Michigan's Foster-care system under scrutiny

Foster-care system under scrutiny
Lori Holcomb
The Enquirer

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/a...WS01/708260314

It's an hour before dinner and Brian and Kim Gerber's Bedford home is
organized madness.

Four teenage girls work an assembly line of washing and drying dishes,
two toddlers gnaw on oatmeal cookies and 7-month-old Malakai, or Bubba,
threatens the ankles of unsuspecting adults in his rolling walker.


It's noisy, but cheerful. On this night there's laughter around their
long kitchen table. Sometimes, it's the only way to cope with the pains
of the past.

One of the teens, Brianna, 16, has been in at least 18 homes since
entering the foster-care system, five in the past five months.

Another, Kiarre, also 16, lost both her mother and grandmother as a
child , and has been through several foster homes. Brian and Kim are the
first parents she ever knew as "mom" and "dad."

Kiarre and Brianna have run away from many of their foster homes,
including the Gerbers', but now they're intent on staying. Brian and Kim
are intent on keeping them; and besides, living with the Gerbers is fun.

"We get to eat whenever we want to eat," Kiarre gushed. The 16-year-old
and the other girls recall living in homes where the refrigerator was
padlocked at night.

"A lot of foster kids hoard food," Kim Gerber said, referring to the
empty wrappers and food she'll find hidden in their rooms and under
their beds. "It's from living that past where they're not sure when
their next meal is coming, but I eventually break them of it."

By these accounts, the Gerber home embodies the promise of Michigan's
foster-care system: a safe, structured and nurturing home environment
for children who have lost or have been removed from their biological
parents or custodial adults.

Numerous examples of the system's failure, however, tell a different
story. The death of two children in the past two years — 7-year-old
Ricky Holland of Williamston and 2-year-old Isaac Lethbridge of Detroit
— have sparked debates how to reform the system.

The process, particularly in light of the state's budget crisis, is
slow. This week, lawmakers in Lansing wrangled over a GOP plan to
privatize more of Michigan's foster care.

At the crux of the issue are the foster parents themselves. The worst
examples grab headlines, and foster parents who abuse the system — take
in wards simply to receive state money — tarnish the system's image. But
foster parents are desparately needed.

"It's a hard job," Kim Gerber said. "If people are getting into this
because they think the kids are going to love and respect them, it's not
going to happen for a long time down the road."
A STABLE LIFE

Kim, 34, is a third-generation foster parent. Her grandparents housed 33
foster children, adopted seven, and Kim's mother became licensed after
Kim left home.

Brian, 39, loves children and specializes in keeping his wife and kids
smiling. They have one biological child, Hailee, 8, and a dozen
grandchildren.

The Gerbers specialize in working with teenage girls such as Brianna and
Kiarre.

"The biggest thing in a kid is stability," Kim Gerber said. "A stable
life knowing they're going to get up in the morning, go to school, come
home, have dinner and have a family."

Children who endured years of neglect, abuse and instability often
harbor hostile attitudes and behavioral issues, said Jim Cochrane, a
manager at the Calhoun County Department of Human Services.

"They're a difficult population to work with because of their life
experiences," Cochrane said.

Brianna and Kiarre recounted examples of intentionally saying or do
something disrespectful so the foster parent would ask to have the child
removed. That game doesn't work with Kim.

"I tell them when they're bad, 'That's OK, go ahead. Be bad. Because you
ain't going nowhere and neither am I,'" Kim said.

"If I were to move these girls for every problem they had, I would have
moved them 150 times," she said. "They test you and your boundaries to
see how you're going to react."

The girls attest to their own progress living with the Gerbers. Although
Kiarre and Brianna won't discuss their past, they are letting down their
walls. Several weeks ago, Kiarre wore a skirt — albeit over shorts —at
home for the first time.

They wouldn't discuss their reasons for the change, other than to say
they now have at least on less reason to be afraid.

"Before here I didn't trust any male, and I still don't," Brianna said
pointing a finger at Brian. "He's the only one I trust."
MORE BAD THAN GOOD

Michigan's foster-care system is the seventh largest system in the
country and ranks in the bottom 12 states for percentage of funds used
to help foster children.

For comparison, the state spends about $1.9 billion on corrections, more
than a fifth of the general fund, and pays about $30,000 to house a
prisoner. Alternately, it spends about $240 million in foster-care
payments and salaries for 706 workers, or about $9,700 per child.

In 2006, New York-based Children's Rights sued in Michigan on behalf of
its 19,000 foster children. Earlier this month, lawyers for both sides
agreed to have an independent expert examine a random sampling of
children's case files to try to identify problems in the child welfare
system.

Many of those problems have been well-publicized. According to Kids
Count, the number of children who are wards of the state more than
doubled between 1994 — when there were 2,972 — and 2006, when there were
6,292.

Sara Bartosz, Children's Rights lead counsel on the case, says in
addition to the state wards, about 7,000 children are placed in the
homes of unlicensed relatives. In most cases, they do not receive state
funding or services, leaving the children vulnerable.

As a guardian ad litem attorney, a lawyer appointed to represent the
interests of minors, Karen Cook has worked with hundreds of children,
parents and agencies in the foster-care system.

In her experience, she's seen more bad than good.

"I've spent 20 years in a system that's incompetent, with a lot of
corruption and wasted tax dollars," said Cook, who was named the 2004
Child Advocate of the Year by the Children's Law Section of the State
Bar of Michigan.

She said she believes many of the problems lie in the licensing process.

"The criteria for being a licensed foster parent is breathing," she
said. "Agencies love to license people who don't ask questions."

License applicants to DHS must be betwen 18 and 65. Other requirements
include a background check, three character references, a training
session and an interview with a DHS worker.

Private agencies such as Starr Commonwealth may require other licensing
standards. Marty Mitchell, CEO and president of Starr Commonwealth, said
Starr looks for people with good morals who care about children's well
being. With any process involving human nature, however, he said it's
not perfect.

"I would be the first to say it's not infallible, but this is not
something we take lightly," Mitchell said. "We work very hard to make
sure before a family receives a single child, that the children will
receive the care they deserve."
LACK OF OVERSIGHT

Thursday, the state Senate approved a controversial bill that would put
20 percent more foster cases in the hands of private agencies.

Currently, 40 percent of Michigan's DHS foster-care services are
privatized. Sen. Bill Hardiman, R- Kentwood, sponsored Senate bill 232
and said it will improve the private agencies' accountability using
performanced-based contracts, requiring national accreditation and
giving the state more time for oversight.

Mitchell said he believes combining the strengths of the private and
public sectors would create the best situation for foster children.

"It's not about who can do it better because both have their strong
points," he said. "The public sector would do a great job at what it
does best — managing and oversight— and the private sector in service
delivery."

There are many who say otherwise.

"I think it's a disaster," Cook said. She said she's seen too many
situations where contracts become more important than the children and
kids linger in foster care for years so agencies could continue to draw
funding for the child.

Many private agencies also fail to provide the basic service and
monitoring requirements to identify problems with foster-care homes, she
said.

Mitchell said that ongoing assessments, 24-hour availability and weekly
or biweekly visits help ensure that proper care is provided, but many
agencies don't hold case workers to these standards. DHS reported in
March 2006 that at least 31 percent of the state's foster children were
not receiving monthly visits.

Cook said the state needs more workers and structural change to improve,
and medical and health benefits wouldn't hurt — at least 40 percent of
children in state custody don't receive basic preventative screenings.

Medicaid covers foster children, but finding providers who accept
Medicaid is difficult, so foster parents often pay for the care
themselves. Although they receive money for food and clothes, it's not
enough in her view.

According to DHS, the state pays between $14 and $18 per day and an
additonal allotment between $5 and $18 for each child, depending on age
and level of needed medical care. Parents also receive a $25 allowance
for each child at Christmas and $210 to $500 clothing supplement
depending on age and need.

"Could you live off it? Yes, if you lived in very minimal conditions,"
Kim Gerber said.

DHS reports that fewer than 30 percent of all Michigan's foster children
return home within 12 months of removal. The national average is 76
percent or more.
FINDING HOME

For children who cannot return to their families, adoption is the best
option. Adoption has meant a life change for the Gerber's adopted
children. As soon as they adopted Brittney, teachers commented on how
much she changed for the better, Brian Gerber said.

"They know they're not going anywhere; it's family," Kim Gerber said.
"They lose all the court background, lose all the caseworkers, all the
judges — they're just like a normal child."

With foster children, they never know from one day to the next if Child
Protective Services is going to show up on their doorstep to take them
away. If not for the Gerbers' love, Kiarre, Brianna and Cassie say they
would have run away or been put in a residential program long ago.

"We just tell them everyday we love them," Kim said. "We laugh, we cry
and we live together."

The girls say they don't want to leave, and the Gerbers say that's fine
by them.

Lori Holcomb can be reached at 966-0675 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

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...