PA: ACLU steps in to fully fund KINSHIP CARE Beaver Co.

FWD ascps:

Hi, guy and thanks for posting this.

he same benefits for their grandchildren as are given for
other foster children in Beaver County.

Apparently Beaver Co is particularly lax in its CYS, CYF, DHS following RULES.

ncluded a
federal lawsuit by the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Civil Liberties
Union.

ACLU is FINALLY INVOLVED. ;-))



That suit, filed in August 2000, was paired with a class-action case pressed
by the ACLU and Philadelphia's Juvenile Law Center for grandparents, aunts,
uncles and other relatives across the state who were denied foster care
payments.

Philadelphia and the Northern tier part of PA have particularly difficult cases
in that they are areas of impacted poverty.

Settlement of the class-action suit is expected very soon, Vic Walczak,
legal director of the ACLU, said yesterday.

Class actions again.

ast week a bill requiring that child welfare agencies consider
relatives first when placing children and that they pay relatives the same
amount given strangers to provide foster care.

Same as ASFA. Adoption and Safe Families Act prescribes.

Child welfare agencies receive FED FUNDS and have to sign onto provisions of
ASFA.

A previous, poster on this NG, an AUNT, stated how their entire family felt
when their flesh and blood was KIDNAPPED BY SRS.

Across the state, about 20 percent of foster children live with relatives.
In Allegheny County, where the Office of Children, Youth and Families
actively seeks out, trains and pays relatives, 60 percent of foster children
live with kin.

Nationally, the figure is a LOW 27% as stated on the site of:

http://www.childrensrights.org

Allegheny Co., is held out as a MODEL DHS PROGRAM IN PENNSYLVANIA.

The settlement in the DeSalle suit also provides back payments, but the
amount and the details of the settlement will not be disclosed under an
agreement among the ACLU, Beaver County CYS, the DeSalles and the state
Department of Public Welfare.

......OOOHh hope the DeSalles negotiate a SETTLEMENT from CYS in Beaver County.
Enough so the horriffic stories we hear about Beaver County are lessened.

Many county CPS agencies are NOT in compliance with ASFA.

Sandra DeSalle, who quit her job to care for her grandchildren, has said
that when she asked CYS for foster payments, the agency told her
grandparents couldn't get them. CYS denied that, but other relatives also
said the agency refused to give them foster payments.

And of course, CPS NEVER LIES. ;-((

What a victory for concerned family!!


"Guy sent in:


Subject: PA - Foster grandparents win
From: "guyontheporch"
Date: 10/25/2003 8:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Message-id: m

http://www.post-gazette.com/localnew...alle1025p6.asp



Beaver County must pay for children's care

Saturday, October 25, 2003

By Barbara White Stack, Post-Gazette Staff Writer







A Beaver Falls couple have finally received what they've been seeking for
six years -- the same benefits for their grandchildren as are given for
other foster children in Beaver County.

Beaver County Common Pleas Court Judge John McBride signed an order Thursday
awarding Ron and Sandra DeSalle permanent legal custody of their
grandchildren and payments equivalent to foster care subsidies for the
youngsters, now 6 and 10.

"I am relieved it is done with," Sandra DeSalle said yesterday about the
conflict with Beaver County Children and Youth Services, which included a
federal lawsuit by the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Civil Liberties
Union.

That suit, filed in August 2000, was paired with a class-action case pressed
by the ACLU and Philadelphia's Juvenile Law Center for grandparents, aunts,
uncles and other relatives across the state who were denied foster care
payments.

Settlement of the class-action suit is expected very soon, Vic Walczak,
legal director of the ACLU, said yesterday.

Gov. Ed Rendell made clear his feelings about kinship care by signing into
law last week a bill requiring that child welfare agencies consider
relatives first when placing children and that they pay relatives the same
amount given strangers to provide foster care.

Across the state, about 20 percent of foster children live with relatives.
In Allegheny County, where the Office of Children, Youth and Families
actively seeks out, trains and pays relatives, 60 percent of foster children
live with kin.

The amounts paid to foster parents varies widely, but ranges from about $15
to $25 a day.

The settlement in the DeSalle suit also provides back payments, but the
amount and the details of the settlement will not be disclosed under an
agreement among the ACLU, Beaver County CYS, the DeSalles and the state
Department of Public Welfare.

Sandra DeSalle, who quit her job to care for her grandchildren, has said
that when she asked CYS for foster payments, the agency told her
grandparents couldn't get them. CYS denied that, but other relatives also
said the agency refused to give them foster payments.






DESCRIPTORS; KINSHIP CARE, PENNSYLVANIA, FAMILY LAW, ADOPTION AND SAFE FAMILIES
ACT,
CPS, DHS, CYS,CYF, BEAVER COUNTY, CHILD PROTECTIVE, SOCIAL WORK, ASFA,
CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILY, CHILDRENS AND YOUTH SERVICES, CIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL
WORK, ADDICTION, MEDICAID, MEDICARE, MENTAL ILLNESS
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