Tailor foster care to individuals' needs

Tailor foster care to individuals' needs
Luis, 23, a veteran of foster care, entered the system at 6. "I
remember vividly sitting outside the courthouse, my mother crying," he
recalled. "And then, suddenly, I was living in some house I didn't
know."
Children in foster care, he said, should have basic rights: "You
have a right to be happy. You have a right not to be hit. You have a
right to love. Everybody deserves a family."
Ensuring that every child has a safe and permanent home should be one
of our highest priorities. But for children in foster care, it's often
not the case, despite our best intentions. Foster care is supposed to
provide temporary homes for children until they can rejoin their
parents or be adopted. Yet, the more than half a million children in
foster care stay there an average of three years, in an average of
three foster homes. This legalized limbo isn't a permanent home - nor,
as headlines remind us, is it guaranteed to be safe.
I met Luis through the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, a
non-partisan effort to find ways to change how the federal government
finances services for abused and neglected children and the way courts
oversee these cases. The members met extensively with those touched
most deeply by foster care.
What we found was both heartwarming and heart-rending. Young people
told us of long stays and frequent moves, of feeling utterly forgotten
by the agencies and courts charged with their care. Caseworkers and
judges spoke of how they would like to individualize services but
often are thwarted by the volume of cases. They recognize the
importance of acting quickly, but often are constrained by the system.
Foster parents described how they care for children who come to them
in pain, sorrow, anger and confusion. And parents spoke of overcoming
crippling addictions and other challenges to get their children back
from foster care and keep them safe and well.
As a nation, we seem unable to achieve safety and stability for every
child in foster care. For Luis, adoption led to a permanent, loving
family. For others, it could mean reuniting with parents or other
relatives.
Can we build a system tailored to the individual needs of children
and families? How can we not?
Carol Spigner, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School
of Social Work, is a member of the Pew Commission on Children in
Foster Care.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...dividualsneeds

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