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Alaska's Child Protection is getting sued
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_al...-8403993c.html
Alaska villages may proceed with foster care lawsuit By ANNE SUTTON, Associated Press Writer Published: December 22, 2006 Last Modified: December 22, 2006 at 05:42 PM JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The Alaska Supreme Court has cleared the way for a four-year-old lawsuit challenging the state's foster care system to proceed, although attorneys for the plaintiffs say they may seek to settle the case out of court. The lawsuit, filed by four Alaska native villages, contends that the state has failed to follow federal laws regarding the care of native children who are taken from their own families because of abuse or neglect. It alleges that the state too often fails to find safe and culturally appropriate homes for the children. Native communities fear they are losing their children to the state system, said Dorothy Larson, administrator of the Dillingham-based Curyung Tribal Council, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. "The reason we did this was to make sure our children were served better and we wanted to maintain their connection with their community and their culture," said Larson. "That's the whole purpose of our case is to bring that to light and to remedy it." Federal law requires that social workers first try to place a child with a relative or, failing that, to find another native tribal member, preferably in the same community. Larson said it is difficult for rural residents to meet state requirements to be foster parents, partly because the process involves traveling to Anchorage for training. And she said families need more support from social workers who are already overburdened with large caseloads. The lawsuit was filed in 2002 but a year later the state sought to block it before it went to trial by arguing, among other things, that the villages did not have the legal standing to bring the lawsuit. While both the Superior and the Supreme courts did dismiss some claims against the state, the Dec. 15 high court ruling confirms the tribal governments' authority to hold the state accountable. Andrew Harrington, executive director of Alaska Legal Services Corp., which is representing the villages, said they will seek to prove, under federal civil rights laws, that the state failed to implement the Indian Child Welfare Act and other federal laws. "The (lower) court should be able to go forward with those claims and give the tribes the opportunity to prove their case and then have the state take appropriate action to correct that," Harrington said. State officials said they already have been working on the problem. Department of Health of Social Services Deputy Commissioner Tammy Sandoval said the state's Office of Child Services has taken a number of measures to recruit more foster families, both native and nonnative. "I don't think people are really aware of the need unless there is a case that sort of highlights the issues. So we take the opportunities we can to do a lot of community education," Sandoval said. Those efforts have extended into villages with public service announcements and advertisements, including messages printed on berry buckets urging residents to become part of the safety net for children. Sandoval said recruitment in Dillingham last spring opened up six new native foster homes. According to the original lawsuit, between 30 to 40 Curyung children were in foster care, most of those in Anchorage. Out of 36 Curyung children currently in out-of-home care, 20 are in Dillingham or surrounding villages, four are in Anchorage and Bethel while the rest are with licensed relative placements in locations around the state, according to state officials. Sandoval said the state also has been working with the Casey Family Programs, a national child welfare organization that has helped develop partnerships between tribes and states. The group says a disproportionate number of ethnic children nationwide are in foster care and Alaska is no exception. About 60 percent of children in state custody are Alaska native, although they account for only about a quarter of the state's population of children. Recent studies also showed that Alaska native children were an average of 6.5 times more likely to be placed in foster care than their Caucasian counterparts. |
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Alaska's Child Protection is getting sued
Greegor wrote:
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_al...-8403993c.html So what do you think the state should do, Greg, and how should they accomplish it? Ever been to Alaska? I used to go every year. Still have a lot of contacts there, native and non native population. Want to guess why so many native kids are in out of home care? Why don't you do a anthropological field work and get back to us. When you are done with that, go to work on the State Budget system and see if there is actually enough money to do what you and the plaintiffs are seeming to want. Guess who do not want to foster native kids, Greg. Natives. But it's great to find something to sue for. Isn't it? 0:- Alaska villages may proceed with foster care lawsuit By ANNE SUTTON, Associated Press Writer Published: December 22, 2006 Last Modified: December 22, 2006 at 05:42 PM JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The Alaska Supreme Court has cleared the way for a four-year-old lawsuit challenging the state's foster care system to proceed, although attorneys for the plaintiffs say they may seek to settle the case out of court. The lawsuit, filed by four Alaska native villages, contends that the state has failed to follow federal laws regarding the care of native children who are taken from their own families because of abuse or neglect. It alleges that the state too often fails to find safe and culturally appropriate homes for the children. Native communities fear they are losing their children to the state system, said Dorothy Larson, administrator of the Dillingham-based Curyung Tribal Council, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. "The reason we did this was to make sure our children were served better and we wanted to maintain their connection with their community and their culture," said Larson. "That's the whole purpose of our case is to bring that to light and to remedy it." Federal law requires that social workers first try to place a child with a relative or, failing that, to find another native tribal member, preferably in the same community. Larson said it is difficult for rural residents to meet state requirements to be foster parents, partly because the process involves traveling to Anchorage for training. And she said families need more support from social workers who are already overburdened with large caseloads. The lawsuit was filed in 2002 but a year later the state sought to block it before it went to trial by arguing, among other things, that the villages did not have the legal standing to bring the lawsuit. While both the Superior and the Supreme courts did dismiss some claims against the state, the Dec. 15 high court ruling confirms the tribal governments' authority to hold the state accountable. Andrew Harrington, executive director of Alaska Legal Services Corp., which is representing the villages, said they will seek to prove, under federal civil rights laws, that the state failed to implement the Indian Child Welfare Act and other federal laws. "The (lower) court should be able to go forward with those claims and give the tribes the opportunity to prove their case and then have the state take appropriate action to correct that," Harrington said. State officials said they already have been working on the problem. Department of Health of Social Services Deputy Commissioner Tammy Sandoval said the state's Office of Child Services has taken a number of measures to recruit more foster families, both native and nonnative. "I don't think people are really aware of the need unless there is a case that sort of highlights the issues. So we take the opportunities we can to do a lot of community education," Sandoval said. Those efforts have extended into villages with public service announcements and advertisements, including messages printed on berry buckets urging residents to become part of the safety net for children. Sandoval said recruitment in Dillingham last spring opened up six new native foster homes. According to the original lawsuit, between 30 to 40 Curyung children were in foster care, most of those in Anchorage. Out of 36 Curyung children currently in out-of-home care, 20 are in Dillingham or surrounding villages, four are in Anchorage and Bethel while the rest are with licensed relative placements in locations around the state, according to state officials. Sandoval said the state also has been working with the Casey Family Programs, a national child welfare organization that has helped develop partnerships between tribes and states. The group says a disproportionate number of ethnic children nationwide are in foster care and Alaska is no exception. About 60 percent of children in state custody are Alaska native, although they account for only about a quarter of the state's population of children. Recent studies also showed that Alaska native children were an average of 6.5 times more likely to be placed in foster care than their Caucasian counterparts. |
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Alaska's Child Protection is getting sued
"0:-" wrote in message news:N92dnYVGlc6RjDXYnZ2dnUVZ_sSmnZ2d@scnresearch. com... Greegor wrote: http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/ap_al...-8403993c.html So what do you think the state should do, Greg, and how should they accomplish it? Ever been to Alaska? I used to go every year. Still have a lot of contacts there, native and non native population. I don't know if Greg has but I spent 18 months there. I think, Kane, that the point now has been showing the problems with several state CPS agencies rather proves the point of systemic problems. Of course YOU and RON will fight to the death denying there are ANY problems even TINY ones. Not to mention that LIES are central to the way CPS operates! Remember that CAPTA $$$$$$$ never take your eye off the ball of those HUGE CAPTA $$$$$.. The ends justify the means, don't they Kane? ANY MEANS AT ALL TO GET THOSE KIDS A CASE NUMBER! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ |
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