TEEN SURVEY PINPOINTS KEY TO SAFETY: A TRUSTED ADULT Fairfield County questions its high-school sophomores and seniors on drugs, sex, suicide
Thursday, August 17, 2006 NEWS 04B
By Mary Beth Lane THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Having one trusted adult in a household is the biggest single factor in whether Fairfield County teenagers are well adjusted or engage in risky behavior such as drug abuse.
That's the chief conclusion by analyst Richard Hunter, who pored over the results of a survey completed in the spring by 2,514 sophomores and seniors from among the county's eight school districts.
The survey results were released yesterday at the county's second "youth behavior summit," attended by about 100 local professionals in education, law enforcement, and drug and mental-health counseling.
The survey followed up on one done in 2004.
The idea is to show a snapshot of the county's teenagers and their risky behaviors to help parents and professionals develop strategies, including education and prevention programs.
Forty-eight percent of the sophomores and seniors surveyed fell in the no-risk group. That group was largely female and had both biological parents present, high academic achievement and high involvement in community activities.
The rest fell into a series of risk groups, such as weekend partygoers who drink and have sex while maintaining high grades and students who abuse drugs, think about suicide and have poor grades.
The presence of both biological parents helps contribute to teenagers avoiding risky behavior.
But what influenced youth the most is having one adults -- a married or single parent, other relative or foster parent -- who established rules and discussed behavior with the kids.
That person "is judged to be of greater importance in reducing the possibility of adopting high-risk behaviors," Hunter said.
Hunter, a market researcher from St. Louis, analyzed the survey results under a $2,500 contract with the county's Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services board.
Among the students surveyed, 11 percent of seniors and nearly 14 percent of sophomores reported having suicidal thoughts in the past month.
About 9 percent of both seniors and sophomores reported attempting suicide at some point in their lives.
Nearly 70 percent of the seniors, males and females, have engaged in sexual activity including oral sex and intercourse, beginning at the average age of 15 years, 3 months.
Fourteen percent of seniors reported smoking marijuana in the past 30 days, and many parents underestimate the danger, said Orman Hall, director of the ADAMH board.
"It is 15 times more potent than it was in the early '70s," he said.
The critically acclaimed television show Weeds, about a pot-selling mother, glamorizes marijuana and "is the kind of trash that teenagers see," said county Sheriff Dave Phalen, the summit's closing speaker.
"Is it any wonder that we have problems?" he said.
Results of the Fairfield County Youth Behavior Survey are posted at www.fair-mh.org/Reports/SystemReports/2006_youth_survey.htm
mlane@dispatch.com
Friday, August 18, 2006
Missing three-year-old foster child
CINCINNATI OFFICIALS LOOKING FOR BOY, 3
Thursday, August 17, 2006 NEWS 08B
Associated Press
Authorities and volunteers searched yesterday for a developmentally disabled 3-year-old who wandered away from his foster mother after she passed out a day earlier in a suburban park.
Officials said yesterday afternoon that they would stop their search of the park at 8 p.m. but would remain there through the night.
Marcus Fiesel was last seen about 1:15 p.m. Tuesday in Juilfs Park in Anderson Township just east of the city, Hamilton County authorities said. His foster mother collapsed because of a heart condition, authorities said.
Volunteers and relatives resumed searching at 7 a.m. yesterday, after a full search was suspended at 2 a.m. Patrols continued through the night, but authorities said they had no leads.
"The more time that expires with a child 3 years old -- is he eating? Is he drinking? Has he been hurt? We don't know that at this point. So, the level of concern is going up drastically with each hour," said Steve Barnett, a spokesman for the Hamilton County sheriff's office.
Barnett said it was unusual for searchers to go so many hours without a sighting.
"At this point, it is a mystery," he said.
Authorities think the foster mother, Liz Carroll, 30, of Union Township, was unconscious for about 10 minutes. When she came to, three toddlers were nearby, but Carroll told people trying to help her that she had four children.
The other children -- her 2-year-old son, Bryce; 1-year-old foster child Bradley; and 1-year-old Kelly, whom Carroll was baby-sitting -- were safe.
Carroll's husband, David, said Marcus has the mental ability of a child 12 to 18 months old. Marcus joined the family about four months ago and has a history of wandering off, David Carroll said. Marcus has left the homes of his biological parents and other foster parents in the middle of the night.
Thursday, August 17, 2006 NEWS 08B
Associated Press
Authorities and volunteers searched yesterday for a developmentally disabled 3-year-old who wandered away from his foster mother after she passed out a day earlier in a suburban park.
Officials said yesterday afternoon that they would stop their search of the park at 8 p.m. but would remain there through the night.
Marcus Fiesel was last seen about 1:15 p.m. Tuesday in Juilfs Park in Anderson Township just east of the city, Hamilton County authorities said. His foster mother collapsed because of a heart condition, authorities said.
Volunteers and relatives resumed searching at 7 a.m. yesterday, after a full search was suspended at 2 a.m. Patrols continued through the night, but authorities said they had no leads.
"The more time that expires with a child 3 years old -- is he eating? Is he drinking? Has he been hurt? We don't know that at this point. So, the level of concern is going up drastically with each hour," said Steve Barnett, a spokesman for the Hamilton County sheriff's office.
Barnett said it was unusual for searchers to go so many hours without a sighting.
"At this point, it is a mystery," he said.
Authorities think the foster mother, Liz Carroll, 30, of Union Township, was unconscious for about 10 minutes. When she came to, three toddlers were nearby, but Carroll told people trying to help her that she had four children.
The other children -- her 2-year-old son, Bryce; 1-year-old foster child Bradley; and 1-year-old Kelly, whom Carroll was baby-sitting -- were safe.
Carroll's husband, David, said Marcus has the mental ability of a child 12 to 18 months old. Marcus joined the family about four months ago and has a history of wandering off, David Carroll said. Marcus has left the homes of his biological parents and other foster parents in the middle of the night.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Another article about Family to Family in Cuyahoga County
Fixing families Cuyahoga County program aimed at saving children while also saving their parents is well worth the effort
The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH, August 12, 2006
Repairing and reuniting troubled families whose children are in foster care has gotten a bad rap over the years. That's more than understandable when kids occasionally end up injured or dead after being returned to their parents. But keeping families together deserves respect when it's done right, and when abusive or neglectful parents truly mend their ways.
By many accounts, Cuyahoga County's 14-year-old Family to Family program, created by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has had success in reducing the number of children in foster care - which soared in the 1990s after a spate of child deaths at the hands of parents.
Thanks to the program's emphasis on helping families and the county's interest in making foster care the last resort, not the first, fewer youngsters are in the county's care. Of those who are, most remain in Ohio, instead of in out-of-state homes, and more are in the care of relatives or foster parents, rather than institutions.
Don't underestimate how hard it is to make programs like Family to Family work. They require lots of collaboration between the county and a variety of agencies, as well as a willingness among hostile parents and the county to find common ground on behalf of children.
In addition, these programs are easy to dump when disaster strikes and there is a child death. Fortunately, Jim McCafferty, the even-keeled director of Children & Family Services, has done no such thing.Instead, he has kept working on the program, making Cuyahoga County a national model.
The program's first priority is the well-being of children. It keeps foster children as close to their biological families as prudence allows, so that the parent-child bond can remain as strong as possible.
And instead of banishing abusive or neglectful parents, which many would be tempted to do, Family to Family connects parents with agencies in their neighborhoods that can tackle drug, alcohol or mental problems.
Its most difficult task is to reach out to everyone involved when a child's fate hangs in the balance. The department tries to make sure that the parents and the child are at the table with their supporters, listening to everything the agency has to say.
McCafferty says, wisely, that Family to Family is no panacea. The department still will have child injuries and deaths. It will still have budget problems.
And, although he left this clear truth unstated, it can't save all parents. Some may be too overwhelmed or too ill-prepared ever to handle the responsibilities of child-rearing.
The county shouldn't hesitate to make sure their children are removed and their parental rights severed, if need be.
But when parents show that they are willing to change their lives and do what's right by their children, the county should meet them halfway. It's important that programs like Family to Family exist to give them that chance.
The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH, August 12, 2006
Repairing and reuniting troubled families whose children are in foster care has gotten a bad rap over the years. That's more than understandable when kids occasionally end up injured or dead after being returned to their parents. But keeping families together deserves respect when it's done right, and when abusive or neglectful parents truly mend their ways.
By many accounts, Cuyahoga County's 14-year-old Family to Family program, created by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has had success in reducing the number of children in foster care - which soared in the 1990s after a spate of child deaths at the hands of parents.
Thanks to the program's emphasis on helping families and the county's interest in making foster care the last resort, not the first, fewer youngsters are in the county's care. Of those who are, most remain in Ohio, instead of in out-of-state homes, and more are in the care of relatives or foster parents, rather than institutions.
Don't underestimate how hard it is to make programs like Family to Family work. They require lots of collaboration between the county and a variety of agencies, as well as a willingness among hostile parents and the county to find common ground on behalf of children.
In addition, these programs are easy to dump when disaster strikes and there is a child death. Fortunately, Jim McCafferty, the even-keeled director of Children & Family Services, has done no such thing.Instead, he has kept working on the program, making Cuyahoga County a national model.
The program's first priority is the well-being of children. It keeps foster children as close to their biological families as prudence allows, so that the parent-child bond can remain as strong as possible.
And instead of banishing abusive or neglectful parents, which many would be tempted to do, Family to Family connects parents with agencies in their neighborhoods that can tackle drug, alcohol or mental problems.
Its most difficult task is to reach out to everyone involved when a child's fate hangs in the balance. The department tries to make sure that the parents and the child are at the table with their supporters, listening to everything the agency has to say.
McCafferty says, wisely, that Family to Family is no panacea. The department still will have child injuries and deaths. It will still have budget problems.
And, although he left this clear truth unstated, it can't save all parents. Some may be too overwhelmed or too ill-prepared ever to handle the responsibilities of child-rearing.
The county shouldn't hesitate to make sure their children are removed and their parental rights severed, if need be.
But when parents show that they are willing to change their lives and do what's right by their children, the county should meet them halfway. It's important that programs like Family to Family exist to give them that chance.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Editorial in favor of new visitation center
EDITORIAL : REBUILDING FAMILIES
New center for supervised visits would help Children Services clients
Monday, August 7, 2006
EDITORIAL & COMMENT 08A
Visiting with one's child in a governmental institution, under the watchful eye of someone who has the power to keep parent and child separated, isn't conducive to quality family time.
But the circumstances that surround families in crisis, in which children have been neglected and hurt, don't allow for natural parenting. Because some cases require supervision and control, Franklin County Children Services' plan to build a visitation center is worthwhile.
The $3 million, 15,000-square-foot center, planned for Franklinton, would be a boon to families and the agency that works to reunite troubled parents and children.
In many cases in which problems are less severe, parents who have temporarily lost custody of their children are allowed supervised visits in their homes or in those of relatives, in churches or public settings such as parks.
In the most worrisome cases, however, visits take place at various Children Services offices around the county. These spaces can be institutional, with few comforts for children and parents.
This can make for tense parents and anxious children. Caseworkers might find it hard to get a fair understanding of whether parenting skills are improving.
Along with providing more natural, homelike settings for visits, the center would allow the agency to provide parenting classes, events for children and other programs more efficiently.
Children Services would be wise to heed the caution offered by agency board President Kent Markus. He said employees should avoid the temptation to use the center for visits in cases where conditions have improved enough to allow the visit in a less-institutional setting, such as a family member's home or a public place.
But for cases in which only a controlled situation will do, Children Services' new space would be an improvement over current facilities.
New center for supervised visits would help Children Services clients
Monday, August 7, 2006
EDITORIAL & COMMENT 08A
Visiting with one's child in a governmental institution, under the watchful eye of someone who has the power to keep parent and child separated, isn't conducive to quality family time.
But the circumstances that surround families in crisis, in which children have been neglected and hurt, don't allow for natural parenting. Because some cases require supervision and control, Franklin County Children Services' plan to build a visitation center is worthwhile.
The $3 million, 15,000-square-foot center, planned for Franklinton, would be a boon to families and the agency that works to reunite troubled parents and children.
In many cases in which problems are less severe, parents who have temporarily lost custody of their children are allowed supervised visits in their homes or in those of relatives, in churches or public settings such as parks.
In the most worrisome cases, however, visits take place at various Children Services offices around the county. These spaces can be institutional, with few comforts for children and parents.
This can make for tense parents and anxious children. Caseworkers might find it hard to get a fair understanding of whether parenting skills are improving.
Along with providing more natural, homelike settings for visits, the center would allow the agency to provide parenting classes, events for children and other programs more efficiently.
Children Services would be wise to heed the caution offered by agency board President Kent Markus. He said employees should avoid the temptation to use the center for visits in cases where conditions have improved enough to allow the visit in a less-institutional setting, such as a family member's home or a public place.
But for cases in which only a controlled situation will do, Children Services' new space would be an improvement over current facilities.
63 counts of abuse for Marysville couple
COUPLE INDICTED ON 63 COUNTS OF ABUSE
5 adopted children were mistreated for years, charges say
Thursday, August 10, 2006
NEWS 01B
By Randy Ludlow
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
A 63-count indictment charges a former Marysville couple with repeatedly abusing their five adopted children.
James E. Ferguson, 46, and Vonda L. Ferguson, 43, were indicted by a Union County grand jury that charged a "continuing course of criminal conduct" involving the children.
The indictment says the children, now ages 6 to 16, were abused for more than four years in Marysville and Springfield, where the Fergusons now live.
Some of the charges returned Friday accuse the couple of injuring the children while torturing, cruelly abusing and confining them beginning in July 2000.
The three boys and two girls were removed from the Fergusons' custody in November 2004, after authorities received a complaint that the children were being abused.
Mr. Ferguson is charged with 20 counts of child endangering, five of permitting child abuse and five of felonious assault.
Mrs. Ferguson is charged with 20 counts of child endangering, five of permitting child abuse, six of felonious assault and two of rape.
They declined comment when reached at their home yesterday. In a written statement, Kerry Donahue, a Dublin lawyer representing Mr. Ferguson, said his client will plead not guilty and ultimately will be cleared of the charges.
Gregory Lind, a Springfield lawyer representing Mrs. Ferguson, could not be reached for comment.
The Fergusons were issued a summons to appear for arraignment Tuesday before Union County Common Pleas Judge Richard Parrott.
The couple voluntarily relinquished their parental rights to the children a year ago, officials said.
Spokesmen for the sheriff's office and Union County Children Services would not provide details. Prosecutor David Phillips also refused to discuss specifics of the case.
WBNS-TV (Channel 10) reporter James Black contributed to this story.
rludlow@dispatch.com
5 adopted children were mistreated for years, charges say
Thursday, August 10, 2006
NEWS 01B
By Randy Ludlow
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
A 63-count indictment charges a former Marysville couple with repeatedly abusing their five adopted children.
James E. Ferguson, 46, and Vonda L. Ferguson, 43, were indicted by a Union County grand jury that charged a "continuing course of criminal conduct" involving the children.
The indictment says the children, now ages 6 to 16, were abused for more than four years in Marysville and Springfield, where the Fergusons now live.
Some of the charges returned Friday accuse the couple of injuring the children while torturing, cruelly abusing and confining them beginning in July 2000.
The three boys and two girls were removed from the Fergusons' custody in November 2004, after authorities received a complaint that the children were being abused.
Mr. Ferguson is charged with 20 counts of child endangering, five of permitting child abuse and five of felonious assault.
Mrs. Ferguson is charged with 20 counts of child endangering, five of permitting child abuse, six of felonious assault and two of rape.
They declined comment when reached at their home yesterday. In a written statement, Kerry Donahue, a Dublin lawyer representing Mr. Ferguson, said his client will plead not guilty and ultimately will be cleared of the charges.
Gregory Lind, a Springfield lawyer representing Mrs. Ferguson, could not be reached for comment.
The Fergusons were issued a summons to appear for arraignment Tuesday before Union County Common Pleas Judge Richard Parrott.
The couple voluntarily relinquished their parental rights to the children a year ago, officials said.
Spokesmen for the sheriff's office and Union County Children Services would not provide details. Prosecutor David Phillips also refused to discuss specifics of the case.
WBNS-TV (Channel 10) reporter James Black contributed to this story.
rludlow@dispatch.com
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Cincinnati levy coming up in November 2006
Hamilton Co. levies might shrink
Kimball Perry Enquirer staff writer, Cincinnati Enquirer, August 8, 2006.
Panel recommends cuts for children's services, poor health care
Hamilton County taxpayers could pay $7.7 million a year less than they now pay for two countywide property taxes to fund services for children and health care for the poor.
But for the owner of a $100,000 house, those millions would translate only into a drop of about $3.38 a year in property taxes.
Commissioners received recommendations Monday to place two five-year levies - for children's services and indigent health care - on the fall ballot.
The recommendations came from a commissioner-appointed committee.
At the Nov. 7 election, voters would determine the fate of the:
Children's Services levy, funds care for abused and neglected children and those needing adoptive or foster families.
Now: Generates $41,554,224 a year for five years, costing the owner of a $100,000 house $53.68.
Recommended: $43,354,224 a year for five years, costing the owner of a $100,000 house $58.40.
That $1.8 million-a-year increase isn't really an overall increase. It would pay for services to handicapped children now paid for out of the Indigent Health Care levy.
Hamilton County is battling with the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services over how it spends money from this levy. That fight already has resulted in Hamilton County forfeiting about $20 million in state funds. An audit has suggested more than $100 million spent by Hamilton County might have to be repaid.
Indigent Health Care levy, pays for health care for the poor.
-Now: Generates $55,095,431 a year for five years, costing the owner of a $100,000 house $61.44.
- Recommended: $45.6 million a year for five years, costing the owner of a $100,000 house $53.34.
This levy effectively is broken into two parts: One provides money to University and Children's hospitals, the other provides money for health care to inmates, and alcohol and substance-abuse services for the poor.
The two hospitals agreed to a proposal from Commissioners Phil Heimlich and Pat DeWine to accept $10.5 million less than they do now.
University Hospital now receives $34 million a year and will get $26 million a year,Children's Hospital now receives $8.5 million a year and will get $6 million a year.
In addition to the $32 million slated to go to those two hospitals, the Indigent Health Care levy also pays about $14 million a year for medical care for adult and juvenile inmates, for tuberculosis control and some alcohol and drug-addiction services.
The new levy would pay about $13.6 million a year for those services.
What's next?
Commissioners will decide at an Aug. 16 meeting whether they will place the Children's Services and Indigent Health Care levies on the Nov. 7 ballot and at what amounts.
Kimball Perry Enquirer staff writer, Cincinnati Enquirer, August 8, 2006.
Panel recommends cuts for children's services, poor health care
Hamilton County taxpayers could pay $7.7 million a year less than they now pay for two countywide property taxes to fund services for children and health care for the poor.
But for the owner of a $100,000 house, those millions would translate only into a drop of about $3.38 a year in property taxes.
Commissioners received recommendations Monday to place two five-year levies - for children's services and indigent health care - on the fall ballot.
The recommendations came from a commissioner-appointed committee.
At the Nov. 7 election, voters would determine the fate of the:
Children's Services levy, funds care for abused and neglected children and those needing adoptive or foster families.
Now: Generates $41,554,224 a year for five years, costing the owner of a $100,000 house $53.68.
Recommended: $43,354,224 a year for five years, costing the owner of a $100,000 house $58.40.
That $1.8 million-a-year increase isn't really an overall increase. It would pay for services to handicapped children now paid for out of the Indigent Health Care levy.
Hamilton County is battling with the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services over how it spends money from this levy. That fight already has resulted in Hamilton County forfeiting about $20 million in state funds. An audit has suggested more than $100 million spent by Hamilton County might have to be repaid.
Indigent Health Care levy, pays for health care for the poor.
-Now: Generates $55,095,431 a year for five years, costing the owner of a $100,000 house $61.44.
- Recommended: $45.6 million a year for five years, costing the owner of a $100,000 house $53.34.
This levy effectively is broken into two parts: One provides money to University and Children's hospitals, the other provides money for health care to inmates, and alcohol and substance-abuse services for the poor.
The two hospitals agreed to a proposal from Commissioners Phil Heimlich and Pat DeWine to accept $10.5 million less than they do now.
University Hospital now receives $34 million a year and will get $26 million a year,Children's Hospital now receives $8.5 million a year and will get $6 million a year.
In addition to the $32 million slated to go to those two hospitals, the Indigent Health Care levy also pays about $14 million a year for medical care for adult and juvenile inmates, for tuberculosis control and some alcohol and drug-addiction services.
The new levy would pay about $13.6 million a year for those services.
What's next?
Commissioners will decide at an Aug. 16 meeting whether they will place the Children's Services and Indigent Health Care levies on the Nov. 7 ballot and at what amounts.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Rehabilitated mother is denied custody of her daughter
Remade life not enough for custody
Coolidge, Sharon. Cincinnati Enquirer, July 20, 2006
Fugate thought she lost her 7-year-old daughter forever when the state took custody of the girl away from her nine years ago because she was an unfit mother.
Back then, Fugate was addicted to crack and floating in and out of prison. Nearly a decade later, Fugate is free from drugs, works full time and lives in a Westwood apartment.
She has spent three years fighting to get her daughter back. She was supported by a Hamilton County Juvenile Court judge and the 1st District Court of Appeals.
But Wednesday, the Ohio Supreme Court unanimously ruled Fugate has no right to legal custody of her daughter, Selina McBride, now 16 and living in an Avondale group home for foster children.
Ohio's high court ruled that when a court terminates parental rights and gives permanent custody to a child-services agency, the parent does not have the right to ask for custody.
Fugate is believed to be the first Ohio parent who lost her parental rights and sought to regain custody.
Fugate was stunned by the decision, but not deterred. "It may say that on a piece of paper, but they can't stop me from seeing or talking to my daughter," she said.
Fugate has one last hope. In the court decision, Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger pointed out the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services could ask the court to give Fugate custody. But that's unlikely because the agency has fought Fugate's attempt to regain custody.
Fugate's attorney, Christopher Kapsal, said he was disappointed. "We had success at every level until now," he said.
Rick Roberts, director of Hamilton County Job and Family Services, said he is pleased with the decision. He refused comment on Fugate or McBride.
If the court had ruled for Fugate, Roberts said, it could have opened the floodgates for other parents to do the same thing. "It could have created problems not only for us, but other children services agencies across the country," he said.
Those numbers could be significant because the Hamilton County agency took permanent custody of 460 children last year. The Fugate case dates to July 1996, the year a Hamilton County Juvenile Court magistrate found 6-year-old Selina was neglected and put her into foster care. The following year, that became permanent.
But Fugate was determined.Since Selina was taken from her, she has kicked her drug habit, found a job and a place to live. She dreamed of finding her daughter, but didn't know where to start. Then in 2002, her son, who was also taken from Fugate, turned 18 and contacted his mother. He told his mother McBride remained in a foster home.
Fugate petitioned juvenile court in 2003 seeking custody of McBride, arguing she should be allowed to seek custody just as if she were a stranger hoping to adopt.
Job and Family Services fought that move, persisting even after the 1st District Court of Appeals sided with Fugate.
Ohio's high court cited two laws in Wednesday's decision that forbid Fugate from regaining custody.
-One law says that once permanent custody has been awarded to a child-services agency, parents can no longer be involved in that case.
-The other denies Fugate the right to file for custody because she is not one of four entities allowed to do so by law. They are a child-services agency, a private child-placement agency, Department of Job and Family Services or any party other than the parents.
"In denying standing to Fugate and disallowing her to file on her own behalf for custody of Selina, we are following the statutes as they are written," Lanzinger wrote.
Kapsal said the decision is about more than Fugate and McBride. "There are lots of kids and lots of situations," he said. "Each family is different and there are lots of kids languishing in foster care."
Two thousand children currently are in Hamilton County's foster-care program.
Kapsal said he's trying to figure out what's next, but he doesn't see much legal recourse. "It is the Ohio Supreme Court's job to interpret the law," he said. "It would be up to the Ohio legislature to look at the statutes and determine what's best for children who don't fit the mold."
As the battle between Fugate and Job and Family Services went on in the courts, former Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Sylvia Hendon granted Fugate visitation.
McBride even sometimes spends the night at her mother's and has her own bedroom there. Fugate said becoming a part of her daughter's life hasn't been easy. McBride often runs away from her foster home and has been in trouble with the law.
Fugate said that hasn't lessened her resolve. "Human services have failed us," she said.
Last week, McBride stopped by to see her mother after running away again.Fugate said McBride hugged and kissed her and told her she loved her before leaving, something she always does.
Fugate said the court may deny her the legal right to be McBride's mother, but that doesn't change what is in their hearts.
E-mail scoolidge@enquirer.com
Coolidge, Sharon. Cincinnati Enquirer, July 20, 2006
Fugate thought she lost her 7-year-old daughter forever when the state took custody of the girl away from her nine years ago because she was an unfit mother.
Back then, Fugate was addicted to crack and floating in and out of prison. Nearly a decade later, Fugate is free from drugs, works full time and lives in a Westwood apartment.
She has spent three years fighting to get her daughter back. She was supported by a Hamilton County Juvenile Court judge and the 1st District Court of Appeals.
But Wednesday, the Ohio Supreme Court unanimously ruled Fugate has no right to legal custody of her daughter, Selina McBride, now 16 and living in an Avondale group home for foster children.
Ohio's high court ruled that when a court terminates parental rights and gives permanent custody to a child-services agency, the parent does not have the right to ask for custody.
Fugate is believed to be the first Ohio parent who lost her parental rights and sought to regain custody.
Fugate was stunned by the decision, but not deterred. "It may say that on a piece of paper, but they can't stop me from seeing or talking to my daughter," she said.
Fugate has one last hope. In the court decision, Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger pointed out the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services could ask the court to give Fugate custody. But that's unlikely because the agency has fought Fugate's attempt to regain custody.
Fugate's attorney, Christopher Kapsal, said he was disappointed. "We had success at every level until now," he said.
Rick Roberts, director of Hamilton County Job and Family Services, said he is pleased with the decision. He refused comment on Fugate or McBride.
If the court had ruled for Fugate, Roberts said, it could have opened the floodgates for other parents to do the same thing. "It could have created problems not only for us, but other children services agencies across the country," he said.
Those numbers could be significant because the Hamilton County agency took permanent custody of 460 children last year. The Fugate case dates to July 1996, the year a Hamilton County Juvenile Court magistrate found 6-year-old Selina was neglected and put her into foster care. The following year, that became permanent.
But Fugate was determined.Since Selina was taken from her, she has kicked her drug habit, found a job and a place to live. She dreamed of finding her daughter, but didn't know where to start. Then in 2002, her son, who was also taken from Fugate, turned 18 and contacted his mother. He told his mother McBride remained in a foster home.
Fugate petitioned juvenile court in 2003 seeking custody of McBride, arguing she should be allowed to seek custody just as if she were a stranger hoping to adopt.
Job and Family Services fought that move, persisting even after the 1st District Court of Appeals sided with Fugate.
Ohio's high court cited two laws in Wednesday's decision that forbid Fugate from regaining custody.
-One law says that once permanent custody has been awarded to a child-services agency, parents can no longer be involved in that case.
-The other denies Fugate the right to file for custody because she is not one of four entities allowed to do so by law. They are a child-services agency, a private child-placement agency, Department of Job and Family Services or any party other than the parents.
"In denying standing to Fugate and disallowing her to file on her own behalf for custody of Selina, we are following the statutes as they are written," Lanzinger wrote.
Kapsal said the decision is about more than Fugate and McBride. "There are lots of kids and lots of situations," he said. "Each family is different and there are lots of kids languishing in foster care."
Two thousand children currently are in Hamilton County's foster-care program.
Kapsal said he's trying to figure out what's next, but he doesn't see much legal recourse. "It is the Ohio Supreme Court's job to interpret the law," he said. "It would be up to the Ohio legislature to look at the statutes and determine what's best for children who don't fit the mold."
As the battle between Fugate and Job and Family Services went on in the courts, former Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Sylvia Hendon granted Fugate visitation.
McBride even sometimes spends the night at her mother's and has her own bedroom there. Fugate said becoming a part of her daughter's life hasn't been easy. McBride often runs away from her foster home and has been in trouble with the law.
Fugate said that hasn't lessened her resolve. "Human services have failed us," she said.
Last week, McBride stopped by to see her mother after running away again.Fugate said McBride hugged and kissed her and told her she loved her before leaving, something she always does.
Fugate said the court may deny her the legal right to be McBride's mother, but that doesn't change what is in their hearts.
E-mail scoolidge@enquirer.com
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Family to Family in Cuyahoga County
The following article was published in the Columbus Dispatch:
COUNTY LEADS CHILD-WELFARE REFORM
Cuyahoga County becomes national model for treatment of abuse cases
Wednesday, July 26, 2006 NEWS 03B
Associated Press
A program that is changing how child-welfare workers handle cases of abuse and neglect has found success in Cuyahoga County and has become a model for children services departments across the country.
For years, social workers would decide if a child was in danger, then send him to a foster family in another neighborhood or another city.
The process angered parents and while it protected children, it cut them off from school, friends and family.
The Cuyahoga County children services is utilizing a program called Family to Family that gives parents input in helping to determine what's best for the child.
The program was started in 1992 by the nonprofit Annie E. Casey Foundation, which has been helping disadvantaged children, especially those in foster care, since 1948. Casey wanted to reverse the trend of more children going into foster care while fewer adults signed up to serve as foster parents.
The foundation chose six child-welfare agencies, including Cuyahoga County's, in five states to test new ideas. It took years for the county to phase in Family to Family and work out flaws. During that time, the other original agencies dropped out or politics slowed their progress.
Fourteen years later, it's still a work in progress. Jim McCafferty, director of Children & Family Services, is quick to say that it's not perfect.
"You did not enter Oz," he told visitors to Cuyahoga's child-welfare offices last week. "We have child fatalities. We have budget issues. We have the same problems you have wherever you've come from."
Family to Family is based on principles of keeping foster children as close to home as possible, so they can go to their own schools, maintain friendships and spend time with their birth parents when it's appropriate.
Parents who are about to lose custody are invited to a meeting and can bring along their ministers, relatives or friends. The child may attend too if he or she is old enough.
The county brings in social workers, supervisors and a facilitator, trained to make sure the meeting stays focused on what's best for the child. Each issue is discussed openly and everyone sits in while the decision is made.
Numbers show the results. The county had custody of 6,237 children in 2001. That dropped to 2,876 by June 30 this year. It happened while the number of abuse and neglect complaints remained steady.
In 1992, 39 percent of teenagers who came into the county's care were placed in group homes or other institutions instead of with relatives or foster parents. That figure was 14 percent in 2005. Children sent out of state for treatment plummeted from 98 in 2001 to four this year.
Cuyahoga County officials have expanded the approach to help children with serious emotional disorders. They have plans to extend it further by the end of the year with help from a $9.6 million federal grant to include children who are in trouble with the law and those with drug and alcohol problems.
"You have a model there in Cleveland that you can be proud of. And it's revolutionizing how people are treating children and families," said Matt Bennett, director of community-based services at Denver Children's Home in Colorado, during a recent visit to Cuyahoga County's children services.
Caption: Dale Omori The (Cleveland) Plain DealerAfter a year and a half apart, Jeffrey and Rhonda May, seated, were reunited with their children thanks to the help of Cuyahoga County's Family to Family Program. Daughter Barbara, left, and son Jeffrey, standing second from right, lived in foster care for 18 months before the program, hailed as one of the nation's finest, brought the family back under one roof. Barbara holds her daughter, Amari.
COUNTY LEADS CHILD-WELFARE REFORM
Cuyahoga County becomes national model for treatment of abuse cases
Wednesday, July 26, 2006 NEWS 03B
Associated Press
A program that is changing how child-welfare workers handle cases of abuse and neglect has found success in Cuyahoga County and has become a model for children services departments across the country.
For years, social workers would decide if a child was in danger, then send him to a foster family in another neighborhood or another city.
The process angered parents and while it protected children, it cut them off from school, friends and family.
The Cuyahoga County children services is utilizing a program called Family to Family that gives parents input in helping to determine what's best for the child.
The program was started in 1992 by the nonprofit Annie E. Casey Foundation, which has been helping disadvantaged children, especially those in foster care, since 1948. Casey wanted to reverse the trend of more children going into foster care while fewer adults signed up to serve as foster parents.
The foundation chose six child-welfare agencies, including Cuyahoga County's, in five states to test new ideas. It took years for the county to phase in Family to Family and work out flaws. During that time, the other original agencies dropped out or politics slowed their progress.
Fourteen years later, it's still a work in progress. Jim McCafferty, director of Children & Family Services, is quick to say that it's not perfect.
"You did not enter Oz," he told visitors to Cuyahoga's child-welfare offices last week. "We have child fatalities. We have budget issues. We have the same problems you have wherever you've come from."
Family to Family is based on principles of keeping foster children as close to home as possible, so they can go to their own schools, maintain friendships and spend time with their birth parents when it's appropriate.
Parents who are about to lose custody are invited to a meeting and can bring along their ministers, relatives or friends. The child may attend too if he or she is old enough.
The county brings in social workers, supervisors and a facilitator, trained to make sure the meeting stays focused on what's best for the child. Each issue is discussed openly and everyone sits in while the decision is made.
Numbers show the results. The county had custody of 6,237 children in 2001. That dropped to 2,876 by June 30 this year. It happened while the number of abuse and neglect complaints remained steady.
In 1992, 39 percent of teenagers who came into the county's care were placed in group homes or other institutions instead of with relatives or foster parents. That figure was 14 percent in 2005. Children sent out of state for treatment plummeted from 98 in 2001 to four this year.
Cuyahoga County officials have expanded the approach to help children with serious emotional disorders. They have plans to extend it further by the end of the year with help from a $9.6 million federal grant to include children who are in trouble with the law and those with drug and alcohol problems.
"You have a model there in Cleveland that you can be proud of. And it's revolutionizing how people are treating children and families," said Matt Bennett, director of community-based services at Denver Children's Home in Colorado, during a recent visit to Cuyahoga County's children services.
Caption: Dale Omori The (Cleveland) Plain DealerAfter a year and a half apart, Jeffrey and Rhonda May, seated, were reunited with their children thanks to the help of Cuyahoga County's Family to Family Program. Daughter Barbara, left, and son Jeffrey, standing second from right, lived in foster care for 18 months before the program, hailed as one of the nation's finest, brought the family back under one roof. Barbara holds her daughter, Amari.
Spending $3 million on a larger center?
The following article was published in the Columbus Dispatch:
COMMISSIONERS TO VOTE ON $3 MILLION CENTER
Franklin County Children Services aims to build facility comfortable for family visits
Wednesday, August 2, 2006 NEWS 05B
By Encarnacion Pyle THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Correction: CORRECTION PUBLISHED AUGUST 3, 2006 -- * Kent Markus, president of Franklin County Children Services, voted in favor of a $3 million center where parents can visit with their children. Because of a reporter's error, a story on Page B5 of yesterday's Metro & State section indicated otherwise.
Franklin County Children Services plans to build a $3 million center in Franklinton so parents can visit with their kids in a more homelike setting.
"The interactions now are stilted, formal and not at all representative of the normal parent-child interactions necessary to assist our workers in determining our parents' readiness for reunification," Executive Director John Saros said.
The Children Services' board voted 5-1 at a special meeting last night to build the center next to the agency's administrative office, 855 W. Mound St. The proposal now heads to the Franklin County commissioners, who will vote before it can move forward.
Creating a child-friendly environment with age-appropriate rooms, kitchen and play areas is important to making families feel welcome, said Eric Fenner, deputy director of Children Services.
"The more welcomed and supported parents' feel, the more likely they'll be reunited with their kids more quickly," Fenner said.
But board President Kent Markus, who voted against the center, said that if the agency really wanted to return children to their parents more quickly, it would allow more visits at their homes or churches, parks and restaurants.
"If the research says these kinds of centers are discouraging, frightening and intimidating to families, why are we looking at making the world's greatest institutionalized setting?" asked Markus, director for the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy at Capital University Law School.
For years, parents have complained that they have limited hours to visit their children in sparse, sterile settings. The agency handles about 400 visits a week.
"It's not easy being in a situation where Children Services has your child, and you can only visit them a couple of times a week in a cramped 10-by-10 room with only a few toys for entertainment," said Beth Higginbotham, 28, of the West Side. Her 10-month-old son, Marco Valenzuela, has been in foster care since late last year.
As Higginbotham played with Marco on the floor of a visitation room at a South Side Children Services office yesterday, a toddler ran in and hopped onto a scooter.
"I'm sorry, but there aren't any toys in the waiting" area, the toddler's mother said. "She gets so cranky if she isn't busy."
"It gets so crazy around here," said Higginbotham, whose 9-year-old daughter, Ashley, was playing in the corner.
"I only have two, two-hour visits a week with my son, and I want to make it as fun and memorable as I can. A new center would help."
If approved by the commissioners, the center would have at least 18 visitation rooms that would separate babies, toddlers, tweens and teens. Children Services now uses 27 rooms, including a few conference rooms, at four sites for family visits, but the new center would have extended visits.
Parents would be able to visit their children at the new center, which is projected to open late next year, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.
"Right now, parents can only see their children one night a week after 5 p.m.," Saros said.
The new center also would feature a dining room for birthday parties, foster-parent lounge, kitchenette and indoor and outdoor playgrounds.
Instead of simply chatting with their children, parents would be encouraged to read to them, help them with homework and engage them in educational play.
To help, Children Services is talking to COSI Columbus about teaming up to create interactive games that individuals can use to build their parenting skills.
Social workers would be able to monitor the visits through two-way mirrors, closed-circuit TV and audio equipment.
"It is entirely possible that by increasing the number and availability of visits, we might reduce length of stay in paid care," Saros said.
epyle@dispatch.com
COMMISSIONERS TO VOTE ON $3 MILLION CENTER
Franklin County Children Services aims to build facility comfortable for family visits
Wednesday, August 2, 2006 NEWS 05B
By Encarnacion Pyle THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Correction: CORRECTION PUBLISHED AUGUST 3, 2006 -- * Kent Markus, president of Franklin County Children Services, voted in favor of a $3 million center where parents can visit with their children. Because of a reporter's error, a story on Page B5 of yesterday's Metro & State section indicated otherwise.
Franklin County Children Services plans to build a $3 million center in Franklinton so parents can visit with their kids in a more homelike setting.
"The interactions now are stilted, formal and not at all representative of the normal parent-child interactions necessary to assist our workers in determining our parents' readiness for reunification," Executive Director John Saros said.
The Children Services' board voted 5-1 at a special meeting last night to build the center next to the agency's administrative office, 855 W. Mound St. The proposal now heads to the Franklin County commissioners, who will vote before it can move forward.
Creating a child-friendly environment with age-appropriate rooms, kitchen and play areas is important to making families feel welcome, said Eric Fenner, deputy director of Children Services.
"The more welcomed and supported parents' feel, the more likely they'll be reunited with their kids more quickly," Fenner said.
But board President Kent Markus, who voted against the center, said that if the agency really wanted to return children to their parents more quickly, it would allow more visits at their homes or churches, parks and restaurants.
"If the research says these kinds of centers are discouraging, frightening and intimidating to families, why are we looking at making the world's greatest institutionalized setting?" asked Markus, director for the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy at Capital University Law School.
For years, parents have complained that they have limited hours to visit their children in sparse, sterile settings. The agency handles about 400 visits a week.
"It's not easy being in a situation where Children Services has your child, and you can only visit them a couple of times a week in a cramped 10-by-10 room with only a few toys for entertainment," said Beth Higginbotham, 28, of the West Side. Her 10-month-old son, Marco Valenzuela, has been in foster care since late last year.
As Higginbotham played with Marco on the floor of a visitation room at a South Side Children Services office yesterday, a toddler ran in and hopped onto a scooter.
"I'm sorry, but there aren't any toys in the waiting" area, the toddler's mother said. "She gets so cranky if she isn't busy."
"It gets so crazy around here," said Higginbotham, whose 9-year-old daughter, Ashley, was playing in the corner.
"I only have two, two-hour visits a week with my son, and I want to make it as fun and memorable as I can. A new center would help."
If approved by the commissioners, the center would have at least 18 visitation rooms that would separate babies, toddlers, tweens and teens. Children Services now uses 27 rooms, including a few conference rooms, at four sites for family visits, but the new center would have extended visits.
Parents would be able to visit their children at the new center, which is projected to open late next year, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.
"Right now, parents can only see their children one night a week after 5 p.m.," Saros said.
The new center also would feature a dining room for birthday parties, foster-parent lounge, kitchenette and indoor and outdoor playgrounds.
Instead of simply chatting with their children, parents would be encouraged to read to them, help them with homework and engage them in educational play.
To help, Children Services is talking to COSI Columbus about teaming up to create interactive games that individuals can use to build their parenting skills.
Social workers would be able to monitor the visits through two-way mirrors, closed-circuit TV and audio equipment.
"It is entirely possible that by increasing the number and availability of visits, we might reduce length of stay in paid care," Saros said.
epyle@dispatch.com
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