Plant Prattles HUGE destructive lie against relatives....

Ron writes:

The problems of Kinship care are less the systems fault than that of the
prospective placements. The state cannot "force" kinship care, they can
only ask.

Hi, Ron!

Federal audit disclosed that the states failed to follow the law requiring
that CPS make diligent efforts to ask.

It was never a question of "forcing" a relative to become involved, but of
making diligent efforts to allow those who wanted to care for children in
their family the opportunity to do so.

For instance, in 33% of the cases in your state of Nebraska, "reviewers
found that the agency had made NO EFFORTS to explore the possibility of
relative placements or had conducted only a limited exploration of potential
relative placements, such as seeking and assessing only maternal relatives"
(Final Audit Report, at page 7, My emphasis). http://tinyurl.com/8wia

Auditors found that Nebraska failed to be in substantial compliance in
making efforts to allow parents to visit their children in foster care,
maintaining relationships between parents and their children in foster care,
preserving connections between foster children and their families AND
failing to make diligent efforts to place foster children with relatives.
http://tinyurl.com/8wia

Doug

"Ron" wrote in message
news:Z0duc.27335$Yr.15993@okepread04...

"bobb" wrote in message
...

"Doug" wrote in message
...
Here is the trend of kinship foster care, expressed in percentage of
foster
care population, after the correction. As it turns out, the numbers
for
1998 were the same as 1997.

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/p...99/ar0199a.htm

1997 29%
1998 29%
1999 26%
2000 25%
2001 24%



Kinship care has taken a beating because CPS fears it cannot control
family
associations and has set unrealistic barriers to prevent licensing.
Even
a
marijuana bust 15 years ago will prevent and aunt or uncle, now with
children of their own, from caring for their neice or nephew.

I'm willng to be 99.9 percent of all foster kids try to reestablish
relationship with their families or relatives, prior to, and after
emancipation... however, depending on how long they've been wards of the
state.. they become strangers. Kinship care should not be viewed simply
as
having a biological connection but I'd suggest friends of the family
(or
child) should also be considered and sought out prior to foster care
with
a
stranger.

Many years ago.. I sought a foster kid who was known to me.. but because
I
was known to the family I, too, was ineligible even thought I was
licensed
and avaibable.

bobb

Did you bother to read the other link that speaks to the reasons why
kinship
care if difficult bobb? Here's a quote for you:

"
Barriers to Kinship Placements
Despite the value to children of remaining with their extended families,
and
the concern of relatives about the future of their nieces, nephews, and
grandchildren, there are many reasons why adult relatives may be unwilling
to take on the responsibility of a child's care. Some just can't afford
another mouth to feed, especially if their only income is a social
security
check. Indeed, a 1989 study by the National Black Child Development
Institute in Washington, DC, found that the most common reason relatives
felt they couldn't care for kin was "a lack of financial or housing
resources."




Others worry that they will not be able to get appropriate help to deal
with
problems the children are almost certain to have-those that arise from
their
unmet physical and developmental needs and their histories of family
crisis.

"Unfortunately, America's child-serving systems have been slow to respond
and often don't give these children and their caregivers the services and
support they desperately need," confirms Robin Scott, program associate at
the Children's Defense Fund in Washington, DC. "It often keeps relatives
from taking them in."

"These kids come to us with problems we never had to deal with," says
Rosalee Cauley, director of Grandparents as Parents, a support group in
Lakewood, California, for grandparents raising their grandchildren. "Most
have been neglected and malnourished. Some have been abused. Others, like
my
grandson, were born exposed to drugs and have serious emotional and
learning
problems." She started her group, one of eight chapters in the State,
because of the unique needs and sparse support for grandparents who are
parenting a second set of children.

Unless relatives have legal custody of the children, they often face
additional problems associated with their less-than-parents status. They
are
responsible for the children's health, safety, and well-being but may not
have authority to make medical and educational decisions on their behalf.
Then too, the children can be removed from their home at any time, against
their wishes, and returned to the birthparents.

That's what happened to Cauley. Her grandson, Josh, came to live with her
when he was two because his mother's drug addiction made it impossible for
her to care for him. Ten years later, the county child protection agency
returned Josh to his mother even though Cauley feared for her grandson's
welfare and fought the decision. Fortunately, Cauley and her husband were
awarded visitation rights. "We were his safety net," she says. However,
Josh's reunion with his mother did not work out; she continued to use
drugs
and expose her son to an unstable lifestyle. A year later, he ran away
from
his mother and back to his grandmother.

Cauley's organization is sometimes the only source of support for
grandparents whose care of young children puts them out of step with
others
their age. "Friends are at a different stage in their lives -- one that
doesn't want a 3-year-old tagging along at lunch," says Cauley. "They stop
coming around. Their attitude is, 'Been there, done that."

Sometimes, the siblings of the child's birthmother are jealous and
withdraw
support. They resent the attention their parents focus on the child,
sometimes at the expense of other grandchildren in the family.

Then, there is the problem of the birthparents. Some relatives do not want
the intrusion of a mother or father who may be disruptive or who is
abusing
alcohol or drugs. They fear that the birthparents will be troublesome or
that they may end up with the unwelcome responsibility of taking care of
them as well."

The problems of Kinship care are less the systems fault than that of the
prospective placements. The state cannot "force" kinship care, they can
only ask.


You speak of barriers that might prevent a family of taking a child.. which
are vastly different from the barriers imposed by CPS.

bobb




Ron

"bobb" wrote in message
...

"Ron" wrote in message
news:Z0duc.27335$Yr.15993@okepread04...

"bobb" wrote in message
...

"Doug" wrote in message
...
Here is the trend of kinship foster care, expressed in percentage of
foster
care population, after the correction. As it turns out, the numbers
for
1998 were the same as 1997.


http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/p...99/ar0199a.htm

1997 29%
1998 29%
1999 26%
2000 25%
2001 24%



Kinship care has taken a beating because CPS fears it cannot control
family
associations and has set unrealistic barriers to prevent licensing.
Even
a
marijuana bust 15 years ago will prevent and aunt or uncle, now with
children of their own, from caring for their neice or nephew.

I'm willng to be 99.9 percent of all foster kids try to reestablish
relationship with their families or relatives, prior to, and after
emancipation... however, depending on how long they've been wards of
the
state.. they become strangers. Kinship care should not be viewed
simply
as
having a biological connection but I'd suggest friends of the family
(or
child) should also be considered and sought out prior to foster care
with
a
stranger.

Many years ago.. I sought a foster kid who was known to me.. but
because
I
was known to the family I, too, was ineligible even thought I was
licensed
and avaibable.

bobb

Did you bother to read the other link that speaks to the reasons why
kinship
care if difficult bobb? Here's a quote for you:

"
Barriers to Kinship Placements
Despite the value to children of remaining with their extended families,
and
the concern of relatives about the future of their nieces, nephews, and
grandchildren, there are many reasons why adult relatives may be
unwilling
to take on the responsibility of a child's care. Some just can't afford
another mouth to feed, especially if their only income is a social
security
check. Indeed, a 1989 study by the National Black Child Development
Institute in Washington, DC, found that the most common reason relatives
felt they couldn't care for kin was "a lack of financial or housing
resources."




Others worry that they will not be able to get appropriate help to deal
with
problems the children are almost certain to have-those that arise from
their
unmet physical and developmental needs and their histories of family
crisis.

"Unfortunately, America's child-serving systems have been slow to
respond
and often don't give these children and their caregivers the services
and
support they desperately need," confirms Robin Scott, program associate
at
the Children's Defense Fund in Washington, DC. "It often keeps relatives
from taking them in."

"These kids come to us with problems we never had to deal with," says
Rosalee Cauley, director of Grandparents as Parents, a support group in
Lakewood, California, for grandparents raising their grandchildren.
"Most
have been neglected and malnourished. Some have been abused. Others,
like
my
grandson, were born exposed to drugs and have serious emotional and
learning
problems." She started her group, one of eight chapters in the State,
because of the unique needs and sparse support for grandparents who are
parenting a second set of children.

Unless relatives have legal custody of the children, they often face
additional problems associated with their less-than-parents status. They
are
responsible for the children's health, safety, and well-being but may
not
have authority to make medical and educational decisions on their
behalf.
Then too, the children can be removed from their home at any time,
against
their wishes, and returned to the birthparents.

That's what happened to Cauley. Her grandson, Josh, came to live with
her
when he was two because his mother's drug addiction made it impossible
for
her to care for him. Ten years later, the county child protection agency
returned Josh to his mother even though Cauley feared for her grandson's
welfare and fought the decision. Fortunately, Cauley and her husband
were
awarded visitation rights. "We were his safety net," she says. However,
Josh's reunion with his mother did not work out; she continued to use
drugs
and expose her son to an unstable lifestyle. A year later, he ran away
from
his mother and back to his grandmother.

Cauley's organization is sometimes the only source of support for
grandparents whose care of young children puts them out of step with
others
their age. "Friends are at a different stage in their lives -- one that
doesn't want a 3-year-old tagging along at lunch," says Cauley. "They
stop
coming around. Their attitude is, 'Been there, done that."

Sometimes, the siblings of the child's birthmother are jealous and
withdraw
support. They resent the attention their parents focus on the child,
sometimes at the expense of other grandchildren in the family.

Then, there is the problem of the birthparents. Some relatives do not
want
the intrusion of a mother or father who may be disruptive or who is
abusing
alcohol or drugs. They fear that the birthparents will be troublesome or
that they may end up with the unwelcome responsibility of taking care of
them as well."

The problems of Kinship care are less the systems fault than that of the
prospective placements. The state cannot "force" kinship care, they can
only ask.


You speak of barriers that might prevent a family of taking a child..
which
are vastly different from the barriers imposed by CPS.

bobb


Which barriers might those be bobb? Requirements for training? To meet the
same standards that real foster parnets do?

Ron

Ron, I gave you more credit. Barriers that might prevent a family from
taking on the responsibily of another child are many and have nothing to do
with CPS.

It might be space, it might be their bio kids don't want others in the
house, it might be a time or job conflict. Is it possible they just don't
want their life disrupted?

bobb

"bobb" wrote in message
...
Ron, I gave you more credit. Barriers that might prevent a family from
taking on the responsibily of another child are many and have nothing to
do
with CPS.

It might be space, it might be their bio kids don't want others in the
house, it might be a time or job conflict. Is it possible they just
don't
want their life disrupted?

So, how are these "barriers imposed by CPS" bobb? Sounds like the same
barriers that every family has, no matter who they are. A part of the all
american dream. None of those are barriers imposed by CPS bobb, but by
life.

So again, the question, what barriers imposed by CPS are we talking about
bobb? Requirements for training? To meet the same standards that real
foster parnets do? Or are they something else that I am missing?

If you are going to give me credit, then please make sure that you read a
bit more carefully before removing it.

Ron

bobb