Foster parents need support from the state

Foster parents need support from the state


Washington state's incredible foster parents are unionizing. These
remarkable men and women who nurture the state's most vulnerable
children and give them a chance at a successful life have had a
bellyful of the state bureaucracy and its indifference toward them.

The only thing surprising about the unionizing effort is that it
didn't happen much sooner. After all, you can't treat this many people
this badly for this long and not expect a backlash.

This is not a problem unique to Washington state. Across the nation,
foster parents report the same litany of complaints - complaints they
have voiced to no avail for years.

They are told they are part of a team. They are told they will help
make crucial decisions about the future of children placed in their
care. Then, far too often, foster parents' comments and suggestions
are ignored - or, more often, not sought in the first place.

Foster parents are sometimes not told the truth about children coming
into their care. As guardians - even temporary guardians - they need
to be prepared for a child's unique needs and circumstances in order
to give them the very best care. It's unconscionable to dump these
children on a foster parent's doorstep without all of the facts.
Deception is unsafe for the children, the foster parents and the state
that has legal custody of the kids.

Foster parents often can't get their telephone calls returned in a
timely manner. What does that say about the state's opinion of foster
care providers?

Payments can be late . The state's nonchalant attitude sends a message
of "You'll get paid when we get around to it."

Respite for the overworked caregivers can be hard to come by.

For those reasons and a long list of others, foster parents have
finally said, "Enough is enough."

These are not people who would ordinarily seek union protection. But
their hands have been forced by state bureaucrats' inability to deal
with their complaints in a constructive manner.

Not about money

Unlike many other union issues, this one is not primarily about the
money. Foster parents are not paid. They are reimbursed for expenses
incurred in taking care of the children. And the reimbursement in most
cases covers only about 60 percent of the actual cost.

What foster parents want - and what they deserve - is respect for the
work they do. They want to know that their opinions are valued and
that they can count on the state's backing and support in some
incredibly traumatic situations. The one indisputable truth is this:
Without foster parents, the child welfare system in this state and
this country would collapse.

Children's Administration officials within the state Department of
Social and Health Services continue to ignore the legitimate
complaints of caregivers at their own peril - or, more precisely, at
the peril of the children for whom they have the legal responsibility.

Children's Administration will say it has taken steps to help support
parents. That is true. DSHS has provided more training and provided
impetus for support groups and other informal networking and self-help
efforts. But the steps have been incremental and taken only after
great external pressure was applied.

The 2006 Legislature also provided money for scores of new social
workers. That's promising, too.

Moving backward

But if DSHS hires more social workers who don't return calls, can't
pay foster parents on time, glosses over the truth about kids and
treats foster parents as more of an annoyance than an asset, the
system not only has not moved forward, it has gone backward.

The culture of an organization can change only if the leaders at the
top make it happen.

We have seen no indication that Assistant Secretary Cheryl Stephani,
DSHS Secretary Robin Arnold-Williams or even Gov. Chris Gregoire is
committed to such organizational change. The governor must demand more
of her DSHS team. They must put together a plan - in short order - to
deal with foster parent issues. The problems have been identified for
years and so have the solutions.

Administrators must hire caseworkers with people skills, constantly
train them to hone those skills, reward them for good work and hold
them accountable. That doesn't take money, it takes leadership - the
kind of leadership Gregoire promised but has yet to deliver.

The foster care system in Washington is on the brink. Unionization of
foster parents is proof.

Enough talk. Enough spin. Enough excuses. It's time to take action -
now.
http://159.54.227.3/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...606060329/1005
Defend your civil liberties! Get information at http://www.aclu.org, become a member at http://www.aclu.org/join and get active at http://www.aclu.org/action.
We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.

wexwimpy wrote:

Ordinarily I'm a supporter of foster parents in general. However this
article is full of half truths and misinformation. It lacks depth of
understanding of issues for child and parent clients of CPS.

And it lacks honesty by it's failure to point out some of those issues.

Foster parents need support from the state


Washington state's incredible foster parents are unionizing. These
remarkable men and women who nurture the state's most vulnerable
children and give them a chance at a successful life have had a
bellyful of the state bureaucracy and its indifference toward them.

The only thing surprising about the unionizing effort is that it
didn't happen much sooner. After all, you can't treat this many people
this badly for this long and not expect a backlash.

This is not a problem unique to Washington state. Across the nation,
foster parents report the same litany of complaints - complaints they
have voiced to no avail for years.

Yes, and that IS a clue that something other than the claims being made
may very well be the real issues.

They are told they are part of a team.

They are.

They are told they will help
make crucial decisions about the future of children placed in their
care.

They do. If one reads the contract and the documents describing their
responsibilities one sees it easily.

They make medical, educational, mental health and daily living decisions
for the child with little to NO interference from CPS. All the regular
immunizations are done without CPS involvement, other than to have them
on record by the FP delivering the child to the shot center and the
paperwork to the CPS child record.

The FP can, and is directed to, take children to regular and special
medical appointments, and to ER WITHOUT PRE-NOTIFICATION OF CPS.

Educational decisions can be made by the foster parent by the simple
expedient of applying to be, as CPS tells them they can and should, the
Educational Advocate of the child at the child's school.

The FP signs off on everything a bio parent does...trip permissions,
joining the band, going out for athletics, the works.

In nearly everything but the child's cultural issues (like respecting
the bio parent's religion and ethnic identity issues) the foster parent
decides. They sometimes defy those things, however. Not often, but
occasionally.

Then, far too often, foster parents' comments and suggestions
are ignored - or, more often, not sought in the first place.

No, what really happens is what is behind this effort to unionize. In
nearly everything pertaining to the child in a "family" and "home" the
FP prevails, but in CASEWORK DECISIONS THEY DO NOT. Nor should they.

A caseworker cannot keep changing the casework plan for the foster
parent's notions of what should happen in the best interest of the
child. The foster parent does not and cannot know the all the factors
involved. Some by LAW are denied them knowledge of.

Foster parents are sometimes not told the truth about children coming
into their care.

I should hope to shout. I even had to teach relatives (fostering or
trying to) not to blab about the child and their bio parents all over
the damn place.

Foster parents gossip. If they did not, they'd be trusted more. Those
who DO NOT are in fact trusted more. You won't find them trying to
unionize, or claiming they are "left out" of the decision making process.

Those that behave like professionals are treated like professionals.

As guardians - even temporary guardians - they need
to be prepared for a child's unique needs and circumstances in order
to give them the very best care.

MMM...what unique needs would that be? They ARE told the medical and
mental health issues. They are told the behavioral issues the child has.
They are told some of the non-confidential information about the abuse
and neglect the child has suffered.

They are DENIED confidential information about the parents and their
offenses against the child, and or their other actions NONE OF THE
BUSINESS OF A FOSTER PARENT.

It's unconscionable to dump these
children on a foster parent's doorstep without all of the facts.

No, it's the LAW they may not have ALL THE FACTS. But ONLY those
pertaining that will not compromise the child's safety. Often the child
has to be hidden from criminal parents.

Deception is unsafe for the children, the foster parents and the state
that has legal custody of the kids.

Bull****. Withholding information suddenly has morphed into "deception?"
Could this article be more biased and misleading? Who wrote this, Doug?

Foster parents often can't get their telephone calls returned in a
timely manner. What does that say about the state's opinion of foster
care providers?

It says the worker is swamped with court required and legally required
case work activities that come first. The presumption is that the child
is safe with a certified foster parent, and that real emergencies are
already covered in the contract for the foster parent to act independently.

And what IS a "timely manner?"

Payments can be late . The state's nonchalant attitude sends a message
of "You'll get paid when we get around to it."

The hyperbole now surfaces. The hallmark of propagandists.

All subsidy payments in most states are handled by computerized central
systems. In some states it's by electronic transfer.

What MOSTLY HOLDS UP PAYMENT is the failure of ONE foster parent from
whom the child has been moved, to notify their worker so the worker can
inform the clerical chain to stop payment in one place and begin in
another.

If the NEW foster parent can receive a check then double the money has
been paid, and more work has to be done to sort it all out, with the
first foster parent having to remember NOT to deposit that check, or if
electronically deposited not do spend any of it and return it.

See the work involved? So until the first foster parent has notified the
worker the child was removed, which means the day it took place, no
subsidy checks may be issued to that child.

Respite for the overworked caregivers can be hard to come by.

It is supposed to be part of the foster care subsidy and the FP is
SUPPOSED TO LOCATE AND UTILIZE THEM THEMSELVES. They are often given a
list, or can call their worker, or just the receptionist for the list of
qualified and certified respite persons.

BUT THEY MUST ACT FOR THEMSELVES. CPS is NOT required to hold their hand
and take care of them. Nor should they.

For those reasons and a long list of others, foster parents have
finally said, "Enough is enough."

Here's what it really boils down to. There is a minority subgroup of
foster parents that always have their noses out of joint because they
aren't allowed to BE the caseworker, and tell the real one how to work
the case plan.

They will find every reason possible to bitch, rather like Greg in their
thinking, but thankfully not in their child care -- mostly.

They do often have the child's best interests at heart, but mistake
their own CONVENIENCE for the child's best interest too often.

I have advocated from about 1985 that foster care should be
professionalized. That they should be paid considerably more, and made
to bring much more to the table. Minimum education. Specific education
in special needs children as they enter CPS custody...that would mean
studying the effects of substance abuse on children, physical, mental,
sexual, development, and other abuse and neglect.

Foster parents are trained up to the level of what they are asked to do.
If they wish to be professionals, then let them train as professionals,
be paid as professionals, and hired as professionals. WITH HIGHER
STANDARDS.

As it is those foster parents that are already well trained, often
themselves professionals DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND THEIR ROLE AND YAMMER FOR
MORE CONTROL OVER THE CASE.

They make their contributions and leave the worker to decide what to use
and what not to use, and how to use it.

These are not people who would ordinarily seek union protection.

Because they are NOT professionals.

But
their hands have been forced by state bureaucrats' inability to deal
with their complaints in a constructive manner.

Their whining is a perennial pain in the ass to people trying to do a
very difficult job. If they are not satisfied with their level of
responsibility already (and it is close to a real parent's
responsibility as it is) then let them go back to school, get a degree,
and apply for a caseworker job.


Not about money

Bull****. SOME of it IS about money. They ARE not provided enough money
to support the child fully.

Unlike many other union issues, this one is not primarily about the
money. Foster parents are not paid. They are reimbursed for expenses
incurred in taking care of the children. And the reimbursement in most
cases covers only about 60 percent of the actual cost.

What foster parents want - and what they deserve - is respect for the
work they do. They want to know that their opinions are valued and
that they can count on the state's backing and support in some
incredibly traumatic situations. The one indisputable truth is this:
Without foster parents, the child welfare system in this state and
this country would collapse.

There isn't a single word there that is NOT true. But the presumptions
being made are incorrect for the reality of their service and what it
must constitute.

Either they are foster parents, or they are caseworkers. They cannot be
both and they want both.

That's what is in the code words, which I've heard for years, "their
opinions are valued." It means they get ****ed when they say the child
must have this or that, or the PARENTS MUST DO THIS OR THAT.

The latter is the major sticking point between workers and foster
parents. I had the same problem with many of the relatives I helped gain
foster custody and deal with CPS.

Too often they wanted the worker MAKE the bio parent do this or that
thing the bio parent not only was not ready TO DO, but could not do, and
by law could not be forced to do.

The rest below is spin, calculated to make CPS the villain and not view
the facts clearly about what foster parenting is and isn't.

In closing: Foster parents routinely become, and I approve, lovingly
attached to the children in their care. They are or should be taught to
limit their actions however.

They are NOT the bio parent, so attempting to force CPS to do things
that only a parent could demand rightfully, or even things beyond that
becomes a clash of wills that should NOT be part of child protection.

They are given a free hand in nearly everything a parent does. The
portion withheld from them IS the legal responsibility of the state. And
the confidentiality that requires the withhold of information is
patently obvious.

I have snarled at foster parents at conferences and meetings that have
started breaking confidentiality....GOSSIPING...and workers have good
cause to withhold the kinds of information being gossiped about.

Foster parents get very sensitive information about the child NOW.

And the final piece....this claim of withholding of information? Often
the agency DOES NOT KNOW CONSIDERABLE AMOUNTS OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE
CHILD...and in fact, much of it comes from FOSTER PARENT TO THE WORKER,
rather than the other way.

Foster children tell trusted foster parents information. The foster
parent is required to share that with the child's worker.

This is a phony baloney claim by the authors of the article.

Continued misrepresentation of the facts hurt everyone involved. Those
foster parents that do a good job and understand the limits of their
job. The parents who have a right to NOT have foster parents know the
intimate details of their lives. And most importantly, the foster child
that deserves to have THEIR privacy protected, even from the foster
parent...a temporary element in their lives.

Any foster parent that adopts learns EVERYTHING there is to know. But as
temporary caregivers they are entitled to just about what a day care
provider is...information concerning issues of safety to the child. They
rest is frosting.

Children's Administration officials within the state Department of
Social and Health Services continue to ignore the legitimate
complaints of caregivers at their own peril - or, more precisely, at
the peril of the children for whom they have the legal responsibility.

Children's Administration will say it has taken steps to help support
parents. That is true. DSHS has provided more training and provided
impetus for support groups and other informal networking and self-help
efforts. But the steps have been incremental and taken only after
great external pressure was applied.

The 2006 Legislature also provided money for scores of new social
workers. That's promising, too.

Moving backward

But if DSHS hires more social workers who don't return calls,

I can teach you in three seconds how to get your worker to call you
back, or PICK UP THE PHONE NOW, and you won't have to declare an
emergency to do it.

Foster parents that complain of this problem spend all their time
complaining, whining, to the worker. Would YOU pick up the phone if you
knew Perennial Penny Whiner was on the phone AGAIN with a string of
complaints, most of which SHE COULD SOLVE and is authorized to?

can't
pay foster parents on time, glosses over the truth about kids and
treats foster parents as more of an annoyance than an asset, the
system not only has not moved forward, it has gone backward.

The usual hyperbole.

The culture of an organization can change only if the leaders at the
top make it happen.

More of the same. Next week it will be the Workers must change their etc...

We have seen no indication that Assistant Secretary Cheryl Stephani,
DSHS Secretary Robin Arnold-Williams or even Gov. Chris Gregoire is
committed to such organizational change. The governor must demand more
of her DSHS team. They must put together a plan - in short order - to
deal with foster parent issues. The problems have been identified for
years and so have the solutions.

Yah don't think there's a political motive behind this diatribe, now do
you? 0:-

Administrators must hire caseworkers with people skills, constantly
train them to hone those skills, reward them for good work and hold
them accountable. That doesn't take money, it takes leadership - the
kind of leadership Gregoire promised but has yet to deliver.

"That doesn't take money?"R RR R R R R ...what planet is the author
writing from?

How do you assess and test for people skills? If they aren't doing it
now, might it not cost to devise and require more tester's time, paid,
to administer and score?

IF IT CAN BE DONE AT ALL?

How about clever interviews that spot people with people skills and
those without? Do they come cheap? Do they take the same or MORE time,
paid, to do the interviews?

The foster care system in Washington is on the brink. Unionization of
foster parents is proof.

Enough talk. Enough spin. Enough excuses. It's time to take action -
now.

R R R R...yea, I'd say it's about enough spin from the author.

http://159.54.227.3/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...606060329/1005

Gee, I wonder if they have any paid employees.

Defend your civil liberties! Get information at http://www.aclu.org, become a member at http://www.aclu.org/join and get active at http://www.aclu.org/action.
We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.

Gee, I wonder if they have any paid employees.

And I don't mind if they do, as unlike THEM, I live in the real world
even when talking about opponents...I know it takes money to run CPS,
run foster care.

They seem not to.

0:-



--
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what
to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb
contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin (or someone else)

They are told they will help
make crucial decisions about the future of children placed in their
care.

They do. If one reads the contract and the documents describing their
responsibilities one sees it easily.

Hi, Kane,

Researchers have repeatedly pointed out the failure of CPS agencies to
inform foster caregivers with critical information about the child they are
caring for. The Pew Commission has called upon Congress to empower foster
caregivers to have an actual role in the "team" -- something they have been
denied for decades.

Then, far too often, foster parents' comments and suggestions
are ignored - or, more often, not sought in the first place.

No, what really happens is what is behind this effort to unionize. In
nearly everything pertaining to the child in a "family" and "home" the FP
prevails, but in CASEWORK DECISIONS THEY DO NOT. Nor should they.

Unfortunately, the foster carer is given little voice. And the child, whose
very life is being impacted, none at all.

A caseworker cannot keep changing the casework plan for the foster
parent's notions of what should happen in the best interest of the child.
The foster parent does not and cannot know the all the factors involved.
Some by LAW are denied them knowledge of.

Foster caregivers need to be informed about pertinent factors that impacts
the child in their care.

Foster parents are sometimes not told the truth about children coming
into their care.

I should hope to shout. I even had to teach relatives (fostering or trying
to) not to blab about the child and their bio parents all over the damn
place.

As public servants, CPS caseworkers have a legal and ethical obligation to
tell foster caregivers the TRUTH about children coming into their care.
They often do not.

Foster parents gossip. If they did not, they'd be trusted more. Those who
DO NOT are in fact trusted more. You won't find them trying to unionize,
or claiming they are "left out" of the decision making process.

The Pew Commission found scores of foster caregivers, foster children and
other stakeholders who claimed they were left out of the decision making
process.

Those that behave like professionals are treated like professionals.

It is a shame that caseworkers would weigh value judgments of the
"professionalism" of foster caregivers over the best interests of the child
they are caring for. It is in the best interests of the child that foster
caregivers be informed and such a decision should not be based on whether
the caseworker thinks the foster caregiver worthy to be treated like a
professional.

As guardians - even temporary guardians - they need
to be prepared for a child's unique needs and circumstances in order
to give them the very best care.

MMM...what unique needs would that be? They ARE told the medical and
mental health issues. They are told the behavioral issues the child has.
They are told some of the non-confidential information about the abuse and
neglect the child has suffered.

"Repeatedly, young adults recalled their bewilderment as children at being
removed from their families and sent to live elsewhere with no
explanation-or at least, none they could understand," writes the Pew
Commission in its report to Congress. "They also spoke of the confusion
caused by multiple service providers involved in a case, each with a
different notion of what the outcome will-or should-be.
http://tinyurl.com/o3njs

"'At the time I entered care," said Jackie, 'I thought I would move back in
with my aunt, whom I had been living with for the past two or three years.
My aunt thought my mom was going to get rehabilitated and I would move in
with her, and my social worker thought I was going to be adopted. And none
of that happened. I think everyone thought they were on the same page as the
others.'"
"Parents and foster and adoptive parents spoke of their frustration in
getting relevant, timely information about children, procedures,
requirements and outcomes. Parents described even more confusion and
inability to be heard once they entered the court system."

"Foster parents suffer, too, from fragmented or unavailable information.
'You have to rely on shattered, broken children to give you the information
of their lives,' said Alice, a Colorado Springs foster parent. Other foster
parents recalled the frustration of trying to chase down the date of an
important hearing, or of being the last to learn of decisions about children
in their care." http://tinyurl.com/o3njs

They are DENIED confidential information about the parents and their
offenses against the child, and or their other actions NONE OF THE
BUSINESS OF A FOSTER PARENT.

The offenses against the child is most certainly the business of the foster
caregiver caring for the child.

It's unconscionable to dump these
children on a foster parent's doorstep without all of the facts.

Very true.

No, it's the LAW they may not have ALL THE FACTS. But ONLY those
pertaining that will not compromise the child's safety. Often the child
has to be hidden from criminal parents.

Please show us such a law.

Deception is unsafe for the children, the foster parents and the state
that has legal custody of the kids.

Bull****. Withholding information suddenly has morphed into "deception?"
Could this article be more biased and misleading? Who wrote this, Doug?

Yes, withholding certain information, like that pertaining to caring for the
child, is, indeed, deception. The condition of the child what what she may
need in terms of care is not a "trade secret."


Payments can be late . The state's nonchalant attitude sends a message
of "You'll get paid when we get around to it."

The hyperbole now surfaces. The hallmark of propagandists.

All subsidy payments in most states are handled by computerized central
systems. In some states it's by electronic transfer.

What MOSTLY HOLDS UP PAYMENT is the failure of ONE foster parent from whom
the child has been moved, to notify their worker so the worker can inform
the clerical chain to stop payment in one place and begin in another.

Funny. You would think the agency would know where their state wards live.

See the work involved? So until the first foster parent has notified the
worker the child was removed, which means the day it took place, no
subsidy checks may be issued to that child.

So, the foster caregiver must notify the CPS caseworker that the child has
been removed???? The caseworker does not know on her own that the child has
been removed?

As it is those foster parents that are already well trained, often
themselves professionals DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND THEIR ROLE AND YAMMER FOR
MORE CONTROL OVER THE CASE.

Yep. Damn foster caregivers. They should not "rock the boat." The good
ones keep their months shut.

They make their contributions and leave the worker to decide what to use
and what not to use, and how to use it.


But
their hands have been forced by state bureaucrats' inability to deal
with their complaints in a constructive manner.

Their whining is a perennial pain in the ass to people trying to do a very
difficult job. If they are not satisfied with their level of
responsibility already (and it is close to a real parent's responsibility
as it is) then let them go back to school, get a degree, and apply for a
caseworker job.


Any foster parent that adopts learns EVERYTHING there is to know. But as
temporary caregivers they are entitled to just about what a day care
provider is...information concerning issues of safety to the child. They
rest is frosting.

Odd syntax. "Frosting...." Information over what a day care provider is
given is considered some sort of privledged dessert that only certain
"professional" favorites of a caseworker get to know??

Foster parents that complain of this problem spend all their time
complaining, whining, to the worker. Would YOU pick up the phone if you
knew Perennial Penny Whiner was on the phone AGAIN with a string of
complaints, most of which SHE COULD SOLVE and is authorized to?

No, foster parents that complain of this problem decidedly do not spend all
of their time complaining to the worker. They made the complaint because
their caseworker is not, well, calling them back.

We have seen no indication that Assistant Secretary Cheryl Stephani,
DSHS Secretary Robin Arnold-Williams or even Gov. Chris Gregoire is
committed to such organizational change. The governor must demand more
of her DSHS team. They must put together a plan - in short order - to
deal with foster parent issues. The problems have been identified for
years and so have the solutions.

True. Perhaps it is time to take the steps necessary to impliment the
solutions.

It won't be long, now.

It won't be long, now.

The problem, according to the Pew Commission, is partially summarized by a
foster caregiver who is quoted in its report.

"Casey, a foster parent who has cared for 30 infants over the last five
years, said that the training and information foster parents receive is
limited and that they cannot always rely on case workers for accurate
information about a child's needs. 'A child shows up at your door,' she
says, 'and [the worker] may have a name and a date of birth. . . It is so
incredibly hard to receive a child, whether it's a newborn or any age, and
not be prepared.'" http://tinyurl.com/o3njs

The Pew Commission defines the root of the problem and its solution.

"Former foster youth, parents, and foster/adoptive parents made it clear
that they pay a price, but they are not the only ones affected by the
limitations of the current child welfare system. Society as a whole pays a
price when the system does not achieve the results that it should.

"How do we begin to address this situation? The Pew Commission on Children
in Foster Care is doing so by examining federal financing mechanisms and the
quality of court oversight of child welfare cases. While every problem
highlighted in this report does not tie directly back to these two areas,
many have their roots there. The structure of federal financing encourages
caseworkers and judges to place and keep children in foster care, sometimes
for longer than is necessary, because they cannot (or cannot easily) secure
other services that might keep or bring children safely home or move them
more quickly to a new family. In the courts, limited information and crowded
dockets also hamper judges and create delays for the children and families
before them.

"There is considerable acknowledgment in the policy arena that these two
areas are in critical need of reform. The Pew Commission has taken on the
job of developing evidence-based proposals for reform that can win the
bipartisan support of policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels."
http://tinyurl.com/o3njs

CPS apologists' claims to the contrary, state CPS agencies have known about
the problems for some time and have failed to impliment the solutions. The
Pew Commission has petitioned Congress to call upon the Judicial branch to
exercise more oversight over CPS agencies. Family court judges will called
upon to take a leadership role in decision making and overseeing CPS
casework.