Shaken baby gets another chance: Foster family helps Destiny beat the odds
Curnutte, Mark. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 22, 2009.
"For all intents and purposes, this mother murdered her. In terms of any quality of life, she took it. This case is the worst one I've seen in 25 years of any shaken baby who survived." -- Myra Wheeler, caseworker, Hamilton County Job & Family Services
Destiny Concepcion never will walk. She eats mostly through a feeding tube punched into her stomach.
At 18 months, she wears a patch 6-8 hours a day on her stronger left eye to stimulate her weaker right eye, one of the serious injuries she suffered when her mother shook her 15 months ago.
On Nov. 21, 2007, Halloran Carr fractured Destiny's skull when - frustrated with her daughter's crying - she shook the tiny child in their Colerain Township home. Destiny is cortically blind, which means her brain can not intellectually process what she sees.
Judge William Mallory of Hamilton County Common Pleas Court sentenced Carr on Jan. 22 to the maximum eight-year prison term for child endangering.
Destiny's injuries horrified even the most hardened officials charged with protecting children. They predicted a grim future for Destiny during her mother's sentencing hearing - words backed up by their decision to put the child with one of their top sets of foster parents.
Destiny's gloomy prognosis almost came true three days after she was placed with Robin and David Steele. The little girl suffered cardiac arrest when out shopping with the family. An emergency room nurse came into the store just at that time and kept her alive.
"Our angel that night," Robin Steele said in reference to the nurse.
Destiny has shown to be a fighter.
Born Aug. 21, 2007, she was 14 weeks premature. She survived the shaking Nov. 21, the three-month mark of her birth. She needed six weeks to recover in the hospital from her heart attack Dec. 7.
The little girl continues to surprise the team of people watching over her growth and development and she has achieved a series of minor victories nurtured through the attentive hands of her foster parents.
Life has indeed gone on for Destiny, just a month after her birth mother's case disappeared from the news.
The upstairs study of the towering Victorian in Winton Place was warm but airy - its yellow walls brightened more by the sunlight bouncing off the thick blanket of snow outside.
Five of the Steeles' 10 adopted children ran in and out of the house, the clomping of their boots echoing off hardwood floors below.
Destiny, dressed in pink corduroy pants and a long-sleeved shirt, rested on a small pink quilt.
Robin Steele sat at the girl's feet and with her left hand gently exercised Destiny's arm in a slow, up-and-down movement.
The foster mother then picked up the child and held her face close to hers. Destiny cooed and giggled when Robin Steele tickled her cheek with a kiss.
"It's not like she is completely out of it," Robin Steele said when asked about the comments made in court at her mother's sentencing. "She has awareness. Destiny's life was not over when she was shaken. There is a little girl with potential."
Emotional arrival
Even before her heart attack, Destiny's first few nights with her foster parents put Robin and David Steele on an emotional edge.
He slept on the floor in the study beside Destiny, who was in an infant seat. He wanted to make sure he could hear her.
"She was so quiet," he said.
Robin Steele shook her head.
"How she got so frustrated with the baby crying," she said, her voice trailed off to silence before she could finish her thought about Carr.
Michael, 7, the Steeles' youngest adopted child, ran up the stairs to check on his parents. David Steele sat on the office chair at the computer. Michael hugged his father and turned to run back outside.
"Michael's twin brother was killed by his foster parents," Robin Steele said. "He had a lot of issues that needed caring. By the time everything sorted itself out and he was free for adoption, he had been with us for a long time. We are getting older and out of the range of adoption."
The unspoken question is would they adopt Destiny.
"If we were 10 years younger, no question we would keep her," said Robin Steele, who, like her husband, is 59. "Destiny deserves somebody who's younger than we are to ensure she's going to have longevity."
Destiny's needs are great.
Specialists galore
She sees a team of nutritionists at Children's Hospital Medical Center. Twice a week she visits the Perlman Center at Children's, a division of United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Cincinnati, where she receives more treatment. She also has appointments with an ophthalmologist and at the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. She has a pediatrician and an ear, nose and throat specialist. Her treatment team includes a speech teacher and an occupational therapist. Her foster parents administer three drugs each day: Keppra to prevent seizures; a second, Prevacid, to reduce the dangerous effects of reflux; and the third, Baclofen, to improve muscle tone.
Caring for Destiny is a round-the-clock job. She receives her first medication at 5:30 a.m., the last at 10:30 p.m. She receives an eight-hour feeding of PediaSure - a milky liquid that meets all of her nutritional needs - overnight through her gastronomy tube. Although she now can eat some baby food - strained meat, vegetables, fruit - she cannot swallow efficiently enough to stay alive.
Just 5 pounds at 4 months
Destiny weighed less than 5 pounds when she entered foster care at four months old.
She now weighs 17 pounds, 6 ounces - close to normal.
She could take only one ounce of formula at a time. "And you had to catch her awake, or she wouldn't eat," said David Steele, a former special education teacher.
She likes ice cream and suckers and can make it known when she wants more. The couple took a push-button device and recorded Robin Steele's voice saying, "More please." When Destiny wants another small helping she bangs the button: "More please."
Destiny will slump in her wheelchair or stroller. David Steele will encourage her, "Get your head up, please," he will say. And the little girl will struggle to look up.
"Communication," David Steele said. "We want to help her work a mouse at a computer. She might not be able to walk, but she can be mobile. She might be able to only eat baby food ..."
"One day at a time," said Robin Steele, interrupting her husband. Though a realist, the woman refuses to place limits on Destiny.
Destiny requires all of the Steeles' experience and savvy as foster parents. The couple coordinates communication between the medical specialists.
Destiny is the Steeles' 57th foster child. They have two now, in addition to their birth son and 10 adopted children.
"We always wanted a baker's dozen," said Robin Steele, who, like David, has an undergraduate degree in education. "We've reached it a couple of times."
Destiny is not the couple's most physically or mentally injured foster child.
"We had a little girl who was a drowning victim of her parents," Robin Steele said. "She was totally unresponsive. That was hard. She eventually was returned to her birth family." (why?)
No waiting for help
Destiny probably has more long-term physical and developmental challenges, David Steele said.
Robin Steele doesn't wait for social workers or doctors to make treatment arrangements. She aggressively worked the phones to set up appointments to get Destiny what's known as early-intervention treatment.
She is also a flesh-and-bone mother who bonds with the children in her care, including each of her 57 foster children. A year has been more than enough time to tighten her bond with Destiny.
"It's not very different between how I feel about her or any of the foster children or adopted children or birth child we have had," she said. "When we know a foster child is going back to their birth family or to an adoptive home, I can feel myself pulling back. It is a day-to-day commitment. And as long as she is with us, we will love her like she is ours.
"You know there is another child around the corner who is going to need you enough."
Told too often - Robin Steele said - that Destiny has insurmountable physical and developmental challenges, she offered a pull toy as evidence of a skill that experts once thought was out of her reach.
A plastic frog rests on blue-and-red wheels. Red-and-yellow balls pop inside a clear dome when pulled. The Steeles were told Destiny could not learn enough fine motor skill or hand-eye coordination to pull the plastic string.
David Steele placed the toy beside Destiny on the quilt. Robin directed the girl's attention to the toy.
She needed repeated attempts to grasp the drawstring in her left hand, but Destiny finally manipulated it into her fist. She tugged it. The balls snapped loudly.
Destiny grunted and giggled. And then she smiled at Robin Steele.
"I cry for Destiny. I will spend the rest of my life thinking about her and crying for her." -William Mallory, judge, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Doris Edelmann honored by Montgomery County Family & Children First Council
Doris Edelmann was awarded the Brother Ray Fitz Award from the Montgomery County Family and Children First Council on Friday, Feb. 20, 2009.
Lisa Dickson, Communications Chair, was one of three people introducing Doris, preceded by Helen Jones-Kelley and Gayle Bullard.
This is what Lisa shared:
Foster Care Alumni of America is a national organization made up former foster youth and advocates like Doris who care about the future of young people aging out of foster care.
In the spirit of our collective voice I will be speaking not only on behalf of myself, but also sharing the words of Gabriel Koshinsky, FCAA Ohio Operations Chair, as well...
As Gabe wrote: "Doris is a leader in the truest sense. She could get hit by a semi and get up in 5 seconds flat. She is a leader and a fighter. The character of a person can be seen in where they invest their time and energy."
As a former foster child who is working to create statewide connections among foster care alumni, including a statewide network of support, I think about Doris on the days when I feel discouraged. I think about Doris on days when my energy level is low.
When I think of Doris, I see her in action:
- I usually picture her in a van, barreling down the highway, transporting young people from one destination to another.
- Maybe they are off to Washington DC to share their voices on Capital Hill
- Maybe they are visiting other counties to share their expertise on developing local or regional youth advisory boards
- But whatever the destination, I can feel the excitement – and it reinvigorates me!
Doris is one of those people who always seems to be in action, even when she is standing still.
If she is sitting in a chair, then she is probably coming up with creative ways to finance resources for young people, and helping other counties learn to streamline their resources as well.
Or she’s poking the person sitting next to her, probably a young person, saying: 'You need to get up there and say something! You have something important to say.'
And Doris is one of those people who always give their all, doing things like:
- Not only co-hosting the FCAA Ohio Thanksgiving Reunion for young people who lack family connections, but bringing her entire family to be a part of it.
Trust comes slowly for those of us who have experienced so many losses and broken promises in the past. And yet we trust Doris. Why?
Because for so many young people, Doris is their only sense of home… She is always available for them, she firmly believes in their abilities, and she committed to paving the way for their future success.
We live in times of danger and uncertainty. Times when the very resources needed to support young people transitioning into adulthood, such as TANF-IL funds, are being stripped away.
But these times are also more open to creative energy than at any other time in history.
Doris exemplifies the type of vision, courage and personal commitment that young people in and from foster care need during the launching period of their lives. As they are catapulted into adulthood:
- They need someone like Doris, who does not acknowledge the word “barrier,” but finds a way to MAKE things happen
- They need someone like Doris who believes that children services is a job that is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- They need someone who does not just speak FOR them, but who empowers them through advocacy training to speak for THEMSELVES
- They need someone who gives them HOPE. It is the advocates in our lives who make a difference.
In a speech in South Africa in 1966, Robert Kennedy said: “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.
“Crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, these ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. “
I agree wholeheartedly with Gabriel Koshinsky that: “We often think of a hero as some comic book character, perhaps a General or great historical figure.
"But this room is filled with heroes. When faced with challenges, each person will ultimately make the choice to be a hero, or to surrender to be a spectator.”
So I will end with an invitation to each and every person in this room. You are invited to be a part of the Ready to Launch movement in Ohio. Ask Doris, and she will tell you all about it!
Nothing would make Doris more happy than a public awareness campaign about the needs of young people transitioning to adulthood – and once again, that is why she is my hero.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Young people aging out of foster care in Franklin County
"Franklin County Children Services has approximately 2,000 young people in foster care - 475 of whom are 17 years of age or older.
"That's 25%.
"Preparing these young people for the adult work should be a huge priority."
~ Quote from OACCA IL legislation discussion
"That's 25%.
"Preparing these young people for the adult work should be a huge priority."
~ Quote from OACCA IL legislation discussion
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Expanding College Access and Enhancing Student Success
On October 16, 2008, a conference on Expanding College Access and Enhancing Student Success was hosted by Former Ohio Governor Bob Taft.
It was sponsored by: University of Dayton, Ohio College Access Network, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, Sinclair Community College, Clark State Community College, Wright State University, The Dayton Foundation and the Dayton Power and Light Company.
It was sponsored by: University of Dayton, Ohio College Access Network, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, Sinclair Community College, Clark State Community College, Wright State University, The Dayton Foundation and the Dayton Power and Light Company.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Foster Stories
Artist paints picture of hope for children needing homes
Columbus -- When Darrin Hoover went on stage at the Southern Theater on Thursday night, Nov. 13, 2008, two blank giant canvases awaited him.
Two hours later, the canvasses showed the likeness of two adults, Lisa Dickson and Cedric Riley, whose life stories were intended to inspire children in the custody of Franklin County Children Services, letting them know that it’s possible to overcome extreme adversity.
Hoover painted the images and narrated the stories on stage in the multi-media docudrama, which also included a film and stirring music.
“I’m like your tour guide,” he told the enthralled audience.
The program, Portrait of a Child: Lives on Canvas, also was designed to motivate potential adoptive and foster parents to take the vital steps to help children stabilize their lives. The effort also was intended to attract volunteers to help with the agency’s various programs.
The creative work was the brainchild of Troy Lindsey, executive producer of the program and recruitment assistant for Children Services.
November is National Adoption Month and the performance was part of the local observance.
The occasion also introduced the newest All Kids Count Adoption and Foster Care calendar, who is available throughout the year.
The calendar features 13 children in need of safe, permanent homes and some of the families who have opened their homes to children in need of such care.
For more information, call 614-341-6060 or visit the Web site: www.franklincountyohio.gov/children_services
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Great job, Adrian, Alex and DaVaughn!!!
Dayton Foster Youth Fight For More Reforms Han, Carol. News Center 7, Nov. 18, 2008.
WASHINGTON -- When President George W. Bush signed a foster care bill into law last month, foster youth from the Dayton area saw it as a personal victory.
Foster Care Alumni of America estimates that there are currently 700 foster children living in our area. Last year, a group of them traveled to Capitol Hill to ask Ohio lawmakers to support the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act.
The sweeping reform bill helps keep siblings together in foster care and provides federal assistance to family members who become legal guardians of relatives' children. It also extends foster care benefits until age 21.
The bill passed with bipartisan support, and on Tuesday, the foster youth were back in Washington to thank lawmakers and to drum up support for more reforms.
Devaughn Staley, 18, wants to see Ohio foster youth be given the green light to get driver's licenses. Ohio is one of many states that do not allow kids in foster care to get a license due to insurance liability reasons. Staley wants to see the state help take up the liability. He told News Center 7 that it has been hard not being able to drive to the mall or to a job.
"We're pushing for Ohio to close that gap between foster kids and normal kids," Staley said. "Close that gap so we can be normal and feel like we belong."
Other students want to see more help extended to foster kids who want to go to college.
Alex McFarland described how credits from his high school in Tennessee weren't accepted by his school in Ohio. As a result, the 18-year-old could not graduate with his class and had to get a G.E.D.
"It was a big letdown for me because I really had that American dream about going to college with a high school diploma, walking across the aisle, going to my senior prom and I didn't have that," McFarland said.
McFarland now attends Sinclair Community College and has plans to transfer to Ohio State University.
Adrian McLemore, an 11-year veteran of Ohio's foster care system, is now a junior at Wright State University studying business and political science.
News Center 7 first met McLemore in May 2007, when he and the first group of Dayton foster youth lobbied Congress for foster care reform.
McLemore says he's happy to be back in D.C., especially so soon after President-elect Barack Obama's election win.
McLemore -- who plans to run for political office someday -- said, "Barack Obama beat me to it, he beat me to the election. But it's a testament to the resolve [about] working hard and working for the American dream. He just made it that much closer of a reality for me."
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Ashland County asks commissioners for more funds
Foster care costs straining budget
Minnear, Travis. Ashland Times Gazette, Sept. 12, 2008.
Citing additional financial strain from an unusually high number of children requiring care, Ashland County Department of Job and Family Services officials asked commissioners Thursday for additional funds.
ACDJFS Director Gary Hannan said his department needs an additional $360,000 to provide for foster care expenses because $840,000 already appropriated for such services has been spent. He said money is needed immediately because the department cannot pay bills its been holding without it. In addition, Hannan said, the department needs a $287,103 transfer from the county general fund to provide services through December for children in custody.
"Children are languishing too long in the foster care system on a national level, in Ohio and, I'm sad to say, right here in Ashland County," Hannan said.
According to ACDJFS, placement costs for children in custody are projected to exceed $1.2 million for the year, which amounts to about $68,000 less than 2007. Hannan said children services was appropriated $927,103 for 2008, and as of Sept. 1, there were 83 children in custody of the county.
Commissioners expressed concern about how to pay for the additional expenses. Commissioner Matt Miller said after the meeting that line items used for emergency expenditures have been exhausted in recent years to help balance budgets and the need for additional money will create a "dire situation for us in the county general revenue fund."
"We are very concerned where that money will come from," Miller said after Thursday's meeting.
"The decision to support these children is not difficult," Commissioner Kim Edwards said, adding that finding the money to do so will require some extra work.
Children services was appropriated $640,000 from the general fund for 2008.
There are a variety of factors contributing to the increased burden, Hannan said, including state budget cuts and increased costs for children with special needs. Despite needing more money, Hannan said he is "optimistic" that revenue could rise and some of the children may leave the county's custody, alleviating some of the financial crunch.
"The Ashland County Department of Job and Family is required by law to attempt to find a solution for children in custody as soon as possible," Hannan said.
Tracee Anderson, assistant ACDJFS director, displayed pictures of some children receiving care from the county. She said the purpose of the pictures was to show the faces of the children receiving care and tell a little about them.
"These children deserve better, and it's our job to do it," Anderson said.
Minnear, Travis. Ashland Times Gazette, Sept. 12, 2008.
Citing additional financial strain from an unusually high number of children requiring care, Ashland County Department of Job and Family Services officials asked commissioners Thursday for additional funds.
ACDJFS Director Gary Hannan said his department needs an additional $360,000 to provide for foster care expenses because $840,000 already appropriated for such services has been spent. He said money is needed immediately because the department cannot pay bills its been holding without it. In addition, Hannan said, the department needs a $287,103 transfer from the county general fund to provide services through December for children in custody.
"Children are languishing too long in the foster care system on a national level, in Ohio and, I'm sad to say, right here in Ashland County," Hannan said.
According to ACDJFS, placement costs for children in custody are projected to exceed $1.2 million for the year, which amounts to about $68,000 less than 2007. Hannan said children services was appropriated $927,103 for 2008, and as of Sept. 1, there were 83 children in custody of the county.
Commissioners expressed concern about how to pay for the additional expenses. Commissioner Matt Miller said after the meeting that line items used for emergency expenditures have been exhausted in recent years to help balance budgets and the need for additional money will create a "dire situation for us in the county general revenue fund."
"We are very concerned where that money will come from," Miller said after Thursday's meeting.
"The decision to support these children is not difficult," Commissioner Kim Edwards said, adding that finding the money to do so will require some extra work.
Children services was appropriated $640,000 from the general fund for 2008.
There are a variety of factors contributing to the increased burden, Hannan said, including state budget cuts and increased costs for children with special needs. Despite needing more money, Hannan said he is "optimistic" that revenue could rise and some of the children may leave the county's custody, alleviating some of the financial crunch.
"The Ashland County Department of Job and Family is required by law to attempt to find a solution for children in custody as soon as possible," Hannan said.
Tracee Anderson, assistant ACDJFS director, displayed pictures of some children receiving care from the county. She said the purpose of the pictures was to show the faces of the children receiving care and tell a little about them.
"These children deserve better, and it's our job to do it," Anderson said.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Eagle Scouts create care packages for foster children
Local Eagle Scout helps foster children
Thompson, Kathy. Zanesville Times Recorder, Aug. 29, 2008.
ZANESVILLE - A local Eagle Scout has introduced a project that will help foster children throughout Muskingum County.
John Hanifan, 17, has had friends in the foster care program in the county and thought one way to help ease their pain and fear when taken out of their homes and placed in a foster home was to have a "Comfort Bag."
"We're filling them with age appropriate items to make them feel more comfortable," Hanifan said. "I know about fear and grief and I just wanted to help them and hope that this project will continue."
Hanifan contacted the Muskingum County Children's Services and asked if he could donate the bags for the approximately 100 children that come into foster care a year.
"We were delighted to have such a young man show so much concern for the children of this county," said Lisa Wayt, coordinator of the foster care program. "We have some kits that we give the children when they first enter foster care that we receive through generous donations, but these are very appreciated."
Wayt said Hanifan has put his own "special touch" to the bags.
"John loves art and he's made sure that's all included," Wayt said. "This is something that's never been done in this area."
Hanifan said while some of the project started out as a way to help foster children, it is also a tribute to his late grandfather, Frank Hanifan, who started Boy Scout Troop 164. John Hanifan started his scouting career with that same troop.
"I know what loss is about after my grandfather died," Hanifan said. "I wanted to do something that he would have been proud of, too."
The Comfort Bags will be for four different age groups - infants to age three, ages four to eight, ages nine to 13 and ages 14 to 17.
Each bag is filled with not only hygiene items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, but coloring books, journals, books, art supplies, games, puzzles and stuffed animals.
"We found a company in Newark that is making these dolls stuffed with rice that you put in a microwave, heat and then give to a baby," Hanifan said. "They are really neat and the babies love them."
Wayt said Hanifan has gone to businesses across the county and even ventured out into the region getting donations for the bags.
Hanifan said he's been amazed at how eager businesses and people in the community are to help.
"It just shows that the people in this community are eager to come together and help each other," Hanifan said. "Being in scouting has taught me life learning lessons like how to cook, camp, fish and first aid. But I guess the best it's taught me is that people out there really care and want to help."
Hanifan was able to use his scouting practices just recently when a cousin fell 12 feet off his grandmother's roof and landed on a concrete patio.
Hanifan had the victim calm and stable by the time EMS personnel arrived at the scene and was given an acclamation by the squad for his quick response.
Hanifan is hoping that by the end of September he has at least 90 bags to give to Children's Services.
"It really means that I have to get my troop together and we have to fill these bags," Hanifan said.
Hanifan said his dream is that another troop in another area picks up the idea.
"I'd also love it if my troop can keep this going," Hanifan said. "I've planted the dream. I just hopes it grows."
If anyone would like to donate to the Comfort Bag Program, please call Hanifan at 740-454-7483.
Thompson, Kathy. Zanesville Times Recorder, Aug. 29, 2008.
ZANESVILLE - A local Eagle Scout has introduced a project that will help foster children throughout Muskingum County.
John Hanifan, 17, has had friends in the foster care program in the county and thought one way to help ease their pain and fear when taken out of their homes and placed in a foster home was to have a "Comfort Bag."
"We're filling them with age appropriate items to make them feel more comfortable," Hanifan said. "I know about fear and grief and I just wanted to help them and hope that this project will continue."
Hanifan contacted the Muskingum County Children's Services and asked if he could donate the bags for the approximately 100 children that come into foster care a year.
"We were delighted to have such a young man show so much concern for the children of this county," said Lisa Wayt, coordinator of the foster care program. "We have some kits that we give the children when they first enter foster care that we receive through generous donations, but these are very appreciated."
Wayt said Hanifan has put his own "special touch" to the bags.
"John loves art and he's made sure that's all included," Wayt said. "This is something that's never been done in this area."
Hanifan said while some of the project started out as a way to help foster children, it is also a tribute to his late grandfather, Frank Hanifan, who started Boy Scout Troop 164. John Hanifan started his scouting career with that same troop.
"I know what loss is about after my grandfather died," Hanifan said. "I wanted to do something that he would have been proud of, too."
The Comfort Bags will be for four different age groups - infants to age three, ages four to eight, ages nine to 13 and ages 14 to 17.
Each bag is filled with not only hygiene items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, but coloring books, journals, books, art supplies, games, puzzles and stuffed animals.
"We found a company in Newark that is making these dolls stuffed with rice that you put in a microwave, heat and then give to a baby," Hanifan said. "They are really neat and the babies love them."
Wayt said Hanifan has gone to businesses across the county and even ventured out into the region getting donations for the bags.
Hanifan said he's been amazed at how eager businesses and people in the community are to help.
"It just shows that the people in this community are eager to come together and help each other," Hanifan said. "Being in scouting has taught me life learning lessons like how to cook, camp, fish and first aid. But I guess the best it's taught me is that people out there really care and want to help."
Hanifan was able to use his scouting practices just recently when a cousin fell 12 feet off his grandmother's roof and landed on a concrete patio.
Hanifan had the victim calm and stable by the time EMS personnel arrived at the scene and was given an acclamation by the squad for his quick response.
Hanifan is hoping that by the end of September he has at least 90 bags to give to Children's Services.
"It really means that I have to get my troop together and we have to fill these bags," Hanifan said.
Hanifan said his dream is that another troop in another area picks up the idea.
"I'd also love it if my troop can keep this going," Hanifan said. "I've planted the dream. I just hopes it grows."
If anyone would like to donate to the Comfort Bag Program, please call Hanifan at 740-454-7483.
Monday, August 04, 2008
NCFA and Walmart pair to help children in foster care
New site inspires, equips Americans to help children in foster care
Wilmington News Journal, July 29, 2008.
The National Council For Adoption (NCFA) and Wal-Mart have teamed up to launch www.FamiliesForAll.org as the centerpiece of their jointly supported Families For All public awareness campaign.
Built around the powerful message that “there’s enough love in America to provide loving families for all children in foster care,” the campaign is designed to inspire and equip American families to help children in foster care.
“The FamiliesForAll.org Web site will serve as a valuable online resource for the more than 55-million couples and countless single adults who could help the 510,000 children in foster care, whether through mentoring, foster care, adoption, respite care, service as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, or volunteering with a local agency,” said Thomas Atwood, NCFA President and CEO. “We all have a responsibility to these children, and anyone can make a positive difference in the life of a vulnerable child in foster care.”
The launch of the FamiliesForAll.org Web site will be followed by a series of public service announcements, and a promotional radio tour and satellite television tour by NCFA National Adoption Spokesperson and award-winning country music recording artist Rodney Atkins. Visitors to the Web site may investigate ways to become involved with children in foster care, track foster care policy changes on a state-by-state basis, and read inspirational testimonials by foster parents and children who grew up in foster care.
The Families For All public awareness campaign, funded in part by a $75,000 grant from Wal-Mart, is designed to help Americans realize that these children need and deserve a family of their own, and that everyone can play a role in making that happen.
“NCFA is grateful to Wal-Mart for partnering with us in the Families For All campaign, and we salute Wal-Mart’s compassionate efforts to support some of society’s most vulnerable members,” Atwood concluded.
Since 1980, NCFA has been a leading voice among national adoption and child welfare organizations. NCFA is a research, education, and advocacy nonprofit that provides adoption information, promotes ethical adoption practices, informs public policy and opinion about adoption issues, and serves as a resource for women with unplanned pregnancies, adopted persons and their families, those seeking to adopt, and adoption professionals.
Wilmington News Journal, July 29, 2008.
The National Council For Adoption (NCFA) and Wal-Mart have teamed up to launch www.FamiliesForAll.org as the centerpiece of their jointly supported Families For All public awareness campaign.
Built around the powerful message that “there’s enough love in America to provide loving families for all children in foster care,” the campaign is designed to inspire and equip American families to help children in foster care.
“The FamiliesForAll.org Web site will serve as a valuable online resource for the more than 55-million couples and countless single adults who could help the 510,000 children in foster care, whether through mentoring, foster care, adoption, respite care, service as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, or volunteering with a local agency,” said Thomas Atwood, NCFA President and CEO. “We all have a responsibility to these children, and anyone can make a positive difference in the life of a vulnerable child in foster care.”
The launch of the FamiliesForAll.org Web site will be followed by a series of public service announcements, and a promotional radio tour and satellite television tour by NCFA National Adoption Spokesperson and award-winning country music recording artist Rodney Atkins. Visitors to the Web site may investigate ways to become involved with children in foster care, track foster care policy changes on a state-by-state basis, and read inspirational testimonials by foster parents and children who grew up in foster care.
The Families For All public awareness campaign, funded in part by a $75,000 grant from Wal-Mart, is designed to help Americans realize that these children need and deserve a family of their own, and that everyone can play a role in making that happen.
“NCFA is grateful to Wal-Mart for partnering with us in the Families For All campaign, and we salute Wal-Mart’s compassionate efforts to support some of society’s most vulnerable members,” Atwood concluded.
Since 1980, NCFA has been a leading voice among national adoption and child welfare organizations. NCFA is a research, education, and advocacy nonprofit that provides adoption information, promotes ethical adoption practices, informs public policy and opinion about adoption issues, and serves as a resource for women with unplanned pregnancies, adopted persons and their families, those seeking to adopt, and adoption professionals.
Investing in kinship care providers will ultimately save taxpayer money
Editorial: Ohio makes a poor call on day care vs. foster care
Ohio Plain Dealer, July 31, 2008.
Having a family member step in to care for a relative's children when the state takes them away is better for the children than foster care, research shows. It makes sense that a grandmother or other kin can help a child thrive and feel connected and loved.
It also saves taxpayer money.
Yet, Ohio will soon strip day-care vouchers from about 1,000 people who are employed and have custody of relatives' kids, but can't afford day care themselves.
The state has ordered counties to stop giving child-care vouchers to people caring for relatives' kids unless they meet federal poverty guidelines. Some might tap other public sources for help; many can't.
Those who can't afford day care for the little ones while they work have truly grim choices: quit their jobs and try to live off public assistance or give up the children - their blood relatives - so foster parents, strangers, can get far more taxpayer dollars to raise them.
These "options" are horrendous public policy and will rip families apart.
Ohio must find ways to help these caregivers keep the kids and their jobs.
Ohio Plain Dealer, July 31, 2008.
Having a family member step in to care for a relative's children when the state takes them away is better for the children than foster care, research shows. It makes sense that a grandmother or other kin can help a child thrive and feel connected and loved.
It also saves taxpayer money.
Yet, Ohio will soon strip day-care vouchers from about 1,000 people who are employed and have custody of relatives' kids, but can't afford day care themselves.
The state has ordered counties to stop giving child-care vouchers to people caring for relatives' kids unless they meet federal poverty guidelines. Some might tap other public sources for help; many can't.
Those who can't afford day care for the little ones while they work have truly grim choices: quit their jobs and try to live off public assistance or give up the children - their blood relatives - so foster parents, strangers, can get far more taxpayer dollars to raise them.
These "options" are horrendous public policy and will rip families apart.
Ohio must find ways to help these caregivers keep the kids and their jobs.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
This works well with the foster parent mentoring idea
Foster parents honored at dinner
Akron Beacon Journal, June 26, 2008.
AKRON: Summit County Children Services recently held its 58th annual Foster Parent Recognition Dinner to honor hundreds of dedicated local foster parents.
Cassie Duckworth of Akron received the 2008 Heart Award, the top honor.
Duckworth has been a foster parent to 40 children in her home since 1983.
Other foster parents receiving special recognition at the event were: Veteran Foster Family of the Year, Cecil and Joyce Higginbotham of Atwater; Rookie Foster Family of the Year, William and Susan Smith of Green; and Retiring Foster Parents, Charles and Geraldine Figley of Norton, Iola Jones of Akron, Jerry and Betty Kearns of Akron and Michael and Doretha Williams of Akron.
The Foster Care Month Slogan Contest winners were: Jeffrey and Linda Reming of Twinsburg, whose slogan ''Fostering: Families Embracing Families'' was used in this year's local Foster Care Month activities; and John and Crystal Abernathy of North Canton, whose slogan ''Watch Life Bloom: Foster/Adopt a Child'' will be used to celebrate local Foster Care Month activities next year.
For additional information about becoming a foster parent or adoptive parent, call Children Services at 330-379-1990.
Akron Beacon Journal, June 26, 2008.
AKRON: Summit County Children Services recently held its 58th annual Foster Parent Recognition Dinner to honor hundreds of dedicated local foster parents.
Cassie Duckworth of Akron received the 2008 Heart Award, the top honor.
Duckworth has been a foster parent to 40 children in her home since 1983.
Other foster parents receiving special recognition at the event were: Veteran Foster Family of the Year, Cecil and Joyce Higginbotham of Atwater; Rookie Foster Family of the Year, William and Susan Smith of Green; and Retiring Foster Parents, Charles and Geraldine Figley of Norton, Iola Jones of Akron, Jerry and Betty Kearns of Akron and Michael and Doretha Williams of Akron.
The Foster Care Month Slogan Contest winners were: Jeffrey and Linda Reming of Twinsburg, whose slogan ''Fostering: Families Embracing Families'' was used in this year's local Foster Care Month activities; and John and Crystal Abernathy of North Canton, whose slogan ''Watch Life Bloom: Foster/Adopt a Child'' will be used to celebrate local Foster Care Month activities next year.
For additional information about becoming a foster parent or adoptive parent, call Children Services at 330-379-1990.
Porch Light program in Butler County is a wise investment
Program a 'life saver' for foster children
Latta, Tiffany. Middletown Journal, June 23, 2008.
BUTLER COUNTY — Trying to figure out what to do with your life at age 18 can be tough for any teen.
It's even more daunting for kids aging out of foster care who haven't been adopted.
In Ohio, about 1,200 children age out of foster care each year.
When they do, they lose their state benefits, and often have to get a job and housing without the help of an adult.
But many foster youth aren't ready for that responsibility and struggle to make it on their own, according to a recent study released by Harvard Medical School.
Many end up homeless, incarcerated or can become unwed parents to children who will eventually be placed in foster care, according to the study.
That's why Butler County Children's Services created a safety net called Porch Light.
Porch Light is a home near downtown Hamilton where youth who age out of foster care can live and learn life skills.
"At 18 none of us are prepared to lease an apartment. We don't know how to budget, grocery shop and do those everyday things that parents help us with. But kids aging out of foster care don't have that safety net," said Denise Winkler, a spokeswoman for Children's Services.
Julia Herrman, 19, who is one of four girls recently aged out of foster care living in the home, said Porch Light has been a life saver.
"They're really helping me out a lot and I really appreciate it. I'm thankful for it.''
Stephanie Gonya, Porch Light program coordinator, said Porch Light makes the transition into adulthood easier for kids who age out of foster care.
"We spend individual time with them and help them figure out what they really want and need,'' Gonya said.
Latta, Tiffany. Middletown Journal, June 23, 2008.
BUTLER COUNTY — Trying to figure out what to do with your life at age 18 can be tough for any teen.
It's even more daunting for kids aging out of foster care who haven't been adopted.
In Ohio, about 1,200 children age out of foster care each year.
When they do, they lose their state benefits, and often have to get a job and housing without the help of an adult.
But many foster youth aren't ready for that responsibility and struggle to make it on their own, according to a recent study released by Harvard Medical School.
Many end up homeless, incarcerated or can become unwed parents to children who will eventually be placed in foster care, according to the study.
That's why Butler County Children's Services created a safety net called Porch Light.
Porch Light is a home near downtown Hamilton where youth who age out of foster care can live and learn life skills.
"At 18 none of us are prepared to lease an apartment. We don't know how to budget, grocery shop and do those everyday things that parents help us with. But kids aging out of foster care don't have that safety net," said Denise Winkler, a spokeswoman for Children's Services.
Julia Herrman, 19, who is one of four girls recently aged out of foster care living in the home, said Porch Light has been a life saver.
"They're really helping me out a lot and I really appreciate it. I'm thankful for it.''
Stephanie Gonya, Porch Light program coordinator, said Porch Light makes the transition into adulthood easier for kids who age out of foster care.
"We spend individual time with them and help them figure out what they really want and need,'' Gonya said.
Sounds like the agency spokesperson is minimalizing what happened
Day care provider charged
Hamilton County dumps Day Adventures
McLaughlin, Shelia. Cincinnati Enquirer, June 19, 2008.
MOUNT HEALTHY - A foster parent who runs a day care center has been charged with one count of disseminating material harmful to a juvenile for allegedly showing porn to a 10-year-old boy at the center, police said Wednesday.
Charles V. Day surrendered to authorities late Wednesday on the misdemeanor charge. He will be arraigned today in Hamilton County Municipal Court.
Day Adventures, owned by Day, remained open this week even as Hamilton County Job and Family Services notified Day it would stop paying him for 76 children who were eligible for subsidized care.
An 8-year-old foster child that Butler County Children Services placed with Day was removed from the College Hill home of Day and his wife when allegations surfaced in March, agency spokeswoman Denise Winkler said.
Police opened an investigation into Day after the boy's mother reported that her son said he had been shown computer images of adults and cartoon characters Scooby Doo and Shaggy having sex.
The child also disclosed the January incident to a teacher at the Hamilton County Educational Services Center and to staff at Cincinnati Children's Hospital's Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children, the police report said.
Mount Healthy Police confiscated several computers March 17 from Day Adventures.
The venture operates out of the lower level of Emmanuel Temple Apostolic Church at 1585 Compton Road.
Detective Greg Nolte wouldn't say if porn was on the computers, and a search warrant remains sealed.
Nolte said he presented his evidence against Day to Hamilton County prosecutors this month.
Day is a former Lifeway For Youth foster parent who is now licensed through the network, NECCO.
Day has had foster care placements from both Hamilton and Butler counties over the years. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
A Hamilton County foster child died in May 2007 after he jumped from Day's family van onto Interstate 275 on the way to church.
Winkler said none of the other Butler County foster children have reported "anything untoward" happening during their stays with Day.
Day has made nearly $750,000 since 2006 from Hamilton County Job and Family Services, which subsidized child care fees for 35 low-income families, agency spokesman Brian Gregg said.
Day Adventures' state-issued license allows Day to have 73 children at the center. The majority of the children at the center are school age, state records show.
The agency gave Day a 30-day notice May 30 that it would no longer do business with Day Adventures, Gregg said.
Agency officials called parents the same day, informing them they would have to find child care elsewhere if they wanted the county to continue subsidizing that service. The county's contract with Day required a 30-day notice, Gregg said.
"We also mentioned ... that there was a criminal investigation going on," Gregg said about what parents were told.
Why did the agency wait more than two months to tell them the nature of the problem?
"We were waiting for police to confirm that it actually happened. Even making this decision in May, we still didn't have criminal charges here," Gregg said. "We're potentially putting (someone) out of business. We have to be sure when we do something like that."
He said the children didn't appear to be in jeopardy.
"The allegations aren't molestation," Gregg said. "There's a difference between if they could potentially be molested or beaten to death in relation to did a child glimpse something on a computer that he shouldn't have seen."
Ohio Job and Family Services officials say they were aware of the police investigation.
State records show that Day Adventures fared poorly on a state inspection this month. The center was cited for violating 34 of 54 state regulations.
Problems included being over capacity, water leaks in various rooms, and general filth, including dirty toys, floors, diaper pails and furniture as well as piled-up trash.
The center also was cited because a staffer used inappropriate behavior in berating children.
Hamilton County dumps Day Adventures
McLaughlin, Shelia. Cincinnati Enquirer, June 19, 2008.
MOUNT HEALTHY - A foster parent who runs a day care center has been charged with one count of disseminating material harmful to a juvenile for allegedly showing porn to a 10-year-old boy at the center, police said Wednesday.
Charles V. Day surrendered to authorities late Wednesday on the misdemeanor charge. He will be arraigned today in Hamilton County Municipal Court.
Day Adventures, owned by Day, remained open this week even as Hamilton County Job and Family Services notified Day it would stop paying him for 76 children who were eligible for subsidized care.
An 8-year-old foster child that Butler County Children Services placed with Day was removed from the College Hill home of Day and his wife when allegations surfaced in March, agency spokeswoman Denise Winkler said.
Police opened an investigation into Day after the boy's mother reported that her son said he had been shown computer images of adults and cartoon characters Scooby Doo and Shaggy having sex.
The child also disclosed the January incident to a teacher at the Hamilton County Educational Services Center and to staff at Cincinnati Children's Hospital's Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children, the police report said.
Mount Healthy Police confiscated several computers March 17 from Day Adventures.
The venture operates out of the lower level of Emmanuel Temple Apostolic Church at 1585 Compton Road.
Detective Greg Nolte wouldn't say if porn was on the computers, and a search warrant remains sealed.
Nolte said he presented his evidence against Day to Hamilton County prosecutors this month.
Day is a former Lifeway For Youth foster parent who is now licensed through the network, NECCO.
Day has had foster care placements from both Hamilton and Butler counties over the years. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
A Hamilton County foster child died in May 2007 after he jumped from Day's family van onto Interstate 275 on the way to church.
Winkler said none of the other Butler County foster children have reported "anything untoward" happening during their stays with Day.
Day has made nearly $750,000 since 2006 from Hamilton County Job and Family Services, which subsidized child care fees for 35 low-income families, agency spokesman Brian Gregg said.
Day Adventures' state-issued license allows Day to have 73 children at the center. The majority of the children at the center are school age, state records show.
The agency gave Day a 30-day notice May 30 that it would no longer do business with Day Adventures, Gregg said.
Agency officials called parents the same day, informing them they would have to find child care elsewhere if they wanted the county to continue subsidizing that service. The county's contract with Day required a 30-day notice, Gregg said.
"We also mentioned ... that there was a criminal investigation going on," Gregg said about what parents were told.
Why did the agency wait more than two months to tell them the nature of the problem?
"We were waiting for police to confirm that it actually happened. Even making this decision in May, we still didn't have criminal charges here," Gregg said. "We're potentially putting (someone) out of business. We have to be sure when we do something like that."
He said the children didn't appear to be in jeopardy.
"The allegations aren't molestation," Gregg said. "There's a difference between if they could potentially be molested or beaten to death in relation to did a child glimpse something on a computer that he shouldn't have seen."
Ohio Job and Family Services officials say they were aware of the police investigation.
State records show that Day Adventures fared poorly on a state inspection this month. The center was cited for violating 34 of 54 state regulations.
Problems included being over capacity, water leaks in various rooms, and general filth, including dirty toys, floors, diaper pails and furniture as well as piled-up trash.
The center also was cited because a staffer used inappropriate behavior in berating children.
Trumbull County graduates are publicly recognized
Foster home grads honored
Yorich, Tim. Youngstown Vindicator, June 18, 2008.
Three graduates from foster homes already know what they plan for their lives.
WARREN — Three young people who had a difficult start in life were honorees at a high school graduation celebration Tuesday.
Edward Eason and Nicole Koniowsky, both 18, and Kelly Coles, 19, are foster children and were honored by Trumbull County Children Services during a luncheon at the Mocha House restaurant.
Eason, of Girard, had some problems with anger. His mother couldn’t afford to take care of him, his father was addicted to alcohol and drugs and his grandmother couldn’t care for him.
Children services found Roseann Frye, who has four adopted children, to care for and guide him.
Eason graduated this year from Girard High School and Trumbull Career and Technical Center where he studied electrical technology for two years. He will be attending Triangle Tech school in Pittsburgh with an eye on becoming a commercial electrician.
“I like school. That’s my favorite thing to do,” Eason said, noting he will be keeping in touch with his old friends and is certain he will make new ones.
Koniowsky has been fostered by Amy Senne in Bristol since March. Before then, she lived for 41‚Ñ2 years with a foster family in Kinsman.
Her mother, she says, is on drugs and she never knew her father.
“He’s been in and out of jail all my life so I really don’t know where he is,” Koniowsky said.
She says being in foster care is like being on a “roller coaster” ride. “You never know what’s going to happen the next day. It’s confusing.”
Despite the uphill battle, Koniowsky graduated from Joseph Badger High School and will begin studying to become an accountant.
Coles, of Hubbard, graduated this year from both TCTC and Hubbard High School. She is looking for a job in dog grooming.
She has been in foster care for 18 or 19 years with Linda and Kenneth Barrett.
“They’re wonderful,” she said of her foster parents.
Cole said she never knew her biological parents or anything about them, nor does she have any inclination to find them.
“I’m content where I am,” she commented.
Judge Cynthia W. Rice of the 11th District Court of Appeals told the graduates that there are a number of routes to take in life.
“The right one is the one that is right for you,” Judge Rice said as she commended them for having an idea of what they want to do in life.
“We should stop and think about what makes us happy,” the judge told them. “Life should be fun,” she added.
Judge Rice told them they may change their destination during life. “Don’t just drive around aimlessly. You have so much to learn,” she said.
Yorich, Tim. Youngstown Vindicator, June 18, 2008.
Three graduates from foster homes already know what they plan for their lives.
WARREN — Three young people who had a difficult start in life were honorees at a high school graduation celebration Tuesday.
Edward Eason and Nicole Koniowsky, both 18, and Kelly Coles, 19, are foster children and were honored by Trumbull County Children Services during a luncheon at the Mocha House restaurant.
Eason, of Girard, had some problems with anger. His mother couldn’t afford to take care of him, his father was addicted to alcohol and drugs and his grandmother couldn’t care for him.
Children services found Roseann Frye, who has four adopted children, to care for and guide him.
Eason graduated this year from Girard High School and Trumbull Career and Technical Center where he studied electrical technology for two years. He will be attending Triangle Tech school in Pittsburgh with an eye on becoming a commercial electrician.
“I like school. That’s my favorite thing to do,” Eason said, noting he will be keeping in touch with his old friends and is certain he will make new ones.
Koniowsky has been fostered by Amy Senne in Bristol since March. Before then, she lived for 41‚Ñ2 years with a foster family in Kinsman.
Her mother, she says, is on drugs and she never knew her father.
“He’s been in and out of jail all my life so I really don’t know where he is,” Koniowsky said.
She says being in foster care is like being on a “roller coaster” ride. “You never know what’s going to happen the next day. It’s confusing.”
Despite the uphill battle, Koniowsky graduated from Joseph Badger High School and will begin studying to become an accountant.
Coles, of Hubbard, graduated this year from both TCTC and Hubbard High School. She is looking for a job in dog grooming.
She has been in foster care for 18 or 19 years with Linda and Kenneth Barrett.
“They’re wonderful,” she said of her foster parents.
Cole said she never knew her biological parents or anything about them, nor does she have any inclination to find them.
“I’m content where I am,” she commented.
Judge Cynthia W. Rice of the 11th District Court of Appeals told the graduates that there are a number of routes to take in life.
“The right one is the one that is right for you,” Judge Rice said as she commended them for having an idea of what they want to do in life.
“We should stop and think about what makes us happy,” the judge told them. “Life should be fun,” she added.
Judge Rice told them they may change their destination during life. “Don’t just drive around aimlessly. You have so much to learn,” she said.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
This is why people shouldn't become foster parents in order to make money
Seneca foster care aid above Ohio average
Dutro, Nick. Tiffin Advertiser Tribune, June 15, 2008.
Makaylah Herbert (from left), Makennah Herbert, India Herbert, Janet, a family friend, and Malachi Herbert are the foster adopted children of Amber Herbert. Herbert has been a foster care provider for three years and has had 12 children in her care.
According to a news release from the National Foster Parent Association, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates the cost of raising a child in the United States will cost more than $204,000 for a middle-income family to raise a child born in 2007 until his or her 18th birthday.
According to the Web site Hitting The M.A.R.C. (Minimum Adequate Rates for Children), the “current foster care rates for Ohio must be doubled in order to cover the real costs of providing care for children.”
M.A.R.C. reported Ohio’s average monthly foster care rate is $275 for every child in foster care, and the actual rates should be between $635 plus travel and child care expenses for a child at the age of 2 and $797 plus travel and child care expenses for a child at the age of 16.
M.A.R.C. is a recent study by the National Foster Care Association that calculates the proposed minimum foster care rates for every state.
In Seneca County, the monthly foster care rates are well above the average in Ohio.
A child in Seneca County between the ages of 0 to 10 years old receives a flat rate of $15 a day, about $450 a month. Children 11 and older receive a flat rate of $20 a day, about $600 a month.
Families also receive extra money for experience and training, or if a child has special needs.
“It’s really based off each individual child and each individual family,” Mindy Strup said.
Strup, foster care and adoption supervisor for Seneca County Department of Job and Family Services, said the rates increase the more experience a family has and with the number of training hours they have completed.
A family that has completed 20 years of foster care and 300 hours of training could receive an extra $4 a day as the maximum amount.
There is also an initial perdium of $75 dollars a day for the first three days that is granted for children who initially are placed in foster care or reintroduced after a period of 12 months. This can be used for initial expenses, such as transportation and clothing.
As well as the perdium, Seneca County Department of Job and Family Services offers a number of other financial aid options for foster families.
Families are connected with the Lima food bank, and receive items such as diapers, laundry soap, and food at a reduced cost.
Strup said Job and Family Services also has an account people in the community and businesses can donate to which can be used for graduation expenses, prom attire, trips, sports equipment or other expenses. The agency also has a separate account for Christmas gifts.
“We try to do anything and everything that we’re able to cover to help the kids have the same experiences as any other kid without having the family have to cover those costs,” Strup said.
Job and Family Services also has an independent living fund, which can help provide supplies such as towels and bedding for children who are 16 and older, and ready to live on their own.
Every child in Ohio also is given a Medicaid card. If there are things the medical card does not cover, the agency will provide the families with the necessary aid.
Seneca County Department of Job and Family Services covers the cost of day care for their foster families, which is not the case for every county in Ohio.
“For any of our Seneca County families that have employment inside or outside the home, we provide up to 40 hours a week of paid foster care day care so they don’t have that cost,” Strup said.
Strup said the families know they may have to cover some of the costs for the children they take in.
“I have never had a family come to me and say, ‘This is such a financial burden, I can’t do this,’” Strup said. “Families know in a very short order that there may be costs that they incur as a result of parenting the children.”
Amber Herbert, a foster care provider, said the perdium may not cover everything, but it is a great help.
“Does it meet all the child’s needs? Not usually,” Herbert said. “But foster parents are not into fostering to make money, they’re into fostering for the children.
Herbert has been a foster care provider in Seneca County for three years and has had 12 children in her home during that time. She has adopted four children since she has become a foster parent, three of which were under her care before adoption.
“Anybody who wants to adopt, this (is) the best way,” Herbert said. “There are so many children now that need a home.”
There are 15 licensed homes in Seneca County and 29 foster parents, with more in the application process. There are currently 65 children in foster care in Seneca County.
The number of children in foster care has been as low as 50 and as high as 85.
Dutro, Nick. Tiffin Advertiser Tribune, June 15, 2008.
Makaylah Herbert (from left), Makennah Herbert, India Herbert, Janet, a family friend, and Malachi Herbert are the foster adopted children of Amber Herbert. Herbert has been a foster care provider for three years and has had 12 children in her care.
According to a news release from the National Foster Parent Association, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates the cost of raising a child in the United States will cost more than $204,000 for a middle-income family to raise a child born in 2007 until his or her 18th birthday.
According to the Web site Hitting The M.A.R.C. (Minimum Adequate Rates for Children), the “current foster care rates for Ohio must be doubled in order to cover the real costs of providing care for children.”
M.A.R.C. reported Ohio’s average monthly foster care rate is $275 for every child in foster care, and the actual rates should be between $635 plus travel and child care expenses for a child at the age of 2 and $797 plus travel and child care expenses for a child at the age of 16.
M.A.R.C. is a recent study by the National Foster Care Association that calculates the proposed minimum foster care rates for every state.
In Seneca County, the monthly foster care rates are well above the average in Ohio.
A child in Seneca County between the ages of 0 to 10 years old receives a flat rate of $15 a day, about $450 a month. Children 11 and older receive a flat rate of $20 a day, about $600 a month.
Families also receive extra money for experience and training, or if a child has special needs.
“It’s really based off each individual child and each individual family,” Mindy Strup said.
Strup, foster care and adoption supervisor for Seneca County Department of Job and Family Services, said the rates increase the more experience a family has and with the number of training hours they have completed.
A family that has completed 20 years of foster care and 300 hours of training could receive an extra $4 a day as the maximum amount.
There is also an initial perdium of $75 dollars a day for the first three days that is granted for children who initially are placed in foster care or reintroduced after a period of 12 months. This can be used for initial expenses, such as transportation and clothing.
As well as the perdium, Seneca County Department of Job and Family Services offers a number of other financial aid options for foster families.
Families are connected with the Lima food bank, and receive items such as diapers, laundry soap, and food at a reduced cost.
Strup said Job and Family Services also has an account people in the community and businesses can donate to which can be used for graduation expenses, prom attire, trips, sports equipment or other expenses. The agency also has a separate account for Christmas gifts.
“We try to do anything and everything that we’re able to cover to help the kids have the same experiences as any other kid without having the family have to cover those costs,” Strup said.
Job and Family Services also has an independent living fund, which can help provide supplies such as towels and bedding for children who are 16 and older, and ready to live on their own.
Every child in Ohio also is given a Medicaid card. If there are things the medical card does not cover, the agency will provide the families with the necessary aid.
Seneca County Department of Job and Family Services covers the cost of day care for their foster families, which is not the case for every county in Ohio.
“For any of our Seneca County families that have employment inside or outside the home, we provide up to 40 hours a week of paid foster care day care so they don’t have that cost,” Strup said.
Strup said the families know they may have to cover some of the costs for the children they take in.
“I have never had a family come to me and say, ‘This is such a financial burden, I can’t do this,’” Strup said. “Families know in a very short order that there may be costs that they incur as a result of parenting the children.”
Amber Herbert, a foster care provider, said the perdium may not cover everything, but it is a great help.
“Does it meet all the child’s needs? Not usually,” Herbert said. “But foster parents are not into fostering to make money, they’re into fostering for the children.
Herbert has been a foster care provider in Seneca County for three years and has had 12 children in her home during that time. She has adopted four children since she has become a foster parent, three of which were under her care before adoption.
“Anybody who wants to adopt, this (is) the best way,” Herbert said. “There are so many children now that need a home.”
There are 15 licensed homes in Seneca County and 29 foster parents, with more in the application process. There are currently 65 children in foster care in Seneca County.
The number of children in foster care has been as low as 50 and as high as 85.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Shoes represent youth in need in Butler County foster care
Counties put focus on need for many more foster homes
Ellis, Amber. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 6, 2008.
HAMILTON - More than 400 pairs of shoes, of all styles and sizes, were on display here Monday to represent the number of Butler County children in foster care at any given time last year.
A rally with this sneaker- and sandal-lined backdrop was the first of several efforts to thank dedicated foster parents and let others know their help is needed, said Children Services Director Mike Fox. It was the local launch event for National Foster Care Month.
One of those shoe sets represents 17-year-old Shawntel.
A victim of abuse, she was placed in the foster-care system at 14. There, she was bumped around from home to home until she found the Plancks. For Shawntel, the fourth match was the one she says saved her life.
She found a place where she felt secure, a family who took her in as one of their own. Shawntel shifted her focus to church and school. This fall, she'll start her freshman year at the University of Cincinnati-Clermont as a pre-med major - a feat that seemed impossible a few years ago.
"Before I came into foster care, my goal was to just stay alive each day. ... But the first thing I noticed (with them) was that I was safe. I didn't have to be an adult at 14 anymore," Shawntel said Monday after urging a small group in downtown Hamilton to become foster parents. "They are my parents. To me, they're just Mom and Dad."
Paula and Terry Planck of New Richmond are just Mom and Dad to eight other children, five of whom came to them the same way. "We love each one of them like our own," said Terry Planck of his children, ages 15 months to 17.
"It's a job, it really is," said Paula Planck, still emotional after hearing Shawntel speak to the group.
"But the reward is worth everything you go through," Terry Planck said, urging others to seek the same sense of fulfillment he's gotten from his foster children.
Throughout the month, a recruitment blitz will include television ads, mailers to churches and e-mails to businesses.
In Butler County, more than 70 percent of foster children are placed outside the county - a move that is costly for the agency and the children who are separated from family, friends and familiar surroundings.
"We have children who are hurting, who need someone to lift them up," Fox said. "Foster families help heal the hurt that these children feel because they have been beaten, battered, abused and their lives have been turned upside down. These families give them a safe home, stability and love."
For more information on becoming a foster parent, call 1-800-325-2685.
Ellis, Amber. Cincinnati Enquirer, May 6, 2008.
HAMILTON - More than 400 pairs of shoes, of all styles and sizes, were on display here Monday to represent the number of Butler County children in foster care at any given time last year.
A rally with this sneaker- and sandal-lined backdrop was the first of several efforts to thank dedicated foster parents and let others know their help is needed, said Children Services Director Mike Fox. It was the local launch event for National Foster Care Month.
One of those shoe sets represents 17-year-old Shawntel.
A victim of abuse, she was placed in the foster-care system at 14. There, she was bumped around from home to home until she found the Plancks. For Shawntel, the fourth match was the one she says saved her life.
She found a place where she felt secure, a family who took her in as one of their own. Shawntel shifted her focus to church and school. This fall, she'll start her freshman year at the University of Cincinnati-Clermont as a pre-med major - a feat that seemed impossible a few years ago.
"Before I came into foster care, my goal was to just stay alive each day. ... But the first thing I noticed (with them) was that I was safe. I didn't have to be an adult at 14 anymore," Shawntel said Monday after urging a small group in downtown Hamilton to become foster parents. "They are my parents. To me, they're just Mom and Dad."
Paula and Terry Planck of New Richmond are just Mom and Dad to eight other children, five of whom came to them the same way. "We love each one of them like our own," said Terry Planck of his children, ages 15 months to 17.
"It's a job, it really is," said Paula Planck, still emotional after hearing Shawntel speak to the group.
"But the reward is worth everything you go through," Terry Planck said, urging others to seek the same sense of fulfillment he's gotten from his foster children.
Throughout the month, a recruitment blitz will include television ads, mailers to churches and e-mails to businesses.
In Butler County, more than 70 percent of foster children are placed outside the county - a move that is costly for the agency and the children who are separated from family, friends and familiar surroundings.
"We have children who are hurting, who need someone to lift them up," Fox said. "Foster families help heal the hurt that these children feel because they have been beaten, battered, abused and their lives have been turned upside down. These families give them a safe home, stability and love."
For more information on becoming a foster parent, call 1-800-325-2685.
Clark County seeking diversity in terms of foster parents
Officials: Positive aspects of foster care outweigh the negatives
Cases of foster children being abused garner negative attention, but aren't the norm, county officials say
Outten, Bridgette. Springfield News Sun, May 4, 2008.
SPRINGFIELD — The instances of foster parenting gone wrong are heavily outweighed by those that go right, said Clark County Department of Job and Family Services officials.
Cases like the Ferguson couple, accused of abusing their five adopted children, and Marcus Fiesel, a toddler murdered by his foster parents, garner negative attention, but are not the norm, the officials say.
"For every one negative, there are thousands of positives," said Wendy Holt, DJFS supervisor of placement services.
Since the Fiesel case in 2006, state legislators have been exploring stricter legislation for foster parents.
The current process is not one to be taken lightly. Foster parents have an application process that includes an extensive checklist. They must provide financial statements and complete 36 hours — soon to be 39 hours — of training every two years.
However, DJFS staff don't feel that the requirements should be a deterrent to potential foster parents.
"Most foster parents feel like it is a genuine calling," said DJFS deputy director Cathy Appel. "Most parents genuinely have an interest."
DJFS wants to spark interest in the community to produce more foster parents, particularly minorities that are disproportionately represented in foster care, officials said.
For instance, blacks make up 12 percent of Ohio's population, but 55 percent of foster children are black. It's a trend officials say is mirrored in Clark County.
"We need a diverse representation of our community," Appel said.
Holt agreed, adding, "We want many more everyday people to come forward for our county's most vulnerable children, so they may realize their full potential," she said.
Cases of foster children being abused garner negative attention, but aren't the norm, county officials say
Outten, Bridgette. Springfield News Sun, May 4, 2008.
SPRINGFIELD — The instances of foster parenting gone wrong are heavily outweighed by those that go right, said Clark County Department of Job and Family Services officials.
Cases like the Ferguson couple, accused of abusing their five adopted children, and Marcus Fiesel, a toddler murdered by his foster parents, garner negative attention, but are not the norm, the officials say.
"For every one negative, there are thousands of positives," said Wendy Holt, DJFS supervisor of placement services.
Since the Fiesel case in 2006, state legislators have been exploring stricter legislation for foster parents.
The current process is not one to be taken lightly. Foster parents have an application process that includes an extensive checklist. They must provide financial statements and complete 36 hours — soon to be 39 hours — of training every two years.
However, DJFS staff don't feel that the requirements should be a deterrent to potential foster parents.
"Most foster parents feel like it is a genuine calling," said DJFS deputy director Cathy Appel. "Most parents genuinely have an interest."
DJFS wants to spark interest in the community to produce more foster parents, particularly minorities that are disproportionately represented in foster care, officials said.
For instance, blacks make up 12 percent of Ohio's population, but 55 percent of foster children are black. It's a trend officials say is mirrored in Clark County.
"We need a diverse representation of our community," Appel said.
Holt agreed, adding, "We want many more everyday people to come forward for our county's most vulnerable children, so they may realize their full potential," she said.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Adoptees deserve access to original birth certificate
Betsie Norris' personal quest propels Adoption Network Cleveland's search for answers: She started nonprofit 20 years ago
Ewinger, James. Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 20, 2008.
The roots of Adoption Network Cleveland grow out of BetsieNorris' quest for her own.
She is an adoptee. She found her birth parents 22 years ago and two years later founded the network in her living room.
Norris has been seeking ever since -- to open records to adults who were adopted, to help people find their own birth relatives and, indirectly, homes for thousands of children stuck in the gray abyss of foster care and county custody.
If that makes her sound like a tireless crusader, it would make her late, adoptive father proud and show just how much influence such a parent can have.
He was WilliamB. (Brad) Norris, a towering man in every sense.
BradNorris was tall, magisterial and driven by a passion for public service. He was a partner at the Hahn Loeser law firm, campaigned with others to put WCPN FM/90.3 on the air, joined the fight against the county's plan to pave over Shaker Lakes and represented Cleveland in its antitrust case against CEI.
At 16, in World War II, he was also the youngest platoon leader in his rifle company as it fought its way across southern France.
Betsie Norris, the gentle warrior, is driven by her knowledge of the man who raised her and her curiosity about the birth parents who did not.
It is not a frivolous or selfish quest and cannot be dismissed as idle curiosity.
There are emotional issues that go with the knowledge of being adopted and some that flow from a lack of knowledge, including the medical histories of people who came before them.
Then there is a sense of shame that can seep out of the secrecy that enveloped the adoption process.
And finally, there is the concern about how the search will affect the birth family, and the adoptive family.
"You don't know how many times I went to call the agency that handled my adoption and slammed the phone book shut because I thought it was selfish and it might hurt my parents," Norris said.
When an adoptee says "my parents," the reference is to the people who did the raising. As Norris said of her birth parents, "I am their daughter, but they are not my parents."
She found the couple from which she sprang, and it had a happy ending. She was embraced by her blood siblings and was in two of their weddings.
But Norris rarely uses the word "ending."
Historically adoption was viewed as an event that occurred, then people moved on. "Adoption is a lifelong process," Norris said. "There is so much more to it that unfolds over the years."
After World War II, many restrictions were placed on adoption records, in part to insulate the adoptees from the birth parents, Norris said.
However, many courts and state legislatures have been loosening the reins, especially in the past 20 years.
But not in Ohio. Last week, a pending bill was gutted of any language that would have given adoptees access to their original birth records.
One of the great ironies is that attorney Brad Norris played a major role in closing Ohio records. Betsie Norris said her father reacted to the ease with which he - or anyone else - could get birth records. His intent was to keep the public at bay, not the adoptees and birth parents.
But the legislature of 40 years ago went so far that anyone adopted after 1964 cannot get the records - their own records. Brad Norris in 1994 said the law created an absurd situation because two of his adopted children, born before 1964, have access. But his youngest son, born in 1963 but adopted the following year, does not.
Which is not to say that such searches are impossible. One of Adoption Network Cleveland's fortes is assisting people who want to find their birth parents.
But that is not the extent of its work. With "adoption" in its name, one might suppose that the network does a lot of placement work. One would be half-right.
The network is not a placement agency but has reshaped the way those organizations - both public and private - do business.
For example, CuyahogaCounty had 2,000 children in permanent custody eight years ago. Today the number is 783, ranging from infants to older teens, thanks to the network.
JimMcCafferty, director of the county's Department of Children and Family Services, said Norris and her group were chosen as the lead agency to formulate new adoption strategies that placement agencies could use.
One is Child Centered Recruitment, which gives a social worker a small caseload, so he or she can get to know the children, and get to know people who know the children, which makes it easier to find adoptive homes.
Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court Judge Peter Sikora said, "One of the court's most difficult jobs is when we grant permanent custody to children and Family Services." He said the court and the county then "are making a pledge to these kids that we will do better by them."
Sikora also said that if the child has no permanent home by the age of 18 "we've failed them." He said the network is one of the most effective means of making sure the children and teens "don't age out of the system" before finding a home.
Another feat is the expansion of the number of local therapists who understand issues unique to adoption.
The idea was to educate established psychologists and social workers, said ZoeBreenWood, director of field education at Case's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.
The issues include the sense of loss that adoptees and birth parents can feel, she said, as well as adopted children's difficulty in identifying with an adoptive family or with establishing a sense of their own identity.
Wood said the Adoption Network is the only organization in the country that deals with all the issues, all the organizations and all the members of extended families before, during and long after the adoption has been formalized.
In 20 years, it has grown from an all-volunteer group to a private nonprofit with an annual budget of $2.8 million.
More information about Adoption Network Cleveland is available at 216-325-1000 or www.adoptionnetwork.org
Ewinger, James. Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 20, 2008.
The roots of Adoption Network Cleveland grow out of BetsieNorris' quest for her own.
She is an adoptee. She found her birth parents 22 years ago and two years later founded the network in her living room.
Norris has been seeking ever since -- to open records to adults who were adopted, to help people find their own birth relatives and, indirectly, homes for thousands of children stuck in the gray abyss of foster care and county custody.
If that makes her sound like a tireless crusader, it would make her late, adoptive father proud and show just how much influence such a parent can have.
He was WilliamB. (Brad) Norris, a towering man in every sense.
BradNorris was tall, magisterial and driven by a passion for public service. He was a partner at the Hahn Loeser law firm, campaigned with others to put WCPN FM/90.3 on the air, joined the fight against the county's plan to pave over Shaker Lakes and represented Cleveland in its antitrust case against CEI.
At 16, in World War II, he was also the youngest platoon leader in his rifle company as it fought its way across southern France.
Betsie Norris, the gentle warrior, is driven by her knowledge of the man who raised her and her curiosity about the birth parents who did not.
It is not a frivolous or selfish quest and cannot be dismissed as idle curiosity.
There are emotional issues that go with the knowledge of being adopted and some that flow from a lack of knowledge, including the medical histories of people who came before them.
Then there is a sense of shame that can seep out of the secrecy that enveloped the adoption process.
And finally, there is the concern about how the search will affect the birth family, and the adoptive family.
"You don't know how many times I went to call the agency that handled my adoption and slammed the phone book shut because I thought it was selfish and it might hurt my parents," Norris said.
When an adoptee says "my parents," the reference is to the people who did the raising. As Norris said of her birth parents, "I am their daughter, but they are not my parents."
She found the couple from which she sprang, and it had a happy ending. She was embraced by her blood siblings and was in two of their weddings.
But Norris rarely uses the word "ending."
Historically adoption was viewed as an event that occurred, then people moved on. "Adoption is a lifelong process," Norris said. "There is so much more to it that unfolds over the years."
After World War II, many restrictions were placed on adoption records, in part to insulate the adoptees from the birth parents, Norris said.
However, many courts and state legislatures have been loosening the reins, especially in the past 20 years.
But not in Ohio. Last week, a pending bill was gutted of any language that would have given adoptees access to their original birth records.
One of the great ironies is that attorney Brad Norris played a major role in closing Ohio records. Betsie Norris said her father reacted to the ease with which he - or anyone else - could get birth records. His intent was to keep the public at bay, not the adoptees and birth parents.
But the legislature of 40 years ago went so far that anyone adopted after 1964 cannot get the records - their own records. Brad Norris in 1994 said the law created an absurd situation because two of his adopted children, born before 1964, have access. But his youngest son, born in 1963 but adopted the following year, does not.
Which is not to say that such searches are impossible. One of Adoption Network Cleveland's fortes is assisting people who want to find their birth parents.
But that is not the extent of its work. With "adoption" in its name, one might suppose that the network does a lot of placement work. One would be half-right.
The network is not a placement agency but has reshaped the way those organizations - both public and private - do business.
For example, CuyahogaCounty had 2,000 children in permanent custody eight years ago. Today the number is 783, ranging from infants to older teens, thanks to the network.
JimMcCafferty, director of the county's Department of Children and Family Services, said Norris and her group were chosen as the lead agency to formulate new adoption strategies that placement agencies could use.
One is Child Centered Recruitment, which gives a social worker a small caseload, so he or she can get to know the children, and get to know people who know the children, which makes it easier to find adoptive homes.
Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court Judge Peter Sikora said, "One of the court's most difficult jobs is when we grant permanent custody to children and Family Services." He said the court and the county then "are making a pledge to these kids that we will do better by them."
Sikora also said that if the child has no permanent home by the age of 18 "we've failed them." He said the network is one of the most effective means of making sure the children and teens "don't age out of the system" before finding a home.
Another feat is the expansion of the number of local therapists who understand issues unique to adoption.
The idea was to educate established psychologists and social workers, said ZoeBreenWood, director of field education at Case's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.
The issues include the sense of loss that adoptees and birth parents can feel, she said, as well as adopted children's difficulty in identifying with an adoptive family or with establishing a sense of their own identity.
Wood said the Adoption Network is the only organization in the country that deals with all the issues, all the organizations and all the members of extended families before, during and long after the adoption has been formalized.
In 20 years, it has grown from an all-volunteer group to a private nonprofit with an annual budget of $2.8 million.
More information about Adoption Network Cleveland is available at 216-325-1000 or www.adoptionnetwork.org
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Link to learn more about SB 163
Foster care regulation sought
Selak, Ron. Tribune Chronicle. April 7, 2008.
WARREN — A push in Columbus to improve Ohio’s foster care system would increase background check requirements on foster parents and put in place safeguards to keep some adults from entering the system.
Senate Bill 163 is a companion piece to one lawmakers passed earlier this year that increases foster parent training from 12 to 36 hours and has a provision for improved care and placement of developmentally and mentally disabled foster kids. It becomes law on May 15.
Child protection advocates hope the measures go a long way toward upgrading the system in the wake of the 2006 death of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel, who died after being tied up and wrapped in a blanket when his foster parents went on a weekend trip.
‘‘We believe that the two bills help us and agencies like Trumbull County Children Services to recruit good people and support those people to become good foster parents,’’ said Greg Kapcar of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio.
Trumbull CSB already requires 39 hours of training for foster parents.
The measure still being discussed would add mandatory FBI criminal background checks on all foster and adoptive parent applicants and adults in the home and add their fingerprints to a statewide database.
Included is a way to notify agencies if a licensed foster parent is convicted of or pleads guilty to any of several offenses related to sex, robbery and burglary and drugs, among many others.
Some of the safeguard provisions include expanding the list of prohibited offenses to include, among others, identity fraud, cruelty to animals and inciting violence. There’s also a ban on becoming a foster parent in Ohio if a foster care license was revoked in another state within five years prior to the Ohio application.
Trumbull CSB director Marcia Tiger said she doesn’t think the new rules would scare off potential foster parents. The process of becoming certified is intrusive already, she said.
‘‘The people know that there is going to be a lot of digging into their stuff,’’ she said.
Cynthia Mason, supervisor of Trumbull CSB’s resource department, said potential foster parents undergo financial audits, psychological evaluations and police checks in communities where they previously lived. Applicants who lived outside of Ohio within five years undergo an FBI check, and the others are given a background check through the Ohio Bureau of Identification and Investigation.
Other adults in the home also are inspected as well, Mason said.
And if someone mentions they were a Boy Scout pack leader, Tiger says, workers try to track people down to inquire about that experience.
‘‘Anything with children, we have to go back and determine if it was a good experience,’’ Tiger said.
For more information on Senate Bill 163, the measure that would strengthen requirements on foster parents, see www.pcsao.org or www.legislature.state.oh.us/
Selak, Ron. Tribune Chronicle. April 7, 2008.
WARREN — A push in Columbus to improve Ohio’s foster care system would increase background check requirements on foster parents and put in place safeguards to keep some adults from entering the system.
Senate Bill 163 is a companion piece to one lawmakers passed earlier this year that increases foster parent training from 12 to 36 hours and has a provision for improved care and placement of developmentally and mentally disabled foster kids. It becomes law on May 15.
Child protection advocates hope the measures go a long way toward upgrading the system in the wake of the 2006 death of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel, who died after being tied up and wrapped in a blanket when his foster parents went on a weekend trip.
‘‘We believe that the two bills help us and agencies like Trumbull County Children Services to recruit good people and support those people to become good foster parents,’’ said Greg Kapcar of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio.
Trumbull CSB already requires 39 hours of training for foster parents.
The measure still being discussed would add mandatory FBI criminal background checks on all foster and adoptive parent applicants and adults in the home and add their fingerprints to a statewide database.
Included is a way to notify agencies if a licensed foster parent is convicted of or pleads guilty to any of several offenses related to sex, robbery and burglary and drugs, among many others.
Some of the safeguard provisions include expanding the list of prohibited offenses to include, among others, identity fraud, cruelty to animals and inciting violence. There’s also a ban on becoming a foster parent in Ohio if a foster care license was revoked in another state within five years prior to the Ohio application.
Trumbull CSB director Marcia Tiger said she doesn’t think the new rules would scare off potential foster parents. The process of becoming certified is intrusive already, she said.
‘‘The people know that there is going to be a lot of digging into their stuff,’’ she said.
Cynthia Mason, supervisor of Trumbull CSB’s resource department, said potential foster parents undergo financial audits, psychological evaluations and police checks in communities where they previously lived. Applicants who lived outside of Ohio within five years undergo an FBI check, and the others are given a background check through the Ohio Bureau of Identification and Investigation.
Other adults in the home also are inspected as well, Mason said.
And if someone mentions they were a Boy Scout pack leader, Tiger says, workers try to track people down to inquire about that experience.
‘‘Anything with children, we have to go back and determine if it was a good experience,’’ Tiger said.
For more information on Senate Bill 163, the measure that would strengthen requirements on foster parents, see www.pcsao.org or www.legislature.state.oh.us/
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Jim McCafferty does not mince words about SACWIS
Cuyahoga County snubs state foster care computers; too many problems county says
Marshall, Aaron. Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 28, 2008.
Ohio has spent more than $90 million over the past decade trying to launch a computer system to keep track of tens of thousands of children across the state placed in foster care each year.
But Cuyahoga County officials say the system simply does not work, and they refuse to sign on to it, as state officials have ordered them to do by June 23.
"We have grave concerns about the system," said Jim McCafferty, director of the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services. "We will be a partner and come on when it's functioning properly and not before. "
The statewide system is supposed to allow child-welfare officials to access real-time information from anywhere in the state.
They can't get into the system to correct errors or find out which caseworkers are assigned to cases. Some counties have resorted to using spreadsheets to keep track of kids because of inaccurate or unavailable data.
The program's fiscal component has been added in only eight counties because of recurring problems that prevent counties from properly filing for reimbursement from the federal government. Columbiana and Licking counties even had to borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state after the system failed.
A history of problems.
Ohio Works
• Perhaps the most high-profile failure was the $60 million Ohio Works job-matching system, hated by both workers and employers. The department pulled the plug in 2001 on the difficult-to-navigate system, which was the signature technology project of former human services director Arnold Tompkins. Tompkins was convicted of ethics charges related to accepting a $10,000-a-month consulting contract from the firm that developed Ohio Works.
Support Enforcement Tracking System
• Problems with the state's $250 million Support Enforcement Tracking System, known as SETS, contributed to $17 million in federal fines and numerous complaints about late and incorrect child-support payments. Because of a programming problem, the system improperly withheld money from former welfare recipients, which the state had to repay in 2002 and 2003. The problems subsided after a new contractor took over.
Ohio Helps
• A $2 million program called "Ohio Helps" that was intended to refer citizens to emergency-service providers had to be scrapped in 2001 because much of the information on it was wrong.
But counties that have joined the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System, or SACWIS, say it is plagued by crashes, glitches and access problems.
Officials at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services have a markedly different view of the information system. While acknowledging the rollout has been problematic, they say counties that have gone the extra mile are getting a system that largely works. Some counties haven't bought into the program and aren't trying to work through the problems, state officials say.
"We need their full cooperation, and they have to be ready to do it philosophically," said Fred Williams, the department's deputy director for the division overseeing the program. "We are pushing hard to do anything and everything we can to help out partners at the county level."
State officials see no reason to wait to roll out the program -- something they had to do for several months at the end of 2007 after a complete system failure.
"It's more important to get all of the counties in the system than it is to continue to search for the perfect system," said Williams.
But McCafferty is concerned that the system won't adequately protect the roughly 40,000 kids who pass through Cuyahoga County's child welfare system -- about one-fourth of the state's foster care caseload. On Wednesday, during a closed-door meeting, county commissioners agreed to send a letter to Gov. Ted Strickland saying the county would not join the system by the June deadline.
A draft of the letter, obtained by The Plain Dealer, says the county believes that the system, at its current stage of development, has potential to place children at risk.
No one can seriously argue that the system works, the letter says.
It informs Strickland that there are 13 show stoppers or "stematic problems so dire that we can neither perform nor manage basic child protection-related activities. "
"The information system does not need enhancing; it needs fixing," the letter states.
The county's position: the problems must be resolved, the counties now in the new system must be satisfied, and the system must perform as well as Cuyahoga's current system for 60 days. The county has spent $20 million over the last decade building its own system, the letter says, because it could not rely on the state to provide one.
A succession of state bureaucrats have been trying since the mid-1990s to implement a statewide system for tracking foster children.
The hope was that such a system could help prevent tragedies such as the death of Marcus Fiesel, a Cincinnati-area child who died in August 2006 after his foster parents left him bound in a closet for two days while attending a family reunion.
Eric Fenner, director of Franklin County Job and Family Services, the largest metropolitan county to join the new tracking system so far, said McCafferty's stance makes sense.
"His unwillingness to go live with the system until the system is fixed is wise," Fenner said. "I wish I was in his shoes."
He said his staff has had major, major problems with the system since linking to it in July 2007. While some issues have been addressed, Fenner said the system's inability to generate management reports that drill down into caseloads and trends leaves him at a serious disadvantage.
"Just imagine you're flying a 747 and all of the dials in the cockpit are dark," said Fenner. "We rely on management reports to tell us how we re doing and what problems there are in the organization." He called the information that can be compiled in the new system basically useless without the management reports.
State officials say some management reports are available now.
"They have the ability to generate reports --they just have to learn how to develop the reports through the template in the system,"said Scarlett Bouder, an ODJFS spokeswoman. Deputy Director Williams downplayed the importance of the management reports, calling them "icing on the cake. "
That drew a sharp response from Fenner.
"I'm almost speechless with that -- the management reports are critically important in trying to manage a complex, metropolitan child-welfare system," he said.
Another major problem for Franklin County: A system that forces state computer specialists to correct any mistakes made when entering data so something as simple as a transposed case number or misspelled name can mean a two-week delay.
"During that wait time our data is not up to par," said Michele Bullock, Franklin County's specialist for the tracking system. "So we have to use backup systems for everything. We are basically doing double work to make sure we know where children are on a daily basis."
Bouder says that problem is being solved. "We are developing a fix for that," she said. It s in the mix.
But for McCafferty, the reliance on back-up systems to track kids shows the depth of the problems with the new design. "What kind of child welfare system do you have where you don't know where kids are?"
Other counties are also rebelling. Last week, child welfare agency heads in Cuyahoga and 10 other counties sent a letter to the state saying they won't be part of the new system until it is successfully rolled out in Hamilton County and the current problems are resolved.
As the chorus grows, the head of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, the umbrella group representing Ohio s child-welfare agencies, wonders what the big rush is all about.
"It's unfathomable to me to continue to want counties to roll onto it when they know they aren't having success with the current users," said the association s Crystal Allen Ward.
But state officials say the system needs to be up and running because the $37.5 million contract given to Dynamics Research Corp. of Andover, Mass., to develop the system is up at the end of this fiscal year June 30.
"We operate on fiscal quarters," said Williams. "We have to complete the rollout by the end of the fiscal year."
A spokeswoman for Dynamics Research echoed Williams assertion that cooperation was the key to getting the system running properly.
"The nature of these systems are that they are very complex, so every state is going to be unique," said Duyen Truong."It's a project that requires cooperation at both ends at both the state level as well as the county level. [Dynamics Research] is essentially a provider of the system itself. There are certain areas where our role kind of stops."
Marshall, Aaron. Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 28, 2008.
Ohio has spent more than $90 million over the past decade trying to launch a computer system to keep track of tens of thousands of children across the state placed in foster care each year.
But Cuyahoga County officials say the system simply does not work, and they refuse to sign on to it, as state officials have ordered them to do by June 23.
"We have grave concerns about the system," said Jim McCafferty, director of the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services. "We will be a partner and come on when it's functioning properly and not before. "
The statewide system is supposed to allow child-welfare officials to access real-time information from anywhere in the state.
They can't get into the system to correct errors or find out which caseworkers are assigned to cases. Some counties have resorted to using spreadsheets to keep track of kids because of inaccurate or unavailable data.
The program's fiscal component has been added in only eight counties because of recurring problems that prevent counties from properly filing for reimbursement from the federal government. Columbiana and Licking counties even had to borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state after the system failed.
A history of problems.
Ohio Works
• Perhaps the most high-profile failure was the $60 million Ohio Works job-matching system, hated by both workers and employers. The department pulled the plug in 2001 on the difficult-to-navigate system, which was the signature technology project of former human services director Arnold Tompkins. Tompkins was convicted of ethics charges related to accepting a $10,000-a-month consulting contract from the firm that developed Ohio Works.
Support Enforcement Tracking System
• Problems with the state's $250 million Support Enforcement Tracking System, known as SETS, contributed to $17 million in federal fines and numerous complaints about late and incorrect child-support payments. Because of a programming problem, the system improperly withheld money from former welfare recipients, which the state had to repay in 2002 and 2003. The problems subsided after a new contractor took over.
Ohio Helps
• A $2 million program called "Ohio Helps" that was intended to refer citizens to emergency-service providers had to be scrapped in 2001 because much of the information on it was wrong.
But counties that have joined the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System, or SACWIS, say it is plagued by crashes, glitches and access problems.
Officials at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services have a markedly different view of the information system. While acknowledging the rollout has been problematic, they say counties that have gone the extra mile are getting a system that largely works. Some counties haven't bought into the program and aren't trying to work through the problems, state officials say.
"We need their full cooperation, and they have to be ready to do it philosophically," said Fred Williams, the department's deputy director for the division overseeing the program. "We are pushing hard to do anything and everything we can to help out partners at the county level."
State officials see no reason to wait to roll out the program -- something they had to do for several months at the end of 2007 after a complete system failure.
"It's more important to get all of the counties in the system than it is to continue to search for the perfect system," said Williams.
But McCafferty is concerned that the system won't adequately protect the roughly 40,000 kids who pass through Cuyahoga County's child welfare system -- about one-fourth of the state's foster care caseload. On Wednesday, during a closed-door meeting, county commissioners agreed to send a letter to Gov. Ted Strickland saying the county would not join the system by the June deadline.
A draft of the letter, obtained by The Plain Dealer, says the county believes that the system, at its current stage of development, has potential to place children at risk.
No one can seriously argue that the system works, the letter says.
It informs Strickland that there are 13 show stoppers or "stematic problems so dire that we can neither perform nor manage basic child protection-related activities. "
"The information system does not need enhancing; it needs fixing," the letter states.
The county's position: the problems must be resolved, the counties now in the new system must be satisfied, and the system must perform as well as Cuyahoga's current system for 60 days. The county has spent $20 million over the last decade building its own system, the letter says, because it could not rely on the state to provide one.
A succession of state bureaucrats have been trying since the mid-1990s to implement a statewide system for tracking foster children.
The hope was that such a system could help prevent tragedies such as the death of Marcus Fiesel, a Cincinnati-area child who died in August 2006 after his foster parents left him bound in a closet for two days while attending a family reunion.
Eric Fenner, director of Franklin County Job and Family Services, the largest metropolitan county to join the new tracking system so far, said McCafferty's stance makes sense.
"His unwillingness to go live with the system until the system is fixed is wise," Fenner said. "I wish I was in his shoes."
He said his staff has had major, major problems with the system since linking to it in July 2007. While some issues have been addressed, Fenner said the system's inability to generate management reports that drill down into caseloads and trends leaves him at a serious disadvantage.
"Just imagine you're flying a 747 and all of the dials in the cockpit are dark," said Fenner. "We rely on management reports to tell us how we re doing and what problems there are in the organization." He called the information that can be compiled in the new system basically useless without the management reports.
State officials say some management reports are available now.
"They have the ability to generate reports --they just have to learn how to develop the reports through the template in the system,"said Scarlett Bouder, an ODJFS spokeswoman. Deputy Director Williams downplayed the importance of the management reports, calling them "icing on the cake. "
That drew a sharp response from Fenner.
"I'm almost speechless with that -- the management reports are critically important in trying to manage a complex, metropolitan child-welfare system," he said.
Another major problem for Franklin County: A system that forces state computer specialists to correct any mistakes made when entering data so something as simple as a transposed case number or misspelled name can mean a two-week delay.
"During that wait time our data is not up to par," said Michele Bullock, Franklin County's specialist for the tracking system. "So we have to use backup systems for everything. We are basically doing double work to make sure we know where children are on a daily basis."
Bouder says that problem is being solved. "We are developing a fix for that," she said. It s in the mix.
But for McCafferty, the reliance on back-up systems to track kids shows the depth of the problems with the new design. "What kind of child welfare system do you have where you don't know where kids are?"
Other counties are also rebelling. Last week, child welfare agency heads in Cuyahoga and 10 other counties sent a letter to the state saying they won't be part of the new system until it is successfully rolled out in Hamilton County and the current problems are resolved.
As the chorus grows, the head of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, the umbrella group representing Ohio s child-welfare agencies, wonders what the big rush is all about.
"It's unfathomable to me to continue to want counties to roll onto it when they know they aren't having success with the current users," said the association s Crystal Allen Ward.
But state officials say the system needs to be up and running because the $37.5 million contract given to Dynamics Research Corp. of Andover, Mass., to develop the system is up at the end of this fiscal year June 30.
"We operate on fiscal quarters," said Williams. "We have to complete the rollout by the end of the fiscal year."
A spokeswoman for Dynamics Research echoed Williams assertion that cooperation was the key to getting the system running properly.
"The nature of these systems are that they are very complex, so every state is going to be unique," said Duyen Truong."It's a project that requires cooperation at both ends at both the state level as well as the county level. [Dynamics Research] is essentially a provider of the system itself. There are certain areas where our role kind of stops."
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