jr. were arrested in the death of their foster son, Marcus Fiesel, 3. Baker and her kids had been living in the Carrolls' Union Township home.
"You talk about child neglect? Clermont County's doing it," Ramsey said. "Now, (one child) is on medication because of some kind of sexual thing, they said. It happened in foster care, if it did."
Ramsey, 51, said Clermont County officials have told him to not discuss the matter, but he's tired of keeping quiet.
"I think they're mistreating Amy's kids because of Amy," he said. "They should just let the kids go (and) come to my house. If they want to keep Amy away, I'll do it."
The children have been shuffled among three foster homes and schools in eight months, and all three have developed rashes, Ramsey said Baker told him.
The kids haven't received proper counseling, he said, after being told details of the death of Marcus by officials with Clermont County Children's Protective Services.
Ramsey's accusations followed a Monday custody hearing before Judge Stephanie Wyler of Clermont County Juvenile Court.
The judge said she intends to rule Aug. 27 on who gets custody of Baker's children.
Wyler scheduled a June 1 hearing on Ramsey's request that he and his wife, Tracy, be allowed to participate in the custody proceedings, but the judge denied their request to visit their grandkids.
The judge will also rule June 1 on whether to close the Baker hearings to the public, as requested by Clermont County officials.
Ramsey, a resident of Brown County, said he had failed a home study on whether he would be a fit custodian. He was convicted of thefts in 1985 and 1999.
Ramsey said he thinks that study, done by Brown County, was unfair and that he plans to have an independent one submitted to the judge.
Baker, 25, is seeking custody, but she's in the Clermont County Jail while fighting extradition to Kentucky. She's being held in lieu of $50,000 bond on a Mason County charge of tampering with evidence in the death of Marcus.
Baker had been granted immunity by Clermont County and Hamilton County in exchange for testifying against the Carrolls, who were convicted of murder.
During the February trial of Liz Carroll, Baker testified that she accompanied David Carroll when he burned Marcus' body in Brown County and then tossed the remains into the Ohio River from a bridge near Maysville.
If found guilty in Kentucky, Baker could face up to five years in prison.
Also seeking custody is her estranged husband, Brian Baker, 26. The Brown County man was present for the hearing.
Clermont County can't comment on Ramsey's accusations because of a gag order, spokeswoman Kathy Lehr said. The judge imposed that order at the request of Anita Bechmann, a public defender who is guardian of the legal interests of the children.
Clermont County Children's Protective Services supported the gag order and, along with Bechmann, has requested that all hearings involving the Baker children be closed.
The gag order also applies to the Bakers and their attorneys, but not to the Ramseys.
Earlier Monday, attorneys for the Carrolls said they plan to ask that the couple be allowed to attend a custody case involving their four children.
The Carrolls are serving life prison sentences for the murder of Marcus
Wyler is to rule Aug. 6 on custody of the Carroll kids, who are also in foster care.
David Carroll's mother, Debra Hounshell, 51, of Union Township, is the leading candidate to get custody of the children, said his attorney, George Montgomery.
Liz Carroll's father, Delbert Sims, 54, of Ohio Township, has also filed for custody of the children - a boy and girl who are 8, a 6-year-old boy and a 3-year-old boy.
A pretrial hearing was scheduled for June 13, at which time Wyler is to rule on whether the Carroll custody case will be open to the public.
He couldn't be a coach, but they trusted him to foster a child
Officials pushing bills in legislative session legislature
Butler County lawmakers plan to focus their efforts on improvements in foster care, tax relief for senior citizens.
Brooks-Higgins, Candice. Middletown Journal, May 17, 2007.
Before another state legislative session comes to an end this summer, Butler County lawmakers are trying to push their bills through.
So what high-profile bills are coming out of Butler County?
Two bills focused on reforming Ohio's foster care system appear to be on the fast track after the killing of foster child Marcus Fiesel, Sen. Gary Cates, R-West Chester Twp., said Wednesday after presenting the legislation.
"The legislature feels that whatever holes we need to close, they are ready to step up and do that," Cates said.
Marcus' foster father, David Carroll Jr., failed a background check two years ago when trying to become an assistant youth baseball coach in Clermont County.
The following year, he and his wife, Liz — both later convicted of murdering the developmentally disabled 3-year-old — were approved to care for Marcus. Just six weeks before the Middletown boy's death, his foster father was arrested on a domestic violence charge.
Cates and Sen. Tom Neihaus, R-New Richmond, plan to patch those cracks with better foster parent screening, training and information sharing through Senate bills 163 and 164.
Butler County lawmakers plan to focus their efforts on improvements in foster care, tax relief for senior citizens.
Brooks-Higgins, Candice. Middletown Journal, May 17, 2007.
Before another state legislative session comes to an end this summer, Butler County lawmakers are trying to push their bills through.
So what high-profile bills are coming out of Butler County?
Two bills focused on reforming Ohio's foster care system appear to be on the fast track after the killing of foster child Marcus Fiesel, Sen. Gary Cates, R-West Chester Twp., said Wednesday after presenting the legislation.
"The legislature feels that whatever holes we need to close, they are ready to step up and do that," Cates said.
Marcus' foster father, David Carroll Jr., failed a background check two years ago when trying to become an assistant youth baseball coach in Clermont County.
The following year, he and his wife, Liz — both later convicted of murdering the developmentally disabled 3-year-old — were approved to care for Marcus. Just six weeks before the Middletown boy's death, his foster father was arrested on a domestic violence charge.
Cates and Sen. Tom Neihaus, R-New Richmond, plan to patch those cracks with better foster parent screening, training and information sharing through Senate bills 163 and 164.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Accusations that private agency execs are making mega-money from foster children
Foster care contracted out
Agency heads award selves six-figure salaries
McGurk, Margaret. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 20, 2007.
Correction: Clermont County Dept. of Job and Family Services director Tim McCartney oversees 252 employees. An accompanying chart incorrectly lists the total as 52, which refers only to the total working in children's services.
The murder of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel in 2006 by his Clermont County foster parents set off an ambitious drive to make Ohio's foster system safer.
Results of that effort were unveiled to Ohio lawmakers this month in a package of proposed reforms. It was forged out of months of study by a special working group that included child-welfare, judicial and law enforcement officials and others involved in protecting the state's most vulnerable kids.
The proposals call for stricter screening of prospective foster parents and more support for those who already have children in their homes.
But the proposed Ohio laws still leave much of the job of upholding standards in the hands of the private agencies that recommend applicants for licensing or - in Kentucky's case - certification.
The effect of private organizations in the overall system is enormous. Scores of Ohio and Kentucky organizations contract with government agencies - which have legal custody of vulnerable children - to recruit, train and supervise foster parents. They place thousands of children in Ohio and Kentucky homes every year and distribute many millions of dollars in stipends to foster parents.
Ohio spent $187 million on foster care in fiscal 2006, not counting group homes and residential facilities.
Of that total, $133 million went to so-called "network" agencies that work under contract to find homes and place children. Kentucky spent $156 million - $120 million of it on private agencies.
About half of foster-care spending is reimbursed by the federal government, and private agencies are required to account for how they spend their money, under both state and federal regulations.
DEATH PROMPTED SPOTLIGHT
Marcus' foster parents, Liz and David J. Carroll, were convicted of murder after leaving him locked in a closet for two days, bound with a blanket and packing tape. Both are serving long sentences.
The Carrolls entered the foster system through Lifeway for Youth, an Ohio private child-placing contractor with operations in Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, Georgia and Texas.
Ohio has moved to eject Lifeway from its list of approved providers based a long list of complaints that, among other shortcomings, point to careless fact-checking in the application process.
Lifeway's case highlighted a potential conflict built into the system: The amount of money an agency collects is directly related to the number of foster homes it recruits, since it is paid a daily fee for each child it places.
Although the rules set caps on how much the government will pay individual foster parents, for instance, they do not limit how much private agency executives can take home. In some cases, they earn far more than the heads of large public systems who oversee thousands of children and foster families.
Lifeway founder and director Michael J. Berner and his wife collected combined salaries of $385,000. Their Ohio operation had 58 employees and more than $10 million in revenue.
That potential incentive to cut corners when screening applicants is not directly addressed in the new reform package. The bills do include safeguards meant to avert the kind of deception pulled off by the Carrolls, and call for more foster parent training and support.
Government officials who work with the private agencies say they know from experience the vast majority of their private contractors are trustworthy and rigorous in maintaining standards. Supervision also is built into the regular reviews required in both Ohio and Kentucky when the private agencies must renew their authorizations as service vendors.
Amy Eaton, chief of the foster care licensing section in the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, said Ohio reviews a sample of foster home records every two years, at the same time it reviews license recertification for private agencies. "We also review the home if there is a complaint," she said.
However, she said, it is entirely possible Ohio authorities may never have direct contact with families they license.
A BIG BUSINESS
A foster placement company based in Flint, Mich. - whose clients include Butler and Hamilton counties - provides the most startling example of the phenomenon of agency as a business.
Lynn Eastman is the founder and executive director of Diversion Adolescent Foster Care of Ohio Inc., based in Flint. His wife, Jeanne, is the financial officer. Their clients pay them to place children in foster homes recruited by Diversion. The Eastmans collected more than $1.2 million from small nonprofit foster-care operations in two states between mid-2004 and the end of 2006.
In fiscal 2006, Diversion reported $1.7 million in revenue and employed 10 workers to provide homes for an average of 67 children a day.
For that, Eastman paid himself $229,530; his wife was paid $139,104. The year before, their respective salaries were $268,749 and $151,833.
The couple also run a foster-care company in Indiana, which reported gross receipts of $1.12 million for calendar year 2005 (the most recent figures available). Out of that, Eastman paid himself $121,500, and his wife $100,558. The previous year, he received $127,999; she was paid $65,087.
Lynn Eastman said part of his salary from Indiana represents compensation for earlier years when he did not pay himself.
"I do training on a regular basis, both with parents and workers," he said. "I do licensing, I help with caseloads if they get a little heavy."
The couple also operate a small foster operation in Kentucky, where he reported a salary of $10,000 in fiscal 2004 and $2,000 in fiscal 2005.
The Eastmans founded a new Georgia foster-care operation and run a counseling service in Michigan. Internal Revenue Service data about those companies is not available.
In contrast, the director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, which has more than 3,900 employees, earns $141,000 a year.
Other private-agency examples:
Agape for Youth, a 23-employee agency based in Dayton, Ohio, paid founder and director Stephen Geib $157,152 in base salary for fiscal 2006, according to its annual cost report filed in Ohio. The agency does business with Clermont, Butler, Hamilton and Warren counties.
The agency's federal 990 form, required from nonprofits, showed him earning $174,424.
Geib said he did not know what accounted for the discrepancy, but speculated it might be fringe benefits.
Focus on Youth, a West Chester agency which also serves Clermont, Butler, Hamilton and Warren counties, has 15 employees. It paid founder and director Cindy Skinner $146,289, according to its 2006 Ohio cost report. It IRS report showed a similar amount.
Skinner disputed that amount, saying her base salary is $112,000. She said she received a bonus and a retirement contribution approved by the agency's board, but not enough to account for the discrepancy.
Skinner said her pay is based on salary surveys conducted by the Child Welfare League.
"I'm on call 24/7, I mortgaged my home to open the agency (in 1992)," Skinner said. "I didn't take a salary for whole first year, and I took a meager salary for five years after that. By no means do I think I'm overpaid."
LARGE NUMBER OF PROVIDERS
More than 10,000 Ohioans are licensed to take temporary care of the 17,000 children who pass through the system in a year; about 60 percent are affiliated with private agencies.
In Kentucky, more than 6,300 foster homes are certified to shelter the state's 5,000 foster children; about 2,000 of those children are private agency cases.
Tom Emberton Jr., undersecretary of Children and Family Services in the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said private agencies fill an important niche because "(foster care) is a dynamic environment that is constantly changing."
Thomas R. Roelant, Ohio's acting deputy director for the Office of Children and Families, said the private agencies operate with more flexibility than the counties, in hiring and firing staff, for instance. The agencies also can recruit parents anywhere, while counties are confined to their own borders.
"They very much fit supply-and-demand," Roelant said. "This is driven by market forces. ... Every day at the end of the day, every child has to be somewhere safe."
Agency heads award selves six-figure salaries
McGurk, Margaret. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 20, 2007.
Correction: Clermont County Dept. of Job and Family Services director Tim McCartney oversees 252 employees. An accompanying chart incorrectly lists the total as 52, which refers only to the total working in children's services.
The murder of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel in 2006 by his Clermont County foster parents set off an ambitious drive to make Ohio's foster system safer.
Results of that effort were unveiled to Ohio lawmakers this month in a package of proposed reforms. It was forged out of months of study by a special working group that included child-welfare, judicial and law enforcement officials and others involved in protecting the state's most vulnerable kids.
The proposals call for stricter screening of prospective foster parents and more support for those who already have children in their homes.
But the proposed Ohio laws still leave much of the job of upholding standards in the hands of the private agencies that recommend applicants for licensing or - in Kentucky's case - certification.
The effect of private organizations in the overall system is enormous. Scores of Ohio and Kentucky organizations contract with government agencies - which have legal custody of vulnerable children - to recruit, train and supervise foster parents. They place thousands of children in Ohio and Kentucky homes every year and distribute many millions of dollars in stipends to foster parents.
Ohio spent $187 million on foster care in fiscal 2006, not counting group homes and residential facilities.
Of that total, $133 million went to so-called "network" agencies that work under contract to find homes and place children. Kentucky spent $156 million - $120 million of it on private agencies.
About half of foster-care spending is reimbursed by the federal government, and private agencies are required to account for how they spend their money, under both state and federal regulations.
DEATH PROMPTED SPOTLIGHT
Marcus' foster parents, Liz and David J. Carroll, were convicted of murder after leaving him locked in a closet for two days, bound with a blanket and packing tape. Both are serving long sentences.
The Carrolls entered the foster system through Lifeway for Youth, an Ohio private child-placing contractor with operations in Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, Georgia and Texas.
Ohio has moved to eject Lifeway from its list of approved providers based a long list of complaints that, among other shortcomings, point to careless fact-checking in the application process.
Lifeway's case highlighted a potential conflict built into the system: The amount of money an agency collects is directly related to the number of foster homes it recruits, since it is paid a daily fee for each child it places.
Although the rules set caps on how much the government will pay individual foster parents, for instance, they do not limit how much private agency executives can take home. In some cases, they earn far more than the heads of large public systems who oversee thousands of children and foster families.
Lifeway founder and director Michael J. Berner and his wife collected combined salaries of $385,000. Their Ohio operation had 58 employees and more than $10 million in revenue.
That potential incentive to cut corners when screening applicants is not directly addressed in the new reform package. The bills do include safeguards meant to avert the kind of deception pulled off by the Carrolls, and call for more foster parent training and support.
Government officials who work with the private agencies say they know from experience the vast majority of their private contractors are trustworthy and rigorous in maintaining standards. Supervision also is built into the regular reviews required in both Ohio and Kentucky when the private agencies must renew their authorizations as service vendors.
Amy Eaton, chief of the foster care licensing section in the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, said Ohio reviews a sample of foster home records every two years, at the same time it reviews license recertification for private agencies. "We also review the home if there is a complaint," she said.
However, she said, it is entirely possible Ohio authorities may never have direct contact with families they license.
A BIG BUSINESS
A foster placement company based in Flint, Mich. - whose clients include Butler and Hamilton counties - provides the most startling example of the phenomenon of agency as a business.
Lynn Eastman is the founder and executive director of Diversion Adolescent Foster Care of Ohio Inc., based in Flint. His wife, Jeanne, is the financial officer. Their clients pay them to place children in foster homes recruited by Diversion. The Eastmans collected more than $1.2 million from small nonprofit foster-care operations in two states between mid-2004 and the end of 2006.
In fiscal 2006, Diversion reported $1.7 million in revenue and employed 10 workers to provide homes for an average of 67 children a day.
For that, Eastman paid himself $229,530; his wife was paid $139,104. The year before, their respective salaries were $268,749 and $151,833.
The couple also run a foster-care company in Indiana, which reported gross receipts of $1.12 million for calendar year 2005 (the most recent figures available). Out of that, Eastman paid himself $121,500, and his wife $100,558. The previous year, he received $127,999; she was paid $65,087.
Lynn Eastman said part of his salary from Indiana represents compensation for earlier years when he did not pay himself.
"I do training on a regular basis, both with parents and workers," he said. "I do licensing, I help with caseloads if they get a little heavy."
The couple also operate a small foster operation in Kentucky, where he reported a salary of $10,000 in fiscal 2004 and $2,000 in fiscal 2005.
The Eastmans founded a new Georgia foster-care operation and run a counseling service in Michigan. Internal Revenue Service data about those companies is not available.
In contrast, the director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, which has more than 3,900 employees, earns $141,000 a year.
Other private-agency examples:
Agape for Youth, a 23-employee agency based in Dayton, Ohio, paid founder and director Stephen Geib $157,152 in base salary for fiscal 2006, according to its annual cost report filed in Ohio. The agency does business with Clermont, Butler, Hamilton and Warren counties.
The agency's federal 990 form, required from nonprofits, showed him earning $174,424.
Geib said he did not know what accounted for the discrepancy, but speculated it might be fringe benefits.
Focus on Youth, a West Chester agency which also serves Clermont, Butler, Hamilton and Warren counties, has 15 employees. It paid founder and director Cindy Skinner $146,289, according to its 2006 Ohio cost report. It IRS report showed a similar amount.
Skinner disputed that amount, saying her base salary is $112,000. She said she received a bonus and a retirement contribution approved by the agency's board, but not enough to account for the discrepancy.
Skinner said her pay is based on salary surveys conducted by the Child Welfare League.
"I'm on call 24/7, I mortgaged my home to open the agency (in 1992)," Skinner said. "I didn't take a salary for whole first year, and I took a meager salary for five years after that. By no means do I think I'm overpaid."
LARGE NUMBER OF PROVIDERS
More than 10,000 Ohioans are licensed to take temporary care of the 17,000 children who pass through the system in a year; about 60 percent are affiliated with private agencies.
In Kentucky, more than 6,300 foster homes are certified to shelter the state's 5,000 foster children; about 2,000 of those children are private agency cases.
Tom Emberton Jr., undersecretary of Children and Family Services in the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said private agencies fill an important niche because "(foster care) is a dynamic environment that is constantly changing."
Thomas R. Roelant, Ohio's acting deputy director for the Office of Children and Families, said the private agencies operate with more flexibility than the counties, in hiring and firing staff, for instance. The agencies also can recruit parents anywhere, while counties are confined to their own borders.
"They very much fit supply-and-demand," Roelant said. "This is driven by market forces. ... Every day at the end of the day, every child has to be somewhere safe."
By participating in the murder of Marcus, Amy Baker put her own children at risk
Family: Baker's Children Mistreated In Foster Care
WLWT-TV, May 21, 2007.
BATAVIA, Ohio -- Amy Baker's parents claimed their grandchildren are being mistreated in foster care while their mother awaits a court appearance on charges related to the death of Marcus Fiesel.
"It's terrible, terrible," said Tracy Ramsey, Baker's stepmother. "I practically raised these kids. They've been in my house, they went to school from my house (and) there's no reason I shouldn't have them."
Baker lost custody of her three children after she told a grand jury that David and Liz Carroll were involved in the death of Marcus, their 3-year-old foster son.
The Carrolls were convicted of murder in the boy's death, and testimony given by Baker, who lived with the Carrolls with her children, was a key element of the prosecutors' case.
Ramsey and other family members have printed fliers in an attempt to raise money and hire an attorney to get the children out of foster care, where she said they have suffered injuries due to neglect.
"We want the public to know it's not about Amy, it's about the kids," said family member Nola Ward.
Ramsey told 700 WLW's Bill Cunningham on Monday that she had photographs of the children's injuries.
Baker and her estranged husband, Brian Baker, had been taking court-mandated steps to regain custody of their children until Baker was arrested last month and charged with tampering with evidence.
She remains in jail on $50,000 bond while she fights extradition to Kentucky, and her father and stepmother have filed for custody in case their grandchildren are not returned to their daughter or son-in-law.
WLWT-TV, May 21, 2007.
BATAVIA, Ohio -- Amy Baker's parents claimed their grandchildren are being mistreated in foster care while their mother awaits a court appearance on charges related to the death of Marcus Fiesel.
"It's terrible, terrible," said Tracy Ramsey, Baker's stepmother. "I practically raised these kids. They've been in my house, they went to school from my house (and) there's no reason I shouldn't have them."
Baker lost custody of her three children after she told a grand jury that David and Liz Carroll were involved in the death of Marcus, their 3-year-old foster son.
The Carrolls were convicted of murder in the boy's death, and testimony given by Baker, who lived with the Carrolls with her children, was a key element of the prosecutors' case.
Ramsey and other family members have printed fliers in an attempt to raise money and hire an attorney to get the children out of foster care, where she said they have suffered injuries due to neglect.
"We want the public to know it's not about Amy, it's about the kids," said family member Nola Ward.
Ramsey told 700 WLW's Bill Cunningham on Monday that she had photographs of the children's injuries.
Baker and her estranged husband, Brian Baker, had been taking court-mandated steps to regain custody of their children until Baker was arrested last month and charged with tampering with evidence.
She remains in jail on $50,000 bond while she fights extradition to Kentucky, and her father and stepmother have filed for custody in case their grandchildren are not returned to their daughter or son-in-law.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
200+ foster children in Fairfield County
Letter to the Editor
Orlando, Michael and Rich Bowlen. Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, May 11, 2007, pg. A4.
To the Editor: May is National Foster Care Month, a time to come together and make a lasting difference in a child's life. In Fairfield County, there are over 200 children in the custody of Child Protective Services because their own families are in crisis and unable to provide for the essential well being. These children require save, stable and nurturing environments to live in until they can either safely reunite with their parents or establish other lifelong family relationships.
Across the county, state and country, people are helping youth in foster care build brighter futures by serving as foster parents, kinships caregivers, mentors, advocates, social workers and volunteers. But much more help is needed.
No matter how much time you have to give, you have the power to do something positive that will "Change a Lifetime" for a young person in foster care. For more information on how you can help, please contact Fairfield County Job and Family Services at (740) 653-4060. Someone is waiting for your call.
Michael Orlando and Rich Bowlen
Lancaster
Orlando, Michael and Rich Bowlen. Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, May 11, 2007, pg. A4.
To the Editor: May is National Foster Care Month, a time to come together and make a lasting difference in a child's life. In Fairfield County, there are over 200 children in the custody of Child Protective Services because their own families are in crisis and unable to provide for the essential well being. These children require save, stable and nurturing environments to live in until they can either safely reunite with their parents or establish other lifelong family relationships.
Across the county, state and country, people are helping youth in foster care build brighter futures by serving as foster parents, kinships caregivers, mentors, advocates, social workers and volunteers. But much more help is needed.
No matter how much time you have to give, you have the power to do something positive that will "Change a Lifetime" for a young person in foster care. For more information on how you can help, please contact Fairfield County Job and Family Services at (740) 653-4060. Someone is waiting for your call.
Michael Orlando and Rich Bowlen
Lancaster
I think Mike Fox will do a better job than Jan Heffner, and he is taking a worthwhile risk
Fox to quit, seek children services job
Critics say he orchestrated plan
McLaughlin, Sheila. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 9, 2007, pg. B2.
HAMILTON - Longtime Butler County Commissioner Mike Fox plans to announce today that he will resign his elected political post to pursue a job as executive director of the county's embattled children services agency.
The 1:30 p.m. news conference comes less than a week before commissioners are expected to approve restructuring the agency from an independent board to one more directly controlled by the commission as part of the county Department of Job and Family Services.
"I've tried every way imaginable for 20 years to reform and restructure children services throughout my legislative career and as a commissioner," Fox, 57, said. "I've tried to do it from the commissioner's seat and was accused of micromanaging. The only thing I haven't tried is running it myself, and I think I've reached that point."
Fox's resignation would have to take effect before that vote, scheduled for Monday, because he would not legally be able to vote on the reorganization and be eligible for the director's job.
The reorganization measure needs unanimous approval from all commissioners. If Fox's seat is vacant, the measure can pass with two votes.
Fox, who makes $72,000 a year, is not guaranteed a job at children services. First, commissioners would have to create the position. Then Fox said he would have to apply as anyone else would.
The announcement prompted harsh words from Fox's critics at the independent children services board.
Bill Seitz, a private attorney for the board, said this was Fox's plan all along. He accused Fox of engineering the ouster of the board and the agency's executive director, Jann Heffner, to take the job himself following the death of 3-year-old foster child Marcus Fiesel.
"This confirms what we long suspected," Seitz said. "The effort to remove this outstanding group of independent volunteer community leaders and to force the resignation of a very qualified executive director was all along motivated by the political consideration of opening this up for Fox to pursue the (job) and the handsome compensation that comes along with it."
Executive director Jann Heffner lost her $125,000-a-year job last week following a controversy over a $110,000 consulting contract the agency's board of directors gave her conditioned on her resignation .
Heffner withdrew her resignation after the county prosecutor said the consulting job was illegal. The independent board later terminated Heffner so she could get her severance pay. Her last day was Friday.
"Mr. Fox set this whole drama up like a chess game," Heffner said. "He's used the power of his office and manipulated the media so he can now ride into CSB on a white horse like some kind of hero. Meanwhile, reputations have been ruined, people have been used, social workers and children have been put at risk.
"People say, 'Well that's politics Butler County style.' It's not just political, it's ruthless. It's uncommonly ruthless. And I doubt you would see anything like this happening in any other metro county."
Heffner came under fire after Marcus died. Fox renewed a push to reform the agency after learning that Butler County had approved Marcus' placement with Liz and David Carroll Jr., even though they didn't qualify as foster parents.
The couple was certified through a private foster care agency, Lifeway For Youth, that the county hired to handle difficult placements. A state investigation determined that the county agency followed the rules but that Lifeway didn't. The state is now trying to revoke Lifeway's foster care license, and Lifeway has sued the state.
The Carrolls are serving life prison sentences after being convicted of murder. Marcus' death has prompted state and local changes in foster care licensing policies to better protect children.
Fox accused county children services of mismanagement, being too secretive and shutting out any public input following Marcus' death.
It was Fox's idea to set up a task force that released a scathing report in March saying children services was a "mess" and needed new leadership.
"They can think whatever they want," Fox said of the criticism.
Fox said he started thinking about leaving his 32-year political career after he became seriously ill in recent months and almost died from an E. coli infection.
The local Republican Party will have 45 days to appoint a replacement on the commission.
Critics say he orchestrated plan
McLaughlin, Sheila. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 9, 2007, pg. B2.
HAMILTON - Longtime Butler County Commissioner Mike Fox plans to announce today that he will resign his elected political post to pursue a job as executive director of the county's embattled children services agency.
The 1:30 p.m. news conference comes less than a week before commissioners are expected to approve restructuring the agency from an independent board to one more directly controlled by the commission as part of the county Department of Job and Family Services.
"I've tried every way imaginable for 20 years to reform and restructure children services throughout my legislative career and as a commissioner," Fox, 57, said. "I've tried to do it from the commissioner's seat and was accused of micromanaging. The only thing I haven't tried is running it myself, and I think I've reached that point."
Fox's resignation would have to take effect before that vote, scheduled for Monday, because he would not legally be able to vote on the reorganization and be eligible for the director's job.
The reorganization measure needs unanimous approval from all commissioners. If Fox's seat is vacant, the measure can pass with two votes.
Fox, who makes $72,000 a year, is not guaranteed a job at children services. First, commissioners would have to create the position. Then Fox said he would have to apply as anyone else would.
The announcement prompted harsh words from Fox's critics at the independent children services board.
Bill Seitz, a private attorney for the board, said this was Fox's plan all along. He accused Fox of engineering the ouster of the board and the agency's executive director, Jann Heffner, to take the job himself following the death of 3-year-old foster child Marcus Fiesel.
"This confirms what we long suspected," Seitz said. "The effort to remove this outstanding group of independent volunteer community leaders and to force the resignation of a very qualified executive director was all along motivated by the political consideration of opening this up for Fox to pursue the (job) and the handsome compensation that comes along with it."
Executive director Jann Heffner lost her $125,000-a-year job last week following a controversy over a $110,000 consulting contract the agency's board of directors gave her conditioned on her resignation .
Heffner withdrew her resignation after the county prosecutor said the consulting job was illegal. The independent board later terminated Heffner so she could get her severance pay. Her last day was Friday.
"Mr. Fox set this whole drama up like a chess game," Heffner said. "He's used the power of his office and manipulated the media so he can now ride into CSB on a white horse like some kind of hero. Meanwhile, reputations have been ruined, people have been used, social workers and children have been put at risk.
"People say, 'Well that's politics Butler County style.' It's not just political, it's ruthless. It's uncommonly ruthless. And I doubt you would see anything like this happening in any other metro county."
Heffner came under fire after Marcus died. Fox renewed a push to reform the agency after learning that Butler County had approved Marcus' placement with Liz and David Carroll Jr., even though they didn't qualify as foster parents.
The couple was certified through a private foster care agency, Lifeway For Youth, that the county hired to handle difficult placements. A state investigation determined that the county agency followed the rules but that Lifeway didn't. The state is now trying to revoke Lifeway's foster care license, and Lifeway has sued the state.
The Carrolls are serving life prison sentences after being convicted of murder. Marcus' death has prompted state and local changes in foster care licensing policies to better protect children.
Fox accused county children services of mismanagement, being too secretive and shutting out any public input following Marcus' death.
It was Fox's idea to set up a task force that released a scathing report in March saying children services was a "mess" and needed new leadership.
"They can think whatever they want," Fox said of the criticism.
Fox said he started thinking about leaving his 32-year political career after he became seriously ill in recent months and almost died from an E. coli infection.
The local Republican Party will have 45 days to appoint a replacement on the commission.
Foster care - you can change a lifetime!
Children Services celebrates success
Phillips, Larry. Mansfield News Journal, May 18, 2007, pg. B1.
MANSFIELD -- May is National Foster Care Month and Richland County Children Services knows just how to celebrate it.
The local agency will host its annual Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner on Saturday at the Life Celebration Center, 129 S. Main St. in Mansfield.
"This year's theme (for National Foster Care Month) is 'You Can Change a Lifetime," said Greg Kahl, communications supervisor of Richland County Children Services. "(This dinner) is to honor the many families and individuals who choose to open their hearts and homes by fostering children in Richland County."
The local agency achieved national recognition in October, earning the 2006 Adoption Excellence Award from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The local agency was lauded for decreasing the length of time children in foster care wait for adoption by almost 20 percent over five years.
"The 2005 data supports the appropriateness of our strategies for securing adoptions for older children, African American children, and children in care for two years or longer," said Randy Parker, executive director of the local agency.
"(It also) caps a three-year span of being at the top or near the top of Ohio's major metro, metro and large non-metro public children service agencies."
Richland County Children Services was one of 13 recipients honored during a reception Nov. 28 in Arlington, Va. The agency was saluted for completing 52 percent of adoptions within 24 months of the child's entry into custody, well above the national standard of 32 percent and the state average of 31.1 percent.
Parker said there are 25,000 youngsters in Richland County and the agency provides some form of service to 1,000 of them. In addition, 73 children have been placed into the local Children Services system on a temporary basis, and 18 on a permanent basis.
All are residing in foster care. Still, there is a constant need for more foster parents.
"We can license people as foster parents or foster-to-adopt," Parker said. "It can be a six-month process to become licensed to be a foster parent."
At Saturday's dinner, featured speakers will include three members of the Overcoming Hurdles in Ohio Youth Advisory Board.
Kahl said the Mansfield Board of Realtors co-sponsored May's billboard campaign, "Open Your heart, Open Your Home." The board also donated 100 care bags filled with items for children that are taken into foster care.
WANT TO ADOPT?
For more information on local adoption:
Log on to www.richlandcountychildrenservices.org
Call Randy Parker at 419-774-4101.
MEET AND GREET
The RCCS Foster Parent Association will have a Meet And Greet at the Richland Carrousel Park Wednesday, May 23 from 4 to 6 p.m.
Free carrousel rides and face painting will be available. Children Services staff and current foster parents will answer questions and provide information to prospective foster parents.
Phillips, Larry. Mansfield News Journal, May 18, 2007, pg. B1.
MANSFIELD -- May is National Foster Care Month and Richland County Children Services knows just how to celebrate it.
The local agency will host its annual Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner on Saturday at the Life Celebration Center, 129 S. Main St. in Mansfield.
"This year's theme (for National Foster Care Month) is 'You Can Change a Lifetime," said Greg Kahl, communications supervisor of Richland County Children Services. "(This dinner) is to honor the many families and individuals who choose to open their hearts and homes by fostering children in Richland County."
The local agency achieved national recognition in October, earning the 2006 Adoption Excellence Award from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The local agency was lauded for decreasing the length of time children in foster care wait for adoption by almost 20 percent over five years.
"The 2005 data supports the appropriateness of our strategies for securing adoptions for older children, African American children, and children in care for two years or longer," said Randy Parker, executive director of the local agency.
"(It also) caps a three-year span of being at the top or near the top of Ohio's major metro, metro and large non-metro public children service agencies."
Richland County Children Services was one of 13 recipients honored during a reception Nov. 28 in Arlington, Va. The agency was saluted for completing 52 percent of adoptions within 24 months of the child's entry into custody, well above the national standard of 32 percent and the state average of 31.1 percent.
Parker said there are 25,000 youngsters in Richland County and the agency provides some form of service to 1,000 of them. In addition, 73 children have been placed into the local Children Services system on a temporary basis, and 18 on a permanent basis.
All are residing in foster care. Still, there is a constant need for more foster parents.
"We can license people as foster parents or foster-to-adopt," Parker said. "It can be a six-month process to become licensed to be a foster parent."
At Saturday's dinner, featured speakers will include three members of the Overcoming Hurdles in Ohio Youth Advisory Board.
Kahl said the Mansfield Board of Realtors co-sponsored May's billboard campaign, "Open Your heart, Open Your Home." The board also donated 100 care bags filled with items for children that are taken into foster care.
WANT TO ADOPT?
For more information on local adoption:
Log on to www.richlandcountychildrenservices.org
Call Randy Parker at 419-774-4101.
MEET AND GREET
The RCCS Foster Parent Association will have a Meet And Greet at the Richland Carrousel Park Wednesday, May 23 from 4 to 6 p.m.
Free carrousel rides and face painting will be available. Children Services staff and current foster parents will answer questions and provide information to prospective foster parents.
Lifeway -- the agency that wouldn't die
Key agency in Marcus case going back to court
Craig, Jon. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 17, 2007, pg. B2.
COLUMBUS - A Franklin County judge will hear evidence next week whether more than 300 Ohio children should remain in foster homes handled by Lifeway For Youth.Lifeway is the Clark County agency that placed 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel with the foster parents convicted of killing him last August
At a hearing Wednesday, Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Sheward said he's reluctant to get involved because separate administrative hearings about revoking Lifeway's state license begin June 4.
But attorneys from both sides persuaded Sheward to hear evidence at 9 a.m. May 24.
Sheward gave Lifeway's attorneys permission to begin getting written statements from witnesses in the lawsuit filed Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
The state wants to remove all children from foster homes involving Lifeway and keep the agency from placing any more children.
Attorneys for Lifeway argued that no children are in any imminent danger, but agreed to defend the private agency at next week's hearing.
Lifeway, based in New Carlisle, operates in Ohio and five other states.
Craig, Jon. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 17, 2007, pg. B2.
COLUMBUS - A Franklin County judge will hear evidence next week whether more than 300 Ohio children should remain in foster homes handled by Lifeway For Youth.Lifeway is the Clark County agency that placed 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel with the foster parents convicted of killing him last August
At a hearing Wednesday, Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Sheward said he's reluctant to get involved because separate administrative hearings about revoking Lifeway's state license begin June 4.
But attorneys from both sides persuaded Sheward to hear evidence at 9 a.m. May 24.
Sheward gave Lifeway's attorneys permission to begin getting written statements from witnesses in the lawsuit filed Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
The state wants to remove all children from foster homes involving Lifeway and keep the agency from placing any more children.
Attorneys for Lifeway argued that no children are in any imminent danger, but agreed to defend the private agency at next week's hearing.
Lifeway, based in New Carlisle, operates in Ohio and five other states.
Butler County leading the way in foster care reform
Merged services expected
McLaughlin, Sheila. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 13, 2007, pg. B1.
More scrutiny proposed with takeover of children services from private agencyFoster care -- Butler County wrestles with major changes
Ever since the death of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel, calls have resounded throughout Ohio to make deep changes in the foster care system.
But the cry for reform rang loudest in Butler County, where the boy was born.
It was Butler County's children services agency that approved Marcus' deadly placement with Liz and David Carroll Jr. through a private agency it hired. And it has been Butler County where a nasty and expensive battle has raged over who should control the business of protecting abused and neglected children.
County commissioners lashed out against the independent agency, blaming its leadership and lax policies for Marcus' death. Now, one of those commissioners - Mike Fox - wants to run children services, a proposal announced earlier this week that has agency officials lashing back with accusations of political meddling.
Monday, the issue comes to a head when county commissioners are expected to pass a measure that disbands the independent board and merges the children services agency with the county's department of Job and Family Services.
More than two-thirds of Ohio's 88 county children services agencies - including Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties - operate under the same structure.
Fox, who years ago pushed to make the agency independent, now says the merger will bring more oversight and transparency to children services here.
But, Crystal Allen, head of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, cautions not to expect a miracle cure. She says some of the problems faced in Butler County have plagued children services agencies since long before Marcus died, and changing management won't necessarily end those problems.
"If someone views the merger as a silver bullet to solve their problems, they will be disappointed," she said.
With Butler County poised to make a change, The Enquirer asked several county officials and others involved in child welfare what the proposed switch will likely mean for Butler County's children and families.
What is most likely to change for foster kids and foster parents once the county takes over?
Immediately, a computer that can link into a national crime database will be installed at children services, Fox said. A deputy will be authorized to run checks on the backgrounds of foster parents, relatives who are being considered for placement, and anyone else that is around the child, such as a parent's paramour.
Retired or active police officers also will be hired to conduct random, unannounced visits to homes where the kids are placed, he said.
Denise Winkler, spokeswoman for children services, predicts that services to children and families will be more stable once caseworkers move past the distractions caused by internal chaos at the agency.
"We are all going to work to make sure this works," she said. "It's for the kids and the families We are committed to doing it and doing it right."
Will the take-over do anything to make another Marcus tragedy less likely?
The takeover itself probably won't, although some new safeguards will be put in place to weed out unsavory foster parents.
That, along with stricter guidelines being proposed in Columbus for foster parent licensing and the monitoring of children in care should help, Winkler said.
"Changes focused narrowly at the county level in the absence of state-wide systemic changes are less likely to have the necessary impact," she said.
The county, however, is trying to minimize the risk as much as possible, Fox said.
"But, no matter how aggressive you are, no matter what you do, evil people will hurt children," he said.
How will children be safer?
County officials hope that closer supervision of its foster parents will make a difference.
Bruce Jewett, who heads the county department of job and family services, said the county will step up efforts to recruit its own foster parents and reduce its reliance on private networks.
The agency's association with private networks became an issue in Marcus' death because children services had contracted his placement through Lifeway For Youth of New Carlisle.
"There's never a guarantee," Jewett said. "But certainly, we wouldn't be undertaking it if we didn't think it was going to allow us to have more information and more contact with the families that we're supervising directly rather than relying on private networks to do that work for us."
Will foster children be better served by higher-quality foster parents?
Yes, county officials said.
But, they're concerned there won't be enough county-supervised homes for Butler County foster kids.
Last year, 394 children were placed in foster care, children services records show. That included 77 placed in county-supervised foster homes and 245 kids went to homes licensed by private networks.
Negative publicity since Marcus' death has made it more difficult to recruit new foster parents region-wide, Winkler said. Stricter background checks and state licensing requirements also have potential to scare some people off, even if they would qualify.
Fox said the county will always have to place some children through private networks because there are never enough foster parents locally to handle the job.
"Only time will tell," Jewett said.
Will it be harder or easier to become a foster parent?
It will probably be more difficult, said Jewett.
"But, we are going to be going out of our way to let foster parents know how important they are to us and to the children and to the whole system and that we are trying to provide more support for them in the work that they do," he said.
Will there be more money for more and better trained staff?
The agency will operate on the same annual budget - about $25 million. But, Jewett said shifting some management positions and consolidating human resources and finance services should free up money to hire more caseworkers, reduce caseloads and offer more training.
"You'll see a shift in the top-heavy stuff," Fox said. "We've identified a number of positions where you can move roughly $1 million inside the agency overnight. That money could be invested in hiring the police officers, lowering the caseloads. You will see that happen."
The county will still rely on a tax levy to fund 60 percent of the children services budget.
Will there be more accountability and openness?
That depends on whom you ask.
Fox, who has criticized children services for operating under a "veil of secrecy," wants to see more case information shared with the families involved and for more specific details to be made public if a tragedy strikes.
Fox also wants the agency to be more responsive to unsolicited information from the public about child abuse and neglect cases. He claims none of that was done in the past.
"You don't know about the neighbor that wants to call or the relative that's concerned and tried and tried and tried and couldn't get through that had critical information," he said.
Jewett was less specific.
"I can tell you emphatically, we will be as transparent as we can in the decisions and the operations of the agency," he said.
McLaughlin, Sheila. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 13, 2007, pg. B1.
More scrutiny proposed with takeover of children services from private agencyFoster care -- Butler County wrestles with major changes
Ever since the death of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel, calls have resounded throughout Ohio to make deep changes in the foster care system.
But the cry for reform rang loudest in Butler County, where the boy was born.
It was Butler County's children services agency that approved Marcus' deadly placement with Liz and David Carroll Jr. through a private agency it hired. And it has been Butler County where a nasty and expensive battle has raged over who should control the business of protecting abused and neglected children.
County commissioners lashed out against the independent agency, blaming its leadership and lax policies for Marcus' death. Now, one of those commissioners - Mike Fox - wants to run children services, a proposal announced earlier this week that has agency officials lashing back with accusations of political meddling.
Monday, the issue comes to a head when county commissioners are expected to pass a measure that disbands the independent board and merges the children services agency with the county's department of Job and Family Services.
More than two-thirds of Ohio's 88 county children services agencies - including Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties - operate under the same structure.
Fox, who years ago pushed to make the agency independent, now says the merger will bring more oversight and transparency to children services here.
But, Crystal Allen, head of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, cautions not to expect a miracle cure. She says some of the problems faced in Butler County have plagued children services agencies since long before Marcus died, and changing management won't necessarily end those problems.
"If someone views the merger as a silver bullet to solve their problems, they will be disappointed," she said.
With Butler County poised to make a change, The Enquirer asked several county officials and others involved in child welfare what the proposed switch will likely mean for Butler County's children and families.
What is most likely to change for foster kids and foster parents once the county takes over?
Immediately, a computer that can link into a national crime database will be installed at children services, Fox said. A deputy will be authorized to run checks on the backgrounds of foster parents, relatives who are being considered for placement, and anyone else that is around the child, such as a parent's paramour.
Retired or active police officers also will be hired to conduct random, unannounced visits to homes where the kids are placed, he said.
Denise Winkler, spokeswoman for children services, predicts that services to children and families will be more stable once caseworkers move past the distractions caused by internal chaos at the agency.
"We are all going to work to make sure this works," she said. "It's for the kids and the families We are committed to doing it and doing it right."
Will the take-over do anything to make another Marcus tragedy less likely?
The takeover itself probably won't, although some new safeguards will be put in place to weed out unsavory foster parents.
That, along with stricter guidelines being proposed in Columbus for foster parent licensing and the monitoring of children in care should help, Winkler said.
"Changes focused narrowly at the county level in the absence of state-wide systemic changes are less likely to have the necessary impact," she said.
The county, however, is trying to minimize the risk as much as possible, Fox said.
"But, no matter how aggressive you are, no matter what you do, evil people will hurt children," he said.
How will children be safer?
County officials hope that closer supervision of its foster parents will make a difference.
Bruce Jewett, who heads the county department of job and family services, said the county will step up efforts to recruit its own foster parents and reduce its reliance on private networks.
The agency's association with private networks became an issue in Marcus' death because children services had contracted his placement through Lifeway For Youth of New Carlisle.
"There's never a guarantee," Jewett said. "But certainly, we wouldn't be undertaking it if we didn't think it was going to allow us to have more information and more contact with the families that we're supervising directly rather than relying on private networks to do that work for us."
Will foster children be better served by higher-quality foster parents?
Yes, county officials said.
But, they're concerned there won't be enough county-supervised homes for Butler County foster kids.
Last year, 394 children were placed in foster care, children services records show. That included 77 placed in county-supervised foster homes and 245 kids went to homes licensed by private networks.
Negative publicity since Marcus' death has made it more difficult to recruit new foster parents region-wide, Winkler said. Stricter background checks and state licensing requirements also have potential to scare some people off, even if they would qualify.
Fox said the county will always have to place some children through private networks because there are never enough foster parents locally to handle the job.
"Only time will tell," Jewett said.
Will it be harder or easier to become a foster parent?
It will probably be more difficult, said Jewett.
"But, we are going to be going out of our way to let foster parents know how important they are to us and to the children and to the whole system and that we are trying to provide more support for them in the work that they do," he said.
Will there be more money for more and better trained staff?
The agency will operate on the same annual budget - about $25 million. But, Jewett said shifting some management positions and consolidating human resources and finance services should free up money to hire more caseworkers, reduce caseloads and offer more training.
"You'll see a shift in the top-heavy stuff," Fox said. "We've identified a number of positions where you can move roughly $1 million inside the agency overnight. That money could be invested in hiring the police officers, lowering the caseloads. You will see that happen."
The county will still rely on a tax levy to fund 60 percent of the children services budget.
Will there be more accountability and openness?
That depends on whom you ask.
Fox, who has criticized children services for operating under a "veil of secrecy," wants to see more case information shared with the families involved and for more specific details to be made public if a tragedy strikes.
Fox also wants the agency to be more responsive to unsolicited information from the public about child abuse and neglect cases. He claims none of that was done in the past.
"You don't know about the neighbor that wants to call or the relative that's concerned and tried and tried and tried and couldn't get through that had critical information," he said.
Jewett was less specific.
"I can tell you emphatically, we will be as transparent as we can in the decisions and the operations of the agency," he said.
Bureaucracy failed Marcus Fiesel
Background checks well worth it to reform our foster care system
Cincinnati Enquirer, May 10, 2007, pg. B7.
Guest column: Pat DeWine and Greg Hartmann
After the tragic death of Marcus Fiesel last year, we began to take a hard look at the foster care system to ensure we were doing everything possible to protect the safety of children entrusted to the County's care. We have become convinced that a two-fold approach is necessary to improve our system:
Increased efforts to ensure that each of our children is in a safe environment through regular background checks and heightened monitoring of home environments.
Stronger efforts to recruit good, loving foster parents. The vast majority of our foster parents are good, loving people who make incredible sacrifices for some of our most vulnerable kids. But there are serious problems that we cannot allow to be swept under the rug.
We created an instant notification program that would alert appropriate officials any time one of our foster parents, or adult over the age of 18 living in their home, had contact with the criminal justice system. The results of our checks are troubling. They have indicated that, despite some recent improvements, there remain deep-rooted, systemic problems in our Department of Job and Family Services (JFS) that require increased attention and scrutiny.
Detractors of the instant notification program recently began to criticize the process. They argue that the background checks we instituted provide no additional information JFS wasn't already aware of. Furthermore, they complain about the increased scrutiny and contend that it portrays foster parents in a negative light and will only dissuade good people from serving as foster parents. While their concerns are important, they are unfortunately misinformed.
Our background checks over the past two months have produced new and real results. More than 12 percent of our foster parents have had contact with the criminal justice system, and 76 percent of those contacts resulted in convictions. Ultimately, these checks caused JFS to petition for the removal of 13 children from unsafe and dangerous home environments.
Many of these arrests and convictions were not known to JFS officials before the instant notification program's background checks. If a foster parent or adult living in their home has had contact with the justice system, each case undergoes an individual review to determine what action, if any, is necessary. It does not guarantee that a foster child will be immediately removed from a home. Charges ranging from endangering children to domestic violence have raised serious questions about how JFS monitors their foster parents. These cases would have gone unnoticed were it not for the instant notification system.
The instant notification program is only part of our efforts to improve the system. We have assembled a partnership of children's services professionals with various private sector industry experts to develop a comprehensive foster parent recruitment initiative. Right now, largely because of the shortage of Hamilton County foster homes, more than 22 percent of our foster kids are placed outside of Hamilton County. We have to do better. Our initiative is aimed at dramatically decreasing this number of out-of-county placements. We know that the good people of Hamilton County will answer this call to service and our foster care system will improve because of it.
It is a fact that bureaucracy failed Marcus Fiesel. There were dangerous signs that it was failing here in Hamilton County as well. The foster children in our care are wards of the state, and we have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure their safety. Given the immediate problems in our foster care system, we cannot wait for solutions to come from Columbus or Washington. We need to do all that we can at the local level.
The reforms we have put in place will weed out those who shouldn't be in our foster care system, and our recruitment initiative will stress that most foster parents are wonderful people who provide a much-needed service to the children of our community.
These reforms require cooperation, patience and the understanding of everyone involved, including foster parents. To do anything less would be negligent. To do nothing would be simply wrong.
-Pat DeWine is a Hamilton County commissioner
-Greg Hartmann is Hamilton County clerk of courts
Cincinnati Enquirer, May 10, 2007, pg. B7.
Guest column: Pat DeWine and Greg Hartmann
After the tragic death of Marcus Fiesel last year, we began to take a hard look at the foster care system to ensure we were doing everything possible to protect the safety of children entrusted to the County's care. We have become convinced that a two-fold approach is necessary to improve our system:
Increased efforts to ensure that each of our children is in a safe environment through regular background checks and heightened monitoring of home environments.
Stronger efforts to recruit good, loving foster parents. The vast majority of our foster parents are good, loving people who make incredible sacrifices for some of our most vulnerable kids. But there are serious problems that we cannot allow to be swept under the rug.
We created an instant notification program that would alert appropriate officials any time one of our foster parents, or adult over the age of 18 living in their home, had contact with the criminal justice system. The results of our checks are troubling. They have indicated that, despite some recent improvements, there remain deep-rooted, systemic problems in our Department of Job and Family Services (JFS) that require increased attention and scrutiny.
Detractors of the instant notification program recently began to criticize the process. They argue that the background checks we instituted provide no additional information JFS wasn't already aware of. Furthermore, they complain about the increased scrutiny and contend that it portrays foster parents in a negative light and will only dissuade good people from serving as foster parents. While their concerns are important, they are unfortunately misinformed.
Our background checks over the past two months have produced new and real results. More than 12 percent of our foster parents have had contact with the criminal justice system, and 76 percent of those contacts resulted in convictions. Ultimately, these checks caused JFS to petition for the removal of 13 children from unsafe and dangerous home environments.
Many of these arrests and convictions were not known to JFS officials before the instant notification program's background checks. If a foster parent or adult living in their home has had contact with the justice system, each case undergoes an individual review to determine what action, if any, is necessary. It does not guarantee that a foster child will be immediately removed from a home. Charges ranging from endangering children to domestic violence have raised serious questions about how JFS monitors their foster parents. These cases would have gone unnoticed were it not for the instant notification system.
The instant notification program is only part of our efforts to improve the system. We have assembled a partnership of children's services professionals with various private sector industry experts to develop a comprehensive foster parent recruitment initiative. Right now, largely because of the shortage of Hamilton County foster homes, more than 22 percent of our foster kids are placed outside of Hamilton County. We have to do better. Our initiative is aimed at dramatically decreasing this number of out-of-county placements. We know that the good people of Hamilton County will answer this call to service and our foster care system will improve because of it.
It is a fact that bureaucracy failed Marcus Fiesel. There were dangerous signs that it was failing here in Hamilton County as well. The foster children in our care are wards of the state, and we have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure their safety. Given the immediate problems in our foster care system, we cannot wait for solutions to come from Columbus or Washington. We need to do all that we can at the local level.
The reforms we have put in place will weed out those who shouldn't be in our foster care system, and our recruitment initiative will stress that most foster parents are wonderful people who provide a much-needed service to the children of our community.
These reforms require cooperation, patience and the understanding of everyone involved, including foster parents. To do anything less would be negligent. To do nothing would be simply wrong.
-Pat DeWine is a Hamilton County commissioner
-Greg Hartmann is Hamilton County clerk of courts
5,118 children live in foster homes in Ohio
Experience in foster care taught lifelong lessons
Njaim, Julie. Toledo Blade, May 3, 2007, pg. 6J.
BOWLING GREEN - A 10-month stay in a foster home dramatically changed Cassandra Dauo's life."My experience with them was so profound," said Mrs. Dauo, now 28. "They have been so instrumental in my life."
She was 17 and suffering from depression when she was removed from her broken home to live with Rick and Jan Rowe of Weston, who are foster parents through Children's Resource Center in Wood County. In less than a year Mrs. Dauo said she learned lifelong lessons about how families should be.
"I got to see a husband and wife [modeling] to me a very loving relationship."
Since 1989, about 40 children have been placed in foster homes through CRC, a mental health agency for Wood County children, teens, and families, said Karen Wortman, treatment foster care coordinator.
In Ohio, 5,118 children are living in foster homes, said Dennis Evans, spokesman for the state department of Job and Family Services.
There's always a need for qualified foster families, he said. "It isn't for everybody and finding those special people who can do it and are willing to do it takes some searching."
The Rowes agreed early in their marriage they would become foster parents. "We want to make a difference in children's lives," Mrs. Rowe said. "We feel that it's a ministry," added Mr. Rowe. They have welcomed 14 foster children into their home over the past 18 years.
In Wood County, children are placed with one of four licensed foster families typically for six months to a year while working toward reunification with biological parents.
"[The foster families] go through pretty intensive training before they can be licensed and ongoing training after they're licensed," Ms. Wortman said. "A lot of the kids do have special needs. [The foster families] have access to our crisis services. We try to have contact with them weekly or biweekly."
Almost from the moment Mrs. Dauo walked into the Rowe home, she felt a sense of belonging.
"After I met them, I just really fell in love with their family. When I went there to stay with them it was really welcoming, even their own kids," Mrs. Dauo said.
The Rowes have three biological children. They adopted twoof their former foster children and are guardians for a special-needs former foster son, now 22, who has lived with them for 14 years.
No matter how long they stay, all of the children who have passed through their doors are considered family, Mrs. Rowe said.
"They teach us just as much as we teach them, if not more," Mr. Rowe said. "They become a part of your family."
It sounds idealistic, but the Rowes acknowledge it takes a lot of work and a lot of growing pains to foster, especially when new children with special needs are integrated into the family.
"It puts you a little bit on edge," Mrs. Rowe said. "You don't sleep very well the first few nights, being very concerned about them being up at night hurting themselves. We've had children who are suicidal."
She added: "It's also very exciting because you want so badly to make them feel comfortable and a part of your family."
Their first experience was with Jesse, an eight-year-old with severe behavioral issues, Mrs. Rowe said.
"His mother was schizophrenic and he had no father. He lived a very bizarre life... This was a case where the neglect wasn't willful. It was sad."
Jesse's presence put the Rowe family on alert since he had no sense of cause and effect, Mrs. Rowe said. One holiday her young son was running around the house with balloons inside his sweatpants. "Jesse picked up a butcher's knife and was trying to stab the balloons. He had no idea that he could kill him," Mrs. Rowe said.
A lot of love, behavior modification, and role modeling changed young Jesse's life. When he was 10, the Rowes adopted him. Jesse, now 26, lives in Australia. He and his wife are expecting their first child, Mrs. Rowe said.
Many of their stories from the 14 kids they've fostered are wonderful and inspiring. Most go on to lead productive lives, but some choose another path.
"People think all these kids need is love and you can turn this behavior around in maybe a month. It can take years. It requires so much perseverance," said Mrs. Rowe.
Their compassion and commitment left an indelible mark on Mrs. Dauo.
She, her husband, and their children are very much a part of the Rowes' lives. They see each other at church every Sunday, spend Easter together, and celebrate a late Christmas with each other. Her biological mother believes the Rowes were a "godsend," Mrs. Dauo said.
"I really got to see the dynamics of a whole family," she said.
Living in a house with so many other children, she also learned tolerance. "It forces you to deal with people who might be difficult or immature or more mature."
Today she looks to the Rowes for loving support. When her father died, Mr. Rowe was there to comfort her. "He held me and told me, 'I'm here for you, kiddo.' "
Looking back, Mrs. Dauo said she that wouldn't change the hardship she endured while growing up.
"It was really sad that I had to go through all that stuff to meet them and experience their family and their life," she said. "But at the same time, if I didn't go through all those things, I wouldn't have met them, so I'm really grateful for all the trauma I had to go through."
Njaim, Julie. Toledo Blade, May 3, 2007, pg. 6J.
BOWLING GREEN - A 10-month stay in a foster home dramatically changed Cassandra Dauo's life."My experience with them was so profound," said Mrs. Dauo, now 28. "They have been so instrumental in my life."
She was 17 and suffering from depression when she was removed from her broken home to live with Rick and Jan Rowe of Weston, who are foster parents through Children's Resource Center in Wood County. In less than a year Mrs. Dauo said she learned lifelong lessons about how families should be.
"I got to see a husband and wife [modeling] to me a very loving relationship."
Since 1989, about 40 children have been placed in foster homes through CRC, a mental health agency for Wood County children, teens, and families, said Karen Wortman, treatment foster care coordinator.
In Ohio, 5,118 children are living in foster homes, said Dennis Evans, spokesman for the state department of Job and Family Services.
There's always a need for qualified foster families, he said. "It isn't for everybody and finding those special people who can do it and are willing to do it takes some searching."
The Rowes agreed early in their marriage they would become foster parents. "We want to make a difference in children's lives," Mrs. Rowe said. "We feel that it's a ministry," added Mr. Rowe. They have welcomed 14 foster children into their home over the past 18 years.
In Wood County, children are placed with one of four licensed foster families typically for six months to a year while working toward reunification with biological parents.
"[The foster families] go through pretty intensive training before they can be licensed and ongoing training after they're licensed," Ms. Wortman said. "A lot of the kids do have special needs. [The foster families] have access to our crisis services. We try to have contact with them weekly or biweekly."
Almost from the moment Mrs. Dauo walked into the Rowe home, she felt a sense of belonging.
"After I met them, I just really fell in love with their family. When I went there to stay with them it was really welcoming, even their own kids," Mrs. Dauo said.
The Rowes have three biological children. They adopted twoof their former foster children and are guardians for a special-needs former foster son, now 22, who has lived with them for 14 years.
No matter how long they stay, all of the children who have passed through their doors are considered family, Mrs. Rowe said.
"They teach us just as much as we teach them, if not more," Mr. Rowe said. "They become a part of your family."
It sounds idealistic, but the Rowes acknowledge it takes a lot of work and a lot of growing pains to foster, especially when new children with special needs are integrated into the family.
"It puts you a little bit on edge," Mrs. Rowe said. "You don't sleep very well the first few nights, being very concerned about them being up at night hurting themselves. We've had children who are suicidal."
She added: "It's also very exciting because you want so badly to make them feel comfortable and a part of your family."
Their first experience was with Jesse, an eight-year-old with severe behavioral issues, Mrs. Rowe said.
"His mother was schizophrenic and he had no father. He lived a very bizarre life... This was a case where the neglect wasn't willful. It was sad."
Jesse's presence put the Rowe family on alert since he had no sense of cause and effect, Mrs. Rowe said. One holiday her young son was running around the house with balloons inside his sweatpants. "Jesse picked up a butcher's knife and was trying to stab the balloons. He had no idea that he could kill him," Mrs. Rowe said.
A lot of love, behavior modification, and role modeling changed young Jesse's life. When he was 10, the Rowes adopted him. Jesse, now 26, lives in Australia. He and his wife are expecting their first child, Mrs. Rowe said.
Many of their stories from the 14 kids they've fostered are wonderful and inspiring. Most go on to lead productive lives, but some choose another path.
"People think all these kids need is love and you can turn this behavior around in maybe a month. It can take years. It requires so much perseverance," said Mrs. Rowe.
Their compassion and commitment left an indelible mark on Mrs. Dauo.
She, her husband, and their children are very much a part of the Rowes' lives. They see each other at church every Sunday, spend Easter together, and celebrate a late Christmas with each other. Her biological mother believes the Rowes were a "godsend," Mrs. Dauo said.
"I really got to see the dynamics of a whole family," she said.
Living in a house with so many other children, she also learned tolerance. "It forces you to deal with people who might be difficult or immature or more mature."
Today she looks to the Rowes for loving support. When her father died, Mr. Rowe was there to comfort her. "He held me and told me, 'I'm here for you, kiddo.' "
Looking back, Mrs. Dauo said she that wouldn't change the hardship she endured while growing up.
"It was really sad that I had to go through all that stuff to meet them and experience their family and their life," she said. "But at the same time, if I didn't go through all those things, I wouldn't have met them, so I'm really grateful for all the trauma I had to go through."
Love Luggage and Project Linus
Blanket, luggage projects a perfect fit
Romaker, Janet. Toledo Blade, May 15, 2007, pg. B1.
An offhand remark by a local art teacher has created a warm-and-fuzzy connection between homemade blankets and hand-painted suitcases as part of a kids-helping-kids outreach effort.Recently in her classroom at Sylvania's Timberstone Junior High School, Jeanne Guerin was talking about a former student who lives in Charlotte.
Ms. Guerin, founder of Love Luggage, an award-winning program that donates decorated suitcases to needy children, said the student had organized a Charlotte Love Luggage project and had linked it with Project Linus, a national program that provides handmade blankets to needy children.
Jessica Liber, a University of Toledo student who has been spending time at Timberstone as part of her college studies, was listening to Ms. Guerin's comments about the two projects. It was one of those "meant-to-be" moments - Miss Liber's mother, Caryl Liber, is director of the Toledo-Lucas County chapter of Project Linus.
Telephone calls were made; "Wow, can you believe the coincidence?" comments were exchanged, and the two projects serving the Toledo area connected almost immediately.
"It just fits. It makes sense to do this," said Mrs. Liber in the Timberstone art room, where students paint hard-sided suitcases as part of the Love Luggage project.
Now, when the luggage is donated to agencies in northwest Ohio, handmade blankets from Project Linus will be tucked inside each one.
Toys, toiletries, and other donated items are put into the suitcases as well.
The luggage often replaces a plastic trash bag or a brown paper bag, which is all many of the children have to carry their few belongings.
Mrs. Liber, who has been a "foster mom," remembers the day when a foster child arrived at her front door carrying clothing and other personal items in a garbage bag.
Agencies typically distribute the suitcases to foster children, said Ms. Guerin, who noted that Love Luggage is active in 20 states and on three continents.
Local donations include 30 suitcases - with Project Linus blankets inside - to Hancock County Children Services, and several will be donated this week to Lucas County Children Services.
Julie Malkin, spokesman for Lucas County Children Services, said, "we really appreciate their generosity."
Since the Toledo-Lucas County chapter of Project Linus formed in November, 2005, it has donated 750 blankets to needy children. A volunteer, nonprofit organization, Project Linus' mission is to provide comfort to children who are seriously ill or otherwise in need through gifts of new, handmade blankets. The project also provides a rewarding service opportunity for those people who want to get involved to help children.
"Blanketeers" for Project Linus include fifth-grade students at Sylvania's Maplewood Elementary School.
With neat, tiny stitches and a creative flair, students piece together quilt squares.
Then, McCord Junior High School students sew the colorful squares into blankets of kindness.
"It's all about kids helping kids," said Mrs. Liber, who inspired students to get involved after she spoke to them about foster children in October. In the coming weeks, dozens of finished blankets will be presented to her by Sylvania students for distribution.
"Blankets make kids feel comfortable when they go into foster homes," said fifth-grade student Madeeha Lughmani. "I think it is really nice because we can do something for those in need."
Romaker, Janet. Toledo Blade, May 15, 2007, pg. B1.
An offhand remark by a local art teacher has created a warm-and-fuzzy connection between homemade blankets and hand-painted suitcases as part of a kids-helping-kids outreach effort.Recently in her classroom at Sylvania's Timberstone Junior High School, Jeanne Guerin was talking about a former student who lives in Charlotte.
Ms. Guerin, founder of Love Luggage, an award-winning program that donates decorated suitcases to needy children, said the student had organized a Charlotte Love Luggage project and had linked it with Project Linus, a national program that provides handmade blankets to needy children.
Jessica Liber, a University of Toledo student who has been spending time at Timberstone as part of her college studies, was listening to Ms. Guerin's comments about the two projects. It was one of those "meant-to-be" moments - Miss Liber's mother, Caryl Liber, is director of the Toledo-Lucas County chapter of Project Linus.
Telephone calls were made; "Wow, can you believe the coincidence?" comments were exchanged, and the two projects serving the Toledo area connected almost immediately.
"It just fits. It makes sense to do this," said Mrs. Liber in the Timberstone art room, where students paint hard-sided suitcases as part of the Love Luggage project.
Now, when the luggage is donated to agencies in northwest Ohio, handmade blankets from Project Linus will be tucked inside each one.
Toys, toiletries, and other donated items are put into the suitcases as well.
The luggage often replaces a plastic trash bag or a brown paper bag, which is all many of the children have to carry their few belongings.
Mrs. Liber, who has been a "foster mom," remembers the day when a foster child arrived at her front door carrying clothing and other personal items in a garbage bag.
Agencies typically distribute the suitcases to foster children, said Ms. Guerin, who noted that Love Luggage is active in 20 states and on three continents.
Local donations include 30 suitcases - with Project Linus blankets inside - to Hancock County Children Services, and several will be donated this week to Lucas County Children Services.
Julie Malkin, spokesman for Lucas County Children Services, said, "we really appreciate their generosity."
Since the Toledo-Lucas County chapter of Project Linus formed in November, 2005, it has donated 750 blankets to needy children. A volunteer, nonprofit organization, Project Linus' mission is to provide comfort to children who are seriously ill or otherwise in need through gifts of new, handmade blankets. The project also provides a rewarding service opportunity for those people who want to get involved to help children.
"Blanketeers" for Project Linus include fifth-grade students at Sylvania's Maplewood Elementary School.
With neat, tiny stitches and a creative flair, students piece together quilt squares.
Then, McCord Junior High School students sew the colorful squares into blankets of kindness.
"It's all about kids helping kids," said Mrs. Liber, who inspired students to get involved after she spoke to them about foster children in October. In the coming weeks, dozens of finished blankets will be presented to her by Sylvania students for distribution.
"Blankets make kids feel comfortable when they go into foster homes," said fifth-grade student Madeeha Lughmani. "I think it is really nice because we can do something for those in need."
Foster parents: You can change a lifetime
Children Services celebrates success
Phillips, Larry. Mansfield News Journal, May 18, 2007, pg. B1.
MANSFIELD -- May is National Foster Care Month and Richland County Children Services knows just how to celebrate it.
The local agency will host its annual Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner on Saturday at the Life Celebration Center, 129 S. Main St. in Mansfield.
"This year's theme (for National Foster Care Month) is 'You Can Change a Lifetime," said Greg Kahl, communications supervisor of Richland County Children Services. "(This dinner) is to honor the many families and individuals who choose to open their hearts and homes by fostering children in Richland County."
The local agency achieved national recognition in October, earning the 2006 Adoption Excellence Award from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The local agency was lauded for decreasing the length of time children in foster care wait for adoption by almost 20 percent over five years.
"The 2005 data supports the appropriateness of our strategies for securing adoptions for older children, African American children, and children in care for two years or longer," said Randy Parker, executive director of the local agency.
"(It also) caps a three-year span of being at the top or near the top of Ohio's major metro, metro and large non-metro public children service agencies."
Richland County Children Services was one of 13 recipients honored during a reception Nov. 28 in Arlington, Va. The agency was saluted for completing 52 percent of adoptions within 24 months of the child's entry into custody, well above the national standard of 32 percent and the state average of 31.1 percent.
Parker said there are 25,000 youngsters in Richland County and the agency provides some form of service to 1,000 of them. In addition, 73 children have been placed into the local Children Services system on a temporary basis, and 18 on a permanent basis.
All are residing in foster care. Still, there is a constant need for more foster parents.
"We can license people as foster parents or foster-to-adopt," Parker said. "It can be a six-month process to become licensed to be a foster parent."
At Saturday's dinner, featured speakers will include three members of the Overcoming Hurdles in Ohio Youth Advisory Board.
Kahl said the Mansfield Board of Realtors co-sponsored May's billboard campaign, "Open Your heart, Open Your Home." The board also donated 100 care bags filled with items for children that are taken into foster care.
WANT TO ADOPT?
For more information on local adoption: www.richlandcountychildrenservices.org
Or call Randy Parker at 419-774-4101.
MEET AND GREET
The RCCS Foster Parent Association will have a Meet And Greet at the Richland Carrousel Park Wednesday, May 23 from 4 to 6 p.m.
Free carousel rides and face painting will be available. Children Services staff and current foster parents will answer questions and provide information to prospective foster parents.
Phillips, Larry. Mansfield News Journal, May 18, 2007, pg. B1.
MANSFIELD -- May is National Foster Care Month and Richland County Children Services knows just how to celebrate it.
The local agency will host its annual Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner on Saturday at the Life Celebration Center, 129 S. Main St. in Mansfield.
"This year's theme (for National Foster Care Month) is 'You Can Change a Lifetime," said Greg Kahl, communications supervisor of Richland County Children Services. "(This dinner) is to honor the many families and individuals who choose to open their hearts and homes by fostering children in Richland County."
The local agency achieved national recognition in October, earning the 2006 Adoption Excellence Award from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The local agency was lauded for decreasing the length of time children in foster care wait for adoption by almost 20 percent over five years.
"The 2005 data supports the appropriateness of our strategies for securing adoptions for older children, African American children, and children in care for two years or longer," said Randy Parker, executive director of the local agency.
"(It also) caps a three-year span of being at the top or near the top of Ohio's major metro, metro and large non-metro public children service agencies."
Richland County Children Services was one of 13 recipients honored during a reception Nov. 28 in Arlington, Va. The agency was saluted for completing 52 percent of adoptions within 24 months of the child's entry into custody, well above the national standard of 32 percent and the state average of 31.1 percent.
Parker said there are 25,000 youngsters in Richland County and the agency provides some form of service to 1,000 of them. In addition, 73 children have been placed into the local Children Services system on a temporary basis, and 18 on a permanent basis.
All are residing in foster care. Still, there is a constant need for more foster parents.
"We can license people as foster parents or foster-to-adopt," Parker said. "It can be a six-month process to become licensed to be a foster parent."
At Saturday's dinner, featured speakers will include three members of the Overcoming Hurdles in Ohio Youth Advisory Board.
Kahl said the Mansfield Board of Realtors co-sponsored May's billboard campaign, "Open Your heart, Open Your Home." The board also donated 100 care bags filled with items for children that are taken into foster care.
WANT TO ADOPT?
For more information on local adoption: www.richlandcountychildrenservices.org
Or call Randy Parker at 419-774-4101.
MEET AND GREET
The RCCS Foster Parent Association will have a Meet And Greet at the Richland Carrousel Park Wednesday, May 23 from 4 to 6 p.m.
Free carousel rides and face painting will be available. Children Services staff and current foster parents will answer questions and provide information to prospective foster parents.
Successful foster parents share their stories of hope
Foster, adoptive parents thanked
Hamilton County invites new recruits
McGurk, Margaret. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 17, 2007, pg. B1.
Public servants aplenty showed up at Krohn Conservatory to salute Hamilton County foster families Wednesday.
As far as the kids were concerned, the only visitor that mattered was Reds mascot Gapper.
He hugged and high-fived and posed for pictures while county commissioners chatted with parents and social workers at "Butterflies and Blue Ribbons," an Eden Park event honoring foster and adoptive parents.
Among them was Jane Barnes of Colerain Township, who came with her 2-year-old adopted daughter, Carmen.
Her little girl was only 2 days old when she arrived at Barnes' home as a foster child. Barnes, who operates a medical transportation service for wheelchair users, said she was prepared for a child with physical or emotional scars to heal.
"I was very lucky to have Carmen, who is very healthy and has no history (of abuse)."
She is so pleased with her decision - as are her parents and her 23-year-old son - that she might do it again.
"Actually, I would like to adopt a second (child). Her brother is a little old to grow up with."
The Faulkner family of Hamilton has nine children now, a mix of relatives and adoptees who arrived as foster children.
Pat Faulkner said she was drawn to foster care, "because my childhood wasn't very pleasant. I have an understanding of what you need to do for children in the situation I grew up in."
Jim Mason, president and CEO of Beech Acres family services agency, took the podium to tell the foster and adoptive parents, "You are doing God's work. You are the saints."
He urged everyone in his audience to call a few friends and invite them to at least investigate fostering a child. "Tell your story of hope. Tell your story of making a difference in the life of a child."
The Faulkners said it is easy for them to find potential recruits. "People approach us all the time," said Pat.
Hamilton County invites new recruits
McGurk, Margaret. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 17, 2007, pg. B1.
Public servants aplenty showed up at Krohn Conservatory to salute Hamilton County foster families Wednesday.
As far as the kids were concerned, the only visitor that mattered was Reds mascot Gapper.
He hugged and high-fived and posed for pictures while county commissioners chatted with parents and social workers at "Butterflies and Blue Ribbons," an Eden Park event honoring foster and adoptive parents.
Among them was Jane Barnes of Colerain Township, who came with her 2-year-old adopted daughter, Carmen.
Her little girl was only 2 days old when she arrived at Barnes' home as a foster child. Barnes, who operates a medical transportation service for wheelchair users, said she was prepared for a child with physical or emotional scars to heal.
"I was very lucky to have Carmen, who is very healthy and has no history (of abuse)."
She is so pleased with her decision - as are her parents and her 23-year-old son - that she might do it again.
"Actually, I would like to adopt a second (child). Her brother is a little old to grow up with."
The Faulkner family of Hamilton has nine children now, a mix of relatives and adoptees who arrived as foster children.
Pat Faulkner said she was drawn to foster care, "because my childhood wasn't very pleasant. I have an understanding of what you need to do for children in the situation I grew up in."
Jim Mason, president and CEO of Beech Acres family services agency, took the podium to tell the foster and adoptive parents, "You are doing God's work. You are the saints."
He urged everyone in his audience to call a few friends and invite them to at least investigate fostering a child. "Tell your story of hope. Tell your story of making a difference in the life of a child."
The Faulkners said it is easy for them to find potential recruits. "People approach us all the time," said Pat.
Lifeway's lawyer accuses the state of manipulating the media and distorting facts
Ohio asks for ban on Lifeway business
Attorney general's request before court
McLaughlin, Sheila. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 16, pg. B1.
The company that placed 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel in a deadly foster home could be banned as soon as today from placing any more children in its Ohio foster homes.
The latest development in Lifeway For Youth Inc.'s fight to stay open comes after Attorney General Marc Dann filed suit Tuesday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. He asked for a court order to stop future placements and to have all of Lifeway's foster families transferred to other child care agencies.
"The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and the Attorney General's Office believe children placed by this agency are at imminent risk because they do not have appropriate assurances to believe these children are safe," Dann's spokeswoman Michelle Gatchell said Tuesday.
A hearing is scheduled at 1:30 p.m. today before Judge Richard Sheward.
The lawsuit came after Lifeway failed to submit a second corrective action plan to describe how it would fix 55 violations that state inspectors found during an investigation into Marcus' August death in foster care, said Kelley Haddox, senior assistant attorney general.
Lifeway's first plan did not meet state requirements, she said.
Lifeway, with Butler County Children Services' approval, placed Marcus in the Clermont County home of Liz and David Carroll Jr. The developmentally delayed boy died after he was bound in a blanket and left in a closet for two days while the Carrolls went to a family reunion in Kentucky. The Carrolls are serving life in prison after being convicted of the child's murder.
Dann doesn't want children to be removed from their current Lifeway homes, Haddox said. That issue can be resolved by sending Lifeway's foster families to work for other agencies, she said.
The attorney general's suit comes a month after Lifeway sued the Ohio Job and Family Services Department for $1 million in the Ohio Court of Claims, saying the agency libeled Lifeway and waged a campaign to put the company out of business even before it had completed investigating Marcus' death.
Since August, several counties across the state have quit doing new business with Lifeway. The number of foster children in its care has been cut nearly in half to 360, Lifeway officials said. In addition, nearly half of Lifeway's staff has left because of the company's uncertain future.
Hearings are scheduled next month for Lifeway to challenge the state's recommendation to take away the company's license in Ohio. Lifeway, which collects about $15 million a year in revenue, operates foster care agencies in six states, including Kentucky and Indiana.
"This is extremely heavy-handed and pretty consistent with the way they have, in essence, manipulated the media to think poorly of Lifeway when they are not giving you all the facts," said Melissa Mitchell, Lifeway's attorney.
Attorney general's request before court
McLaughlin, Sheila. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 16, pg. B1.
The company that placed 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel in a deadly foster home could be banned as soon as today from placing any more children in its Ohio foster homes.
The latest development in Lifeway For Youth Inc.'s fight to stay open comes after Attorney General Marc Dann filed suit Tuesday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. He asked for a court order to stop future placements and to have all of Lifeway's foster families transferred to other child care agencies.
"The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and the Attorney General's Office believe children placed by this agency are at imminent risk because they do not have appropriate assurances to believe these children are safe," Dann's spokeswoman Michelle Gatchell said Tuesday.
A hearing is scheduled at 1:30 p.m. today before Judge Richard Sheward.
The lawsuit came after Lifeway failed to submit a second corrective action plan to describe how it would fix 55 violations that state inspectors found during an investigation into Marcus' August death in foster care, said Kelley Haddox, senior assistant attorney general.
Lifeway's first plan did not meet state requirements, she said.
Lifeway, with Butler County Children Services' approval, placed Marcus in the Clermont County home of Liz and David Carroll Jr. The developmentally delayed boy died after he was bound in a blanket and left in a closet for two days while the Carrolls went to a family reunion in Kentucky. The Carrolls are serving life in prison after being convicted of the child's murder.
Dann doesn't want children to be removed from their current Lifeway homes, Haddox said. That issue can be resolved by sending Lifeway's foster families to work for other agencies, she said.
The attorney general's suit comes a month after Lifeway sued the Ohio Job and Family Services Department for $1 million in the Ohio Court of Claims, saying the agency libeled Lifeway and waged a campaign to put the company out of business even before it had completed investigating Marcus' death.
Since August, several counties across the state have quit doing new business with Lifeway. The number of foster children in its care has been cut nearly in half to 360, Lifeway officials said. In addition, nearly half of Lifeway's staff has left because of the company's uncertain future.
Hearings are scheduled next month for Lifeway to challenge the state's recommendation to take away the company's license in Ohio. Lifeway, which collects about $15 million a year in revenue, operates foster care agencies in six states, including Kentucky and Indiana.
"This is extremely heavy-handed and pretty consistent with the way they have, in essence, manipulated the media to think poorly of Lifeway when they are not giving you all the facts," said Melissa Mitchell, Lifeway's attorney.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Marc Dann says: Lifeway is going down!
Lifeway under fire
Dann sues to close foster agency
Cadwallader, Bruce. Columbus Dispatch, May 17, 2007, pg. B3.
The state attorney general has gone to court to shut down an agency entrusted with the care of nearly 400 foster children in Ohio.
Marc Dann says in a lawsuit that one child was murdered and two boys reported being raped by foster parents affiliated with Lifeway for Youth Inc., based in New Carlisle in Clark County.
The agency has violated state laws and rules of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, and the children in its care can't be assured of safety, the suit says.
Yesterday, Dann's office tried to obtain an emergency order to remove all children from the care of the agency and the foster parents affiliated with it.
A state law that took effect in September gives common pleas judges authority to take emergency action when children are at "imminent risk," lawyers for Dann told Judge Richard S. Sheward in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
Assistant Attorney General Jesse Cantrell said inspectors with Job and Family Services have substantiated six complaints of substandard care or criminal behavior involving Lifeway foster parents. The agency also has 55 violations involving lack of criminal background checks, fire inspections of foster homes and other rules, Cantrell said.
The state has been trying to revoke the agency's foster-care license for six months, but Dann says the process isn't moving quickly enough, the lawyers said.
Lisa P. Reisz, an attorney for Lifeway, said yesterday, "This has been going on for five or six months, so I'm not sure how you get to imminent risk."
A hearing with the state department is set for June 4.
Sheward agreed.
"I do not feel comfortable finding that children are in imminent risk by equating risk with administrative deficiencies, which have not been proven," he said. He set a hearing for next Thursday.
Franklin County Children Services stopped referring children to Lifeway in December, a spokeswoman said. Lifeway, which employs 70 people and has been licensed to provide foster care in Ohio since 1994, has an office in Hilliard.
The lawsuit and request for a court order are "a result of Lifeway's continuing refusal to comply with state law," Dann said in a statement. "Children placed by this agency are at imminent risk because (state inspectors) do not have appropriate assurances to believe these children are safe."
About 10,000 children are in foster care statewide; nearly half of their cases are managed by private agencies. Ohio legislators are trying to strengthen background checks of foster parents.
Lifeway came under fire last summer when a 3-year-old developmentally handicapped boy in its care died after his foster parents, Liz and David Carroll Jr. of Clermont County, bound him, left him in a closet and went to a family reunion for the weekend.
Both parents were convicted of murder and other charges in the death of Marcus Fiesel. Lifeway was accused of failing to monitor the Carrolls.
In another Clermont County case, two boys were reportedly raped by a foster father in October. That case is pending.
Dann sues to close foster agency
Cadwallader, Bruce. Columbus Dispatch, May 17, 2007, pg. B3.
The state attorney general has gone to court to shut down an agency entrusted with the care of nearly 400 foster children in Ohio.
Marc Dann says in a lawsuit that one child was murdered and two boys reported being raped by foster parents affiliated with Lifeway for Youth Inc., based in New Carlisle in Clark County.
The agency has violated state laws and rules of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, and the children in its care can't be assured of safety, the suit says.
Yesterday, Dann's office tried to obtain an emergency order to remove all children from the care of the agency and the foster parents affiliated with it.
A state law that took effect in September gives common pleas judges authority to take emergency action when children are at "imminent risk," lawyers for Dann told Judge Richard S. Sheward in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
Assistant Attorney General Jesse Cantrell said inspectors with Job and Family Services have substantiated six complaints of substandard care or criminal behavior involving Lifeway foster parents. The agency also has 55 violations involving lack of criminal background checks, fire inspections of foster homes and other rules, Cantrell said.
The state has been trying to revoke the agency's foster-care license for six months, but Dann says the process isn't moving quickly enough, the lawyers said.
Lisa P. Reisz, an attorney for Lifeway, said yesterday, "This has been going on for five or six months, so I'm not sure how you get to imminent risk."
A hearing with the state department is set for June 4.
Sheward agreed.
"I do not feel comfortable finding that children are in imminent risk by equating risk with administrative deficiencies, which have not been proven," he said. He set a hearing for next Thursday.
Franklin County Children Services stopped referring children to Lifeway in December, a spokeswoman said. Lifeway, which employs 70 people and has been licensed to provide foster care in Ohio since 1994, has an office in Hilliard.
The lawsuit and request for a court order are "a result of Lifeway's continuing refusal to comply with state law," Dann said in a statement. "Children placed by this agency are at imminent risk because (state inspectors) do not have appropriate assurances to believe these children are safe."
About 10,000 children are in foster care statewide; nearly half of their cases are managed by private agencies. Ohio legislators are trying to strengthen background checks of foster parents.
Lifeway came under fire last summer when a 3-year-old developmentally handicapped boy in its care died after his foster parents, Liz and David Carroll Jr. of Clermont County, bound him, left him in a closet and went to a family reunion for the weekend.
Both parents were convicted of murder and other charges in the death of Marcus Fiesel. Lifeway was accused of failing to monitor the Carrolls.
In another Clermont County case, two boys were reportedly raped by a foster father in October. That case is pending.
Dispatch opposes foster parent secrecy
Editorial: No secret caretakers
Identities of foster parents should remain on records open to public scrutiny
Columbus Dispatch, May 17, 2007, pg. A8.
Otherwise laudable legislation aimed at improving the foster care of abused and neglected children in Ohio is marred by a provision that would undermine the intent of the law.
Bills in the House and Senate mandate FBI-level background checks for prospective foster parents and increase coordination among child-welfare agencies, both steps that reduce the risk of putting children in danger. But the measures would take away an important safety check by hiding the names of foster parents from the public.
Proponents of making the names secret claim this is necessary to avoid discouraging potential foster parents and to protect them and the children from biological parents angry about the placement.
But the benefits of publicly identifying potential foster parents far outweigh any drawbacks. Most important, it allows anyone who knows some reason that a person would be unfit as a foster parent to come forward with that information.
Counties rely on many private agencies to screen candidates for foster parenting. The best way to hold those agencies accountable for that critically important task is to put the results before the public.
The plan for secrecy probably was inserted into the legislation as a reaction to The Cincinnati Enquirer's request for the names and addresses of every Ohio foster parent.
The state refused the request in October, and the newspaper has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to hear arguments on whether the names should be public.
Those opposed to public accountability hope to make the issue go away by enshrining the refusal in state law.
But lawmakers who understand the importance of public oversight, especially of something as important as caring for children in need, should work to remove this provision.
Other measures within the bills could improve substantially agencies' ability to spot potential problems. Now, authorities have little means of knowing whether foster parents with previously clean records have committed crimes that should disqualify them. The bills would create a database of foster parents' fingerprints so that if a foster parent is arrested for any of a designated list of offenses, state and county agencies would be notified automatically.
More-extensive background checks also are mandated, as is more training for foster parents. A pilot program would be launched in 10 counties to match the needs of foster children with the capabilities of the people who might care for them.
Legislators should enact the valuable safeguards without cutting public scrutiny of foster parents out of the picture.
Identities of foster parents should remain on records open to public scrutiny
Columbus Dispatch, May 17, 2007, pg. A8.
Otherwise laudable legislation aimed at improving the foster care of abused and neglected children in Ohio is marred by a provision that would undermine the intent of the law.
Bills in the House and Senate mandate FBI-level background checks for prospective foster parents and increase coordination among child-welfare agencies, both steps that reduce the risk of putting children in danger. But the measures would take away an important safety check by hiding the names of foster parents from the public.
Proponents of making the names secret claim this is necessary to avoid discouraging potential foster parents and to protect them and the children from biological parents angry about the placement.
But the benefits of publicly identifying potential foster parents far outweigh any drawbacks. Most important, it allows anyone who knows some reason that a person would be unfit as a foster parent to come forward with that information.
Counties rely on many private agencies to screen candidates for foster parenting. The best way to hold those agencies accountable for that critically important task is to put the results before the public.
The plan for secrecy probably was inserted into the legislation as a reaction to The Cincinnati Enquirer's request for the names and addresses of every Ohio foster parent.
The state refused the request in October, and the newspaper has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to hear arguments on whether the names should be public.
Those opposed to public accountability hope to make the issue go away by enshrining the refusal in state law.
But lawmakers who understand the importance of public oversight, especially of something as important as caring for children in need, should work to remove this provision.
Other measures within the bills could improve substantially agencies' ability to spot potential problems. Now, authorities have little means of knowing whether foster parents with previously clean records have committed crimes that should disqualify them. The bills would create a database of foster parents' fingerprints so that if a foster parent is arrested for any of a designated list of offenses, state and county agencies would be notified automatically.
More-extensive background checks also are mandated, as is more training for foster parents. A pilot program would be launched in 10 counties to match the needs of foster children with the capabilities of the people who might care for them.
Legislators should enact the valuable safeguards without cutting public scrutiny of foster parents out of the picture.
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