Children need to be protected - first and foremost

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.