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
|
|||
|
|||
Fear of change should not thwart child-welfare reform
Fear of change should not thwart child-welfare reform
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/app...08/-1/SPORTS09 As in most lines of work, nobody in child welfare likes to be told that the way they've been doing things for years is wrong. So sometimes people get defensive. They nurse their grudges and wait for the next horror story about the death of a child known-to-the- system, then exploit it to scapegoat reform. That's what really was on display Sunday as those who want to undercut Iowa's first tentative steps toward fixing child welfare exploited the horrible death of Ziarah Williams to claim that the "pendulum had swung too far" toward keeping families together. But that ignores where the pendulum was when it finally began swinging. For years, Iowa was captive to a "take-the-child-and-run" approach to child welfare. In 2006, a child was more likely to be torn from everyone loving and familiar in Iowa than in almost any other state. Iowa took children at a rate far above the national average and more than five times the rate of Illinois - a state repeatedly cited as a national model for keeping children safe. Even with the 2007 reforms, Iowa's rate-of-removal almost certainly remains far above most states. Critics of reform say Iowa's fanatical dedication to child removal makes children safer. But I know 15,000 children who might disagree. They're the 15,000 children whose records were examined in a landmark study to see who did better in later life: children placed in foster care or comparably-maltreated children left in their own homes. The researcher zeroed in on the "in-between" cases - those where there is a real problem in the home, but the decision could go either way. He found that the foster children were far more likely to get pregnant, far more likely to be arrested and far less likely to be able to hold a job than the children left with their own parents. Still another study found that foster care alumni had twice the level of post-traumatic stress disorder of Gulf War veterans and only 20 percent could be said to be doing well. As for safety, if Rehka Basu's outstanding recent reporting isn't enough of a reminder of the risks of leaving children to the tender mercies of the state ["Abused in State Care, Still Looking for Answers," March 30] consider what this study found: One in three foster children reported being abused by a foster parent or another adult in a foster home. In response to this mountain of evidence, critics offer only horror stories: "I had a case once..." "I know a family where..." Tragically, some of the stories are true. But sadly, the same kinds of horror stories existed before the reforms. And for every such case, there is another of a child who has lost everyone he knows and loves to needless foster care. When anecdotes collide, it's time to look at the data. The data show that reforms are making Iowa children safer - not safe enough, but safer. Reabuse of children - a standard measure used by the federal government to evaluate states - is down significantly. Workers waste less time on false reports and less serious cases, so they have more time to find children in real danger. None of this means no child ever should be taken from parents. But the research is overwhelming: Foster care is an extremely toxic intervention that must be used sparingly and in very small doses. For years, Iowa prescribed mega-doses of foster care. As the state finally comes to grips with the harm it has done, it should not be thwarted by those who put their fear of change ahead of what's best for children. RICHARD WEXLER is executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, www.nccpr.org. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
A national advocate for child- welfare reform is pushing for moreopenness in CPS cases in Arizona as part of a package of reform recommendationsaimed at reducing the system's reliance on foster care. | fx | Spanking | 0 | August 23rd 07 06:06 AM |
A national advocate for child- welfare reform is pushing for moreopenness in CPS cases in Arizona as part of a package of reform recommendationsaimed at reducing the system's reliance on foster care. | fx | Foster Parents | 0 | August 23rd 07 06:06 AM |
Legacy of Roska case is child welfare system reform: Child ProtectiveServices routinely took children from their parents with no due process. | fx | Spanking | 0 | July 7th 07 05:24 PM |
Legacy of Roska case is child welfare system reform: Child ProtectiveServices routinely took children from their parents with no due process. | fx | Foster Parents | 0 | July 7th 07 05:24 PM |
Child support change on welfare? | Gini | Child Support | 28 | February 4th 04 08:01 PM |