If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
In 2000 there were an estimated 247,822 children in Rhode Island
LIFEBEATS
05/06/2004 Lifebeats feature By JOE KERNAN In 2000 there were an estimated 247,822 children in Rhode Island, and 2,302 of them were in foster care. Another 400 or so were awaiting adoption. All indicators point to the number going up, and there is no evidence of the numbers diminishing. The National Foster Parent Association Council of Affiliated States is promoting a nationwide campaign to heighten foster care awareness. Each state foster parent association is being asked to arrange a blue ribbon event at their state capitals during the month of May. In Rhode Island, Casey Family Services, a non-profit support agency for foster parents and families in crisis, is making a special effort to insure that the many people who are foster parents get the recognition they deserve and an effort to recruit more qualified people to be foster parents as the need for them continues to outstrip the supply. The people at Casey Family Services in Washington Park have no illusions about the difficulty of their effort and are almost brutally frank about the level of commitment being a foster parent entails. They have to be that way because they work with some of the most troubled children and families and offer a more intensely therapeutic program than other programs. “We want to recruit foster parents, but we are looking for some very special people,” said Tracie Jones, the Resource Coordinator for Casey Family Services. “We are looking for a home that offers stability and a nurturing environment for a specific kid. Every child is an individual, and having the right fit is crucial.” The Casey organization works under contract with the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) to find temporary homes for children in a crisis situation. But it does go further in offering a variety of support services to foster families 24 hours a day. “At 3 a.m. you can call us and someone will be there,” said Jones. “We offer all the support we possibly can.” Christine and David Ellis of Warwick have been foster parents for years and have even adopted one of their charges. Christine works in a women’s shelter and is no stranger to family strife. She is currently caring for a four-year-old boy we will call “Matthew” and makes no bones about the realities of dealing with a child with issues and the almost ironic adjustments they have to make. “There is always the ‘honeymoon’ period when you get a kid,” she said. “They are on their best behavior for a while, but as they begin to trust you, as they begin to feel that you are committed to taking care of them, the problem behavior emerges. Matthew is a good kid, but he has his moments.” Matthew, who was with Christine at the Casey center last week, seemed like a typical four-year-old: energetic, antsy, charming and willful at turns. Christine said that at first you cannot claim to love the kids, but you do have to convince them that you are committed to taking care of them and will be consistent. “You can’t pretend to love them,” she said. “You can show them you care and that you are not going to leave them because of their behavior. Once they vent their anger and frustration and see you are still there, that’s what they need.” In spite of what could be called a professional distance that people new to foster parenting must have, children do “get to” people, and Christine and David have adopted Allysa, who came to them as a foster child. Allysa is as much a part of the picture as her parents. “They have their fights and arguments, but that’s all part of being a kid,” said Christine. Christine and David originally wanted their own child and had gone through fertility therapy but ultimately decided that they wanted a child, period. But even then, they did not consider foster parenting as a way to meet their own needs. They knew and accepted the challenge of caring for a child with very special needs, the obvious one being the lack of trust and the genuine abandonment they have experienced. Casey Family Services is there to put potential parents on the proper footing for the challenges that lie ahead. “When we are looking for a family we are not looking to fill a need of the family,” said Jones. “It is the child’s needs we want to meet. People who commit to this should not expect it to make them happy. They must be willing to want to help a kid and not to find a playmate for an only child or for their own satisfaction.” One of the goals of the Casey team is to get children out of group homes or other residential programs and back into a normal family situation. Jim Gannaway, the Division Director for Rhode Island, said that, in spite of the best intentions, institutional programs are expensive and do not address the main goal of the foster parenting ideal, which is to keep families together and to give them every kind of support they need to achieve that. “We want to do what we can for kids,” he said. “Kids that don’t get what they need end up in institutions that cost a lot and don’t offer much.” Gannaway said it costs up to $60,000 a year to keep a kid in a group home, about $1,300 a day. “The kids wouldn’t have to be there if they got good care before they got there in the first place.” Gannaway said that, in 12 years, only two kids out of a hundred who were placed out of institutional care to them had to be returned to it later. “And a good many of those who had to be admitted didn’t have to stay long,” said Gannaway. “There is really only one reason why a kid has to be institutionalized, and that is when he is a danger to himself or others.” The people at Casey are not prone to criticizing the agencies they work with but they are frank in saying that foster parents are under-compensated by the state. “Almost all foster parents have to go into their own pockets to give the kids what they need,” he said. “We want them to see themselves as professionals and they should be considered as such.” Foster parents are licensed by the state through DCYF, which goes to great lengths to insure that the proper background checks are done. Everyone above the age of 18 in a prospective home is subject to the checks. They obviously share the goals of Casey Family Services but are subject to the often cumbersome bureaucratic and legislative red tape. A number of agencies have complained of inadequate compensation and even people familiar with DCYF agree the level should be raised. “It should not have to cost people to help our state’s children,” said one anonymously, who added broader public support and awareness of the need for foster care should make the public more willing to support foster parents. The State of Rhode Island currently offers about $474 a month, with a number of special costs included, but even they admit (off the record) the out-of-pocket costs can be considerably higher for families. One rationale they give for keeping the figure that low is that they do not want people entering into the system for the wrong reasons, such as the money. Gannaway frankly begs to differ and says that a rigorous screening process weeds out the people who are looking for easy money. Casey gives foster families $800 to $900 a month, on top of a number of other considerations, such as special needs or clothing or even structural adaptations within a home to meet the needs of a child without beggaring the foster parents. He said anyone who views the foster parents program as a way to make extra money will be vastly disappointed. “Surprisingly [in spite of the lack of compensation], there are a lot of really good foster parents out there, people who are really committed. It’s not so much who you draw; it’s who you take. We do extensive checks on people, BCI checks, records checks, DCYF checks and interviews. Our philosophy will always be the child’s needs, not the family’s needs.” Gannaway and the staff at Casey Family Services can afford to be generous with their support. Family Services is the action arm of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, one of the most successful self-sustaining philanthropic trusts in the world. In brief, Jim Casey, the founder of United Parcel Service, started the Annie E. Casey Foundation to help youth in need, particularly foster children. The Annie E. Casey Foundation is now the largest private foundation serving children and families in the United States. It is fully endowed and does no fund-raising. Casey Family Services is the operating arm for the foundation, working on the ground with communities, families and children in need throughout New England. They are a fully accredited nonprofit child welfare agency, founded in 1976. “We were formed to develop model programs and establish best practices for the foster care system,” said Wendy Christian of the national office. “Today, we provide programs to families in the areas of family preservation and reunification, foster care and post-adoption services. We also provide life skills classes and training for foster youth preparing to ‘age out’ of the foster care system.” Christian said they are particularly focused on the needs of youth in transition this year. Every spring, 20,000 young people “graduate” from the foster care system, and many lack the supports they need (both financially and emotionally) to succeed on their own. Look under the “graduation” or “making a difference” categories. “We recently moved our headquarters from Warwick to a remodeled warehouse in Providence, so we would be closer to the families and children we serve,” said Christian. “Our office serves as a community center for a wide range of programs. We have a terrific jobs program in Providence, working with the Stand Construction Company.” The move also fits in with the philosophy many foster care programs are adopting, which is to keep foster children in environments similar to that which they came from and, hopefully, will return to. “We are developing a community-based effort,” said Jones. “Aside from giving the child a sense of being part of the community, it avoids the culture shock of a strange environment, which would only add to the issues a child has to deal with.” National Foster Care Month is a joint effort of Casey Family Programs, DCYF, The Foster Parents Association and other agencies to bring home, so to speak, the importance of foster care. DCYF will host an informational meeting at Gymboree at 82 Rolfe St. in Cranston on May 13. Agency representatives will be on hand between 7:15 and 9 p.m. to answer questions about foster care. A meeting to discuss foster care and adoption is slated for May 26 at the DCYF office at 650 Ten Rod Rd. in North Kingstown from 6:30 to 8 p.m. There will also be a Foster Parents Night at McCoy Stadium on May 21 sponsored by DCYF, the Pawsox and others. There will be an open house at the Casey Family Services Center, 1269 Eddy St., Providence, from 5 to 7 p.m. on May 11. National Foster Care Month is also devoted to enlisting the help of other organizations for support through special events. For ideas about what you can do to celebrate foster parents, visit www.nfpainc.org. http://www.warwickonline.com/lifebea...ws.asp?ID=6026 Defend your civil liberties! Get information at http://www.aclu.org, become a member at http://www.aclu.org/join and get active at http://www.aclu.org/action. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Parent-Child Negotiations | Nathan A. Barclay | Spanking | 623 | January 28th 05 04:24 AM |
Kids should work. | ChrisScaife | Foster Parents | 16 | December 7th 03 04:27 AM |
Helping Your Child Be Healthy and Fit sX3#;WA@'U | John Smith | Kids Health | 0 | July 20th 03 04:50 AM |