Texas --- Orphaned, The most troubled kids get short shrift in statecare

Orphaned
The most troubled kids get short shrift in state care
By Glenna Whitley
Published: July 26, 2007

http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-07-26/news/orphaned/

News that some abused and neglected children have ended up sleeping in
offices at Child Protective Services highlights the need for a kind of
care that most consider a relic of Dickens' time: residential care
facilities, or orphanages, if you will.

Since January 1, when CPS adopted new regulations for foster caregivers,
many foster homes have been taken off the approved list of homes,
causing a shortage. As a result, many of the most difficult children are
being dumped back on CPS, and what was intended to make such kids safer
has instead put them in limbo.

In May about 160 kids in the North Texas area ended up spending the
night in CPS offices, with caseworkers drafted to serve as caregivers,
says Marissa Gonzales, spokeswoman for CPS. In June, that number dipped
to about 115 children.

"Most are teenagers," says Gonzales. "Some have been recently released
from psychiatric facilities or they have other types of behavioral
problems, and the placement has broken down."

Gonzales says these have always been the hardest children to place.
"They need specialized attention," Gonzales says. "Some private agencies
we have contracts with won't take those children. They say it might be
too high a risk. It leaves us having to have someone care for them until
we can find another solution."

State District Judge Bill Mazur says he was surprised to learn after
taking the bench in January that Dallas-Fort Worth—the fourth-largest
metropolitan area in the nation—has no residential care facilities for
these difficult-to-place children.

"Some years ago foster care began to sound like the answer instead of
institutions, and so they fell out of favor," says Mazur, who hears
juvenile and CPS-related cases. "But foster care has its issues as well.
Plus we just don't have the number of homes that we need. We make it
pretty tough on those kids, and most of the time it's not anything
they've done. They are not delinquents; they are just abused and
neglected. We just don't have enough beds."

Mazur says that meetings to build permanent residential treatment
centers have started among the various agencies. He estimates that
Dallas needs enough such centers to offer a total of 250 to 300 beds.
One might provide care for teen mothers; another might focus on
emotionally disturbed kids.

Gonzales says that when you compare the numbers of children sleeping in
offices with the 25,000 to 30,000 in the Texas foster care system, it's
not statistically significant, but it poses problems not only for the
children but staff.

"It does put a strain on caseworkers when they have to go out and do
their jobs and then take care of the kids," Gonzales says.

About a month ago, CPS worked out an arrangement with Dallas County to
house the children who are in limbo at the Letot Juvenile Detention
Center. Letot provides beds for an average of three or four CPS kids per
day, with average stays from three to six days, says Michael Griffiths,
director for the county juvenile system.

"We are in a funny situation," Griffiths says. "We have some youths who
are under contract from CPS, but we aren't receiving funding for these
youths [who have been] staying in offices. We are proposing they expand
the contracts so we get the youths sitting in their offices properly
placed."

Letot has a license to house only 32 youths; many are runaways.

"We can take no more than six or seven of these kids," Griffiths says.
"We've converted a large training area into a makeshift dorm. Boys and
girls are separated, but it is just one room. They have CPS staff there
24 hours a day."

Griffiths says only a few residential treatment facilities in Texas work
with "very, very challenged" youths. The problem just keeps getting
bigger. Griffiths believes the numbers of children with emotional,
mental or substance abuse problems are increasing.

Irene Clements, vice president of family services for Lutheran Social
Services of the South, says that some of the rules to protect children
from bad foster parents have affected troubled children the most.

She points out that the youths who end up in CPS offices typically have
been in the system for a while. "They bring with them things that are
considered risks: sexual acting out, aggressiveness, severe bouts of
anger," Clements says. "They have attacked social workers. They do that
to foster parents too."

Clements has fostered 127 children over 27 years. One teenage girl she
fostered came at her with a butcher knife.

"Wherever these children are placed needs to be appropriate for their
needs," Clements says. One possible help: variances given to foster
homes so they can temporarily take in more kids. But Clements says
that's no long-term solution.

"It doesn't make any sense to put them in a foster home for two or three
days and then they end up back at the office," Clements says. "It sets
the child up—they'll have to move. We keep forgetting we're not just
looking for a bed. These are children with very high needs that are not
usually complementary to a family home environment. These kids wear
families out. They may need a group environment where there are shifts
of caregivers.

"A lot of these kids are runners," Clements says. "These are family
homes, not locked down facilities. In fact, that's against the law,
against fire code. So the kid runs. You report that to the youth hotline
and the CPS worker. It gets reported to law enforcement. The foster
family gets investigated. They get cited for problems and lack of
supervision when everyone knew going in that the child had run away in
the last nine placements."

She calls it a vicious cycle that can punish even good foster parents.

"There needs to be some kind of understanding about children with these
kinds of histories," Clements says. "Sometimes these kids are acting out
against other kids. Or you have a teenager that falls in love with the
boy next door. These kids are no different. They are like everybody else
with some added baggage. Kids are going to do things. It's part of
growing up. It's like a 10-year-old climbing a tree and falling. If it
was my child doing it, it was an accident. If it's a foster child, you
are investigated. The system has gotten so punitive it's guilty until
proven innocent."

Clements says that on June 29 the Texas Legislature approved higher
reimbursements for foster parents willing to accept children who have
had three or four psychiatric episodes in the last 12 months. The
"step-down" program begins September 1; after 60 days the placement is
evaluated, with a potential for another 60-day extension. Then
reimbursements drop to the usual.

"We'll see how effective it can be," says Clements. "These kids have
long-term issues, and it takes more than 60 days to fix them. Foster
parents will have to determine if they have a place to do this. Do they
have walls that won't be destroyed? Furniture that won't be destroyed?
It takes a very special environment to manage the aggressiveness of
these kinds of youths."

Clements believes the entire system needs to be restructured. "When they
are moved around and get rejected, even if it's tied to their behavior,
it's another adult letting them down," says Clements. "It's no wonder
some of these kids are the way they are."




CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.

BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...

On Wed, 25 Jul 2007 19:27:22 -0700, fx wrote:


Orphaned
The most troubled kids get short shrift in state care
By Glenna Whitley
Published: July 26, 2007

http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-07-26/news/orphaned/

News that some abused and neglected children have ended up sleeping in
offices at Child Protective Services highlights the need for a kind of
care that most consider a relic of Dickens' time: residential care
facilities, or orphanages, if you will.

Since January 1, when CPS adopted new regulations for foster caregivers,
many foster homes have been taken off the approved list of homes,
causing a shortage. As a result, many of the most difficult children are
being dumped back on CPS, and what was intended to make such kids safer
has instead put them in limbo.

So Michael, what would you do with these particular children.
They blow out of regular foster homes. Laws that have been put in
place by our good citizen's representatives, recognizing the civil
rights of the children, will not allow them to be locked up unless
they commit a crime that will move them into the juvenile justice
system, as 0:] I'm sure you would know.

So, foster parents won't take them. Their parents will not either.
They won't stay home with the parents or the foster's at any rate,
without threatening the household, even the house itself (fire setting
etc.).

So CPS is supposed to solve this without input from any other source,
right?

It's not like the media has failed to alert all parties, and I don't
see THEM coming up with a solution.

Yours please.

0:]




In May about 160 kids in the North Texas area ended up spending the
night in CPS offices, with caseworkers drafted to serve as caregivers,
says Marissa Gonzales, spokeswoman for CPS. In June, that number dipped
to about 115 children.

"Most are teenagers," says Gonzales. "Some have been recently released
from psychiatric facilities or they have other types of behavioral
problems, and the placement has broken down."

Gonzales says these have always been the hardest children to place.
"They need specialized attention," Gonzales says. "Some private agencies
we have contracts with won't take those children. They say it might be
too high a risk. It leaves us having to have someone care for them until
we can find another solution."

State District Judge Bill Mazur says he was surprised to learn after
taking the bench in January that Dallas-Fort Worth—the fourth-largest
metropolitan area in the nation—has no residential care facilities for
these difficult-to-place children.

"Some years ago foster care began to sound like the answer instead of
institutions, and so they fell out of favor," says Mazur, who hears
juvenile and CPS-related cases. "But foster care has its issues as well.
Plus we just don't have the number of homes that we need. We make it
pretty tough on those kids, and most of the time it's not anything
they've done. They are not delinquents; they are just abused and
neglected. We just don't have enough beds."

Mazur says that meetings to build permanent residential treatment
centers have started among the various agencies. He estimates that
Dallas needs enough such centers to offer a total of 250 to 300 beds.
One might provide care for teen mothers; another might focus on
emotionally disturbed kids.

Gonzales says that when you compare the numbers of children sleeping in
offices with the 25,000 to 30,000 in the Texas foster care system, it's
not statistically significant, but it poses problems not only for the
children but staff.

"It does put a strain on caseworkers when they have to go out and do
their jobs and then take care of the kids," Gonzales says.

About a month ago, CPS worked out an arrangement with Dallas County to
house the children who are in limbo at the Letot Juvenile Detention
Center. Letot provides beds for an average of three or four CPS kids per
day, with average stays from three to six days, says Michael Griffiths,
director for the county juvenile system.

"We are in a funny situation," Griffiths says. "We have some youths who
are under contract from CPS, but we aren't receiving funding for these
youths [who have been] staying in offices. We are proposing they expand
the contracts so we get the youths sitting in their offices properly
placed."

Letot has a license to house only 32 youths; many are runaways.

"We can take no more than six or seven of these kids," Griffiths says.
"We've converted a large training area into a makeshift dorm. Boys and
girls are separated, but it is just one room. They have CPS staff there
24 hours a day."

Griffiths says only a few residential treatment facilities in Texas work
with "very, very challenged" youths. The problem just keeps getting
bigger. Griffiths believes the numbers of children with emotional,
mental or substance abuse problems are increasing.

Irene Clements, vice president of family services for Lutheran Social
Services of the South, says that some of the rules to protect children
from bad foster parents have affected troubled children the most.

She points out that the youths who end up in CPS offices typically have
been in the system for a while. "They bring with them things that are
considered risks: sexual acting out, aggressiveness, severe bouts of
anger," Clements says. "They have attacked social workers. They do that
to foster parents too."

Clements has fostered 127 children over 27 years. One teenage girl she
fostered came at her with a butcher knife.

"Wherever these children are placed needs to be appropriate for their
needs," Clements says. One possible help: variances given to foster
homes so they can temporarily take in more kids. But Clements says
that's no long-term solution.

"It doesn't make any sense to put them in a foster home for two or three
days and then they end up back at the office," Clements says. "It sets
the child up—they'll have to move. We keep forgetting we're not just
looking for a bed. These are children with very high needs that are not
usually complementary to a family home environment. These kids wear
families out. They may need a group environment where there are shifts
of caregivers.

"A lot of these kids are runners," Clements says. "These are family
homes, not locked down facilities. In fact, that's against the law,
against fire code. So the kid runs. You report that to the youth hotline
and the CPS worker. It gets reported to law enforcement. The foster
family gets investigated. They get cited for problems and lack of
supervision when everyone knew going in that the child had run away in
the last nine placements."

She calls it a vicious cycle that can punish even good foster parents.

"There needs to be some kind of understanding about children with these
kinds of histories," Clements says. "Sometimes these kids are acting out
against other kids. Or you have a teenager that falls in love with the
boy next door. These kids are no different. They are like everybody else
with some added baggage. Kids are going to do things. It's part of
growing up. It's like a 10-year-old climbing a tree and falling. If it
was my child doing it, it was an accident. If it's a foster child, you
are investigated. The system has gotten so punitive it's guilty until
proven innocent."

Clements says that on June 29 the Texas Legislature approved higher
reimbursements for foster parents willing to accept children who have
had three or four psychiatric episodes in the last 12 months. The
"step-down" program begins September 1; after 60 days the placement is
evaluated, with a potential for another 60-day extension. Then
reimbursements drop to the usual.

"We'll see how effective it can be," says Clements. "These kids have
long-term issues, and it takes more than 60 days to fix them. Foster
parents will have to determine if they have a place to do this. Do they
have walls that won't be destroyed? Furniture that won't be destroyed?
It takes a very special environment to manage the aggressiveness of
these kinds of youths."

Clements believes the entire system needs to be restructured. "When they
are moved around and get rejected, even if it's tied to their behavior,
it's another adult letting them down," says Clements. "It's no wonder
some of these kids are the way they are."




CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.

BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...