Tuscarawas County needs more foster parents

Wanted: Temporary lodging in caring homes Brown, Renee. New Philadelphia Times Reporter, Feb. 10, 2008.

As the number of children being removed from their homes due to abuse and neglect continues to rise, so does the need for foster and adoptive homes.

Social workers at the Tuscarawas County Department of Job & Family Services are always on the lookout for caring, qualified adults to become foster and/or adoptive parents. Regular family foster homes and therapeutic foster homes, for children with more needs. are constantly are being sought.

"Fifteen years ago, the agency had two dozen children in foster care at a time," said Lisa Wodkowski, case management supervisor. These days, that number is almost always more than 100 and hit 150 last year.

In January 2002, 51 children were in foster care. In 2004, the average number of children in foster care per month was 106. That number climbed to 145 per month in 2006 and dropped slightly to 136 per month in 2007. Last year, January had the lowest number at 127, compared with 151 in April.

As a result of the lack of enough foster homes in the county, the majority of youngsters in care either in the temporary or permanent custody of the agency are placed in treatment foster homes out of county and far away, said agency attorney David Haverfield.

In 2007, about 20 regular family foster homes were utilized along with three treatment foster homes and about a dozen residential group homes in the county. The rest of the children were placed out of the county, creating a major cost to county taxpayers.

Haverfield said family foster care homes receive $24 per day to care for children without behavioral problems. Therapeutic foster homes receive up to $80 per day and residential placements for very ill children can cost $300 per day.

A foster home usually is the second option for social workers. When a child is removed from his or her home, social workers try to find a suitable kinship placement.

The list of benefits to the child who is brought into a safe and loving home is nearly endless. However, there is one aspect of fostering that many potential parents struggle with.

"The biggest challenge of a foster parent is to care for children and then see them leave," said Gayle Hahn, placement services supervisor. "The foster family has to be willing to work with the birth family to encourage reunification. And for that reason, not everyone can be a foster parent. Most children go home."

The agency requires all parents to be certified both in foster care and as potential adoptive parents and 33 hours of training must be completed. When the birth parents' parental rights are severed permanently, the foster family has first opportunity to adopt. As a result, the agency sees a lot of foster homes come and go.

"A lot of kids we get are adopted by the foster parent and many stop because they are filled up,"Haverfield said. "But we have a lot who come back and take more foster placements."

Potential foster/adoptive parents also are told to look elsewhere if they are interested only in taking infants. Foster parents also must be willing to accept a child at any time of the day or night.

"Our goal is one placement at the emergency stage until the end of the case," Haverfield said. "It is a tough adjustment. It's like the kid going to a strange country."

The screening process to become a foster/adoptive parent includes a criminal background check. Applicants also are checked through the state's abuse/neglect registry. As a result, the local agency has not had any problems with criminals becoming foster parents.

According to the federal government, a child can stay in the agency's temporary custody foster care for up to one year. At the end of one year, the agency must decide whether to return the child to the home or ask the courts for permanent custody. If permanent custody is granted, the parents lose all parental rights and the child becomes the ward of the agency, paving the way for adoption.

Last year, 30 children were adopted; one-third of those were children age 4 and younger. That number was down from the 37 adopted in 2006. It is worth noting that generally, 75 percent of foster children are adopted by their foster families. Extra effort is taken in the placement of older children as most adoption inquiries are made about children younger than 7.

There are no religious affiliation requirements to be an adoptive parent. A potential adoptive parent must be at least 21 years old. Single people can become foster parents but the person's marital status must not have changed within the year prior to application.

The agency makes every attempt at keeping sibling groups together. Last year, five sibling groups of two, one sibling group of three and one sibling group of four were adopted.

Anyone interested in becoming a foster and/or adoptive parent is asked to contact the Tuscarawas County Department of Job and Family Services at (330) 339-7791 or 1 (800) 431-2347 or by visiting http://web.tusco.net/tcjfs