Seattle, WA -- Quarter of state's foster parents can't be reached

Quarter of state's foster parents can't be reached
Study cites flaws in state foster care program

By JOHN IWASAKI
P-I REPORTER

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/..._foster20.html

If the state can't contact at least 25 percent of its licensed foster
parents, is it doing an effective job of monitoring children's welfare?


A Seattle lawyer says no. And the finding emerges as Washington's foster
care system may be headed back to court. Lawyers for foster children
argue that the state hasn't made good on promised reforms.

A comprehensive survey of foster parents to be released Thursday reveals
that the state had non-working telephone numbers for nearly 1,000
parents out of 3,800 in its database, said Casey Trupin, a Seattle
lawyer in the landmark case that prompted an overhaul of Washington's
child-welfare system.

The state Department of Social and Health Services "clearly has no way
of knowing how to contact them, at least not by phone," Trupin said
Wednesday.

Trupin said lawyers for foster children plan to return to court by early
November, arguing that the state is failing to deliver. The state has no
solid plan to ensure that every foster child is visited by a caseworker
every 30 days and caseworkers carry too large an average caseload, among
other shortcomings in the system, he said.

DSHS Secretary Robin Arnold-Williams declined Wednesday to comment on
the survey, saying all parties had agreed to wait until Thursday to
speak about it.

But she strongly disagreed with Trupin's contention that her agency has
not made enough progress, or even no progress, in several key areas
outlined by the Braam Oversight Panel, a group of national experts that
set out more than 50 benchmarks for the state to meet over time.

The plan grew out of the 2004 settlement of a class-action lawsuit that
accused the state of repeatedly violating the constitutional rights of
Jessica Braam and thousands of other foster children by shuttling them
from home to home without adequate services.

"Clearly we know there's more to be done," Arnold-Williams said. "This
was meant to be a seven-year agreement. We're in year four."

But DSHS will "continue to march forward," she said. "We've been given
significant resources. The foster parent survey that comes out
(Thursday) will be a great opportunity for us. There's good news in that."

While DSHS has made progress in some ways, Trupin said, "the department,
the governor and the Legislature haven't gotten behind this plan as they
should have, given how much time and expert knowledge has been poured
into it."

Arnold-Williams said the state has invested $60 million in new funds in
children's services, adding 300 caseworkers in the past biennium, with
87 more to come by June 2009, to help the agency make monthly visits and
reduce caseload levels.

"There's no way we can hire and bring all staff on at one time," she
said. "We chose to prioritize monthly visits to those children most
vulnerable in our eyes," such as children returned to their birth
parents after being in foster care.

Arnold-Williams said there is "no disagreement that caseloads were too
high," with the average caseworker handling 25 cases in 2005. That
number is down to 21, still above the benchmark of 18.

Frequency of home visits and caseload levels are expected to further
drop when the new caseworkers come on board, she said.

The secretary emphasized that the benchmarks outlined in the Braam plan
are only part of the improvements made by her agency in recent years.

For example, in 2005, a year before the Braam settlement, the state
began responding to emergency referrals about foster children within 24
hours, and within 72 hours for cases where children were not at imminent
risk.

"We are consistently meeting that 95 to 96 percent of the time,"
Arnold-Williams said.

The old policy allowed the state to wait up to 10 days.

The state has "addressed many of the issues that are outlined in the
Braam settlement," said Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Lake Forest Park, who heads
the House Children and Family Services Committee. "We have not addressed
every one of them. Clearly, they have not been addressed to the
satisfaction of the plaintiffs."

Kagi said she continues to find it difficult to get a sense of the
priorities of the foster children's lawyers, no small problem when 54
benchmarks are in play.

"You can't ask an agency to implement 40 different items at once," she
said. "I, frankly, would appreciate some clarity from the court. Are
they really asking us to address every one of the settlement items all
at once, or are there priorities?"
P-I reporter John Iwasaki can be reached at 206-448-8096 or
.



CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
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.


CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...


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...