Boy's Death Attaches Stigma To Foster Parenting
Area Agencies Struggle To Recruit Prospective Parents
WLWT, March 24, 2008.
CINCINNATI -- Efforts to recruit foster parents in three southwest Ohio counties have foundered since the death of a child who was bound and left in a closet.
Tough background checks were instituted to weed out bad risks, but the increased scrutiny also led good prospective foster parents to walk away.
"There's been a negative stigma attached to foster parenting," said Brian Gregg, spokesman for the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services. "A lot of people have gotten out of it because of that; they don't want the extra scrutiny."
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Some background checks have uncovered serious offenses, such as child endangering or felonious assault; others show minor traffic violations. The checks have spooked people with any sort of record, Gregg said.
Hamilton County has contracts with about 260 private foster homes, about one-third fewer than two years ago, Gregg said.
Background checks came about after the August 2006 death of Marcus Fiesel, a 3-year-old developmentally delayed boy who was placed by Butler County with a couple in Clermont County. Both counties border Hamilton County.
The boy died when he was bound and left in a closet while his foster parents, who were convicted of his murder, attended a weekend family reunion in Kentucky. Investigators later found the couple's background should have raised numerous red flags about their fitness to be foster parents.
A year ago, Hamilton County created a system to compare the names of foster parents, and those who applied to be foster parents, with police and court records. The system was expanded last fall to include national databases.
To make up for its shortfall, Hamilton County kicked off a $1 million campaign in January to recruit 100 new foster homes. The TV ads show ordinary people in tights and a cape performing everyday functions, like washing dishes or taking out the trash. It calls them "Everyday Heroes" whose status is confirmed by their willingness to take foster children into their homes.
The agency also is setting up recruiting events at libraries, coffee shops and adoption fairs, and is doing some direct mailing.
So far, 157 people have responded to the ads, Gregg said. But it takes four to six months to get through the process of becoming a foster parent, so it's too early to say how many will end up being certified.
The Clermont County Department of Job and Family Services has scheduled a series of public presentations through May to attract foster parent prospects.
"We know many people in Clermont County have thought about becoming foster parents but are concerned about how it will affect their lives and families," said department Director Tom McCartney.
Butler County Children Services is running television spots and a mail-in campaign aimed at prospective foster parents, hoping to reduce the number of children sent to other counties.
"Our first priority is the kids, and staying close to home is what's best for them," said Director Mike Fox. "It enables us to serve them better."
Fox said the shortage of local placements predates the death of Marcus Fiesel, and that about 70 percent of Butler County children living in foster care are sent out of the county.
Gregg said Hamilton County has about 850 children in foster care on any given day, and that about 30 percent of them must be sent outside the county.
Recruiting foster parents is a statewide problem, he said.
"Everybody's having trouble recruiting," said Karen Jorgenson, executive director of the National Foster Parent Association based in Gig Harbor, Wash. She said reimbursement is a problem, particularly in Ohio.
"It's not just because of the scrutiny," she said. "It's the cost of living, of two parents working, although, indeed, negative press does have an impact."
She said Ohio's reimbursement rate is way below the national average of $501 a month for a school-age child. Ohio's basic rate of $275 a month, regardless of the child's age, she said, while the true cost of care is $727 – and more for a teenager.
"We are working with Ohio, advocating a change there," Jorgenson said.
"We're not in it for the money. But we at least want our cost covered."
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Brief update on Hamilton, Butler and Clermont Counties
A look at foster care in 3 SW Ohio counties
Akron Beacon Journal, March 24, 2008.
(Akron,OH) A look at foster parent recruiting in three southwest Ohio counties:
RECRUITING: Hamilton, Butler and Clermont counties have recruitment campaigns to build up the number of foster homes and foster parents.
THE CHILDREN: About 850 children in foster care in Hamilton County, about 350 each in Butler and Clermont counties.
BACKGROUND CHECKS: Were stepped up following the death in August 2006 of a 3-year-old boy who was bound and left in a closet for two days. The foster parents were convicted of his murder. Investigators later found the couple's background should have raised numerous red flags about their fitness to be foster parents.
Akron Beacon Journal, March 24, 2008.
(Akron,OH) A look at foster parent recruiting in three southwest Ohio counties:
RECRUITING: Hamilton, Butler and Clermont counties have recruitment campaigns to build up the number of foster homes and foster parents.
THE CHILDREN: About 850 children in foster care in Hamilton County, about 350 each in Butler and Clermont counties.
BACKGROUND CHECKS: Were stepped up following the death in August 2006 of a 3-year-old boy who was bound and left in a closet for two days. The foster parents were convicted of his murder. Investigators later found the couple's background should have raised numerous red flags about their fitness to be foster parents.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Advocating for kinship care in Athens
Economy hurting displaced children
Athens Messenger, March 23, 2008.
(Athens,OH) Many of the same crises we see worldwide are occurring in our own backyard, and no one seems to notice. Ever increasing numbers of children in Southeastern Ohio are being subjected to neglect, abuse and hunger, and not just by their parents, but more so by our bureaucratic systems.
The results of living in such dire conditions leaves many of these children physically challenged and emotionally traumatized. Some of these youngsters who have lived the rigors of an unsafe and unstable home life have but one prospect; placement in a home with strangers (via the foster care program).
Children belong in familiar, loving surroundings. How are they to receive this emotional support during their most demanding hours while in the home of strangers via foster care?
The most obvious resolution for these displaced children is their extended family. One would think it a simple act to bring a child into your home. Especially if it is your grandchild, niece, nephew, or cousin - each sweet child deserves the security of his or her own family.
But placing children with their relatives, which seems the most positive outcome, has one very worrisome detail. It is the lack of adequate income to provide for the addition of these young souls.
The staggering rise in the cost of living already straps our regional families to the point of merely surviving. How can we ask grandparents, aunts and uncles, many of whom are on fixed incomes, to provide for these children with the small stipend provided by the apparently unaware legislators of Ohio?
It appears our legislative body would prefer to place our loved ones with strangers - since the lawmakers give foster care providers $600 a month per child, while allotting family caregivers $245 for the first child and $91 for each child thereafter. Relatives may have undying love, but they may not have the means to support these children.
Ever increasing numbers of retired persons are being charged with the safekeeping of their grandchildren, while they themselves reside near or below poverty levels.
Poverty marks these forsaken children and their aging caregivers to a life of harsh winters without adequate heat, enough food to last the month, and insufficient dental care and clothing. There are no extras for anyone in the household. They just survive.
I wonder when the legislators last visited with true Appalachian families of Southeastern Ohio.
I wonder too if they could live on a stipend of under $500 per month. I would guess that legislators spend more on a weekend on the town than they allot to those of lesser advantage to eke out for a month.
I'd like to ask that the local communities open their hearts to the plight of their neighbors. Look beyond what you have, what you aspire to, and share of yourself with those of lesser fortune.
There are several persons and agencies trying to make life better for those with lesser benefits, and to them I say thank you for your compassion and your efforts.
Rep. Jimmy Stewart of the 92nd District recently petitioned the legislative body in a desperate appeal to raise the standards of living for the caregivers by even $100 per month. His request for assistance was blatantly denied.
I welcome those individuals who I champion to contact me, or any of the following organizations as well as your legislators, so that together we may find an answer to this regrettable and redeemable situation.
Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council , 740-594-3533; martyz@havar.org
Athens Country Job & Family Services, Director Jack Frech, 740-592-4477;
Rep. Jimmy Stewart, 614-466-2158; district92@ohr.state.oh.us
Ohio Empowerment Coalition Safe & Stable Families Campaign, Kinship Care Provider Advocacy, 1-877-862-5179
Lyda Gunter is a grandmother/care provider. Contact her at lgunter@frognet.net
Athens Messenger, March 23, 2008.
(Athens,OH) Many of the same crises we see worldwide are occurring in our own backyard, and no one seems to notice. Ever increasing numbers of children in Southeastern Ohio are being subjected to neglect, abuse and hunger, and not just by their parents, but more so by our bureaucratic systems.
The results of living in such dire conditions leaves many of these children physically challenged and emotionally traumatized. Some of these youngsters who have lived the rigors of an unsafe and unstable home life have but one prospect; placement in a home with strangers (via the foster care program).
Children belong in familiar, loving surroundings. How are they to receive this emotional support during their most demanding hours while in the home of strangers via foster care?
The most obvious resolution for these displaced children is their extended family. One would think it a simple act to bring a child into your home. Especially if it is your grandchild, niece, nephew, or cousin - each sweet child deserves the security of his or her own family.
But placing children with their relatives, which seems the most positive outcome, has one very worrisome detail. It is the lack of adequate income to provide for the addition of these young souls.
The staggering rise in the cost of living already straps our regional families to the point of merely surviving. How can we ask grandparents, aunts and uncles, many of whom are on fixed incomes, to provide for these children with the small stipend provided by the apparently unaware legislators of Ohio?
It appears our legislative body would prefer to place our loved ones with strangers - since the lawmakers give foster care providers $600 a month per child, while allotting family caregivers $245 for the first child and $91 for each child thereafter. Relatives may have undying love, but they may not have the means to support these children.
Ever increasing numbers of retired persons are being charged with the safekeeping of their grandchildren, while they themselves reside near or below poverty levels.
Poverty marks these forsaken children and their aging caregivers to a life of harsh winters without adequate heat, enough food to last the month, and insufficient dental care and clothing. There are no extras for anyone in the household. They just survive.
I wonder when the legislators last visited with true Appalachian families of Southeastern Ohio.
I wonder too if they could live on a stipend of under $500 per month. I would guess that legislators spend more on a weekend on the town than they allot to those of lesser advantage to eke out for a month.
I'd like to ask that the local communities open their hearts to the plight of their neighbors. Look beyond what you have, what you aspire to, and share of yourself with those of lesser fortune.
There are several persons and agencies trying to make life better for those with lesser benefits, and to them I say thank you for your compassion and your efforts.
Rep. Jimmy Stewart of the 92nd District recently petitioned the legislative body in a desperate appeal to raise the standards of living for the caregivers by even $100 per month. His request for assistance was blatantly denied.
I welcome those individuals who I champion to contact me, or any of the following organizations as well as your legislators, so that together we may find an answer to this regrettable and redeemable situation.
Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council , 740-594-3533; martyz@havar.org
Athens Country Job & Family Services, Director Jack Frech, 740-592-4477;
Rep. Jimmy Stewart, 614-466-2158; district92@ohr.state.oh.us
Ohio Empowerment Coalition Safe & Stable Families Campaign, Kinship Care Provider Advocacy, 1-877-862-5179
Lyda Gunter is a grandmother/care provider. Contact her at lgunter@frognet.net
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Cleveland has insufficient number of Jewish foster homes
Need for more Jewish foster-care families hits home
Fine, Arlene. Cleveland Jewish News.
Last October, Fred Taub’s website news@frumcleveland.org began alerting the Jewish community about the plight of three Orthodox Jewish children who were in need of foster care.
The children temporarily lived with a Cleveland Heights family until mid-January. After a legal hearing last month, the Common Pleas Court gave the county custody of the children. They were appointed a county social worker, who placed the siblings with a foster-care family in Mansfield.
The fact that these children now live in a community 50 miles away from Cleveland’s Orthodox hub has raised important issues. “Three young, vulnerable children have been removed from our community because we are powerless to help them,” says Taub. “We as a community have many emergency safety nets, but we missed the boat on this one. Our only Orthodox foster-care family could not accommodate these children, so no one else was legally allowed to take all three of these children in.”
Since this incident, there has been a call to action within the Orthodox community for interested adults to take the state-mandated steps to become state-certified foster parents. Green Road Synagogue’s Rabbi Melvin Granatstein has mentioned the need for more licensed foster-care homes from his pulpit, and Fuchs Mizrachi School’s Shabbat memo also alerted interested adults how to begin the foster-care licensing process.
“Not many Jewish children come into foster care because there are informal networks within the Jewish community that provide help for families in crisis,” says Karen Anderson, director of foster care and adoption at Bellefaire/JCB. “However, when we do have a situation where Jewish children need to be placed outside their home, we would like to have a wide range of potential resources for them.”
Foster care is not just for older children, adds Anderson. “Occasionally we have a Jewish infant waiting for adoptive placement,” she says. “We need foster-care homes where an infant can be taken care of for a short or prolonged period of time until we find the right adoptive parents.”
For information on Bellefaire/ JCB’s foster-care program, go to www.bellefaire/jcb.org or call Anderson at 216-320-8468.
� 21 years old with sufficient income to support your household.
� Free from any condition that could negatively affect the care of a foster child and willing to work with the social service agency as part of the treatment team.
� Home-study process must be completed, including home visits by an agency worker, interviews with all household members, fire and safety inspections, fingerprinting/ criminal record checks, medical examinations, and reference checks.
� Must attend pre-service training prior to certification. Once all activities are completed satisfactorily, the social service agency will recommend your certification to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
� Updates of your home study at least every two years after certification is complete.
� Ongoing training, which can be obtained through the agency’s training program.
Fine, Arlene. Cleveland Jewish News.
Last October, Fred Taub’s website news@frumcleveland.org began alerting the Jewish community about the plight of three Orthodox Jewish children who were in need of foster care.
The children temporarily lived with a Cleveland Heights family until mid-January. After a legal hearing last month, the Common Pleas Court gave the county custody of the children. They were appointed a county social worker, who placed the siblings with a foster-care family in Mansfield.
The fact that these children now live in a community 50 miles away from Cleveland’s Orthodox hub has raised important issues. “Three young, vulnerable children have been removed from our community because we are powerless to help them,” says Taub. “We as a community have many emergency safety nets, but we missed the boat on this one. Our only Orthodox foster-care family could not accommodate these children, so no one else was legally allowed to take all three of these children in.”
Since this incident, there has been a call to action within the Orthodox community for interested adults to take the state-mandated steps to become state-certified foster parents. Green Road Synagogue’s Rabbi Melvin Granatstein has mentioned the need for more licensed foster-care homes from his pulpit, and Fuchs Mizrachi School’s Shabbat memo also alerted interested adults how to begin the foster-care licensing process.
“Not many Jewish children come into foster care because there are informal networks within the Jewish community that provide help for families in crisis,” says Karen Anderson, director of foster care and adoption at Bellefaire/JCB. “However, when we do have a situation where Jewish children need to be placed outside their home, we would like to have a wide range of potential resources for them.”
Foster care is not just for older children, adds Anderson. “Occasionally we have a Jewish infant waiting for adoptive placement,” she says. “We need foster-care homes where an infant can be taken care of for a short or prolonged period of time until we find the right adoptive parents.”
For information on Bellefaire/ JCB’s foster-care program, go to www.bellefaire/jcb.org or call Anderson at 216-320-8468.
� 21 years old with sufficient income to support your household.
� Free from any condition that could negatively affect the care of a foster child and willing to work with the social service agency as part of the treatment team.
� Home-study process must be completed, including home visits by an agency worker, interviews with all household members, fire and safety inspections, fingerprinting/ criminal record checks, medical examinations, and reference checks.
� Must attend pre-service training prior to certification. Once all activities are completed satisfactorily, the social service agency will recommend your certification to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
� Updates of your home study at least every two years after certification is complete.
� Ongoing training, which can be obtained through the agency’s training program.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Concerns that Ohio foster care reforms are not thorough
Editorial: Foster-care bill smothers the truth under a bureaucratic blanket
Cleveland Plain Dealer, Feb. 22, 2008.
Taken at their word, Gov. Ted Strickland and his aides are the biggest promoters of "transparency" this side of Saran Wrap. It's too bad the rhetoric doesn't extend to Ohio's foster-care records.
Strickland signed a bill last week that "reforms" foster care. The measure resulted from the 2006 murder in suburban Cincinnati of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel, a ward of Butler County. Marcus died while tied up and stuck in a closet for a weekend so his "caregivers" could attend a family reunion in Kentucky, unburdened of his needs.
The murder was sufficiently horrible that it roused even the General Assembly into what passes for action there. Reduced to essentials, the legislation required more training for foster parents.
The bill does something else, too. It hides what, until now, has been public information about foster parents.
Thanks to the bill, only if a foster parent is charged with a crime that would legally disqualify him or her from foster parenthood would Ohioans know anything about that parent or his record. In plain English, only after another Marcus dies, or only after another caregiver is charged with a crime, will anyone be able to hold Ohio's social-work bureaucracy accountable.
Michael Fox, a Republican former Ohio House member who took charge of Butler County Children Services after Marcus' murder, opposes such secrecy. But the General Assembly likes it, and now the governor has gone along.
That same governor has been using a Jobs & Family Services legal brief composed of flimsy anecdotes to buffalo a quest by the Cincinnati Enquirer to expose the carelessness - arguably, the stupidity - that consigned Marcus to his terrible death. The Ohio Supreme Court could redeem its spotty open-government record by siding with the Enquirer.
Meanwhile, Ted Strickland eventually will learn a lesson that other Ohio governors have learned at a great political price: When bureaucrats hide information, it's not just the taxpayers who lose. It's also the governor of Ohio, because fettering the Open Records Law blinds governors to messes that no underling will ever reveal - until it's too late.
Cleveland Plain Dealer, Feb. 22, 2008.
Taken at their word, Gov. Ted Strickland and his aides are the biggest promoters of "transparency" this side of Saran Wrap. It's too bad the rhetoric doesn't extend to Ohio's foster-care records.
Strickland signed a bill last week that "reforms" foster care. The measure resulted from the 2006 murder in suburban Cincinnati of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel, a ward of Butler County. Marcus died while tied up and stuck in a closet for a weekend so his "caregivers" could attend a family reunion in Kentucky, unburdened of his needs.
The murder was sufficiently horrible that it roused even the General Assembly into what passes for action there. Reduced to essentials, the legislation required more training for foster parents.
The bill does something else, too. It hides what, until now, has been public information about foster parents.
Thanks to the bill, only if a foster parent is charged with a crime that would legally disqualify him or her from foster parenthood would Ohioans know anything about that parent or his record. In plain English, only after another Marcus dies, or only after another caregiver is charged with a crime, will anyone be able to hold Ohio's social-work bureaucracy accountable.
Michael Fox, a Republican former Ohio House member who took charge of Butler County Children Services after Marcus' murder, opposes such secrecy. But the General Assembly likes it, and now the governor has gone along.
That same governor has been using a Jobs & Family Services legal brief composed of flimsy anecdotes to buffalo a quest by the Cincinnati Enquirer to expose the carelessness - arguably, the stupidity - that consigned Marcus to his terrible death. The Ohio Supreme Court could redeem its spotty open-government record by siding with the Enquirer.
Meanwhile, Ted Strickland eventually will learn a lesson that other Ohio governors have learned at a great political price: When bureaucrats hide information, it's not just the taxpayers who lose. It's also the governor of Ohio, because fettering the Open Records Law blinds governors to messes that no underling will ever reveal - until it's too late.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Cradle to Prison Pipleline Crisis
Children aging out of the foster care system face difficult odds
Seale, Shelley. Aurora, OH, Feb. 25, 2008.
Children in the foster care system have typically already survived significant trauma or abuse, but as they grow older and approach aging out of the system, they face even more difficult odds. Children who reach 18 and adulthood in the foster care system without being adopted or having any family or mentor of their own have staggeringly high rates of imprisonment, homelessness, alcohol and substance abuse, and a myriad of other problems.
Children in the foster care system, or with a history of abuse and neglect, are at higher risk of being trapped in the Cradle to Prison Pipeline, the path by which the chances of an individual one day ending up in prison can be predicted based on factors present in his or her childhood, which make that child much more likely to end up incarcerated as an adult. Poverty is the largest driving force of the Cradle to Prison Pipeline crisis, as defined by the Children's Defense Fund.
In Texas, among all children, 1 in 4 (24.9 percent or 1,548,069) was poor. A baby is born poor every five minutes in the state:
o A Black baby is born poor every 32 minutes.
o A Latino baby is born poor every seven minutes.
o A White, non-Latino baby is born poor every 33 minutes.
o An American Indian/Alaska Native baby is born poor every 20 hours.
o An Asian baby is born poor every nine hours.
Other factors that significantly impact the odds of a child entering the Cradle to Prison Pipeline include lack of early childhood education, poor education received later, disadvantaged health care, experienced violence, and simply being a person of color. Children in the foster care system often experience one or more of these factors, as well as losing their birth home and parents, and dealing with the trauma of abuse or neglect. These children are desperately in need of a family to call their own. They are in danger of falling through the cracks and being lost forever without one.
Recently, Dr. Tracy Eilers, a friend of mine and director of The Heart Gallery, sent me the following information about a boy, Jarod, who is about to age out of the foster care system and has almost given up hope on a family to call his own. The prospects for kids who age out of the system are grim.
Dr. Eilers says, "18 isn't a good thing for kids in foster care." Sent out on their own with no one to care for them or teach them how to be an adult in the world, half of these kids end up homeless. "Week after week, we film segments for Forever Families... week after week, I meet the most amazing kids... and every second of every day I hope beyond all hope that we can make a difference in these kids lives... I don't know if I have ever hoped so much as for Jarod."
Last year at this time, Jarod was showing off his Junior ROTC uniform for his Forever Families segment. He was 15-years-old and only recently decided he wanted to be adopted. Jarod's goal was to become a Sergeant, but he moved from foster home to foster home this year, and isn't in ROTC anymore. The rest of year has been filled with just as many disappointments, and now his outlook on life is bleak. No 16-year-old should feel this hopeless.
Jarod came in to foster care when he was 10-years-old from his uncle's house, where there were five kids, Jarod and his sister, and their three cousins. Jarod was the one who had to go into foster care.
He's had a very hard time trusting adults, and who could blame him? Now he's 16-years-old and repeating the 9th grade. In two years, he'll age out of the foster care system. Foster teens on their own are at a higher risk of homelessness and substance abuse. "To me, it seems like it's too late. For life, I guess. When I turn 18, I don't know what I'm going to do," he said.
Jarod's anger, frustration, and confusion have caused him to give up on adoption. His aunt was going to adopt him, but it wasn't a good fit. They lived together for a month, but kept getting into fights. Now Jarod is in a shelter, where he says things aren't going well.
"I got in trouble because I broke a door. I feel mad all the time. It's not foster care; it's not being adopted. It's just when I turn 18, what am I going to do? Am I going to be on the streets? I don't know what I'm going to do. I barely got an education. Ain't nothing to do," he said.
Jarod is out of hope. He feels he's out of time and he has no idea what to do about it. Ask about his future, and he shuts down. Though Jarod seems to have given up on himself, he still has another year.
Many children like Jarod have new hope through the innovative initiative, The Heart Gallery. This program combines professional portraits by renowned documentary and portrait photographers of children in foster care who are waiting to be adopted with art show-style exhibits around the country.
Dr. Eilers, of the Adoption Coalition of Texas, led the formation of the Heart Gallery of Central Texas several years ago. The goal of The Heart Gallery of Central Texas is to elicit support for and interest in the lives of these children - and ultimately find each child and sibling group a "forever family."
At any given moment, there are 500 children waiting for adoption in the Central Texas foster care system, all removed from their natural family due to abuse or neglect. The Heart Gallery process helps break down common misconceptions regarding adoption and promotes the idea that if you can provide a safe and loving home for a child, even if you are a single individual or do not own a home, you can still adopt.
"It's extraordinary to know that in just the two years of the Heart Gallery program, over 60% of the children featured in portraits were adopted," said Dr. Eilers. "This remarkable rate of success proves this effort has been effective in raising awareness for the kids and the Central Texas foster care system overall. Every year after the debut, we receive thousands of phone calls and emails from all over the country and we want that to keep happening."
"Seeing these children in photographs as they laugh and play is a very powerful experience. We want to inspire people to learn more about adopting from the foster care system. Our whole purpose is to humanize these children, display their personalities, and give a glimpse into their souls," explained Eilers.
Seale, Shelley. Aurora, OH, Feb. 25, 2008.
Children in the foster care system have typically already survived significant trauma or abuse, but as they grow older and approach aging out of the system, they face even more difficult odds. Children who reach 18 and adulthood in the foster care system without being adopted or having any family or mentor of their own have staggeringly high rates of imprisonment, homelessness, alcohol and substance abuse, and a myriad of other problems.
Children in the foster care system, or with a history of abuse and neglect, are at higher risk of being trapped in the Cradle to Prison Pipeline, the path by which the chances of an individual one day ending up in prison can be predicted based on factors present in his or her childhood, which make that child much more likely to end up incarcerated as an adult. Poverty is the largest driving force of the Cradle to Prison Pipeline crisis, as defined by the Children's Defense Fund.
In Texas, among all children, 1 in 4 (24.9 percent or 1,548,069) was poor. A baby is born poor every five minutes in the state:
o A Black baby is born poor every 32 minutes.
o A Latino baby is born poor every seven minutes.
o A White, non-Latino baby is born poor every 33 minutes.
o An American Indian/Alaska Native baby is born poor every 20 hours.
o An Asian baby is born poor every nine hours.
Other factors that significantly impact the odds of a child entering the Cradle to Prison Pipeline include lack of early childhood education, poor education received later, disadvantaged health care, experienced violence, and simply being a person of color. Children in the foster care system often experience one or more of these factors, as well as losing their birth home and parents, and dealing with the trauma of abuse or neglect. These children are desperately in need of a family to call their own. They are in danger of falling through the cracks and being lost forever without one.
Recently, Dr. Tracy Eilers, a friend of mine and director of The Heart Gallery, sent me the following information about a boy, Jarod, who is about to age out of the foster care system and has almost given up hope on a family to call his own. The prospects for kids who age out of the system are grim.
Dr. Eilers says, "18 isn't a good thing for kids in foster care." Sent out on their own with no one to care for them or teach them how to be an adult in the world, half of these kids end up homeless. "Week after week, we film segments for Forever Families... week after week, I meet the most amazing kids... and every second of every day I hope beyond all hope that we can make a difference in these kids lives... I don't know if I have ever hoped so much as for Jarod."
Last year at this time, Jarod was showing off his Junior ROTC uniform for his Forever Families segment. He was 15-years-old and only recently decided he wanted to be adopted. Jarod's goal was to become a Sergeant, but he moved from foster home to foster home this year, and isn't in ROTC anymore. The rest of year has been filled with just as many disappointments, and now his outlook on life is bleak. No 16-year-old should feel this hopeless.
Jarod came in to foster care when he was 10-years-old from his uncle's house, where there were five kids, Jarod and his sister, and their three cousins. Jarod was the one who had to go into foster care.
He's had a very hard time trusting adults, and who could blame him? Now he's 16-years-old and repeating the 9th grade. In two years, he'll age out of the foster care system. Foster teens on their own are at a higher risk of homelessness and substance abuse. "To me, it seems like it's too late. For life, I guess. When I turn 18, I don't know what I'm going to do," he said.
Jarod's anger, frustration, and confusion have caused him to give up on adoption. His aunt was going to adopt him, but it wasn't a good fit. They lived together for a month, but kept getting into fights. Now Jarod is in a shelter, where he says things aren't going well.
"I got in trouble because I broke a door. I feel mad all the time. It's not foster care; it's not being adopted. It's just when I turn 18, what am I going to do? Am I going to be on the streets? I don't know what I'm going to do. I barely got an education. Ain't nothing to do," he said.
Jarod is out of hope. He feels he's out of time and he has no idea what to do about it. Ask about his future, and he shuts down. Though Jarod seems to have given up on himself, he still has another year.
Many children like Jarod have new hope through the innovative initiative, The Heart Gallery. This program combines professional portraits by renowned documentary and portrait photographers of children in foster care who are waiting to be adopted with art show-style exhibits around the country.
Dr. Eilers, of the Adoption Coalition of Texas, led the formation of the Heart Gallery of Central Texas several years ago. The goal of The Heart Gallery of Central Texas is to elicit support for and interest in the lives of these children - and ultimately find each child and sibling group a "forever family."
At any given moment, there are 500 children waiting for adoption in the Central Texas foster care system, all removed from their natural family due to abuse or neglect. The Heart Gallery process helps break down common misconceptions regarding adoption and promotes the idea that if you can provide a safe and loving home for a child, even if you are a single individual or do not own a home, you can still adopt.
"It's extraordinary to know that in just the two years of the Heart Gallery program, over 60% of the children featured in portraits were adopted," said Dr. Eilers. "This remarkable rate of success proves this effort has been effective in raising awareness for the kids and the Central Texas foster care system overall. Every year after the debut, we receive thousands of phone calls and emails from all over the country and we want that to keep happening."
"Seeing these children in photographs as they laugh and play is a very powerful experience. We want to inspire people to learn more about adopting from the foster care system. Our whole purpose is to humanize these children, display their personalities, and give a glimpse into their souls," explained Eilers.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Hooray for Mike Fox
Children Services makes surprise visits
Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb 22, 2008.
Six of 38 homes that received surprise visits from Butler County Children Services officials Wednesday night will be further investigated for alleged violations of no-contact court orders.
One person also was arrested by Butler County Sheriff's deputies as part of the blitz they called “Operation Knock Knock,” but it was for an unrelated charge.
These details were announced today as part of a press conference that comes just one week before voters will decide whether or not to replace an existing tax levy for the children services agency.
The goal, officials said, was to make sure that children in those homes are safe.
The operation involved visits to families where court orders, such as temporary restraining orders and civil protection orders, prohibit adult family members from having contact with children in the household.
“If the court or our caseworkers prohibit an adult from having contact with a child our agency is involved with, we need to make sure that is happening,” said Children Services Director Mike Fox in a prepared statement. “We need to do everything within our power to make sure our children are safe.”
Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb 22, 2008.
Six of 38 homes that received surprise visits from Butler County Children Services officials Wednesday night will be further investigated for alleged violations of no-contact court orders.
One person also was arrested by Butler County Sheriff's deputies as part of the blitz they called “Operation Knock Knock,” but it was for an unrelated charge.
These details were announced today as part of a press conference that comes just one week before voters will decide whether or not to replace an existing tax levy for the children services agency.
The goal, officials said, was to make sure that children in those homes are safe.
The operation involved visits to families where court orders, such as temporary restraining orders and civil protection orders, prohibit adult family members from having contact with children in the household.
“If the court or our caseworkers prohibit an adult from having contact with a child our agency is involved with, we need to make sure that is happening,” said Children Services Director Mike Fox in a prepared statement. “We need to do everything within our power to make sure our children are safe.”
Monday, February 18, 2008
Levy would support the needs of children in foster care
County looking to pass new 1.5-mill levy
Greier, Mary Ann, SalemNews, Feb. 18, 2008.
Fast Levy Facts
1.5-mill levy
To cover costs for abused, neglected and dependent children in Columbiana County
Will raise $2.1 million per year
If approved, .75-mill levy currently used for services will be discontinued
$27.56 annual cost to owner of $60,000 home;
$45.94 annual cost to owner of $100,000 home
LISBON — There’s a saying that it takes a community to raise a child, but in some cases, the community must shoulder the financial burden of those children in its care.
On March 4, Columbiana County will ask the community for a new 1.5-mill tax levy to cover costs for services to abused, neglected and dependent children in the care of Children Services.
“When a child’s own family cannot or will not care for them, we as a society have said we will take on that responsibility — that comes with a price tag,” county Department of Job and Family Services Director Eileen Dray-Bardon said.
The new five-year levy will generate more than $2.1 million per year. If voters approve, Dray-Bardon said they’ll discontinue the .75-mill levy currently collected for abused, neglected and dependent children.
The current levy generates about $800,000 per year, so the overall gain will be about $1.3 million, if voters approve.
She explained they explored the idea of a replacement levy for the .75 mills being collected, but it would have only garnered an additional $200,000 per year.
“A replacement isn’t going to generate enough additional revenue to carry us through,” she said.
Dray-Bardon noted the money from the levy covers exactly what the ballot language says it covers, “for the purpose of providing food, clothing, shelter, housing, medical care, counseling and other necessary services for abused, neglected and dependent children.”
“All this money is used for the children,” DJFS Business Office Administrator Carol Harvey said.
Dray-Bardon said the levy does not cover salaries except in the case of the workers at the Kyes Group Home in East Palestine, a 24/7 residential home for girls owned by the county and operated by DJFS with a portion of the levy money. The home costs about $200,000 per year to operate, which covers all the salaries, utilities, food, and other costs associated with a household. The staff includes three full-time workers and four part-time workers who oversee the girls living there. The home can hold about 10 girls at a time.
A child can end up the responsibility of Children Services in a number of ways, most commonly through abuse or neglect or through the courts. If an investigation of abuse or neglect warrants it, the agency petitions the court for custody of the child, with the goal always to reunify the child with the family or provide some type of permanence for the child.
In some cases, the child may be involved in the Juvenile Court system and the court will order the agency to take custody. In extreme cases, where a child may be orphaned and no one is available to take the child, then the child becomes dependent on the agency.
Dray-Bardon cited increasing costs for services, an increasing number of children who need counseling and other residential treatment care and a reduced reimbursement from the federal government to cover those costs.
The federal reimbursement covers 60 percent of the cost for a child determined to be 4E eligible, meaning their family’s income levy must be below a certain number. Unfortunately, she said fewer and fewer of the children they serve are 4E eligible because the federal government bases eligibility on 1996 poverty income levels. The income levels are higher now.
According to figures provided by Dray-Bardon and Harvey, 73 percent of the children in their care qualified as 4E eligible in 2001. In 2007, that number dropped to 60 percent.
Of the children in residential treatment, which is the most expensive service they’re required to provide, 70 percent of the children were eligible for the federal reimbursement. That number dropped to 50 percent in 2007.
What that means is that the agency must pay 100 percent of the cost for half of the children in residential care and 40 percent of the cost for the other half. In 2006, the number of children in residential care was 90.
“We’re getting kids with more serious issues and they’re needing more severe treatment,” Dray-Bardon said.
Fox Run Hospital, one of the residential treatment facilities the county uses, charges $316 per day per child. Another facility, Bridgeway, charges $125 per day for both foster care or treatment. Homes for Kids offers foster care for $63 per day, charging $78 per day if treatment is involved. Bair charges $58 per day for foster care and $76 per day for treatment.
With the average stay in residential treatment 90 days, the costs can add up.
Besides the residential treatment facilities, Kyes or other group homes, children can also be placed with foster families, some licensed by the county and others licensed by other counties or private foundations located in the county.
Columbiana County Children Services licenses about 27 families who take in foster children.
Harvey said “people think foster parents make a lot of money,” but that’s not the case.
Foster families licensed by the county receive a per diem of $11 per day per child from birth to 11 years old and $16 per day per child from age 12 to 17 years old. Twice a year, they receive a clothing allowance of $150 per child and they must submit receipts to prove how the money was spent.
Harvey said they always try to place children locally because it’s cheaper for the agency and better for the parents to be able to visit the child.
Dray-Bardon said they try to reduce their costs, but much of it is out of their control. The services have to be provided.
The current levy was first approved in 2000 and renewed in 2004 for five years. It doesn’t expire until 2009, but collections will be stopped if the new levy is approved.
Greier, Mary Ann, SalemNews, Feb. 18, 2008.
Fast Levy Facts
1.5-mill levy
To cover costs for abused, neglected and dependent children in Columbiana County
Will raise $2.1 million per year
If approved, .75-mill levy currently used for services will be discontinued
$27.56 annual cost to owner of $60,000 home;
$45.94 annual cost to owner of $100,000 home
LISBON — There’s a saying that it takes a community to raise a child, but in some cases, the community must shoulder the financial burden of those children in its care.
On March 4, Columbiana County will ask the community for a new 1.5-mill tax levy to cover costs for services to abused, neglected and dependent children in the care of Children Services.
“When a child’s own family cannot or will not care for them, we as a society have said we will take on that responsibility — that comes with a price tag,” county Department of Job and Family Services Director Eileen Dray-Bardon said.
The new five-year levy will generate more than $2.1 million per year. If voters approve, Dray-Bardon said they’ll discontinue the .75-mill levy currently collected for abused, neglected and dependent children.
The current levy generates about $800,000 per year, so the overall gain will be about $1.3 million, if voters approve.
She explained they explored the idea of a replacement levy for the .75 mills being collected, but it would have only garnered an additional $200,000 per year.
“A replacement isn’t going to generate enough additional revenue to carry us through,” she said.
Dray-Bardon noted the money from the levy covers exactly what the ballot language says it covers, “for the purpose of providing food, clothing, shelter, housing, medical care, counseling and other necessary services for abused, neglected and dependent children.”
“All this money is used for the children,” DJFS Business Office Administrator Carol Harvey said.
Dray-Bardon said the levy does not cover salaries except in the case of the workers at the Kyes Group Home in East Palestine, a 24/7 residential home for girls owned by the county and operated by DJFS with a portion of the levy money. The home costs about $200,000 per year to operate, which covers all the salaries, utilities, food, and other costs associated with a household. The staff includes three full-time workers and four part-time workers who oversee the girls living there. The home can hold about 10 girls at a time.
A child can end up the responsibility of Children Services in a number of ways, most commonly through abuse or neglect or through the courts. If an investigation of abuse or neglect warrants it, the agency petitions the court for custody of the child, with the goal always to reunify the child with the family or provide some type of permanence for the child.
In some cases, the child may be involved in the Juvenile Court system and the court will order the agency to take custody. In extreme cases, where a child may be orphaned and no one is available to take the child, then the child becomes dependent on the agency.
Dray-Bardon cited increasing costs for services, an increasing number of children who need counseling and other residential treatment care and a reduced reimbursement from the federal government to cover those costs.
The federal reimbursement covers 60 percent of the cost for a child determined to be 4E eligible, meaning their family’s income levy must be below a certain number. Unfortunately, she said fewer and fewer of the children they serve are 4E eligible because the federal government bases eligibility on 1996 poverty income levels. The income levels are higher now.
According to figures provided by Dray-Bardon and Harvey, 73 percent of the children in their care qualified as 4E eligible in 2001. In 2007, that number dropped to 60 percent.
Of the children in residential treatment, which is the most expensive service they’re required to provide, 70 percent of the children were eligible for the federal reimbursement. That number dropped to 50 percent in 2007.
What that means is that the agency must pay 100 percent of the cost for half of the children in residential care and 40 percent of the cost for the other half. In 2006, the number of children in residential care was 90.
“We’re getting kids with more serious issues and they’re needing more severe treatment,” Dray-Bardon said.
Fox Run Hospital, one of the residential treatment facilities the county uses, charges $316 per day per child. Another facility, Bridgeway, charges $125 per day for both foster care or treatment. Homes for Kids offers foster care for $63 per day, charging $78 per day if treatment is involved. Bair charges $58 per day for foster care and $76 per day for treatment.
With the average stay in residential treatment 90 days, the costs can add up.
Besides the residential treatment facilities, Kyes or other group homes, children can also be placed with foster families, some licensed by the county and others licensed by other counties or private foundations located in the county.
Columbiana County Children Services licenses about 27 families who take in foster children.
Harvey said “people think foster parents make a lot of money,” but that’s not the case.
Foster families licensed by the county receive a per diem of $11 per day per child from birth to 11 years old and $16 per day per child from age 12 to 17 years old. Twice a year, they receive a clothing allowance of $150 per child and they must submit receipts to prove how the money was spent.
Harvey said they always try to place children locally because it’s cheaper for the agency and better for the parents to be able to visit the child.
Dray-Bardon said they try to reduce their costs, but much of it is out of their control. The services have to be provided.
The current levy was first approved in 2000 and renewed in 2004 for five years. It doesn’t expire until 2009, but collections will be stopped if the new levy is approved.
Michael Fox was hoping for greater foster care reforms
Marcus Fiesel case inspires new foster reform law
Strickland's signing of foster care bill 'a first step'
Wilson, Richard. Lebanon Western Star, Feb. 14, 2008.
HAMILTON — Foster care reforms proposed after the death of Marcus Fiesel will soon be implemented statewide.
On Wednesday, Feb. 13, Gov. Ted Strickland signed HB 214, a bill co-sponsored by state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, that is a "first step" toward adding resources to children services to monitor foster parents and evaluate potential caregivers.
Marcus Fiesel, a 3-year-old developmentally disabled boy from Middletown, died at the hands of his foster parents, Liz and David Carroll Jr., who are incarcerated following murder convictions in his August 2006 death.
State Sen. Gary Cates, R-West Chester Twp., sponsored a companion bill in the Senate. The bill becomes law on April 13, more than a year after Marcus' August 2006 death.
The 3-year-old developmentally disabled Middletown boy was killed while in the care of his foster parents after Butler County Children Services took him out of his mother's home. Foster parents Liz and David Carroll Jr. were convicted in the case last year.
The reforms include increasing the preplacement training for foster caregivers from 24 to 36 hours and allowing foster caregivers to fulfill up to 20 percent of their continuing training requirement by teaching training classes or mentoring other foster caregivers.
Michael Fox, executive director of Butler County Children Services, said the bill doesn't change much in the county. His agency is already doing what the law is requiring, Fox said.
"The bill doesn't do any harm, but it doesn't do much good either," he said.
Strickland's signing of foster care bill 'a first step'
Wilson, Richard. Lebanon Western Star, Feb. 14, 2008.
HAMILTON — Foster care reforms proposed after the death of Marcus Fiesel will soon be implemented statewide.
On Wednesday, Feb. 13, Gov. Ted Strickland signed HB 214, a bill co-sponsored by state Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, that is a "first step" toward adding resources to children services to monitor foster parents and evaluate potential caregivers.
Marcus Fiesel, a 3-year-old developmentally disabled boy from Middletown, died at the hands of his foster parents, Liz and David Carroll Jr., who are incarcerated following murder convictions in his August 2006 death.
State Sen. Gary Cates, R-West Chester Twp., sponsored a companion bill in the Senate. The bill becomes law on April 13, more than a year after Marcus' August 2006 death.
The 3-year-old developmentally disabled Middletown boy was killed while in the care of his foster parents after Butler County Children Services took him out of his mother's home. Foster parents Liz and David Carroll Jr. were convicted in the case last year.
The reforms include increasing the preplacement training for foster caregivers from 24 to 36 hours and allowing foster caregivers to fulfill up to 20 percent of their continuing training requirement by teaching training classes or mentoring other foster caregivers.
Michael Fox, executive director of Butler County Children Services, said the bill doesn't change much in the county. His agency is already doing what the law is requiring, Fox said.
"The bill doesn't do any harm, but it doesn't do much good either," he said.
Wagner bill
Wagner foster care bill on Strickland’s desk
Risner, Kevin. Tiffin Advertiser Tribune, Feb. 11, 2008.
State Rep. Jeff Wagner, R-Sycamore, announced last week House Bill 214 has been approved by the Ohio legislature and now is awaiting the signature of Gov. Ted Strickland.
“Because I was a foster parent I was asked to carry the bill,” Wagner said.
“My main concern when we started with this was that we didn’t overreact.
“This came out of a tragic situation in southern Ohio where a child had been murdered by his foster parents. So the natural reaction of government is to overreact and make it too hard to be a foster parent. That’s when I got involved because I didn’t want that overreaction to happen.”
The bill contains a number of foster care reforms, including improving the training of foster parents, ensuring that foster parent information is adequately protected, creating mentoring programs for current and prospective foster caregivers, and enhancing placement procedures for MRDD children.
Wagner said part of the process of creating and moving the bill to passage was to meet with interested parties, such as child care providers and representatives of Child and Family Services. The goal was to form a bill that could make the foster care system safe while not making it too difficult to become a foster parent, he said.
“One of the neat things the foster parents brought to us was the training, which is often by a case worker who means well but doesn’t really have the experience,” Wagner said.
“This bill would allow experienced foster care givers to use some of the continuous training hours to mentor younger care givers, maybe somebody who is entering the system. That’s a real hands-on way of making the system better.”
Part of the bill became controversial, Wagner said. With the Cincinnati Enquirer filing a lawsuit to learn the identities of foster care parents throughout the state, other newspapers joined to oppose language in the bill to shield the identity of foster parents.
“Once these names and information becomes public information, you compromise the safety of foster parents and foster children,” Wagner said. “You are going to have foster parents leave the system or just not sign up. I thought it was important that we just spell that out in law, that that is not public record, other than certain circumstances.”
Wagner said the bill includes three exceptions by which the identity of foster parents would become public record.
Wagner said identifying foster parents and personal information could have a chilling effect on keeping foster parents or recruiting new foster parents.
If people know potentially embarrassing information from their distant past might be revealed, such as a DUI conviction from a decade prior, they may shy away from the foster care program.
“We are already begging for foster homes,” Wagner said. “We don’t have enough in any county in the state. If you lose another 500 or 1,000, it’s just a tragedy. Those kids won’t have homes to go to.”
Wagner said the governor could sign the bill at any time, or he may wait until a companion bill is passed, and then sign the two bills at the same time. If he waits for the second bill, a few weeks could pass before the bill is signed and becomes law.
Risner, Kevin. Tiffin Advertiser Tribune, Feb. 11, 2008.
State Rep. Jeff Wagner, R-Sycamore, announced last week House Bill 214 has been approved by the Ohio legislature and now is awaiting the signature of Gov. Ted Strickland.
“Because I was a foster parent I was asked to carry the bill,” Wagner said.
“My main concern when we started with this was that we didn’t overreact.
“This came out of a tragic situation in southern Ohio where a child had been murdered by his foster parents. So the natural reaction of government is to overreact and make it too hard to be a foster parent. That’s when I got involved because I didn’t want that overreaction to happen.”
The bill contains a number of foster care reforms, including improving the training of foster parents, ensuring that foster parent information is adequately protected, creating mentoring programs for current and prospective foster caregivers, and enhancing placement procedures for MRDD children.
Wagner said part of the process of creating and moving the bill to passage was to meet with interested parties, such as child care providers and representatives of Child and Family Services. The goal was to form a bill that could make the foster care system safe while not making it too difficult to become a foster parent, he said.
“One of the neat things the foster parents brought to us was the training, which is often by a case worker who means well but doesn’t really have the experience,” Wagner said.
“This bill would allow experienced foster care givers to use some of the continuous training hours to mentor younger care givers, maybe somebody who is entering the system. That’s a real hands-on way of making the system better.”
Part of the bill became controversial, Wagner said. With the Cincinnati Enquirer filing a lawsuit to learn the identities of foster care parents throughout the state, other newspapers joined to oppose language in the bill to shield the identity of foster parents.
“Once these names and information becomes public information, you compromise the safety of foster parents and foster children,” Wagner said. “You are going to have foster parents leave the system or just not sign up. I thought it was important that we just spell that out in law, that that is not public record, other than certain circumstances.”
Wagner said the bill includes three exceptions by which the identity of foster parents would become public record.
Wagner said identifying foster parents and personal information could have a chilling effect on keeping foster parents or recruiting new foster parents.
If people know potentially embarrassing information from their distant past might be revealed, such as a DUI conviction from a decade prior, they may shy away from the foster care program.
“We are already begging for foster homes,” Wagner said. “We don’t have enough in any county in the state. If you lose another 500 or 1,000, it’s just a tragedy. Those kids won’t have homes to go to.”
Wagner said the governor could sign the bill at any time, or he may wait until a companion bill is passed, and then sign the two bills at the same time. If he waits for the second bill, a few weeks could pass before the bill is signed and becomes law.
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
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
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Foster parents mentoring one another
New foster care law will protect kids
Carey, Jim. Chillicothe Gazette, Feb. 13, 2008.
The tragic murder of a 3-year-old foster child from southwest Ohio in the summer of 2006 has been at the center of an ongoing campaign in the General Assembly to address problems in the state's foster care system. Last Tuesday, the Senate took an important step forward in this effort.
As some of you may recall, in August 2006, a developmentally-disabled boy from Clermont County named Marcus Fiesel was killed by his foster parents Liz and David Carroll, who bound him in a blanket and left him alone in a sweltering closet while they traveled to an out-of-state family reunion. The couple returned home to find him dead, then proceeded to burn his body and dispose of the remains.
News of this gruesome event sent shockwaves through communities across the state and rallied legislators, government agency representatives and child advocates to the table to take a close look at Ohio's system of placing foster children. After receiving a detailed report on the Fiesel case from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services shortly after his death, the group conducted an extensive review of the state's foster care system and laid-out several key recommendations for change.
One of these recommendations is at the heart of legislation which was passed unanimously by the Senate this past week. House Bill 214, a measure that I am proud to co-sponsor, would increase the number of training hours required to be a foster parent in Ohio from 24 to 36.
And, importantly, at the urging of current foster parents, the bill allows prospective parents to complete this training requirement through mentoring programs that pair new foster parents with experienced foster caregivers.
This means families looking to take in a foster kid will not only receive more hours of training but will have the opportunity to work one-on-one with men and women who have been in their shoes before and have valuable knowledge to share about the process.
In addition, HB 214 includes a measure that seeks to weed out "bad actors" in Ohio's foster care system and protect foster children from potentially harmful, unlawful caregivers. Should a foster parent have their license revoked or be accused or convicted of a crime, the bill would require information about that foster parent and the placement of children with that individual to become public record.
With this measure in place, the state not only ensures proper oversight of the system, but works to protect the privacy of honest caregivers, who could be discouraged from becoming a foster parent if their personal information was publicly-accessible.
The General Assembly has also taken other important steps to strengthen Ohio's foster care system. In House Bill 119, the most recent state budget bill, a provision was included to create a 10-county pilot program through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, designed to give foster care placement agencies more resources to measure a child's placement needs. For instance, Marcus Fiesel was reported to be autistic and needed more specialized care than other children in the system.
The Senate has also passed legislation, Senate Bill 163, which incorporates other recommendations from the working group of state leaders and child advocates, including added protections for foster kids, improved cooperation among government agencies to prevent children from being placed in dangerous homes and more information to public service agencies, better enabling them to remove a child should problems develop. This bill is now under consideration in the Ohio House.
Ohio's children are the future of our state, and we should do everything possible to ensure all kids have the support and protection they need. Many foster children are already in a difficult situation, moving from home to home. They should not have to worry about whether their new family will harm them.
The General Assembly has taken important steps to keep foster children safe and place them in loving homes. I will work to see that this effort continues.
Carey, R-Wellston, represents Ohio's 17th State Senate District. This includes Chillicothe.
Carey, Jim. Chillicothe Gazette, Feb. 13, 2008.
The tragic murder of a 3-year-old foster child from southwest Ohio in the summer of 2006 has been at the center of an ongoing campaign in the General Assembly to address problems in the state's foster care system. Last Tuesday, the Senate took an important step forward in this effort.
As some of you may recall, in August 2006, a developmentally-disabled boy from Clermont County named Marcus Fiesel was killed by his foster parents Liz and David Carroll, who bound him in a blanket and left him alone in a sweltering closet while they traveled to an out-of-state family reunion. The couple returned home to find him dead, then proceeded to burn his body and dispose of the remains.
News of this gruesome event sent shockwaves through communities across the state and rallied legislators, government agency representatives and child advocates to the table to take a close look at Ohio's system of placing foster children. After receiving a detailed report on the Fiesel case from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services shortly after his death, the group conducted an extensive review of the state's foster care system and laid-out several key recommendations for change.
One of these recommendations is at the heart of legislation which was passed unanimously by the Senate this past week. House Bill 214, a measure that I am proud to co-sponsor, would increase the number of training hours required to be a foster parent in Ohio from 24 to 36.
And, importantly, at the urging of current foster parents, the bill allows prospective parents to complete this training requirement through mentoring programs that pair new foster parents with experienced foster caregivers.
This means families looking to take in a foster kid will not only receive more hours of training but will have the opportunity to work one-on-one with men and women who have been in their shoes before and have valuable knowledge to share about the process.
In addition, HB 214 includes a measure that seeks to weed out "bad actors" in Ohio's foster care system and protect foster children from potentially harmful, unlawful caregivers. Should a foster parent have their license revoked or be accused or convicted of a crime, the bill would require information about that foster parent and the placement of children with that individual to become public record.
With this measure in place, the state not only ensures proper oversight of the system, but works to protect the privacy of honest caregivers, who could be discouraged from becoming a foster parent if their personal information was publicly-accessible.
The General Assembly has also taken other important steps to strengthen Ohio's foster care system. In House Bill 119, the most recent state budget bill, a provision was included to create a 10-county pilot program through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, designed to give foster care placement agencies more resources to measure a child's placement needs. For instance, Marcus Fiesel was reported to be autistic and needed more specialized care than other children in the system.
The Senate has also passed legislation, Senate Bill 163, which incorporates other recommendations from the working group of state leaders and child advocates, including added protections for foster kids, improved cooperation among government agencies to prevent children from being placed in dangerous homes and more information to public service agencies, better enabling them to remove a child should problems develop. This bill is now under consideration in the Ohio House.
Ohio's children are the future of our state, and we should do everything possible to ensure all kids have the support and protection they need. Many foster children are already in a difficult situation, moving from home to home. They should not have to worry about whether their new family will harm them.
The General Assembly has taken important steps to keep foster children safe and place them in loving homes. I will work to see that this effort continues.
Carey, R-Wellston, represents Ohio's 17th State Senate District. This includes Chillicothe.
Monday, February 11, 2008
The mentoring partnerships sound promising
Wagner foster care bill on Strickland’s desk
Risner, Kevin. Tiffin Adviser Tribune, Feb. 11, 2008.
State Rep. Jeff Wagner, R-Sycamore, announced last week House Bill 214 has been approved by the Ohio legislature and now is awaiting the signature of Gov. Ted Strickland.
“Because I was a foster parent I was asked to carry the bill,” Wagner said.
“My main concern when we started with this was that we didn’t overreact.
“This came out of a tragic situation in southern Ohio where a child had been murdered by his foster parents. So the natural reaction of government is to overreact and make it too hard to be a foster parent. That’s when I got involved because I didn’t want that overreaction to happen.”
The bill contains a number of foster care reforms, including improving the training of foster parents, ensuring that foster parent information is adequately protected, creating mentoring programs for current and prospective foster caregivers, and enhancing placement procedures for MRDD children.
Wagner said part of the process of creating and moving the bill to passage was to meet with interested parties, such as child care providers and representatives of Child and Family Services. The goal was to form a bill that could make the foster care system safe while not making it too difficult to become a foster parent, he said.
“One of the neat things the foster parents brought to us was the training, which is often by a case worker who means well but doesn’t really have the experience,” Wagner said.
“This bill would allow experienced foster care givers to use some of the continuous training hours to mentor younger care givers, maybe somebody who is entering the system. That’s a real hands-on way of making the system better.”
Part of the bill became controversial, Wagner said. With the Cincinnati Enquirer filing a lawsuit to learn the identities of foster care parents throughout the state, other newspapers joined to oppose language in the bill to shield the identity of foster parents.
“Once these names and information becomes public information, you compromise the safety of foster parents and foster children,” Wagner said. “You are going to have foster parents leave the system or just not sign up. I thought it was important that we just spell that out in law, that that is not public record, other than certain circumstances.”
Wagner said the bill includes three exceptions by which the identity of foster parents would become public record.
Wagner said identifying foster parents and personal information could have a chilling effect on keeping foster parents or recruiting new foster parents.
If people know potentially embarrassing information from their distant past might be revealed, such as a DUI conviction from a decade prior, they may shy away from the foster care program.
“We are already begging for foster homes,” Wagner said. “We don’t have enough in any county in the state. If you lose another 500 or 1,000, it’s just a tragedy. Those kids won’t have homes to go to.”
Wagner said the governor could sign the bill at any time, or he may wait until a companion bill is passed, and then sign the two bills at the same time. If he waits for the second bill, a few weeks could pass before the bill is signed and becomes law.
Risner, Kevin. Tiffin Adviser Tribune, Feb. 11, 2008.
State Rep. Jeff Wagner, R-Sycamore, announced last week House Bill 214 has been approved by the Ohio legislature and now is awaiting the signature of Gov. Ted Strickland.
“Because I was a foster parent I was asked to carry the bill,” Wagner said.
“My main concern when we started with this was that we didn’t overreact.
“This came out of a tragic situation in southern Ohio where a child had been murdered by his foster parents. So the natural reaction of government is to overreact and make it too hard to be a foster parent. That’s when I got involved because I didn’t want that overreaction to happen.”
The bill contains a number of foster care reforms, including improving the training of foster parents, ensuring that foster parent information is adequately protected, creating mentoring programs for current and prospective foster caregivers, and enhancing placement procedures for MRDD children.
Wagner said part of the process of creating and moving the bill to passage was to meet with interested parties, such as child care providers and representatives of Child and Family Services. The goal was to form a bill that could make the foster care system safe while not making it too difficult to become a foster parent, he said.
“One of the neat things the foster parents brought to us was the training, which is often by a case worker who means well but doesn’t really have the experience,” Wagner said.
“This bill would allow experienced foster care givers to use some of the continuous training hours to mentor younger care givers, maybe somebody who is entering the system. That’s a real hands-on way of making the system better.”
Part of the bill became controversial, Wagner said. With the Cincinnati Enquirer filing a lawsuit to learn the identities of foster care parents throughout the state, other newspapers joined to oppose language in the bill to shield the identity of foster parents.
“Once these names and information becomes public information, you compromise the safety of foster parents and foster children,” Wagner said. “You are going to have foster parents leave the system or just not sign up. I thought it was important that we just spell that out in law, that that is not public record, other than certain circumstances.”
Wagner said the bill includes three exceptions by which the identity of foster parents would become public record.
Wagner said identifying foster parents and personal information could have a chilling effect on keeping foster parents or recruiting new foster parents.
If people know potentially embarrassing information from their distant past might be revealed, such as a DUI conviction from a decade prior, they may shy away from the foster care program.
“We are already begging for foster homes,” Wagner said. “We don’t have enough in any county in the state. If you lose another 500 or 1,000, it’s just a tragedy. Those kids won’t have homes to go to.”
Wagner said the governor could sign the bill at any time, or he may wait until a companion bill is passed, and then sign the two bills at the same time. If he waits for the second bill, a few weeks could pass before the bill is signed and becomes law.
Ohio's Safe Haven law is a very good thing
Newborn dropped off at EMH is in foster care
Roberson, Lisa. Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, Feb. 7, 2008.
ELYRIA — A newborn baby girl born at home and then dropped off at EMH Regional Medical Center hours later is out of the hospital and living with a county approved, foster-to-adopt family.
“The baby’s safe, doing well,” said Patti-Jo Burtnett, Lorain County Children Services spokeswoman, declining to say more about the baby’s status.
The baby was born sometime Sunday night during the Super Bowl game and taken to the hospital by a relative who said the child’s teenage parents could not care for her. The couple, ages 18 and 19, already has a 1-year-old and 2-year-old at home.
Hospital staff received the baby and immediately contacted Children Services.
The baby is the first this year to be dropped off under Ohio’s Safe Haven law, which allows a parent — without fear of prosecution — to dropoff an unharmed newborn that is not more than 72 hours old to a medical worker at a hospital, with a peace officer at a law enforcement agency or at an emergency service organization.
Parents are not required to provide any personal information, but they are asked to voluntarily fill out a medical history questionnaire.
In this case, an aunt dropped off the infant and gave police the names of the parents.
The father is her brother, according to a police report.
The baby’s case is more complicated than a traditional Safe Haven case because it was the aunt and not the parents dropping her off. But officials have said they aren’t looking at the case as anything else, either.
Burtnett said the child will remain in foster care until such time as the Lorain County Juvenile Court determinations adoption status.
“Most of Loran County’s foster families are ready to be both foster families and adoptive parents. So when and if this infant needs to be adopted, it will.”
Since the Safe Haven law was enacted in 2001, three other infants were surrendered in Lorain County. One infant was surrendered in 2001 and another two were surrendered in 2007, according to state figures.
Roberson, Lisa. Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, Feb. 7, 2008.
ELYRIA — A newborn baby girl born at home and then dropped off at EMH Regional Medical Center hours later is out of the hospital and living with a county approved, foster-to-adopt family.
“The baby’s safe, doing well,” said Patti-Jo Burtnett, Lorain County Children Services spokeswoman, declining to say more about the baby’s status.
The baby was born sometime Sunday night during the Super Bowl game and taken to the hospital by a relative who said the child’s teenage parents could not care for her. The couple, ages 18 and 19, already has a 1-year-old and 2-year-old at home.
Hospital staff received the baby and immediately contacted Children Services.
The baby is the first this year to be dropped off under Ohio’s Safe Haven law, which allows a parent — without fear of prosecution — to dropoff an unharmed newborn that is not more than 72 hours old to a medical worker at a hospital, with a peace officer at a law enforcement agency or at an emergency service organization.
Parents are not required to provide any personal information, but they are asked to voluntarily fill out a medical history questionnaire.
In this case, an aunt dropped off the infant and gave police the names of the parents.
The father is her brother, according to a police report.
The baby’s case is more complicated than a traditional Safe Haven case because it was the aunt and not the parents dropping her off. But officials have said they aren’t looking at the case as anything else, either.
Burtnett said the child will remain in foster care until such time as the Lorain County Juvenile Court determinations adoption status.
“Most of Loran County’s foster families are ready to be both foster families and adoptive parents. So when and if this infant needs to be adopted, it will.”
Since the Safe Haven law was enacted in 2001, three other infants were surrendered in Lorain County. One infant was surrendered in 2001 and another two were surrendered in 2007, according to state figures.
As a former foster child, I would like to see SB 163 passed
Senate passes foster care bill
More extensive training of parents on the way
Craig, Jon. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 7, 2008.
COLUMBUS - State legislation prompted by the murder of Marcus Fiesel at the hands of his Clermont County foster parents is headed to Gov. Ted Strickland for his signature after approval by the Ohio Senate Tuesday.
The Senate's 31-0 vote Tuesday comes almost a year after David and Liz Carroll were convicted of the murder of the 3-year-old; the bill's passage capped 10 months of legislative debate over ways to reform Ohio's foster care system.
Among other changes, House Bill 214 increases training for foster parents and improves care for disabled foster children.
The legislation was prompted by Marcus' death in August 2006. The developmentally disabled Middletown boy died after being left tied up in a closet by the Carrolls when they took a weekend trip to Kentucky. They are serving life prison sentences.
State Sens. Gary Cates and Tom Niehaus spoke in support of the legislation on the Senate floor.
Cates, R-West Chester, said the new law "will go a long way to protect children" and "prevent these situations from happening again."
Niehaus, R-New Richmond, praised a change allowing current foster parents to mentor prospective foster parents. Parents will be paid for mentoring.
"The governor is supportive and plans to sign the bill," Keith Dailey, a spokesman for Strickland, said. The bill becomes law 90 days after the governor's signature.
House Bill 214 would:
-Increase the hours required for pre-placement training for foster parents by 12 hours, to 36 hours.
-Improve the placement and care for mentally and developmentally disabled foster children, including forums and new training for parents of children with special needs.
-Block public access to the names of foster parents unless they are charged with a crime or their certification is revoked. The public records exemption, added in the Ohio House, delayed passage of the bill.
Shortly after Marcus' death, The Enquirer filed a lawsuit seeking access to an electronic database of all foster homes in Ohio. If the Ohio Supreme Court rules in favor of the newspaper, records sought in that request - but not newer records - would be considered public.
Related legislation, Senate Bill 163 sponsored by Niehaus, requires FBI criminal background checks on all foster parents and adds their fingerprints to a statewide database. That bill awaits approval by the Ohio House.
More extensive training of parents on the way
Craig, Jon. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 7, 2008.
COLUMBUS - State legislation prompted by the murder of Marcus Fiesel at the hands of his Clermont County foster parents is headed to Gov. Ted Strickland for his signature after approval by the Ohio Senate Tuesday.
The Senate's 31-0 vote Tuesday comes almost a year after David and Liz Carroll were convicted of the murder of the 3-year-old; the bill's passage capped 10 months of legislative debate over ways to reform Ohio's foster care system.
Among other changes, House Bill 214 increases training for foster parents and improves care for disabled foster children.
The legislation was prompted by Marcus' death in August 2006. The developmentally disabled Middletown boy died after being left tied up in a closet by the Carrolls when they took a weekend trip to Kentucky. They are serving life prison sentences.
State Sens. Gary Cates and Tom Niehaus spoke in support of the legislation on the Senate floor.
Cates, R-West Chester, said the new law "will go a long way to protect children" and "prevent these situations from happening again."
Niehaus, R-New Richmond, praised a change allowing current foster parents to mentor prospective foster parents. Parents will be paid for mentoring.
"The governor is supportive and plans to sign the bill," Keith Dailey, a spokesman for Strickland, said. The bill becomes law 90 days after the governor's signature.
House Bill 214 would:
-Increase the hours required for pre-placement training for foster parents by 12 hours, to 36 hours.
-Improve the placement and care for mentally and developmentally disabled foster children, including forums and new training for parents of children with special needs.
-Block public access to the names of foster parents unless they are charged with a crime or their certification is revoked. The public records exemption, added in the Ohio House, delayed passage of the bill.
Shortly after Marcus' death, The Enquirer filed a lawsuit seeking access to an electronic database of all foster homes in Ohio. If the Ohio Supreme Court rules in favor of the newspaper, records sought in that request - but not newer records - would be considered public.
Related legislation, Senate Bill 163 sponsored by Niehaus, requires FBI criminal background checks on all foster parents and adds their fingerprints to a statewide database. That bill awaits approval by the Ohio House.
These two brothers deserve some stability in their lives
8-year-old steals car fearing another foster care move
Cleveland Plain Dealer, Feb. 6, 2008.
CLEVELAND (AP) - An 8-year-old who has been in and out of the foster care system stole a car with his 6-year-old brother and tried to flee, fearing they would be moved again.
Police say the boy took the keys to a relative's Ford Escort, grabbed his little brother and drove less than a half-mile before crashing into a tree Tuesday.
Both boys received minor scrapes from the car's air bag.
Police will not charge the boy. Cuyahoga County is considering moving the 8-year-old out of his aunt's house.
The boys were removed from their mother's care because she neglected them. They later moved in with their dad, then found his body after he shot himself in the head.
Cleveland Plain Dealer, Feb. 6, 2008.
CLEVELAND (AP) - An 8-year-old who has been in and out of the foster care system stole a car with his 6-year-old brother and tried to flee, fearing they would be moved again.
Police say the boy took the keys to a relative's Ford Escort, grabbed his little brother and drove less than a half-mile before crashing into a tree Tuesday.
Both boys received minor scrapes from the car's air bag.
Police will not charge the boy. Cuyahoga County is considering moving the 8-year-old out of his aunt's house.
The boys were removed from their mother's care because she neglected them. They later moved in with their dad, then found his body after he shot himself in the head.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Foster parents who commit an offense that would have disallowed them from being licensed
Foster-care measure protects information
Kostyu, Paul. Canton Repository, Feb. 6, 2008.
COLUMBUS - A bill intended to improve the state's foster care system will reduce access to records now considered public. The measure passed the Ohio Senate on Tuesday.
House Bill 214, already approved by the Ohio House, will now head to the governor for his signature.
The legislation came in the aftermath of the death of Marcus Fiesel, 3, who was bundled in a blanket and left in a hot closet in a Cincinnati-area home while his foster parents went to a family reunion in Kentucky.
The bill sparked controversy and barely passed the House in October because opponents said it limited transparency of the foster care program.
The public will be allowed access to foster caregiver information after that person's state certificate has been revoked or the person has been convicted of, pleaded guilty to or been indicted with any offense that would have prevented the individual from serving as a foster caregiver.
Protected from disclosure is the foster parent's address, as well as material about an investigation of a parent, removal of a child from a home and the reason for doing so. - YIPES , what if a child was abused in that home?
The Senate passed the bill unanimously without debate. State Sen. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Township, said later he opposed restricting access to information, but voted for the bill because of its other aspects. Also voting for HB 214 were senators John Boccieri, D-New Middletown, and Jason Wilson, D-Columbiana.
The bill increases training for foster parents, allows mentoring to count toward continuing education, requires cooperation between the Department of Job and Family Services and the Department of Mental Retardation and Development Disabilities, among other standards.
On a related matter, the Ohio Supreme Court has yet to rule on a case it heard last month in which the Cincinnati Enquirer wants access to records about how the state licenses foster parents. The paper wants to know if there are any more parents like David and Liz Carroll, who were convicted of murdering Fiesel.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services contends the records are private.
Kostyu, Paul. Canton Repository, Feb. 6, 2008.
COLUMBUS - A bill intended to improve the state's foster care system will reduce access to records now considered public. The measure passed the Ohio Senate on Tuesday.
House Bill 214, already approved by the Ohio House, will now head to the governor for his signature.
The legislation came in the aftermath of the death of Marcus Fiesel, 3, who was bundled in a blanket and left in a hot closet in a Cincinnati-area home while his foster parents went to a family reunion in Kentucky.
The bill sparked controversy and barely passed the House in October because opponents said it limited transparency of the foster care program.
The public will be allowed access to foster caregiver information after that person's state certificate has been revoked or the person has been convicted of, pleaded guilty to or been indicted with any offense that would have prevented the individual from serving as a foster caregiver.
Protected from disclosure is the foster parent's address, as well as material about an investigation of a parent, removal of a child from a home and the reason for doing so. - YIPES , what if a child was abused in that home?
The Senate passed the bill unanimously without debate. State Sen. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Township, said later he opposed restricting access to information, but voted for the bill because of its other aspects. Also voting for HB 214 were senators John Boccieri, D-New Middletown, and Jason Wilson, D-Columbiana.
The bill increases training for foster parents, allows mentoring to count toward continuing education, requires cooperation between the Department of Job and Family Services and the Department of Mental Retardation and Development Disabilities, among other standards.
On a related matter, the Ohio Supreme Court has yet to rule on a case it heard last month in which the Cincinnati Enquirer wants access to records about how the state licenses foster parents. The paper wants to know if there are any more parents like David and Liz Carroll, who were convicted of murdering Fiesel.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services contends the records are private.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Nurse-Family Partnership teaches parenting skills
Abuse prevention needs funds, report says
Phillips, Jeb. Columbus Dispatch, Jan. 29, 2008.
Ohio's children would be better served if some money now spent on foster care went toward preventing abuse and neglect in their own families, or was spent to help reunite those children with their families, a new report contends.
Ohio and Franklin County have begun moving in that direction, but the federal government demands that a huge majority of the money spent on child welfare go to foster services. The new report, by Kids Are Waiting, a program of the Pew Charitable Trusts, contends state and local governments need more flexibility in spending foster-care money. In the end, spending some of those funds on abuse prevention and family reunification might save money and help children.
"Foster care is important. It's saved lives," said Crystal Ward Allen, director of Public Children Services Association of Ohio. "But it's only half the battle. Kids need permanent homes."
Ohio ranks near the bottom nationally in some important categories, the report states.
In 2005, 45 percent of foster children were reunited with their families, while the national average was 54 percent. And Ohio has a greater percentage of "inflexible" child-welfare money than all but seven states. That's money that can't be shifted from foster services to others. The state spends about $800 million per year on child welfare.
The report highlights prevention programs, such as the Nurse-Family Partnership, that spend money teaching parents how to raise children properly.
Franklin County's Nurse-Family Partnership began at Nationwide Children's Hospital at the end of 2006, and now has 104 mostly young, mostly poor at-risk mothers or future mothers enrolled. The program has seen 52 babies born. The program tries to begin with pregnant young women and stays with them until their babies' second birthdays.
It's too early to measure the long-term success of the local program, said nurse supervisor Carole Tully, but early signs are promising. The nurses teach the health value of breast-feeding, and about 67 percent of the mothers began breast-feeding when their children were born.
In studies, the partnership returned $2.88 in saved health care, social services and other expenses for every dollar invested.
Ohio has started other programs to help provide children with more-stable environments.
The Kinship Permanency Incentive Program, begun in 2006, pays some relatives if they take in children whose parents can't care for them. Franklin County and 16 other counties have signed onto the ProtectOhio waiver, which gives those counties lump-sum payments that can be used for reunification.
Without the waiver, the counties would be reimbursed for every child in foster care, which makes it easier for those children to stay in foster care, some experts argue.
In November, U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, a Republican from Genoa Township, helped introduce a bill called the Partnership for Children and Families Act, which would provide other financial incentives and flexibility.
Those are moves in the right direction, Allen said.
"We cannot let kids be in foster care for an extended period of time," she said.
Phillips, Jeb. Columbus Dispatch, Jan. 29, 2008.
Ohio's children would be better served if some money now spent on foster care went toward preventing abuse and neglect in their own families, or was spent to help reunite those children with their families, a new report contends.
Ohio and Franklin County have begun moving in that direction, but the federal government demands that a huge majority of the money spent on child welfare go to foster services. The new report, by Kids Are Waiting, a program of the Pew Charitable Trusts, contends state and local governments need more flexibility in spending foster-care money. In the end, spending some of those funds on abuse prevention and family reunification might save money and help children.
"Foster care is important. It's saved lives," said Crystal Ward Allen, director of Public Children Services Association of Ohio. "But it's only half the battle. Kids need permanent homes."
Ohio ranks near the bottom nationally in some important categories, the report states.
In 2005, 45 percent of foster children were reunited with their families, while the national average was 54 percent. And Ohio has a greater percentage of "inflexible" child-welfare money than all but seven states. That's money that can't be shifted from foster services to others. The state spends about $800 million per year on child welfare.
The report highlights prevention programs, such as the Nurse-Family Partnership, that spend money teaching parents how to raise children properly.
Franklin County's Nurse-Family Partnership began at Nationwide Children's Hospital at the end of 2006, and now has 104 mostly young, mostly poor at-risk mothers or future mothers enrolled. The program has seen 52 babies born. The program tries to begin with pregnant young women and stays with them until their babies' second birthdays.
It's too early to measure the long-term success of the local program, said nurse supervisor Carole Tully, but early signs are promising. The nurses teach the health value of breast-feeding, and about 67 percent of the mothers began breast-feeding when their children were born.
In studies, the partnership returned $2.88 in saved health care, social services and other expenses for every dollar invested.
Ohio has started other programs to help provide children with more-stable environments.
The Kinship Permanency Incentive Program, begun in 2006, pays some relatives if they take in children whose parents can't care for them. Franklin County and 16 other counties have signed onto the ProtectOhio waiver, which gives those counties lump-sum payments that can be used for reunification.
Without the waiver, the counties would be reimbursed for every child in foster care, which makes it easier for those children to stay in foster care, some experts argue.
In November, U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, a Republican from Genoa Township, helped introduce a bill called the Partnership for Children and Families Act, which would provide other financial incentives and flexibility.
Those are moves in the right direction, Allen said.
"We cannot let kids be in foster care for an extended period of time," she said.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Hooray - Ohio Medicaid extended for foster care alumni until age 21
Medicaid coverage expanded for foster kids, pregnant women
New provision in Ohio law means at least 4,000 state residents will get help with their medical bills.
Bischoff, Laura. Dayton Daily News, Jan. 16, 2008.
COLUMBUS — Each year more than 1,000 young Ohioans leave the state foster care system without getting adopted, immediately losing their homes and medical insurance on their 18th birthdays.
But a new provision in state law will extend Medicaid coverage to these Ohioans until their 21st birthdays.
"It is very important. We feel that youth who go out to the work force or go off to college should not be cut off from medical coverage," said Adrian McLemore, 21, a junior at Wright State University who left foster care at age 18. "I aged out of foster care. When I turned 18 and went off to college, it was a struggle."
McLemore, who is involved in a foster kids advocacy group called Overcoming Hurdles in Ohio, said he is still facing about $1,000 in medical bills from a car wreck his freshman year. He applauded state officials who put the Medicaid expansion into the state budget.
Medicaid coverage also is being expanded for about 3,000 pregnant women whose household incomes are between 150 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty level. That translates to incomes up to $41,300 for a family of four.
The expansion is expected to cost $19.6 million a year in state and federal funds for the pregnancy coverage and $19.6 million a year for foster kids.
New provision in Ohio law means at least 4,000 state residents will get help with their medical bills.
Bischoff, Laura. Dayton Daily News, Jan. 16, 2008.
COLUMBUS — Each year more than 1,000 young Ohioans leave the state foster care system without getting adopted, immediately losing their homes and medical insurance on their 18th birthdays.
But a new provision in state law will extend Medicaid coverage to these Ohioans until their 21st birthdays.
"It is very important. We feel that youth who go out to the work force or go off to college should not be cut off from medical coverage," said Adrian McLemore, 21, a junior at Wright State University who left foster care at age 18. "I aged out of foster care. When I turned 18 and went off to college, it was a struggle."
McLemore, who is involved in a foster kids advocacy group called Overcoming Hurdles in Ohio, said he is still facing about $1,000 in medical bills from a car wreck his freshman year. He applauded state officials who put the Medicaid expansion into the state budget.
Medicaid coverage also is being expanded for about 3,000 pregnant women whose household incomes are between 150 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty level. That translates to incomes up to $41,300 for a family of four.
The expansion is expected to cost $19.6 million a year in state and federal funds for the pregnancy coverage and $19.6 million a year for foster kids.
Newspaper argues for open foster parent records
Editorial: Foster-care insider understands the danger of closing records
Cleveland Plain Dealer, Jan. 16, 2008.
The General Assembly should uphold its duty to foster children and pass a Senate bill that keeps open foster-care records. The bureaucrats who want to hide them are interested only in protecting other bureaucrats, not children.
And that's not just the opinion of this newspaper. It's also the opinion of a conservative Republican, a 22-year state legislator, who is now reforming Butler County Children Services.
Marcus Fiesel, an autistic 3-year-old, was Butler County's ward. Lifeway for Youth, a private agency working with the county, placed Marcus in foster care in suburban Cincinnati. In August 2006, the foster parents killed Marcus because, to put it plainly, he got in the way of some weekend plans.
Marcus' murder was so horrific - he was alive when he was wrapped and taped into a blanket, then lodged in a bedroom closet in a Southern Ohio summer; he was dead when his "caretakers" returned two days later - it got Ohio lawmakers all the way out of their hammocks.
The Senate and the House each passed "reforms." Neither has become law because of a key difference. The House, with Gov. Ted Strickland's support, wants to hide the names and addresses of foster parents. That information is now public, though the Department of Job & Family Services is, wrongly, asking the Ohio Supreme Court to hide it from the Cincinnati Enquirer.
A year after Marcus died, the Butler County commissioners named a colleague, former state Rep. Michael A. Fox, to run the county's Children Services. He was a House member for two decades ending in the 1990s.
Fox said last week that he "absolutely" opposes making foster parents' names and addresses secret. "Marcus Fiesel died because we knew too little about his foster parents, not too much," Fox said.
Fox countered two arguments of those legislators who seek secrecy. Some claim, without evidence, that open records would discourage Ohioans from becoming foster parents. Not so, said Fox. Research shows the "No. 1 reason people don't become foster parents is because they aren't asked." That is, they don't know of the need or the opportunity.
A second claim about open records, also without concrete evidence, is that they endanger children taken from abusive parents. But judges already have power to shroud specific records when there is a probability of harm to specific children, Fox said.
The General Assembly must learn, as Fox already has, the crucial lesson of Marcus Fiesel's murder: "If you know too little, children get hurt."
Cleveland Plain Dealer, Jan. 16, 2008.
The General Assembly should uphold its duty to foster children and pass a Senate bill that keeps open foster-care records. The bureaucrats who want to hide them are interested only in protecting other bureaucrats, not children.
And that's not just the opinion of this newspaper. It's also the opinion of a conservative Republican, a 22-year state legislator, who is now reforming Butler County Children Services.
Marcus Fiesel, an autistic 3-year-old, was Butler County's ward. Lifeway for Youth, a private agency working with the county, placed Marcus in foster care in suburban Cincinnati. In August 2006, the foster parents killed Marcus because, to put it plainly, he got in the way of some weekend plans.
Marcus' murder was so horrific - he was alive when he was wrapped and taped into a blanket, then lodged in a bedroom closet in a Southern Ohio summer; he was dead when his "caretakers" returned two days later - it got Ohio lawmakers all the way out of their hammocks.
The Senate and the House each passed "reforms." Neither has become law because of a key difference. The House, with Gov. Ted Strickland's support, wants to hide the names and addresses of foster parents. That information is now public, though the Department of Job & Family Services is, wrongly, asking the Ohio Supreme Court to hide it from the Cincinnati Enquirer.
A year after Marcus died, the Butler County commissioners named a colleague, former state Rep. Michael A. Fox, to run the county's Children Services. He was a House member for two decades ending in the 1990s.
Fox said last week that he "absolutely" opposes making foster parents' names and addresses secret. "Marcus Fiesel died because we knew too little about his foster parents, not too much," Fox said.
Fox countered two arguments of those legislators who seek secrecy. Some claim, without evidence, that open records would discourage Ohioans from becoming foster parents. Not so, said Fox. Research shows the "No. 1 reason people don't become foster parents is because they aren't asked." That is, they don't know of the need or the opportunity.
A second claim about open records, also without concrete evidence, is that they endanger children taken from abusive parents. But judges already have power to shroud specific records when there is a probability of harm to specific children, Fox said.
The General Assembly must learn, as Fox already has, the crucial lesson of Marcus Fiesel's murder: "If you know too little, children get hurt."
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