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The 'faces' of Chicago's foster children: High placement rates found in poor communities: as long as one abuse or neglect case exists in foster care, that’s one too many....
The 'faces' of Chicago's foster children: High placement rates found in
poor communities by Melisse Hinkle May 24, 2007 http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/....aspx?id=36953 When Brian Krueger arrived on the scene, he was appalled by what he saw. A foster home with three or four hospital beds crammed into one room. The beds placed around a television. Children with special needs who required additional care. Krueger, 40, a fireman and paramedic in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, and his wife, Carrie, decided after that call that they needed to help. “He was just so righteously angered by that,” said Carrie Krueger, 35, a former police officer. “We thought, OK, we could be foster parents. We knew there was a big need, even in our area.” Residents of Mount Prospect, the Kruegers are currently parents of two biological children, three adopted children and two foster children. Over the past eight years, they have taken in nine children altogether who needed substitute care. “The thing that we realized is people say foster children, but for us it has faces,” she added. Krueger’s foster children are just a few of more than 16,000 faces currently in substitute care in Illinois. Substitute care is defined as temporary placement with foster parents, other relatives or in an institution, group home or health facility. As Foster Parent Appreciation Month comes to a close, the number of children in substitute care has been on the decline in Illinois, down from more than 51,000 ten years ago, according to the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services. Carrie and Brian Krueger originally thought they would be foster parents for a short time. But their first two foster children stayed for two years. When the children went back to relatives, the Kruegers were devastated. “Our hearts were broken when they left and we didn’t think we’d ever do foster care again,” Carrie said. But one month later, they got a call. A pair of twins needed foster parents. The Krueger family grew again. “We do emergency placement,” Carrie Krueger said. “So, it’s always kind of a crisis situation.” “Within two hours our family expands,” she added. But within the boundaries of Chicago, the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services’ statistics show that a significant amount of foster children are not being placed in middle-class areas comparable to Mount Prospect. Instead, the highest placement rates are in some of the city’s poorest areas. The 60636 zip code area, which encompasses West Englewood, as well as parts of Gage Park and Chicago Lawn, currently has the highest placement rate. This region has 46 children in substitute care per 10,000 residents, according to calculations performed using data from DCFS. Residents in the 60636 zip code have a median household income of $27,727, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent statistics. This places the area just several thousand dollars above the national poverty threshold for a family of four with two children, which is $20,444, according to 2006 census data. Jimmie Whitelow, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services said he doesn’t know why the placement rates in areas like West Englewood are among the highest in the city. “I would only say that when DCFS receives an allegation of abuse or neglect, no matter where that allegation comes from, we go out and investigate it,” Whitelow said. “If necessary we take protective custody of a child based on those investigations.” The numbers may reflect a push from the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services to place foster children in close proximity to their original homes. This effort is intended to keep children within an environment they know and facilitate a reintroduction with their original parents, Whitelow said. Keeping foster children close to home allows them to maintain places in their communities through visits with relatives and attendance at familiar schools, he added. “It’s based on a specific desire on the department to minimize any further trauma to the child as it relates to the disruption of their biological home,” Whitelow said. Other low-income Chicago neighborhoods also rank in the top 10 for placement rates. The 60624 zip code area, which comprises West Garfield Park, as well as parts of East Garfield Park, Humboldt Park and North Lawndale, ranks second with 39 children in substitute care per 10,000 residents. According to the census, the median household income for this area is $22,426. Also ranking second with 39 children in substitute care per 10,000 residents is the 60620 zip code area, which encompasses Auburn Gresham and parts of Ashburn, Greater Grand Crossing, Chatham, Washington Heights, Roseland and Beverly. The median household income in this area is significantly higher at $36,334. The 60621 region, composed of Englewood and parts of Washington Park and Greater Grand Crossing, falls toward the bottom of the top 10 with 32 children in substitute care per 10,000 citizens. This area's median household income is $19,718, just below the poverty line. Carrie Krueger said she suspects some of the children in these areas are also in temporary care with relatives who live close to their biological homes. Yvonne Zehr, chief deputy at the Illinois Public Guardian’s Office, said a foster home close to a child’s original home that would allow the child to keep connections to the community could be a good thing. “At the same time, the department still needs to emphasize what has to come first is the ability of this particular foster home to meet the child’s needs,” she said. For example, Zehr said, if a child has special medical needs, the best foster home may be with a foster parent who is a nurse and not necessarily with a foster parent who lives close to the child’s biological home. “Sometimes certain aspects of a child’s needs may need to override that consideration,” Zehr said. To become a licensed foster parent in Illinois, an individual must be at least 21 years old, be able to pass a background check, show good health via a physician’s approval, submit acceptable character references, demonstrate an ability to provide for the family financially, participate in several training programs and pass a home inspection. The licensing process can take up to six months. Once licensed, a foster parent usually receives financial assistance and other supportive services to help care for a child. On average, Carrie and Brian Krueger receive less than $12 per child per day, Carrie Krueger said. The number of children a foster parent can take in depends on several factors, including how many children are already living in the home. “We want them to be able to provide the optimal amount of care to a child that is placed in their home,” Whitelow said. But despite the department’s efforts, Zehr said sometimes the system can be overwhelming, particularly for foster parents with good intentions who find themselves caring for more children than they can handle. “Certainly children continue to, frankly, be abused and neglected in foster care,” Zehr said. “And as long as there is a single incident [of abuse or neglect] in foster care, something needs to be addressed.” She said progress was made a few years ago when DCFS limited the number of children in foster homes. For instance, the maximum numbers of special needs children and infants in a home were decreased. But, she added, as long as one abuse or neglect case exists in foster care, that’s one too many. “It’s hard to determine why sometimes these things happen,” she said. “Certainly, the quality and level of monitoring of foster homes, the screening of potential foster parents are important aspects ... someone needs to be carefully looking at a family that comes forward and exploring why they are interested in becoming foster parents. And then once they’re licensed, someone should be checking in.” Zehr said she has also seen foster parents who go out of their way for the children they care for, providing them with items such as glasses to see the chalkboard and music lessons to inspire them. “When there are caring foster parents who receive the necessary supportive services to provide care for children, it works very well for children while they need to be away from their home,” she said. Carrie Krueger said foster care has been a blessing for her family and it has given her two biological children a different perspective from most 8-or-10-year-olds. Krueger’s 8-year-old son dreams of opening an orphanage someday. “They’re not focused on getting a new video system because they know there’s things that are more important than that,” she said. Dashed line CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY 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. 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... |
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