Enterprising community builds hope for children

Article Content Businessman Dick Whitnell helped bring together diverse partners under a shared vision to foster hope. This article is from the 2012 Casey Family Programs Annual Report. Please take the time to learn more about Casey Family Programs and building communities of hope at casey.org/hope. Nestled against a busy commercial stretch of Interstate 5 in the Pacific Northwest, the Oregon capital of Salem is a good place to do business. But the easy-in, easy-out convenience that benefits commerce once ushered in the wrong kind of trade - illegal drugs. In a city known for the wheeling and dealing of government, the peddling and manufacturing of methamphetamine had taken over certain neighborhoods. Neighbors in some parts of the city felt like prisoners in their own homes. Mothers shuddered at the thought of pushing strollers down the sidewalk. Sketchy vehicles pulled up to decrepit houses and drove away just as fast. One neighbor watched in horror as a stranger left a baby on the porch of a notorious meth house before entering, presumably to make a deal, get high or both. That same neighbor also once saw the occupants of that house answer the door with guns. "By working with community partners, we are reinforcing the idea that these kids are not DHS kids, they are the community's kids." — Rene DuBoise, DHS district manager over Marion County. Enough was enough. The community mobilized. Neighbors, business leaders and faith leaders partnered with police, prosecutors, the court system and elected officials to mount an aggressive community-wide effort to shut down the meth trade. The "No Meth - Not in MY Neighborhood" campaign was a huge success - but an unintended consequence resulted from the wave of prosecutions. As Salem's meth houses were shuttered and parents who were dealers and users were taken into custody, the number of children placed into foster care in Marion County went up a dramatic 50 percent, from about 800 to 1,200 children. Residents could have left it to government - specifically, the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) - to deal with that influx of children in foster care. The department, after all, is charged with overseeing child welfare. But instead, the community put the responsibility for the welfare of its children squarely upon itself, working in full partnership with DHS. On the heels of the community effort to beat back the scourge of meth, Salem mobilized yet again - this time to recruit foster families for the hundreds of displaced children who had been unable to stay safely with their parents and families. Successful in that recruitment effort, the community could have congratulated itself and stopped there. Instead, it expanded its vision as it extended its hand. Salem came to understand that in order to address the long-term safety and success of vulnerable children, it couldn't simply focus on foster care. It had to foster hope. In an inspiring example of an entire community coming together to improve the lives of its children, Salem has committed to a multi-faceted partnership that strengthens families and makes neighborhoods supportive places for those families. In doing so, Salem is embracing values that lead to a reduction in child abuse and neglect, which in turn safely reduces the need for foster care. Salem has built a community of hope. For several years, Casey Family Programs has supported innovative programs in Marion County - and all across the state of Oregon - that recognize the important role that engaged communities play in building strong families and keeping children safe. One way for a community of hope to get built is for child welfare systems to encourage relationships with local partners - and then nurture those partnerships with mutual respect and abiding trust. "You have to put your ego aside and let everyone play in the sandbox," said Rene DuBoise, DHS district manager over Marion County. "By working with community partners, we are reinforcing the idea that these kids are not DHS kids, they are the community's kids." ### Are you on board? Hope emerges when community partners come together under a shared vision to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families. Those partners can have diverse backgrounds, hailing from different systems of government (child welfare, law-enforcement, juvenile justice, family courts, education, health care) and various sectors of the community (business, faith, philanthropy, nonprofit, political). Dick Withnell - a leader in Salem's community of hope. Hope flourishes where leaders within those areas emerge. Dick Withnell, 70, is a visible leader in Salem's community of hope. A slight-of-build but larger-than-life local figure, Withnell has run a Dodge dealership in town for decades. After seeing the economic impacts of Salem's meth epidemic, Withnell helped drive the initial "No Meth" campaign. But it wasn't until he read a story in the local newspaper that he understood the unintended consequences of that effort. The story examined the plight of DHS, which was bringing children from meth houses into protective custody in the middle of the night with no place to put them. Innocent babies had nowhere to go. Withnell organized a meeting with other Salem business leaders, passed around a hat and helped raise more than $200,000 to open a receiving home where children could be placed hours after being removed. He also stood before faith leaders inside the Salem Conference Center and urged them to help DHS address a debilitating shortage of foster families. Using the hard-sell approach of a car dealer, he made the faith leaders sign pledge cards that had three options to check: Yes, Yes and Yes. "I want to know today if you are on board. I want to know today if you see the need," he said to the faith leaders, his voice cracking. "And if you don't, God help us." In the upstairs office of his car lot, Withnell explained how a politically conservative businessman having virtually no previous familiarity with the nuances of the child welfare system has become such a vocal partner in Salem's community of hope. Business leaders need to lead in child advocacy as much as those in the human services field, he said. "You can be a bleeding-heart, warm-fuzzy goody-good-shoe who works on foster care issues, and that's great," Withnell said. "But you also need a hard-core, no-nonsense business guy who understands the ROI (return on investment) of getting involved. When children do not have the same opportunities that the rest of us have, that's not right - that's not American." Like a true businessman, Withnell illustrates his thoughts through a flow chart he draws on an easel in his office. Memorabilia displayed inside his office reflect many of the opportunities he has had - from his company's sponsorship of NASCAR to his face on a Wheaties box to the framed photo on the wall given to him personally by former Chrysler executive Lee Iacocca. "I used to be a hard-core, throw-‘em-in-jail kind of guy," Withnell said. "Now I think we underestimate what a human being can do when taught how to become a good parent. A lot of people get excited about ‘extreme makeovers' of houses. To me, nothing is better than the ‘extreme makeover' of a life." ### A welcoming door A hard-working single mom raising seven kids ranging in age from 2 to 15, Raquel Chavarria could use a little help. The Chavarria family attends a weekly community dinner that brings families together to build support for one another. The dinners are organized through the Fostering Hope Initiative and Christian Center of Salem. That help arrived through the Fostering Hope Initiative, which has brought together more than 30 community partners to improve the lives of children and families in two high-poverty Salem neighborhoods. With Catholic Community Services as the anchor, the collaborative includes nonprofits, churches, DHS, the Marion County Children and Families Department, the Marion County Health Department, two area elementary schools and several other partners. The initiative gives parents like Chavarria a welcoming door to services and hope for their children. Chavarria's introduction to the Fostering Hope Initiative began with an invitation from her sister to attend a community dinner at her church. The weekly dinners, which feed about 200 people, are organized through the Fostering Hope Initiative and Christian Center of Salem as a way to bring families together to build relationships and support for one another. Sitting at one of the round tables with other moms, Chavarria learned about a free 13-week class for parents with young children offered through a Fostering Hope Initiative partner. The last time she had taken a parenting skills class was in high school, as a teenage mom with one child. "I figured it couldn't hurt to go through one again," she said. She also signed up for a "home visiting" program. Nancy Contreras, a Fostering Hope Initiative home visitor with Catholic Community Services, visits Chavarria and her children once a week, often carrying donated diapers for 2-year-old Omarion, plus books and other necessities for the family. Contreras also provides information on early childhood development so Chavarria can track milestones for Omarion. The visits not only help the children, but also help Chavarria. The Chavarria family "I'm noticing a change in the way we do things here at home as a family," Chavarria said. "I'm certainly not being as negative or as hard on myself as I was before. I felt I was alone with no one to help. I felt it was my fault that my kids are in this situation. Right now, someone is helping us and you never know, maybe one day we'll be in a position to help someone else." Actually, she already has. Chavarria, who lives in an apartment complex for low-income families, told Contreras about a neighbor, a new single mom who also could benefit from Fostering Hope Initiative services. Contreras approached the neighbor, but the mother wouldn't answer her door. So in this case, the messenger of hope needed to be Chavarria, whose own life had been lifted by a community of caring individuals. When Chavarria joined Contreras for a second attempt on the porch, the neighbor opened the door to let them in. And hope walked right on through. ### A lending library for preschoolers is a main feature of La Casita, a resource center for families within one of the Fostering Hope Initiative's target neighborhoods in Salem. Little house, big heart The little house called "La Casita" is owned by the adjacent Holy Cross Lutheran Church but is operated by the community. It opened a year ago as a resource center to families within one of the Fostering Hope Initiative's target neighborhoods. Holy Cross, located in a neighborhood with many young Latino families, is a mostly white and mostly gray-haired congregation. The church once ran a daycare center in the little house. "We had an empty house that we wanted to do something with to impact the youth in the community," said Loran Sell, a church elder and retired schoolteacher. Sell already was involved in the Fostering Hope Initiative as a tutor and mentor at the local elementary school, so he approached Carrie Maheu, who works for the Salem Leadership Foundation, a faith-based community nonprofit and a Fostering Hope Initiative partner. Maheu serves as a liaison between the neighborhood and area churches. Preschoolers at the Lending Library. "I explore opportunities," she said. "I explore the heartbeat of a church and the needs of the neighborhood, and we go on that journey together." That journey led to a handshake between Holy Cross and the Fostering Hope Initiative to operate La Casita. "We have a written agreement, but I can't say it's binding," Sell said. "It's just kind of a leap of faith, I guess. I presented the idea to our church council, and they trusted Carrie and me enough to make it happen." La Casita has embraced an issue residents identified as a top need: early literacy services. "When we headed down the road of early literacy, man, I'll tell you, we got a response from the community to help," Maheu said. One of La Casita's rooms has been turned into a lending library for pre-schoolers. Residents donated about 1,750 books. The Union Gospel Mission donated shelves. A local church donated small tables and chairs from its former pre-school. Retired librarians categorized, labeled and organized the books. Building hope requires the commitment of all in a community. ### Neighbors helping neighbors While the impetus behind Salem's community of hope was an emergent meth epidemic, any set of circumstances can inspire one. "In Marion County, we had a community that mobilized from the private sector forward in response to a crisis," said Lois Day, director of the DHS child welfare program. "In the process, the community learned a lot about meth and police intervention, but also about family stress factors. Once the community got to know these families and these kids, it couldn't let go. And that's what happens. Once we all become aware of the needs of our children and families, we can't close our eyes to them. It's part of the human condition that we care about people." Marion County District Attorney Walt Beglau recalled that back in the day when law-enforcement was shutting down meth houses, investigators would enter the homes and literally step over the children to arrest the adult occupants, failing to see beyond the criminal case that lay before them. Today, the law-enforcement approach is more holistic. All in the community have come to recognize the important role they play in helping heal suffering families. Instead of being stepped over, children are scooped up in an embrace. "As district attorney, I can file charges until the cows come home, but it won't do any good until we have neighbors walking alongside neighbors," Beglau said. "There truly has been a change in our mindset - and I'd never go back."

Relative engagement in child welfare cases

Oregon recognizes the importance of a child's relationships with parents, siblings, grandparents and other relatives. The Department of Human Services (DHS) Child Welfare program actively seeks to locate a child's relatives in order to engage safe, positive and supportive relatives and significant persons in a child's life during the time a child cannot live with his or her parents.

Options for Relatives in Child Welfare Cases - English | Spanish

Listed below are frequently asked questions about relatives and children in child welfare cases:

FAQ:

Q. What are the Department's rules about a child's relatives when a child is removed from their parent's home?

A. The Department's administrative rules can be found at the following link: Search for and Engagement of Relatives.


Q. A child of one of my relatives just went into foster care. Who do I call?

A. You should call the branch office closest to the location where your relative child was living prior to entering foster care. Click on the link to your left for Local Offices, then click on the Child welfare offices, which are listed by county. When you reach the office, give the receptionist the child's name, let them know you are the child's relative, and that you wish to speak with the child's caseworker. The receptionist can connect you to the caseworker's phone. Often caseworkers are visiting children and families and not at their desks. When you receive an answering machine, leave a clear message that indicates that you are a relative of the child, how it is that you are related, your interest in further information, and your contact information, including both phone and address information.



Q. I want to know everything that's happening with my family -- How do I find out more information?

A. When child welfare must intervene in a family it is to ensure children are safe. When we find that children cannot safely remain in their home, it becomes necessary to place them in temporary foster care. This is a traumatic time for families. They need support and reassurance that things can change. There are several ways to get information:

• You can always contact your family.
• If you are an adult relative of a child, you have been identified as a relative, and we know how to locate or contact you, the Department is obligated to let you know that the child is being removed from the custody of the parent or parents, your options to participate in the care and placement of the child, the requirements and responsibilities to become a relative caregiver, and the eligibility criteria and availability of Guardianship Assistance benefits.
• If you are a grandparent, and you provide written request for notices of court hearings, the Department will send you notice each time a court hearing is scheduled for the child's case.
• You can look at our website and read the administrative rules specific to a relative's rights and to searching for and engaging relatives in child welfare cases.

Q. Am I a relative?

A. Child welfare has a very expansive definition of who qualifies as a relative and also has placement preferences with a child's relatives within that definition. The Department's definition of a relative is:

"Relative" means:

1. An individual with one of the following relationships to the child or young adult through the child or young adult's parent.
   1. Any blood relative of preceding generations denoted by the prefixes of grand, great, or great-great.
   2. Any half-blood relative of preceding generations denoted by the prefixes of grand, great, or great-great (individuals with one common biological parent are half-blood relatives).
   3. A sibling, also to include an individual with a sibling relationship to the child or young adult through a putative father.
   4. An aunt, uncle, nephew, niece, first cousin, and first cousin once removed.
   5. A spouse of anyone listed in paragraphs (A) to (D) of this subsection, even if a petition for annulment, dissolution, or separation has been filed or the marriage is terminated by divorce or death. To be considered a relative under this paragraph, the child or young adult must have had a relationship with the spouse prior to the child or young adult entering substitute care.
   6. For the purposes of an international adoption, relative means an individual described in paragraphs (A) to (D) of this subsection.
2. An individual with one of the following relationships to the child or young adult:
   1. An individual defined as a relative by the law or custom of the child or young adult's tribe if the child or young adult is an Indian child under the Indian Child Welfare Act or in the legal custody of a tribe.
   2. An individual defined as a relative of a refugee child or young adult under Child Welfare Policy I-E.2.2, "Placement of Refugee Children" OAR 413-070-0300 to 413-070-0380.
   3. A stepparent described in OAR 413-100-0020(27)(c) or former stepparent if the child or young adult had a relationship with the former stepparent prior to the child or young adult entering substitute care; a stepbrother; or a stepsister.
   4. The registered domestic partner of the child or young adult's parent or a former registered domestic partner of the child or young adult's parent if the child or young adult had a relationship with the former domestic partner prior to entering substitute care.
   5. The adoptive parent of a child or young adult's sibling.
   6. he unrelated legal or biological father or mother of a child or young adult's half-sibling when the child or young adult's half-sibling is living with the unrelated legal or biological father or mother.
3. An individual identified by the child or young adult or the child or young adult's family, or an individual who self-identifies, related to the child or young adult through the child or young adult's parent by blood, adoption, or marriage to a degree other than an individual specified as a relative in paragraphs (A) to (D) of subsection (a) of this section.
4. An individual, although not related by blood, adoption, or marriage, identified as:
   1. A member of the family by the child or young adult or the child or young adult's family; and
   2. Who had an emotionally significant relationship with the child or young adult or the child or young adult's family prior to the time the Department placed the child in substitute care.
5. For the purposes of eligibility for the Guardianship Assistance program:
   1. A stepparent is considered a parent and is not a relative under these rules unless a petition for annulment, dissolution, or separation has been filed, or the marriage to the child's adoptive or biological parent has been terminated by divorce or death:
   2. A foster parent may be considered for guardianship assistance when:
      1. There is a compelling reason why adoption is not an achievable permanency plan;
      2. The foster parent is currently caring a for a child in the legal custody of the Department who has a permanency plan or concurrent permanency plan of guardianship;
      3. The foster parent has cared for the child for at least the past 12 consecutive months; and
      4. A Permanency Committee has recommended the foster parent for consideration as a guardian.

The Department gives placement preference to relatives listed in sections (a) through (c) before anyone identified through section(d).


Q. Is the Department required to place a child with relatives?

A. The Department must make diligent efforts to place a child with his or her relatives, and must also make diligent efforts to place siblings together. There are also other things a caseworker must take into consideration when selecting who will care for a child, including proximity to the child's school, proximity to the child's parents for regular visitation and reunification services, and other services and supports that may be necessary to address the needs of the child and the family.


Q. How does the Department make a decision whether or not I can take care of my relative children?

A. All substitute caregivers, including relatives go through what is called a certification process. A Department staff member, called a certifier will assist you through this process. The certification process includes, after getting your permission, a check of criminal history records and child abuse records. The Department wants to certify relatives whenever possible and in the best interests of a child, and reviews each family's unique circumstances during the assessment process. The certifier will meet with you and the family members who live in your home, and a do walk-through of your home to make sure there are no safety hazards in or around the home.

We will also conduct several interviews with you and your family as part of an assessment process to ensure the children who will be staying with you are in a safe place and are receiving the nurturing and supports they need. At the conclusion of these interviews, the Department writes a home study. You will receive a copy of that home study once it has been completed.

If you are approved to receive a Certificate of Approval to provide care for your relative child, there will be ongoing requirements for you in terms of contact with the child's caseworker, support in visitation between the child and their parents, and supporting the Department's plan for the family. You will be responsible for ensuring medical, mental health and dental appointments are kept and that the child is in school. You will also be invited to attend various training sessions, as the Department requires 15 hours of ongoing training each year for each adult on the Certificate.

If the Department is unable to certify you, you will receive a letter called a notice of intent to deny a certificate of approval. If you wish to have that decision reviewed, the letter will contain information about how you can request a hearing before an administrative law judge to have the Department's decision reviewed.


Q. I would love to take care of my relative children, but I do not have the resources to support another person in my household with my income. Is support available?

A. Yes. Any relative who is certified to care for a relative child will be reimbursed for the cost of providing care at the same rates that are paid to a non-related foster parent. These rates are based on the age of the child and are described in administrative rules. These can be found at: Payment for Family Foster Care, Base Rate, Shelter Care, Enhanced Shelter Care, Level of Care, Chafee Housing, and Independent Living Housing Subsidy.


Q. What does the caseworker do with the child's parents?

A. Each time a child is taken into protective custody, the Department works with the family to determine what caused the child to be unsafe. There can be many reasons in a family that cause a child to be unsafe. We understand that people sometimes find themselves in circumstances or conditions that make it unsafe for them to parent their children. Unless there are extraordinary circumstances, the caseworker assigned to work with the family will attempt to help everyone understand what has happened in the family that caused the children to be unsafe, and what services and supports can help the family become stronger and more able to be protective of their children. Sometimes this involves drug or alcohol treatment, mental health services, parenting assistance, help with finding stable housing, or other services. The caseworker is responsible for assessing a family's strengths and needs and for developing a case plan that outlines the steps everyone will take to remedy the situation.

The caseworker has monthly contact with the family to review the progress on the work everyone is to do, and how far the family has come in changing the situation that caused the child to be unsafe. When the child can safety return home, the Department will return the child to the family. The court also reviews the case plan, at each six month interval, and sometimes more frequently.

There are times when a family is unable or unwilling to change the factors that caused the child to be unsafe. The Department works under federal timelines, and always has an alternative permanency plan, and when it becomes clear that a child is not likely to return home, the Department will actively seek another permanency plan for the children. For more information about federal requirements please see: Adoption and Safe Families Act


Q. What does guardianship mean as a permanency option?

A. When a child cannot return home to his or her parents, but parental rights are not terminated through a legal process in the courts, another adult may become the child's legal guardian and take on the responsibilities for the care of the child as well as the responsibility to make legal decisions on behalf of the child.


Q. What is guardianship assistance and how would I know if my relative child and I would qualify for that assistance?

A. The answer to this question will be posted in the near future. See the Department's policies on guardianship assistance for mor information.


Q. What does adoption mean as a permanency option?

A. When a child cannot return home to his or her parents and their parental rights are terminated either through a legal process or through the voluntary release or surrender of a child, a child becomes eligible for adoption. Adoption is a legal process in which the child takes on new parents who have full responsibility for the care of the child as well as the responsibility to make all legal decisions on behalf of the child.


Q. What is adoption assistance and how would I know if my relative child and I would qualify for that assistance?

A. The answer to this question will be posted in the near future. See the Department's policies on adoption assistance for more information.


Q. I can't provide full time care, but I still want to be involved with my relative child.

A. There are many opportunities for other types of involvement. You can contact the child's caseworker for more information. You might want to be prepared to let the caseworker know what kind of involvement you can offer. Please review the types of support you might be able to offer on the Support Preference Form (add link to CF 0268A here). Be sure to let the caseworker know your contact information.


Q. I can't seem to get a quick response from the caseworker. What do I do next?

A. Caseworkers are very busy. They are responsible for many families and cases, as well as preparing reports for court and other reviews. Sometimes a caseworker may not respond to your phone call as quickly as you would like. You can re-contact the branch office and ask to speak to the caseworker's supervisor.

If you have a disagreement with the caseworker that you cannot resolve, you can follow the Department's procedures for filing a complaint. See the rules regarding complaint reviews for more information.


Q: What is adoption assistance and how would I know if my relative child and I would qualify for that assistance?

A. Children benefit from having a permanent family and adoption is the most secure form of permanency. In recognition of this fact the adoption assistance program was created to encourage the adoption of children with special needs. Adoption assistance is a federal and state funded program which may include financial assistance paid on behalf of an eligible child to the adoptive parent, reimbursement for costs incurred in the adoption, and/or medical assistance paid on behalf of an eligible child to an adoptive parent. Unlike foster care payments, adoption assistance is not a payment to cover the cost of caring for a child. Adoption assistance is an added support to help adoptive families complete an adoption and enhance their existing capacity to meet their child's unique needs. A child in the custody of the Department, a tribe with a Title IV-E agreement or a licensed adoption agency in Oregon may be eligible for adoption assistance. The child's worker or your adoption worker can assist you in determining whether or not your relative child would qualify. Adoption assistance is always negotiated based on your child's needs and federal regulations limit the maximum subsidy to the maintenance foster care payment your child would receive if he or she were still in foster care.


Q: What is guardianship assistance and how would I know if my relative child and I would qualify for that assistance?

A. Guardianship assistance is a federal and state funded program created to encourage the movement of children from foster care to a permanent home with a legal guardian when adoption is not an appropriate plan for the child. Guardianship assistance may include a monthly financial payment paid on behalf of an eligible child to a guardian, reimbursement for legal costs incurred in establishing the guardianship, and/or medical assistance for the eligible child. Unlike foster care payments, guardianship assistance is not a payment to cover the cost of caring for a child. Guardianship assistance is an added support to help guardian families establish the legal guardianship and enhance their existing capacity to meet the child's unique needs. A child in the custody of the Department or a tribe with a Title IV-E agreement in Oregon may be eligible for guardianship assistance. The child's worker can assist you in determining whether or not your relative child would qualify. Guardianship assistance is always negotiated based on your child's needs and federal regulations limit the maximum subsidy to the maintenance foster care payment your child would receive if he or she were still in foster care.

Process, Paperwork Make Interstate Adoption A Bumpy Ride

By: Ryann Blackshere
When Rhys Gardiner learned about the urgency with which older kids in foster care need loving families before they exit the system alone, she focused her adoption search toward youth on the brink of independence.
She searched the online registry in her home state of Massachusetts, but the oldest youth registered for adoption was 16. So she looked outside her state.
“I heard from a lot of people in the field that it’s best for kids to stay close to their connections and I really respected that, however I was trying to match with an older teen or young adult who was close to aging out the system and I didn’t realize that at that time so few kids at that age were being worked with for adoption,“ said Gardiner.
Her search took her to the Adopt US Kids website, where anyone can access online photo registries of youth available for adoption in all 50 states. One photo, of a boy in Pennsylvania, stuck out.
The boy was interested in anime cartoons from Japan, the country Gardiner had studied in during college. He was also interested in going to college, a process she wanted to help with, and he had been waiting a long time for a permanent family. Their similar interests were enough to convince Gardiner that she would be a good match with him.
A total of 185,000 potential adoptive parents indicated they would adopt a child 13 or older, which means there are six prospective parents for each teen eligible for adoption, according to the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. Yet, only one in 28 people who initially contact a child welfare agency actually make it to the end of the adoption finish line, according to a 2005 Harvard University study.
At least part of the drop out rate for prospective parents is due to the long and complicated adoption process. This is magnified even more in the case of interstate adoptions, which require two child welfare systems to hash out paperwork, responsibilities and costs.
“The whole issue of interstate adoption has been such an issue for decades,” said Madelyn Freundlich, former executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and 2007 recipient of the U.S. Administration for Children and Families’ Adoption Excellence Awards.
During a convening of adoption experts in March 2011, called “Eliminating Barriers to the Adoption of Children in Foster Care,” participants listed the obstacles of adopting children in the U.S. The highest on the list was the difficulty of interstate adoption.
“The United States does not have a national adoption system. Instead, there is a different system in each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico,” says the report from the convening. “Moreover, some state child welfare systems are administered at the county level. Each jurisdiction has its own criteria for adoption eligibility and process for recruitment, approval, and training of adoptive families.”
Under the current structure of interstate adoption, the sending state enjoys a financial gain because it reduces the number of youth in their child welfare system; the receiving state loses financially because its number of children in the system rises.
Gardiner knows personally the challenges of interstate adoption.
Massachusetts requires public child welfare agency involvement in receiving an interstate placement. So the Department of Children and Families was needed to supervise the placement.
“There was not always agreement between the two states as to what each state would be responsible for providing,” said Gardiner. “[Massachusetts] was willing to provide the required home visits but not the service planning and independent living skills services which appeared to be the responsibility of the sending state. But the sending state kept insisting that Massachusetts should provide it.”
The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) is a contract entered into by all 50 states, D.C. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to work together during interstate adoptions.
“The role of the interstate office when a child is leaving their home state is to assure that the agency placing the child has the appropriate authority to do so, that the birth parents rights are protected, that the adoptive parents rights are protected, and most importantly that the child will be in a safe and appropriate placement in the new state,” said Jason McCrea, Interstate Compact Office director of the Pennsylvania ICPC Office.
When determining which state is responsible for follow-up assessments and services for the child and family, McCrea says it varies case by case.
“The sending agency makes arrangements with an appropriate resource in the receiving state to provide supervision,” he said. “Many agencies are licensed and have offices in neighboring states, so they use their branch offices to provide the adoptive match and supervision. Normally the agency that licensed the adoptive home provides the supervision, but this isn’t always the case.”
“The ICPC does not go far enough to ensure minimum standards on inter-state procedure,” Freundlich said in a report for Donaldson in 1999.
“The purpose of the compact is…to assure that children ‘receive the maximum opportunity to be placed in a suitable environment and with persons or institutions having appropriate qualifications and facilities to provide a necessary and desirable degree and type of care.,“ Freundlich wrote in the report. “The ICPC, however, in its substantive provisions, fails to set even minimal standards for the assessment of suitability, appropriateness, and desirability of care.”
“The outcomes for children,” Freundlich writes, “have been, at best, troubling, and at worst, dire.”
Filing costs and transfer of services are just some of the discrepancies that states can debate when overseeing an interstate adoption, according to the 2011 convening report. Other issues that frequently arise include differences in home study procedures and the process by which states determine whether or not a family is suitable to adopt. Each state has its own set of measures.
“Everyone recognizes a driver’s license, but not everyone recognizes home studies across states,” said Jeff Katz, founder of Listening to Parents, a non-profit created in 2009 to increase the number of adoptions of children in foster care through eliminating barriers to adoption.
Listening to Parents has created a list of policy suggestions for Congress aimed at simplifying interstate adoptions. Among them: Both the sending and receiving state should receive financial reward for interstate adoptions, and a national standard for home studies. The latter recommendation was recently pushed by child welfare researchers at a roundtable on Capitol Hill.
Adopt US Kids provides interstate adoption trainings for social workers and department staff across the nation in an effort to help them better serve families.
While Massachusetts and Pennsylvania were debating back and forth, Gardiner’s prospective son was waiting in a group home for a decision. She was able to visit him back and forth for half a year, and because Massachusetts requires kids under 18 to live with their prospective adoptive parents, he moved in with her for the summer, almost a year to the day of her first inquiry.
The family ran into more roadblocks on their road to adoption. There was a lack of clarity on which state the adoption would be formalized in, because of the burden of paying for filing fees. And the Massachusetts office claimed they never received the initial ICPC paperwork.
“All this was happening while he was in my home, while he was under stress of trying to stay in touch with his family in Pennsylvania, the holidays were hitting, the stress of committing to a new family, and the process could have gone smoother for his emotional well-being,” said Gardiner. “I feel that we didn’t receive the services that an in-state match would have received.”
The process slowed to a crawl, and he returned to a transitional living placement in Pennsylvania.
Though Gardiner’s interstate adoption process was put on pause, they continued building the relationship and have filed papers towards formalizing an adoption, which is much simpler now because he turned 18. In that time, Gardiner has also adopted a daughter, Victoria, from her state of Massachusetts, and says both processes of interstate and intrastate adoption are worth the end result.
“There has never been any question in my heart since I’ve met either of these two that they are family to me,” said Gardiner.
Ryann Blackshere is a multimedia journalist with Fostering Media Connections.

Why this foster kid blo

when i lived on the streets in the city or in the country, in abandoned buildings, on benches, or in a tent or a piece of shit trailer, i would goto places that had free computers. sometimes to stay warm. sometimes to stay safe. sometimes because i felt so lost and had nothing to do.
….i cant read well, but i played games or looked at pictures of things i wish i had…. safety, beauty, warmth, food, love, family.
sometimes i would get asked to leave, becuase i was probably dirty and smelly and had messy hair. i wasnt mean, i didnt bother anyone, i just needed a place to be. but i wasnt always welcome.
one day while playing on the computers, i came across this Q&A site where people asked questions and other people answered. some q’s were silly. some q’s were sad. some q’s were goofy. some were…. about foster care.

…and most of the answers were wrong

so one day i answered one. then two. then three. then i started answering all the ones i could find. ironically i used the same name i do on my blog. LT. Looneytunes. becuase i love cartoons.

i wrote about my life when i responded to those questions

i wrote with the real answers

nothing smart. nothing book-like. my life

i hung around answering questions for awhile thinking maybe i was telling people something to fix the confusion, the stereotyping, the hate, the total complete lack of understanding and knowledge about foster care and foster kids.

some people even asked me questions directly.

eventually i moved and got a job that i still have(!), and an apartment and my own computer. but i had no frineds. so i kept answering questions about foster care sometimes for hours watching for new ones. i didnt know if the questions were real or fake, but i answered.

.

to make a long story short, shit happened and i left that Q&A site and someone said i should start a blog.

i didnt know what a blog was.

i even asked the person where i get one.

i got directed to wordpress.

then i wrote one.

my first blog i wrote like 2-3 entries (I want to be dead- must read) and the FBI was sent to my apartment because i was writing about suicide. the FBI internet crimes division and a social worker came. the social worker started to cry when she was asking me questions. not because i told her anything detailed, but because sitting on the floor (because the worker was sitting on my futon) in front of her was a product of a failed foster care system.

no pictures hung on the walls. no signs of connection to anyone. i was an alone foster kid with a death wish. she left her card.

that sucked.

i deleted the blog

then i started again

this is where i am

this is/was my life.

this is the face of child abuse.

severe abuse.

this is the face of a child born to a world of drugs and alcohol and poverty.

this is the face of child rape … over and over … and over … and …

this is the face of not being loved.

.

this is the face that people dont want to believe exists.

.

i am foster care.

i was and will always be a foster kid.

worse yet, i will always be one of “those” that no-one ever wanted

— i am the “aged-out” kid

.

i am a product of a system …

a system that both helped me …and hurt me.

a system that both saved me …and gave up on me.

a system that turned its back on me.

… just like everyone else.

but what should you expect, when people– your neighbors or mine –don’t know, don’t understand or turn their backs… on foster kids

“they aint my problem. i take care of my kids”

“i dont want to pay for other peoples mistakes”

“why should they get free college tuition because their parents fucked up”

“they will burn your house, rape your children, and kill your pets”

“you can’t save them”

“they are too damaged”

“they will never love you like kids should”

“they should be grateful they have a bed”

“maybe if they were not so bad, someone would adopt them”

“foster kids? ….. what’s a foster kid?”

you see?

i was a foster kid

i am a foster kid

and if i dont commit suicide,

i will beat all those comments

and

thousands of kids are waiting for people

to help them beat those comments

That is why this blog is here.

Take a look at this face.

More Latinos are becoming foster parents or adopting, but need is still great

by Jacqueline Mejia

10:47 am on 07/31/2012

A college lecture inspired Ray and Connie Gallego to consider what most Latinos still haven’t completely opened up to: adoption.
“My wife and I were working diligently into our successful careers and decided to start a family. We continued trying for years and weren’t successful,” recalls Ray. “I told myself that I needed to act now and start researching adoption agencies.” The desire to raise a child outweighed all the odds against them. After one year into the  adoption process, the Gallegos finally brought home their first child, Cristina. The  Gallegos described it as “love at first sight.” A couple of years later, the family adopted a sibling pair, Ruby and Anthony.
The system is already short of foster parents. The amount of Latino foster parents is even smaller. There’s a crucial need and hope to raise awareness about the situation.
But like the Gallegos, more Latinos are gradually coming forward to adopt and foster children, as they get increasingly informed of the process and feel welcomed by agencies whose mission is to meet this need. The U.S. Children’s Bureau Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) reports that the percent of public agency adoptions by parents of Hispanic ethnicity has increased every year between 2002 and 2010 to 15.5 percent.
One of those agencies is the Latino Family Institute. It was the first Latino private adoption and foster care agency in California, and it was formally known as the Hispanic Family Institute.  “As a Latina social worker, I strongly believe that an organization that reflects the community it serves decreases organizational and culturally-based barriers, and increases the recruitment and retention of prospective adoptive and foster parents,” says Maria Quintanilla, Executive Director of LFI. The Gallegos is one of hundreds of families LFI helped create.
A special report released as part of the AdoptUsKids: Answering the Call series reveals that “bicultural” social workers establish the bridge for Latino families in order to make the process less confusing and threatening. “To retain Latino families, agency staff must anticipate prospective parents’ needs. Address the organizational and culturally based barriers — in recruitment materials, orientation sessions, pre-service trainings, and throughout the approval process — and help to address Latino families’ concerns, and make the path to adoption welcoming,” explains Quintanilla.
Adoption is increasing as more and more women delay childbearing, as they are more fully integrated into the workforce. At times, this interferes with their own biological clock for motherhood. According to the 2010 Pew Research Center report, mothers of newborns in all races and ethnic groups are now older than their counterparts 20 years ago. The report also found more women with a college degree are delaying the option to have children until later in life.
Latinos have a long history of stepping in when close relatives are not able to raise their child. The AdoptUsKids report described this arrangement as an “informal open adoption.” When agencies make the effort to understand the culture, they are able to help Latinos appreciate the legal option of becoming foster parents. As a result, agencies have found more Latinos are now seeking to make families in formal ways, through adoption. In addition, newcomers who have established themselves in the Unites States try to abide by the system as they understand the rules of the new culture, says Victoria Cerda, Executive Director of the Child Advocacy Resource Association (CARAS).
Advocates for children hope more Latinos consider becoming foster parents or adopting, since recent statistics show an alarming trend. The number of Latino children entering foster care is larger than the number of qualified families who share their language and cultural identity. A factsheet produced by the Casey Latino Leadership Group shows the number of Latino children in the system more than doubled in the past two decades and is likely to continue rising.
The 2010 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System report found that over 84,000 in the foster care system were Latino children – yet only 11,000 were adopted. This has led to ongoing campaigns to recruit more Latino families who are in the position to answer this call from children waiting to be taken in.
Deportation laws also contribute to the growth of Latino children in the foster care system. An investigation of ColorLines – News For Action in November 2011 reported that approximately 5,000 U.S citizen children are in foster care following the detention or deportation of their parents.
“It is estimated that 15,000 other children will be at risk of permanent separation from their families in the next four to five years,” says Cerda.
Child advocates say a familiar language and culture can greatly reduce childhood trauma experienced when children are removed from their birth homes. “Latinos value the importance of ‘taking care of our own’ and strongly believe they are taking care of their community by adopting,” says Quintanilla. “Latinos are a valuable resource.” There are countless benefits when an adopted foster child does not lose his or her  cultural identity and is “proud to be Latino,” says Kendra Morris-Jacobson, Director of Oregon Programs for Northwest Resource Associates.
Latinos make up at least 10 percent of the population in 17 states, according to Census figures.  A number of federal projects and state initiatives have placed particular attention on recruiting Latino foster and adoptive families. In Utah, The Utah Foster Care Foundation coordinates specific Latino recruitment campaigns at least once a year.  In New Jersey, CARAS has an ongoing educational campaign on the need for Latino foster parents, and uses churches, schools and community-based organizations to successfully showcase the program.  Additionally, AdoptUSKids has gone virtually bilingual on their website and in many of their services.
The Gallegos have a message for those Latino families who have been exploring the idea of fostering Latino children: “My advice to Latinos is to go out and test the waters of the foster/adoption world. Once you do you will be rewarded ten-fold with the beauty and admiration of these children,” urges the Gallegos. “These children didn’t choose this path. They were dealt a bad hand in life. The only thing these children are asking for is a chance to be loved by someone.”

Subsides Change Incentives for adoption of foster children

The structure of a federal program that provides monthly subsidies to promote the adoptions of special needs children in foster care may actually be delaying some adoptions, according to a new study by University of Notre Dame economist Kasey Buckles.

The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act (AACWA), passed in 1980, provides an average of $670 per month for foster parents of special needs children, while adoptive parents of special needs children receive an average of $571 per month. “Special needs” refers to foster children who may be harder to place in permanent adoptive homes because of age, race, or mental or physical disability.

Forthcoming in the Journal of Human Resources, Buckles’ study shows that the number of adoptions increases when children become eligible for an adoption subsidy, and most of the increase is from adoptions by foster parents. However, the age of subsidy eligibility for children varies by state since states can choose how they define a special needs child. As a result, children in some states become subsidy eligible at age 2, while others are not eligible until age 12.
“A foster parent who adopts a child who is not yet eligible for the adoption subsidy forfeits $670 per month, on average. This creates an incentive for foster parents to wait until their foster child is eligible by age to formally adopt.”
The vast majority of foster children come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and formalized adoption can have an emotionally stabilizing effect on these children.
“If the foster parents who are waiting to adopt could be granted an adoption subsidy sooner, the child could be moved into a stable adoptive relationship more quickly. This would have the added benefit of saving money, since adoption subsidies are always less than what the state spends to support a child in foster care.”

A Court Without Judgement

Rural Siskiyou County’s Family Dependency Treatment Court is keeping families who struggle with alcohol and drug addictions from losing their children through a mix of tough love, patched-together services and help rather than punishment.
By. Daniel Heimpel
A woman, with drawn cheeks and well into her forties, steps out of the juror’s box and takes a seat before Judge William Davis in his Siskiyou County California courtroom. She just had a relapse, another hurdle in a life-long struggle with drugs and alcohol that contributed to her son’s entrance into foster care six years ago.
“I have support,” the woman says while fidgeting, now seated at a table before the bench. “But something is missing here, and I know that.”
“It’s not a failure to say that you need something beyond what you are getting,” Judge Davis says calmly. “That actually takes courage. I don’t want to scold or berate you about using. I just want to help you.”
“I know that,” the woman says.
The jury box is almost full. Ten parents, all to children involved with this rural California county’s juvenile dependency system, come here as often as once a week as they fight the substance addictions that contributed to their children entering foster care.
In Siskiyou County these proceedings are called “Family Dependency Treatment Courts.” In other jurisdictions they are called “Family Drug Treatment Courts (FTDC),” or other variations on the same theme. The prevailing philosophy driving the nation’s 300 or more family drug courts is to offer families on the brink therapeutic support instead of the punishment and sanctions that courts typically dole out. Since the first Family Drug Treatment Court was started in 1993, the consensus among many leading family court judges is that they have been critical in positively changing the life trajectories of otherwise hurting families.
A four-site study on the effectiveness of FTDCs produced by the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children stated that: “FTDC parents, compared to comparison parents, entered substance abuse treatment more quickly, stayed in treatment longer and were more likely to be re-unified with their parents.” The study revealed that: “43 percent of FTDC children were re-unified with their parents as compared to 32 percent of those children from comparison parents.”
While the report also showed that parents who didn’t comply with drug treatment programs lost custody at higher rates than comparison parents, results like these and other studies showing cost savings have fueled a national effort to expand the courts.
“Drug court is one of the most wonderful innovations we have in our court system,” says Judge Leonard Edwards, who retired as the presiding judge of Santa Clara County Juvenile Court in 2006. Edwards is widely regarded as one of the nation’s top experts on juvenile courts and has been a prolific advocate of the efficacy of family drug courts.
“There is something about a human being coming before another human being – a judge who normally dispenses justice, punishes, has harsh things to say – but in this context has positive things to say,” Edwards says of the unique judge-participant dynamic he has seen in his own Santa Clara drug court and in the years since his retirement spent working as a judge-in-residence for California’s Administrative Office of the Courts, helping improve juvenile courts in California’s 58 counties.
While there is a cost associated with running the courts and ensuring participants have access to treatment, there is evidence that FTDCs save money by shortening the time children stay in foster care and preventing recurrences of abuse and neglect at the hands of otherwise un or under treated parents.
Judge Edwards and Judge James A. Ray cite three such examples in a report they co-wrote about the Family Drug Treatment Courts in 2005 . One example, the San Diego Dependency Court Recovery Project, created “58 percent cost savings” in comparison to “traditional child welfare models,” according to the report.
On this particular Thursday in Yreka, each individual or couple is called up before Judge Davis, who talks to them about their treatment plans and the challenges they face in maintaining sobriety. At the end of each update, Judge Davis asks how many days the drug court participant has been sober. In all, the day’s 10 participants celebrated 1,017 days of sobriety, many reporting regular employment and increasing self-esteem. Today’s participants are parents to nine children involved with the foster care system. Many have additional children who are not involved in the system.
A father in his early thirties excitedly recounts what moments free from alcohol have meant for his relationship with his baby boy. “I lay him in his crib and then I lay down next to him,” the man says with a wide grin on his face. “He puts his little hand up and I put my hand up, and then he goes to sleep.”
Whether the judge deciding these cases, a service provider or parents struggling to maintain custody of their children, Siskiyou County’s treatment court touches each party in a different way. But, the consensus among all participants is clear: the weekly sessions are critical in keeping families together.
A grant report submitted to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in accordance with the requirements of a three-year $320,000 grant to the Siskiyou County Superior Court credited the court with re-unifying 15 families since the start of 2010 out of 63 total treatment court participants.
Judge Davis, who worked as a Siskiyou County District Attorney for seven years,

Judge William Davis reads a letter from one of the graduates of his Family Dependency Treatment Court, which meets every week in Siskiyou County’s Yreka Court House.

“It weighs on you,” he says. “Try to compare it with being a physician who works with children. If that physician gets too emotionally involved, he or she is useless.”
While the decisions are ultimately the judge’s to make, treatment courts across the country have been established to take into account the full perspectives of all the professionals who interact with parents.
Before every treatment court session, Judge Davis sits down with social workers from the Siskiyou County Human Services and a coordinator from Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services to discuss the progress of each parent.
“Alcohol has been her demon for many, many years,” says one of the social workers in Davis’ chambers just before the session where the woman with drawn cheeks will admit to relapse.
The group works through the 14 cases on the docket quickly, but diligently. Taking time to discuss treatment options, possible obstacles in a particular client’s progress and decide who deserves praise for success in maintaining sobriety or completing a program.
Michael Noda, director of Siskiyou County Human Services, says that treatment court is invaluable in “bringing home the message that they [parents] must complete the program to successfully maintain a relationship with their children. Without the court’s close supervision, the treatment doesn’t always effectively follow,” Noda says. In a rural county with heightened need and compromised services the court’s role is crucial. Over half of Siskiyou County’s 5,000 children are eligible for free lunches, according to kidsdata.org, and the median family income in Siskiyou County was substantially lower than the state average from 2005 to 2009.
“With high poverty and high unemployment, It is not only a depressed economy, but it is a depressed environment, which feeds substance abuse issues and social problems,” Noda says.
Even if the total number of children in the foster care system is low, the prevalence of those children entering the system is higher than that of the average child in California. In Siskiyou County, 9.5 out of every 1,000 children are involved in the foster care system compared to 5.8 per 1,000 statewide, according to the Child Welfare Dynamic Report System housed at the University of California Berkeley’s Center for Social Services Research.
Noda and the county workers involved in the treatment court repeatedly point to a lack of mental health and treatment services available for the parents of the 78 children in foster care and the hundreds of others whose substance abuse issues imperil their children. The County has only one true outpatient drug clinic and no detox center, Noda says.
Despite this, workers like the treatment court coordinator sitting beside Judge Davis’ desk during the pre-hearing informational session are finding ways to patch together those services that do exist to the benefit of the parents cycling through treatment court.
“You [the parents] are only going to do what you have done if that is all you know,” says the treatment court coordinator as the group prepares to enter the courtroom. “If you show them a different way of being, then they have a chance of actually being different.”
The man, who smiled broadly before the judge when talking about napping alongside his baby, is now out front of the courthouse smoking a cigarette with his wife, the mother of the child he is so proud of. Both have fought substance abuse issues for the majority of their adult lives.
“Drugs and alcohol become a part of you, like eating and sleeping,” says the man’s wife. “The desire to use is so strong.” “But,” she says with a smile, “getting clean and sober — getting your life back — is possible.”
The two are holding two books used in Alcoholics Anonymous – “Incentives” –given to them by Davis and the treatment court team to celebrate the couple’s combined 287 days of sobriety. They walk off down one of Yreka’s quiet streets, proud, and on their way to somewhere better than where they have been.
Daniel Heimpel is an award-winning journalist, the Executive Director of Fostering Media Connections and the Publisher of The Chronicle of Social Change.

Foster care: Why the debate over open courts matters Read more: Foster care: Why the debate over open courts matters

WASHINGTON, September 4, 2012 — An underreported debate among foster care advocates and court watchdogs has been quietly brewing across the country. At issue: whether courts that handle foster care cases should be open to the press.
The United States Supreme Court has never considered whether there is a First Amendment right for the press to attend civil child dependency proceedings and so the issue is wide open for debate.
What is this about?
Under discussion is whether child welfare hearings should be open to the press. Currently, most courts are presumptively closed, which means that journalists are barred unless an exception is made by the presiding judge.
Proponents claim that by allowing the media access to the proceedings foster care youth will be better represented and protected.
Opponents caution that open hearings can lead to the “outing” of foster care youth and details of their lives when they are entitled to privacy.
Courts have traditionally sided with those who believe courts should be closed. The prevailing thinking has been that hearings should be closed to protect the privacy of minors. Additionally, many judges and child welfare advocates have stressed the important of keeping courtroom participants small in numbers so not to intimidate or overwhelm the children involved.
Recently, however, proponents of open courts have made some headway and have persuaded some courts to consider loosening requirements on a case-by-case basis.
Some states, like Connecticut, have launched pilot programs to test how open courts might operate and what the outcomes might be. (In this case, after the trail period, Connecticut returned to a system of presumptively closed courts.)
Advocates Say
Advocates argue that opening foster care courts will bring much needed transparency to a system that is too often shrouded in mystery and misinformation.
“The current public perception of foster care is too often painted by isolated cases of child death and tragedy. Press access to juvenile dependency proceedings would foment a clearer public understanding of the system's strengths and shortcomings,” explains Daniel Heimpel, Executive Director of Fostering Media Connections, an organization aimed at engaging journalists to drive public and political opinion on behalf of children in foster care. “This nuanced view will allow for policy and practice based in solutions, not solely reactions to the non-representative headlines that dominate the news cycle today.”
Advocates say the increased attention on child welfare cases will lead to legislative reforms that will improve the lives of children in the foster care system.
Further, advocates argue that open courts will ensure a more dedicated and results-oriented team -- from social workers to judges -- working on behalf of foster care youth.
Opponents Say
While many of the most vociferous opponents of open courts have faded from view in recent years, a few, like Professor William Patton, Professor and Children's Law Scholar at Whittier Law School, remain opposed.
Patton has written extensively on the subject of open courts, refuting that there is evidence that demonstrates there is a measured benefit to foster care youth when courts are opened.
In fact, he argues, there are cases when individuals have been harmed after judges opened hearings to the press. Specifically, warns that when details such as a juvenile’s sexual orientation or abuse history are made public the result can be devastating to the child, causing further trauma and psychological damage.
“The best system is one that is presumptively closed. Rather than placing the burden on young child abuse victims to prove that they will be harmed by openness, presumptively closed systems allocate the burden of proof on safety upon those seeking access to these hearings where the most intimate and humiliating details of these children’s lives are publicly exposed,” explains Patton.
No individual child should be put at risk in the hope of improving transparency in the system, he argues. The risk of exposure is currently too great and the impact on children’s lives too grave.
Would open courts risk children’s privacy?
This is something both sides of the debate are extremely concerned about. Will the press be able to handle privileged information about children in a responsible way?
Even those who are hopeful about open courts express concerns. “[The media] coverage sure as heck better be ethical and sensitive to children. I want the child welfare system and journalists working together towards that goal,” Heimpel maintains.
To address this concern, advocacy groups have called for the journalism community to adopt a strict code of ethics that will set a national standard.
A laudable goal, acknowledge critics. However, currently no such standards exist.
“No media organization in the United States has a media ethics policy that prohibits the publication of identifying information about all three types of child victims appearing in dependency courts: (1) sexually abused; (2) physically abused; and (3) emotionally abused/neglected,” Patton says. “Therefore, a system that provides the media, as opposed to the general public, presumptive court access still places child victims at an unwarranted risk of being further traumatized either by the fear of publicity or by actual publicity.”
That’s precisely why organizations like Fostering Media Connections are spearheading efforts to establish a journalistic code of ethics for juvenile dependency hearings, which would include strict guidelines precluding the use of identifying information in their stories.
Why is this debate important?
Although this debate may seem like insider baseball with little relevance to the world outside the foster care system, the questions that haunt the current debate are serious.
In the end, whichever way this is decided, there will be a major impact on minors in foster care, the judicial system, journalism and even, potentially, social policy in America.

Adoption Grants and Other Ideas for Funding an Adoption

 

September 3, 2012 12:05:18 PM EDT

Today, there are more than 140 million children around the globe orphaned, abandoned or taken from their parents due to extreme abuse or neglect1. For many of these children, adoption is the key to a life they otherwise may not have known.
In the U.S., families have shown tremendous support to the staggering need of parentless children. In fact, half of all adoptions worldwide take place in the United States. What's more, an astounding 40 percent of Americans report they have considered adoption, however, the reality is only two percent begin the adoption process and less than one percent follow through2.
For many prospective adoptive parents, it's the cost of adoption that stands in the way. With an average cost of $25,000-$35,000, many intended parents are left feeling helpless and defeated3.
For those struggling with the cost of adoption, take a deep breath and don't be discouraged. The good news is there are options and hope. Following is a list of cost-cutting resources and creative strategies to help put adoption in reach for those working to bring their children home.
Employer Reimbursements
What many people don't realize is that their employers may already have adoption assistance benefits in place. Contact your human resources department at your workplace to find out if they offer any adoption benefits. A human resources representative can confirm if there is such a program at your company and determine if you are eligible for assistance. Your human resources department should also be prepared to assist you with filing the necessary paperwork and educating you on what funds are available.
Adoption Grants
There are several charitable organizations dedicated to reducing financial barriers to adoption. Conduct research online to find out what organizations offer adoption assistance grants and determine if your situation qualifies. National charitable organization, Gift of Adoption Fund, is one such organization providing adoption assistance grants to families across the country - regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or marital status. They prioritize grants of up to $7,500 for families adopting the most vulnerable children facing what is possibly their last or only chance at adoption. This includes families adopting biological siblings, children with critical medical conditions or those aging out of orphanages. For more information on how to apply or to learn how to get involved, visit www.GiftofAdoption.org<http://us.mg6.mail.yahoo.com/neo/www.GiftofAdoption.org>. >
Organize a Fundraising Event
Consider financing your family dreams by hosting an adoption fundraiser. Asking for money from friends and family can be a daunting task, but a little creativity can go a long way! A hostess party is a great option for those looking to raise funds. Many people already know someone who sells items like Tastefully Simple, Mary Kay or Pampered Chef. Reach out and ask if they would sponsor a fundraiser for your adoption. You could also brainstorm seasonal service ideas and enlist the help of close friends and family to get the job done. Launch a neighborhood spring clean up, Christmas decorating, snow shoveling or window washing session for donations to help bring in extra cash. Be sure to ask for donations instead of a specified dollar amount. This will give you the best chance of raising the most funds.
Government Subsidies
The government provides adoption tax credit to families adopting a child and who meet specified criteria. Tax credits and subsidies can vary by state and in some cases, subsidies may only be available to those adopting a foster child or a child with special needs. Determine what's available in your state. Some federal adoption subsidies can be used for ongoing medical care for your child and the tax credits can help lower initial adoption costs.
Go Digital
As more people turn online for support and inspiration on their own adoption journey, consider hosting a blog to share your family's story. Connect with other adoption and parenting bloggers to exchange links or guest post to drive more traffic to your blog. Raise awareness and make it easy by setting up a PayPal account for donations. Highlight your donation-seeking endeavors on the sidebar of your blog and include a link to your PayPal account in your email signature. You'll likely be surprised to find how your story will touch so many others and spark generous donations.
Financial Institutions and Advisors
Several financial institutions offer low interest loans to help cover adoption expenses. Visit your bank and find out what options are available or speak with a financial advisor to strategize the best plan. An advisor might also be able to recommend organizations that offer interest-free loans. For example, Heart of Adoptions Alliance, Inc. is an organization providing financial assistance to adoptive parents via interest-free loans and grants. The repaid loan is then used to help other families wanting to adopt so more children benefit. For more information on Heart of Adoptions Alliance, Inc., visit: http://www.heartofadoptionsalliance.com.
Adoption Baby Shower
If a family member or close friend has expressed interest in hosting you a baby shower, forgo the gifts and suggest a pre-adoption baby shower. The host can encourage attendees to make a donation towards your adoption expenses instead of buying from a baby registry. For international adoptions, you could also invite guests to bring used baby gifts to the shower that you will donate to your child's orphanage or a charitable organization in your child's home country. Shower guests will likely applaud and admire these efforts.
Local Charities, Churches and Civic Groups
Reach out to churches and civic groups in your area. Organizations that support child development may have money available that they can offer to help cover costs associated with adoption. You can also ask your local church or a charity center if you could host a car wash or bake sale in their parking lot to help raise money for your adoption, or even pass a special collections hat. Remember, every dollar counts!

Back to school Issues

Back to School Issue Transitions - you know that the beginning and end of the school year are tough times when you're raising a child with a trauma history. Whether or not your child can verbalize it appropriately, she's probably experiencing fear and anxiety. You may be experiencing your own anxiety, and you may need to educate new teachers and staff about your child's conditions and needs. This edition of our newsletter is dedicated to providing resources to help you, your child, and everyone on your child's team understand. Please register for our upcoming webinar, Children of Trauma: What Educators Need to Know, scheduled for 7 pm central on Wednesday, September 5. This will be an updated version of last year's webinar. Educating the Child with a History of Trauma Children of Trauma: What Educators Need to Know (article) by Kathleen Benckendorf. Article suitable for distributing to the educational team. Adoption Awareness in School Assignments by Christine Mitchell. Alternatives to assignments like Family Tree, Bring a Baby Picture, heritage assignments, and more. Helping Traumatized Children Learn published by Massachusetts Advocates for Children. Fabulous, and comprehensive guide from a trauma informed perspective. Lengthy, but worth the effort to read it. Children of Trauma: What Educators Need to Know Recorded webinar, approx. an hour, by Kathleen Benckendorf of Attachment and Integration Methods. The Colorado Post Adoption Resource Center has a great publication called Family Diversity in Education: Foster Care, Kinship Care, Adoption and Schools It is filled with great information about behaviors, trauma, brain development, FASD beyond diversity. Also, whereas many other publications talk about students who continue to live in circumstances that may be chaotic or violent, this publication addresses the perspective of the adoptive, foster, or kinship parents who were not party to the original trauma. The Heart of Learning and Teaching Compassion, Resiliency and Academic Success Written for teachers, from a trauma informed perspective. Calmer Classrooms: A Guide to Working with Traumatized Children Australian publication that provides a good intro to the way early trauma affects attachment and leads to later maladaptive behaviors. Child Trauma Toolkit for Educators Basic information aimed at highlighting the prevalence of trauma in the lives of children, and school behaviors that may indicate the student has experienced trauma. Creating Sanctuary in the School From the Journal for a Just and Caring Education, this article focuses on the creation of school environments that create a feeling of safety for students with a history of trauma. An environment that feels safe is necessary for both learning and healing. Childhood Trauma and Dissociation – FAQs for Teachers - Students on the dissociation continuum may fly under the radar while students who act out garner the lion's share of the attention. This publication shows how to identify students who internalize more and dissociate, and provides recommendations for handling such situations. Creating Trauma Sensitive Schools: Reducing the Impact of Trauma as a Barrier to Learning by Jenny Caldwell Curtin, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Short introduction. Shift Your Perspective: Trauma Informed Care (a PowerPoint presentation) Good information on trauma, its potential effects on school performance and other life domains, physiological and developmental effects of stress and trauma, and how to create more trauma-sensitive schools and classrooms. Kindness, Kith, Kin, Compassion, and Community: A Response Model Connecting Human Services and Education to Address Trauma Provides good background on stress and trauma and how they can affect school performance and behaviors, and a school model to promote resiliency in students. Mental Health Fact Sheets for the Classroom A collection of fact sheets on a variety of mental health disorders, many of which can be co-occurring in children with a history of trauma. Adoption and School: Why the classroom discipline plan often fails for our kids by Julie Drew. Sticker charts, red-green-yellow behavior cards, and "Fun Fridays" are often ineffective for children with a trauma history. Read why, and learn alternative ways to deal with behavioral concerns. IEP Helps for Parents Wrightslaw has TONS of resources. The files below can be modified for your own use. The first file is a historical comparison table showing for each year (grade / age) how things were going at school (taken directly from teacher comments on report cards, assignments, and in IEP meetings), at home (parent comments), and a listing of traumatic events. When viewed as a whole, this document tends to portray a picture of a damaged child – rather than a disobedient child or a hostile and over-controlling parent. Hopefully as you create this document, you will yourself see patterns that you may not even have realized before. I suggest having an educational advocate look over this document for wording before using it in a meeting or turning it over to educators or school staff. Historical Comparison example The next file is a blank Word version of the above document you can modify for your own use. Historical Comparison blank The next file is an example letter from a therapist describing the impact of attachment disorders and PTSD on school behaviors and performance, specifically tailored to a particular child. If you can get your own therapist to provide a similar letter, it may carry a lot of weight at school, perhaps more so than the articles listed here. Letter: Psychological Impacts of RAD and PTSD at School Finally, a simple little thing called “Parental Concerns” letter. Write one, documenting all your concerns and ask that the letter be included in the IEP. The little box they give for parental concerns on the IEP form isn’t big enough. The school is legally required to include it. with the formal IEP records. It doesn’t guarantee that those who need it most will read it, but it’s part of your continuing trail of documentation. The following is an example. Parental Concerns letter example Crisis Management Not strictly a school issue, crises can occur at any time. The following guides will help you prepare for potential crises, and manage a crisis more confidently should you find yourself in the middle of one. Mental Health Crisis Planning for Families published by NAMI - MN - Learn how to recognize, manage, prevent and plan for your child's mental health crisis. How to Work Effectively with Police when Youth are in a Mental Health Crisis Tip sheet for families of children and youth with mental, emotional, or behavioral health problems.